Chapter Six
S unday lunch with Annie and her extended family was fun and relaxing.
By the time they’d finished eating, Ellie had become firm friends with the two children.
Dylan—the five-year-old son of Annie’s sister-in-law, Riley—and Jane—Aiden and Vivian’s nearly two-year-old—were delightful.
Jane had found a pillow and had fallen asleep in spite of the talking and laughter around the table.
It was also heartwarming to see three couples who were so much in love they couldn’t seem to keep their hands to themselves.
This kind of love between two people had not been something she’d experienced as a small girl.
The little she remembered from the first five years of her life, when she’d lived with her parents, was vague but the sense of foreboding, of dread, the fear in the pit of her stomach, wasn’t something she’d ever forget.
To her surprise, all three men got up after lunch and started clearing the table.
Janice winked when she saw her expression. “They’ve been trained well.”
Aiden bent down and kissed Vivian’s temple. “For this woman I’ve crossed state lines. A few dishes I do with love.”
Vivian touched his face and for a moment they were lost in each other.
Ellie swallowed against the lump in her throat. If she could be certain she’d have this kind of love with someone, she’d marry the guy immediately. But how did you know?
Vivian got up. “Ellie, while the boys are busy and Jane is sleeping, shall we go and look at Gloria’s house?”
“Oh, yes,” Annie said. “I love looking at houses.” Everyone got up.
“It would be interesting to see what they’ve done with the place,” Riley said. “I know they renovated the house, but I’ve never seen the end result.”
“It’s really beautiful,” Vivian said as they left the house.
It was a glorious summer’s day. As they turned on to the road, someone called out from behind them. They all stopped and looked around.
“Hi!” Janice waved. “It’s Arlene and her children.”
Ellie’s heart dropped straight to the ground the moment she noticed Becket. Oh, my goodness. She hadn’t thought she’d see him again so soon; she wasn’t ready to face him.
Fortunately, Laura rushed closer and enveloped her in a hug, giving her time to regain her composure. “I’m so happy to see you,” Laura said. “I was hoping to stop by your shop one morning after Tuesday night’s book club, but now that it’s Summer Break, I love sleeping a little bit later.”
“Ah,” Willow grinned. “So that’s why Hayden seems to be late for everything lately.”
“We’re on our way to Gloria’s house,” Vivian said. “Ellie is looking for a place to rent. Would you like to join us? You’re all invited for coffee at our place afterward.”
“Ooh, that’s sounds lovely,” Arlene said.
“The men are doing dishes,” Riley said. “If you boys would rather join them?”
“Oh, no, thanks,” Hayden chuckled. “We’ve just had our turn doing dirty dishes. Laura and I have been talking about renovating the kitchen and bathrooms in our house. Maybe we can get some ideas.”
“And my mom is going to change my room as well. I’m a big boy now,” Luke said as he took Laura’s hand.
Ellie smiled. Laura had been Luke’s teacher when she’d met Hayden. She loved reminding everyone she’d fallen in love with the little boy long before she fell for his dad.
Still talking, they moved slowly in the direction of Gloria’s house. Ellie could feel Becket right behind her. She didn’t have to turn around to know that. Her whole being was aware of his presence, his footfall, she could swore she even heard every breath he took.
“It’s a beautiful old place,” Arlene was saying. “And Gloria and her husband looked after it so well. Since her husband’s death, the garden has become too much for Gloria to handle, though. I think that’s one of the reasons she’s selling.”
As they walked down the footpath toward the house, Ellie lost her breath. Her steps faltered. The strangest sensation of déjà vu washed over her. Behind her Becket cussed softly.
The trees hid most of the house from the street, but up closer you got a clear picture of the whole place. It was her house. Painted in white, with a big porch and bright blue shutters, it was exactly the house she’d always pictured in her mind’s eye.
Over the past few months, she’d driven down this road many times on her way to first visit Laura and, lately, Rose. She’d never really looked at this place, noticed the porch, noticed that it was identical to the house she’d conjured up in her mind. Wow.
“Well,” Willow called out. “If I’m not mistaken, this is your house, Ellie. White, bright blue shutters, big porch—am I right?”
For a few moments, Ellie was unable to talk. “I can’t believe it. It’s straight out of my dreams.”
“So, let’s see inside!” Laura grabbed her hand.
*
Becket slowly followed the others into the house.
Since his mother had moved into the house a few doors down, he’d been up and down this street many times.
The garden hid parts of the house from the street, but he’d obviously seen this house, maybe in winter when the leaves had fallen, even if only subconsciously.
That was probably why he’d drawn this exact house with the porch and the blue shutters, with Ellie in the front.
While sketching last night, he hadn’t even thought of a specific house when he’d had his pencil in his hand, he couldn’t even say he was thinking of Ellie at that moment, nor the description of the house she wanted to have one day.
His subconscious had taken over and his hand had simply drawn the lines.
The end result was this very house, plus an orange cat, his dogs, a border collie and Ellie.
He had no idea how to explain what happened. Okay, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Ellie since Wednesday. He usually drew what was on his mind, in his heart and, well, obviously Ellie Campbell was front and center in his thoughts at the moment.
“You okay?” Willow asked, walking up to him. “You looked kinda spooked. What’s wrong?”
He shook his head, making sure not to look her in the eye.
“Willow!” Fortunately their mother called from somewhere. “Come and look at this. You should really think about doing something about your kitchen, too.”
With a touch on his arm, Willow walked toward their mother. “I don’t cook, Mom. I paint. I’d much rather have a bigger studio than a fancy kitchen.”
“Well, you just haven’t found the right person to cook for,” his mom said.
A strange restlessness had him looking around, trying to find an escape.
He should leave. Why had he followed everyone here, anyway?
He should’ve gone back home straight after lunch; he’d received many more orders that needed to be processed.
But then his mother had mentioned she’d spoken to Vivian and they were all going to show Ellie a house after lunch.
And here he was. Because Ellie was here. Damn it, this was ridiculous. He didn’t want to feel like this. So out of control. The constant need to be near her was driving him nuts. It had never happened before. Inhaling deeply, he tried to calm his racing heart.
But, okay, it probably wasn’t that strange. They were both single, she was gorgeous; of course he’d be interested. Apart from Roxy, he hadn’t been near a woman for months. This whole craziness was probably only a passing insanity.
Surely they should be able to date without letting things get complicated?
She could laugh all she wanted, say no a hundred times, but he’d seen how she’d reacted to him.
Spending time together was the obvious solution.
It was probably the only way to get this—whatever was going on between them—out of their systems. Surely, she would agree with him?
Besides, her stay in Marietta was only temporary, which meant he didn’t have to worry she’d ever reach a point where she wanted to take things to the dreaded ‘next level’.
There was no need to even warn her he wasn’t interested in anything long term; she’d already mentioned she wasn’t interested in marriage.
He turned around and his eyes immediately found Ellie.
She was in front of a big bay window, looking outside.
The top she was wearing had been driving him crazy ever since he’d seen her in the street.
The bottom part covered the top of the pants she was wearing, but every time she moved, he caught a glimpse of skin.
By this time his fingers were itching to slip underneath the material to find out whether her skin was as soft as it looked.
As he neared her, she pointed toward something outside.
“Do you know if that is a kind of sparrow?” she asked.
He immediately noticed the tan-colored bird with thinnish streaking on its head and chest taking a bath in a birdbath under a big oak tree. “I’d say it’s a Lincoln’s sparrow. It differs slightly from a song sparrow. They have thicker lines.”
Her eyes widened before she returned her gaze to the garden. “Wow, so you do know more than just how to seduce a woman.”
He didn’t answer but stood next to her, watching the bird.
The voices of the others in various places around the house faded away and for a few moments they were in a private, quiet bubble.
Without looking at her, he was aware of her every move, aware of the rhythm of her breathing, which had changed like his own, aware of the strange vibrations swirling around them.
The backs of their hands touched, moved away, touched again.
“May I take you to dinner tomorrow night?” he asked.
“Becket, I’ve told you…”
“It’s a yes or no question, Ellie. If you’re really unaware of this connection between us, I won’t bother you again.”
“Connection?”
He turned to face her. Reluctantly, she turned to look at him. She was wary. For the first time Cooper’s words of last night really registered—she’d been hurt.
“Dinner. Nothing else.” He smiled. “Except if the lady asks, of course. Then we can renegotiate the terms.”
Lifting an eyebrow, she gave him a cool look. “The lady won’t ask; don’t hold your breath.”
Something warm opened up inside of him. “Is that a yes?” he asked hesitantly.
Rolling her eyes, she groaned out loud. “Okay, yes. But just this once and just because everyone is going on about the fact that I never go out. But I know all about you, Becket Weston, I’m not falling for your charms.”
He had a hard time not smiling. She was agreeing to go out with him. “Pick you up at seven?”
“Thanks, but I can meet you there…”
He briefly touched her arm. “My mama would skin my alive, if I don’t pick you up. Please let me? So, what do you think about the house?”
“That’s what I also want to know!” Willow was walking toward them, Vivian on her heels. “Have you seen the kitchen? Look, I don’t even cook, but I may just be tempted to try my hand at something in that one.” She motioned toward the kitchen.
Ellie laughed. “It’s a lovely house and, yes, I’d love to be able to rent it. I just don’t know whether Gloria would be interested in letting it? It’s such a beautiful place, it would probably sell very quickly.”
Vivian nodded. “Gloria is supposed to be back tomorrow. I’ll find out how she feels about it and let you know.”
Chewing her lip, Ellie turned around slowly. “You know, I haven’t really thought about it, but I could of course buy the place and just sell it when I want to move on,” she murmured as if talking to herself.
“Are you serious?” his mother asked.
Frowning slightly, Ellie nodded. “It doesn’t mean I’m settling here forever, but it would be nice to have a house to call my own.
And maybe when I feel like packing up and leaving, I could let it.
That way I’ll always have a place to come back to.
” She clasped her hands together. “This house is so exactly what I’ve always dreamed about.
Do you think Gloria will talk to me tonight? I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
Vivian hugged her. “I’m sure she’d be more than happy to know she doesn’t have to worry about finding a buyer.”
Becket was feeling slightly lightheaded. He’d just convinced himself it was safe to ask Ellie on a date, because she wasn’t staying in Marietta permanently. Now she was buying a house? The one he’d sketched. The one she’d talked about. Which meant she wasn’t leaving soon. Problem?
Her soft laughter reached his ears. His body tightened. She was still insisting she wasn’t staying, though, even if she were to come back at times.
Frowning, he stared at her. But surely by then this whole crazy need for her would be gone, wouldn’t it?