Chapter 18 Rae #2
A respectable patch of green grass extended past the patio, and a tidy looking chicken coop ran along one side of his yard, which dipped down into a small goat pen.
The hen house matched the main house, with the same color siding and shutters, and a few furry goats with tiny horns milled around the enclosure.
The porch stretched along the back space with a large hot tub outside a bedroom, and the most beautiful patio set, complete with a gas-lit rock table.
As I looked over the yard, something settled in my chest, something warm and comfortable, like I didn’t ever want to leave. “This is beautiful.”
“I like it out here, no matter the season,” Davis said shyly.
Sitting down on the plush seat across from him, I smiled. “I can see that.”
In front of us, on the small table, were two beautifully crafted sandwiches with turkey, avocado and bacon.
“How did you know you’d have company?”
The space under his lashes flushed red. “Uh…I always make two?”
I laughed, tossing my head back. “Liar. My mother called, didn’t she?”
His deepening blush told me I was right.
“So, why did you pretend not to know why I was here?”
Moving a glass of tea in front of me, he tucked his chin to his chest. “She didn’t tell me why you were coming, just that you were on your way, and that I should feed you.”
I ignored what it did to the butterfly swarm in my chest that he’d made two sandwiches in preparation of me coming up here.
Davis watched me, not touching his food.
“Do you want to get a shirt on or a coat or something?” I bit into my sandwich, keeping my eyes on his.
He smirked, raking his gaze over me in that seductive way that made my neck feel too hot. Which reminded me of the promised kiss he said he’d give me when I wasn’t expecting it.
“Does it bother you to see me without a shirt on?”
It bothered me that he was asking about other girls, and that he hadn’t tried to see me again after our last encounter. “Like you mentioned, I’m used to seeing pretty boys and dating them…it’s not offensive or anything, just weird for two friends who are just hanging out, I guess.”
“We’re friends now?” He quirked that dark eyebrow at me.
“You tell me.” I took another bite, enjoying way too much how the sun sliced through the trees, cutting into his eyes. I wanted to hear him clearly define our relationship, the boundaries…the lack of anything substantial happening.
He stared at me, waiting, a small smirk playing along his mouth as he pulled his fist under his jaw.
“I don’t have friendly thoughts about you, Rae.”
Was that relief sagging in my chest like a soaked pillow?
“No? What a shame…here I thought we could be mountain buds.”
His eyes sparkled with mischief as he finally leaned forward and took a bite of his sandwich.
We ate in silence for a few peaceful moments, listening to the sound of the forest, the wind whispering through the trees and the light braying of the goats. I resisted the urge to close my eyes, inhale, and try to steal some of the magic for myself.
“Tell me about your work. You obviously make a decent living with how much you order from the diner.”
His eyes lit up, making my stomach pull tight, then he stood, pushing away from the table and tossing the remnants of his sandwich toward the goat pen.
“What are you doing?”
He gave me that sexy smirk. “Showing you what I do for work. Come on.”
I grinned and did the same with my sandwich, following him around the house to the large workshop.
The ground along the side of the house was all jagged rocks and tall grass.
With my flip-flops, I was hesitant to walk through the weeds, so I carefully picked out my steps, while still trying to follow him.
But I wasn’t successful in the least.
“Ouch!” I bit my lip and lifted my foot away from the rock sticking out.
Davis turned, his eyes narrowing on my feet.
Before I could explain that it would just take me a second to work through the landscape, he was scooping me off my feet, bridal style, walking us the rest of the way.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” I said in a small voice, although I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince him or me.
The feeling of his smooth, warm skin against mine was too much. His pecs were pushing into my arms, and I was two seconds away from making an undignified sound.
His eyes fluttered, lowering. “You like the feel of me, Rae?”
Fuck, had I been touching him? My face caught fire as I snatched my hands back.
“That’s okay…I like the feel of you, too.” He squeezed me against him, and that flame licked at my core.
Dammit. The purge week apparently wasn’t enough to eradicate Davis from my system.
Gravel crunched under his feet as we cleared the side of the house and ventured to the large bay doors. A regular white entry door was positioned to the side, and Davis led us through it.
The sun shone down from the upper windows, casting a warm glow along the floor as we walked inside.
Davis gently set me back on my feet. Flipping a few lights, the space illuminated, revealing an expanse of sealed floors, pallets, worktables, and wall to wall tools.
Rolling toolboxes nearly as tall as Davis lined a few of the dividers, but the thing that caught my attention more than anything else were the light fixtures arranged along a few of the tables.
“Oh my gosh!” I darted toward the desk and ran a gentle finger along the designs etched into each piece of iron. “These are amazing.”
Davis stood silent next to me, picking up a few of the fixtures. “Yeah, the resorts around here, and a few hotels, have contracts to replace all their current accent fittings with a few of mine.”
I lifted my head. “You make them here, like out of nothing, and design them into these?”
I sounded ridiculous, but my brain couldn’t quite connect how talented he was. My dumb heart was falling back into obsession territory.
He chuckled, moving around the table. He looked so out of place with his bare skin and those running shorts loose on his hips.
“Yeah, I start with a solid piece of iron or metal, and I weld them into what you see around here. Each different hotel or resort usually has a few variations in their requests, depending on the theme of the room, but here in Oregon and Montana, most go for rustic.” He picked up a light fixture that looked like a pair of deer antlers.
My eyes rounded. “You deliver to Montana?”
His soft laugh went straight to my core and warmed it like a hot coal.
“Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and even Colorado.”
Pride swelled inside me so large that I worried it would suffocate me. Tears burned my eyes as I recalled how badly I wanted him to find who he was back when I was an obsessed teenager, planning my future with Davis. I used to hope that he’d find something that would make him feel complete.
Swallowing around all the words that flitted around my head, I blurted, “I want them all”—I stretched my hands over the creations—“in my imaginary home that I will one day have.”
I laughed, smiling up at him, but the way his eyes settled on me made me feel like he was seeing something else.
He seemed to shake out of it a moment later. “You think you could afford me?”
I perked up at that, liking this playful side of him.
“How much do you charge?”
He grinned, blushing a little. “Enough, but I’m commission based only. I don’t sell to any store fronts or anything yet. Well, except for one.”
“That’s a good problem to have, if you’re making it fine without having to expand.”
I walked around a few more tables, loving how organized everything was. There was a clear process of parts and assembly that he had set up along one wall, and then packing and distributing along the other.
“Yeah, it keeps me busy enough, and I have more money than I know what to do with from the commissions.” He shrugged, like it was no big deal.
His words reminded me that my parents were struggling financially, and I needed to get back and help them.
“Well, speaking of money…” I folded my arms, as though they could create a barrier between us.
“I should probably get back and help my parents out. They mentioned that your orders have really been helping them, so uh…” I hesitated, nearly choking on the words.
“Thank you. And I’m sorry I was so hard on you about everything. ”
Davis gave me a slow and genuine smile. “They mean a lot to me. I wish they’d let me buy the building their diner is in; I know that would help them tremendously, because the owner keeps threatening to lease it to someone else.”
He moved past me, walking to the door, but this time, as I watched his back, I felt a tug behind my belly button, like he was the only connection I had to my parents.
I followed after him, a little sad to be leaving his space so soon.
I had a strange urge to dig through his work tools, organize them for him, and see what he needed help with.
He was doing everything all alone. Surely there were things he could use an assistant for.
Heading back into the house, I hesitated and hung back on the porch, needing as much space from him as possible.
He noticed, then stuck his head out of the screen door, giving me a confused expression. “I have to find my checkbook. Might take a second, come inside.”
Confused, I called after him, “I didn’t deliver an actual order today…”
The screen snapped shut once more, but I didn’t want to go inside. I didn’t, but then again, maybe I could stare at a few of his pictures while he was off looking for his checkbook.
Carefully entering his home, I toed off my flip-flops and pressed my toes into the warmed hardwood.
I took in his light walls, and the well-made couch and matching armchairs that faced a large flat-screen TV.
His house was charming, warm, and inviting.
It felt as if I were seeing it for the first time, which made sense because the first time, I’d practically been concussed.
His steps echoed down the stairs.
“Here, found it.”