Chapter 17
Penny slipped inside the house and draped her coat on the kitchen chair. Bash moved toward her, tight and stiff. The endless sacks had taken their toll and he no longer walked with the confident, loose gait he’d strolled into town with.
“How bad is it?” she asked as he neared.
“I’ll manage.” He shrugged.
“You know, Maggie is pretty good at this stuff. She might be able to help.” The only magical area where Mediocre Maggie excelled at was in healing. With a concentrated touch of her hand, she could ease bruises and heal cuts and burns. Applying Thistlestone honey made any deep cut disappear within a day, leaving no visible marks behind.
He lifted her chin to meet his eyes. He’d changed into his glasses. Penny preferred his Clark Kent look with his joggers and glasses over his Superman look in his body hugging uniform with all its padding and protective gear. “You’re really okay with your sister having her hands on me?” His bright eyes pierced her.
No!Her visceral response shocked her, but she could be an adult about this. “If it helped, I could be,” she said, shrugging nonchalantly.
The corner of his mouth ticked up at the movement. “You, Penny Buchanan, are a terrible actor, but luckily an excellent kisser. Stick with your strengths,” he said as his lips brushed hers.
I can do that, she thought as her hands roamed his solid chest and back. There wasn’t a soft spot on him, and Penny appreciated every glorious inch and the hard work he’d endured to achieve such perfection.
He eased back as his hand slipped into his pocket, before turning his head and breaking their kiss. “You’re looking at your phone?”
“Lucas texted to say Cal just left, and I set an alarm for ten minutes. That should get you safely out of here before he gets back.”
“You don’t want him to know about us?”
“I’d prefer to keep the peace. He’s barely able to handle the idea of Lucas and Maggie. If he knows about this,”—his hand wagged between the two of them—“his head would explode.”
“And what is this?” She wanted to know how he labeled them.
“Good. This is very, very good.” His lips brushed the corners of hers, intent on picking up where they’d let off, but Penny leaned away. Her heart wanted an answer. He sighed heavily and leaned his forehead against hers. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? You know obscure odd facts and can fix a car. You know the percentage of people hurt in ladder accidents, but you don’t know how you feel about me?”
He raked his hand through his hair. “I know you’re special. I know I like the way I feel when I’m around you, even when you’re irritating the shit out of me, like you are now. Does that help?”
“Such sweet words.” Penny slipped her arms into her coat.
He reached for her, and his fingers wrapped around hers. “Don’t leave mad. This is unfamiliar territory for me.”
“You’re thirty years old. How can this be new?” She wasn’t giving him a free pass on this one. No matter how awkward he felt with other people, he needed to be open with her.
“I went to an all-boys private elementary and middle school. When I started high school, football was my focus. Same thing in college. I didn’t date. I’ve taken women out, sure, but nothing’s ever developed from it. My life has been football interspersed with the family business. Dating and women haven’t been high on the list. Until you.” Penny felt a rush of excitement as her breath caught and her fingers tingled. She felt a glimmer of his emotions, but they weren’t positive.
“Tell me about the family business.”
“I’d rather not. I can think of better things to do with,”—he looked at his phone on the counter—“six minutes left.” She sensed dark colors and dissonance between what he wanted and what his future held. He’s obviously not running a candy business in the future. Maybe an auto dealership, or five? Bash came from wealth, and he wore it easily.
“I can, too.” Her palm flattened on his chest, eager to sense more, but she lost it. Blank. The negative energy around him dissipated, leaving her with nothing. She sighed. “What do you like about the family business?” she asked, needing to sense more.
“Not much other than it’s in New York.”
“You love it there, don’t you?”
“Best city on the planet.”
“I can’t imagine ever leaving Cascade City. Everyone I love is here.” And my power comes from here. “And I love working with Elspeth and books. What does your family make?” she asked, hoping to trick him into giving her an answer.
“Headaches, which you’re also giving me. We’ve got four minutes left, and I’d like to spend them kissing you.”
“What happened to the man who needed conversation?” she teased, as her fingers rubbed the short hairs at his nape.
“That man is leaving for a few days. He can call and text you, but he can’t touch you like he can now.” His hand wrapped around her waist and his fingers were warm as they brushed under her sweater. Penny couldn’t resist. She craved him as much as he craved her. Their lips teased and tasted, and Penny regretted wasting their time talking. The phone’s alarm rang, and Bash fumbled for it, not breaking their kiss.
Penny stepped back. “I should go.” She reached for her jacket and this time he didn’t stop her.
“I should tell Cal about us.” Her hand froze, and she looked at him. Bash looked adorably nervous. “I’m not sure what us is, and we don’t need to label it, but we shouldn’t need to sneak around. We like each other—”
“We do?” she teased.
“Yes, we do. And I like you a lot,” he blurted, as if the confession embarrassed him. Bash dropped a kiss on her forehead, and his hand lingered on her backside as he guided her out the door.
“’Sup,” Cal said, answering the phone. The three of them were still riding a high from Sunday’s unexpected win. “I know, right? They even let me keep the ball.” Cal’s first touchdown catch of his professional career came early in the second half, and it had turned the tide in their favor. It helped that the offense held the line and Bash could complete more unhurried passes. “Is she okay?” Cal walked away from his dinner, a telling sign that something was very wrong. Bash and Lucas followed. “They discharged her?”
“Put it on speaker,” Lucas hissed.
Cal nodded and set the phone down before saying, “Mags, I’ve got you on speaker with Cal and Bash.”
“Hey, great game, guys. How’s your hand, Lucas?”
“It held. Who’s hurt? Barbara?” Lucas was in the habit of joining Cal at Thistlestone on their off days, helping Barbara with the animals and repairing the bee hives and equipment, leaving Bash free to review manuscripts in peace and quiet.
“No. Penny, and she’s fine, but she needs to stay off her feet for a few days.”
“What happened?” Bash asked, moving closer to the phone, and missing his roommate’s surprised expressions.
“Decorating accident.”
“People decorate using their hands, not their feet. What happened, Maggie?” Bash barked, and Lucas smacked his arm.
“She, um, picked up a cold and was on heavy cold medicine, and she lost her balance and fell.” Maggie rushed through the last part and Bash’s fists clenched.
“Did she fall off a ladder?” he asked. His hands gripped the counter as he tried to control his temper. This wasn’t Maggie’s fault.
Maggie’s heavy sigh filled the room. “I promised her I wouldn’t tell.”
“Your non-answer is all the answer I need. What happened when she fell?” Stubborn, stupid, woman.
“It all happened really fast, and I didn’t see—”
“You were there?” Lucas asked.
“It goes quicker with two.” She sounded defensive.
“Were you on a ladder, too?” Lucas asked, looking worried. Bash wasn’t the only ladder non-fan.
“The short one. Anyway, Penny was reaching off to the right and stretched too far. She fell and landed weird on her ankle, then knocked her head on a table before the ladder fell on her.”
“So, she sprained her ankle?” Cal asked, sounding unconcerned. Bash was furious. He’d told her to wait, and he’d help her. If she’d listened to him, she wouldn’t have hurt herself.
“Yes, and she’s got a goose egg on the back of her head and stitches near her hairline where the ladder cut her when it fell. Grandad took the ladder back to the ranch to smooth out the sharp edge.”
“When did this happen?” Bash asked.
“Sunday night.”
“And you didn’t tell us until now?”
“You guys had to work, and we got everything cleaned up and helped Elspeth today, but Cal, can you help at the store tomorrow? I know it’s your day off.”
“If this happened Sunday, she should be okay to work tomorrow,” Cal said, and Bash wanted to strangle him. His sister was hurting, and they needed his help.
“She has a cold and is on pain medication, and you know what that does to her.” Maggie spoke slowly, stressing each word as if giving him a clue. Buchanan code? But for what?
“Yeah, sorry. Forgot.” Cal said, understanding what Maggie hadn’t said. His shoulders slumped, and he sighed. “Can’t Nanna or mom?”
“Between cleaning up the blood and helping Elspeth, Nanna was here all day. Mom rescheduled appointments to help, but she’s booked tomorrow.”
“If Nanna was there all day today, she’ll need us at the ranch to play catch-up,” he argued.
“Come on, Cal. Elspeth needs your help.”
“I’ll do it,” Bash said. Cal looked at him like he’d caught another touchdown.
“Have you ever used a cash register?” Maggie asked.
“I’m a fast learner.”
“He is. Smartest guy I know,” Cal said.
“It’s not as easy as it looks. You need to be pleasant and helpful, and you’ll be on your feet all day.” It sounded like Maggie was trying to talk him out of it.
“As long as no one rushes me, I’ll be okay. I’ll get Elspeth’s number from Cal and coordinate with her.”
“If you’re sure.” Maggie didn’t sound convinced.
“He’s sure.” Cal answered. Bash knew he could do it. How hard could it be?
“I know you said it held up, but really, how is your hand, Lucas?” Maggie’s voice was softer than it had been when she’d spoken to him and Cal. Lucas crossed his arms and leaned on the island’s counter as if he planned to settle in for a long chat.
“It could be better. Maybe I should come over and you could put some of that stuff on it?”
“I’m working.”
“Then maybe I’ll stop in at Brewster’s and you can just hold it for a while.”
“And maybe I’ll hang up, so I don’t lose my dinner,” Cal said, snatching the phone away, but Bash heard Maggie’s laughter before Cal disconnected the call. “Dude, use your own phone when you’re making googly eyes at my sister.” Cal shoved the phone in his back pocket and scowled at Lucas as he went back to their now cold dinner.
“You’ve never worked retail?” Cal asked Bash.
“Never. I’ll just channel my inner Penny shopgirl and I’ll be fine.”
Cal snorted. “You mean your inner Penny-owner. Or part-owner, technically.”
“Really?” Bash tried not to let his interest show. He’d already tipped his hand when he’d interrogated Maggie, but luckily, Cal had been too concerned to notice his interest. If Cal knew his other roommate was interested in his other sister, he’d clam up. Maggie and Penny were older than him, but Cal didn’t seem to care, and he was intent on protecting them. If anything, Bash and Lucas were the ones who needed protection. But he would tell Cal about him and Penny. Soon-ish.
“Yeah, she was all set to move to New York City. She even had a job lined up at the publishing firm she’d interned for the previous summer.”
“What happened?” Lucas asked, getting sucked into the saga.
Cal scratched his head. “I’m not really sure. I remember Elspeth needed help at the store. It was supposed to be temporary, but she kept finding reasons for Penny to stay. And then she dangled partnership in front of her, and I think Penny’s roommate found someone to take her share of the rent, so Penny stayed.” Cal stared out the window. “She was miserable. I remember her coming home each day. She was living with us, waiting for the apartments above Marketplace Main to be finished, and she’d slump next to me on the couch. We’d both complain to each other. She’d rather be in New York with the editing job she’d abandoned, and I wanted to be on the ranch and not stuck in school.” He fiddled with the football-themed salt and pepper shakers.
“Seems to have worked out for both of you,” Lucas said, and Cal brightened.
“If they’d homeschooled me like I’d asked, I wouldn’t be here. And I think Penny’s found her groove. Elspeth pretty much lets her run the show, and she gets to escape in the winter.”
“Yeah?” Bash asked, needing to squeeze information out of Cal.
“Yep. Elspeth goes to the condo in Arizona for a month and then Penny takes off.”
“Arizona?” It didn’t make sense with her creamy complexion, but in the last two minutes Bash had learned everything he thought he’d known about Penny was wrong. She wasn’t a cloistered shopgirl. But why didn’t she correct me?
“No, she likes to travel. She’s been to Morocco and Thailand. The Galapagos Islands. Several European countries. She’s visiting our Scottish family and then going to the south of France this spring. Why the sudden interest in Penny?”
“Just curious. We’ve been working on my small-talk skills.” And kissing. And touching.
Lucas slapped him on the shoulder. “Good work. Keep it up.” Keeping it up was easy. Bash’s challenge was keeping it down. Celibacy had never been so hard.
“If that’s what you’re calling it. Good luck.” Cal said with a snort.
“Wait a sec,” Lucas said, looking between the two men before tossing his napkin at Cal. “You read me the riot act when you found out I was interested in Maggie, but you give him the green light with Penny?”
“Penny’s different. She’s tougher. And she has this whole no man is more interesting than a book philosophy, so she’s never invested in the relationship.”
Lucas cringed. “Sounds cold. And lonely.”
“It works for her,” Cal said.
But not for me, Bash admitted to himself. Penny was more than he’d thought she was. She could be the woman at his side to help smooth things over, so he didn’t break the company. She’d be like bubble-wrap, protecting everyone when he was short or rude or impatient. She could make small talk and put people at ease. Penny knew books and publishing. She knew the book business from rough draft to selling it to a customer. Penny was the solution to his problem. All his problems.