Chapter Four #2
He looked so incredibly earnest she wanted to believe him. Did he really admire her? She didn’t think she’d ever done anything especially admirable in her life. In fact, she’d made a lot of silly choices. But she did try to do the right thing, especially now, with Diane depending on her.
“Why do you want us to be friends?” she asked.
He laughed. “What a question. I can’t decide if you doubt yourself or me.”
This time, he did lean forward and touch the back of her hand with his fingers. A startling heat flowed through her skin and up her arm. She did her best to ignore it.
“I like you,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re bright and funny, and we’ve shared the most amazing and embarrassing moment it’s possible for two people to share, and we came out okay.
I respect you. I think you like me. You know I can be counted on in a crunch.
Many relationships have started with less and survived.
But if this makes you too uncomfortable, I’ll leave right now and you’ll never hear from me again. ”
His last statement made her stiffen. “No, I don’t want you to go,” she told him, then wondered if she sounded too desperate or eager.
Why did relationships always get so complicated? Truth was, she liked having Jim around, but she didn’t want anything more complicated than what they had.
“I can handle friendship,” she said, allowing herself to briefly get lost in his gaze. “But nothing more.” Heat flared on her cheeks, and she forced herself to continue. “Ever since things fell apart with Diane’s father, I’ve sworn off men. I’m not looking for a relationship.”
Jim gave her fingers a quick squeeze, then released her with a dismissive gesture.
“You’ll stay single for a while, but don’t expect it to last. You’re young and beautiful, and some guy is certain to come along and sweep you off your feet before you know what hit you.
But if what you’re trying to say is you wouldn’t be comfortable taking our relationship to something more than friendship, that’s fine with me. ”
She couldn’t get past the “beautiful” part to deal with the rest of his statement.
Did he really think she was beautiful? She still had a puffy stomach and was too pale and too skinny everywhere else.
Her hair needed cutting and she wasn’t getting enough sleep or wearing enough makeup.
Even so, his words sent a thrill of pleasure through her.
“I’m serious,” she said, trying to keep her tone stern. “I’m not looking for love.”
“Me neither. But I would like to be friends with both you and your daughter. She’s stolen my heart.”
“Mine, too,” Heather admitted.
“Any other questions?” Jim asked.
She had dozens. Like why wasn’t he off dating the supermodel of his choice? She sighed. Maybe her mother had been right. Maybe she should just accept this gift horse and be grateful he’d shown up in her life.
“No questions,” she said. “I, too, would very much like us to be friends.”
He picked up his fork and stabbed a big bite of cake and ice cream. “We already are.”
* * *
Three weeks later, Heather dumped the basket of dry, clean laundry onto the sofa. Jim reached for the top item—a tiny undershirt. He smoothed it out and set it on the coffee table before grabbing another miniature garment.
Heather tried not to notice how careful he was with the scraps of clothing that weren’t much bigger than his hand. She tried not to notice the lean lines of his body or the way he sprawled so comfortably on her sofa, as if he’d always belonged there.
“I’ve had two more phone calls from businesses wanting me to give bids on their bookkeeping services,” she said as she folded a T-shirt of her own.
“That’s nice.” Jim didn’t even look at her.
“I know what you’re doing,” she told him. “I’ve only known you for a month, but I’m completely on to you.”
His expression was innocence itself. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do, and I want you to stop it.”
“Why? I know business owners who are interested in someone to take over their books. I also happen to know a bookkeeper who does great work. I’ll admit I’ve made a couple of calls and given them your name, but what happens after that is up to them and you.”
He made it sound so darn logical that she didn’t know whether or not to smack him or thank him. “How do you know I’m good at what I do? Maybe I’m a lousy bookkeeper.”
“Are you?”
“No, but you don’t know that.”
“Yeah, actually I do, Heather. You’re just that kind of person. You’re thorough and loyal. Did I mention dedicated? You’re going to do a great job for them and probably for less than they’re paying now. I haven’t imposed on them or their relationship with me. If anything, I’ve done them a favor.”
He was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved chambray shirt, rolled up to the elbows.
His boots were scuffed but had obviously been expensive.
She suspected the complicated-looking watch on his wrist had cost more than she’d made in the past quarter.
He had a thriving business and who knows what kind of life, but he showed up nearly every day, called to check on her twice a day and couldn’t seem to do enough for her.
“Why do you have to be so damned perfect?” she muttered.
Jim stared at her. “Heather Fitzpatrick, are you swearing? I’m shocked. And in front of your child, too.”
“If you’re shocked, then I’m secretly a mountain goat and I’m not swearing in front of my child. Diane is asleep in the other room, thank you very much.”
He grinned, then picked up another tiny shirt. “Is she sleeping better?”
“Much. Several hours at a time. I’m longing for the first time she sleeps through the night.”
“Still tired?”
“I think I’ll be tired for about a year, but it’s getting easier. I’m resting better and probably getting used to this constant state of exhaustion.”
He asked about a new client, one he’d recommended. She began by explaining the mess the books were in, and before she realized what had happened, the laundry was folded and they were talking about dinner.
“How do you do that?” she asked as she leaned her head against the sofa back.
“Do what?”
“One minute we were talking about why you shouldn’t be giving me clients and the next you’ve got me going on about my life. You always do that. When I try to talk about you, you change the subject by asking about me or the baby. Why don’t you like to talk about yourself?”
He didn’t even have the good grace to look annoyed that she’d caught him.
Instead, he grinned. “I don’t like to talk about myself because I already know everything that’s happening in my life.
It’s more interesting to talk about you.
” He angled toward her on the sofa. “What do you want to know, Heather?”
What she wanted was for her stomach to stop tingling every time he said her name. But instead of mentioning that, she asked, “How did you come to own a helicopter charter company? Was it in the family?”
He shook his head. “My dad was in construction. At least that’s what he did when he walked out on me and my mom.
I went to college and got my degree in engineering, then I went into the navy.
I thought I wanted to fly jets until I went up in a helicopter with a buddy of mine.
I knew then that I wasn’t a flyboy at heart.
I wanted more than flashy aircraft carrier takeoffs and landings in my career. ”
“I’m sure fighter pilots really appreciate your assessment of their careers,” she teased.
“They do.” His smile faded. “Actually, they work damn hard to get to fly those multimillion-dollar planes, and I respect that. But it wasn’t for me. I learned to fly helicopters, and when my tour was up, I looked for a job that would let me fly them for a living.”
“You found one where you are now?” she asked.
“Yeah. At first I was a charter pilot, then I started learning more about the business end of things. Mac—Philip J. Mackenzie—was the owner at the time. He’d grown the business up from nothing until he had a pretty steady clientele.
I had some ideas about expanding and we agreed to go ahead with them.
I put in my savings, he took me on as a partner, then when he retired, I bought him out.
“I still owe him three years of payments, then I’ll own the company free and clear, though the way business is growing, I could cash him out tomorrow.
I mentioned that to him recently and he told me to invest my money in new equipment.
That he was happy to get his amount monthly.
He said it kept him from playing the horses too much. ”
Heather shifted on the sofa. Her breasts were getting heavy. She glanced at the clock and figured Diane would be waking up hungry in the next half hour or so. “He sounds like a great guy.”
“Mac’s the best. I learned a lot from him. I wanted to move into renting and leasing helicopters as well as the charter service. Mac made me go slow and that paid off in the end. We never got too buried in debt.”
There was a reverent and loving tone to his voice.
Heather recognized it easily. Mac was more than a business partner to Jim—he’d been like a second father.
She thought about Jim’s brief comment that his father had walked out on him and his mother.
He’d brushed over that fact as if it had no value or was of no interest.
But his father leaving had to have been hard on him. A boy needed his father. Was that the reason Jim was in her life? To give Diane what he had missed?