Authors: Karen Rose Smith
Nathan's Vow (23 page)
Once they were standing on the
deck, she made a decision. The ocean wasn't as loud up here but it still
carried a resonant voice, a pounding that was a backdrop.
When she turned to face Linc, for a
few moments the sound of the ocean faded away. The brush of the breeze on her
face hardly registered because she got lost in his green eyes. But then she
remembered why she was here, at his house on the beach.
Her voice was loud and clear above
the sound of the surf. "I'd like to meet Gillian."
Excerpt
from
TOYS AND BABY WISHES
Finding
Mr. Right,
Book 5
Chapter
One
"What in blazes is going on
here?"
Lexa Kittredge almost dropped the
porcelain figurine she'd lifted from Clare Flannigan's bookshelf. Before she
could answer, Clare slipped from behind the desk she'd been dusting.
"Josh! You're back!"
She pushed her blue glasses farther up her nose. "Lexa, this is my
nephew, Josh Flannigan. Josh, meet Alexandra Kittredge."
Lexa only had time to nod before
Clare rushed on, "So how was Colorado, Josh? You deserved that long
vacation. Anything exciting happen? Meet any bears?"
Lexa suppressed a smile,
recognizing Clare's attempt to turn the focus of the conversation on her
nephew, rather than the disordered state of her apartment.
"Aunt Clare, what's going
on?"
His question was directed at Clare
but his gaze was on Lexa. Suddenly she wished they'd opened a window. She
hadn't noticed it before, but the heat in Clare's apartment was stifling. Her
sweatshirt was sticking uncomfortably to her shoulders. It wasn't supposed to
be this hot in Pennsylvania in October, Indian summer or not. Or did the
sudden rise in temperature have something to do with Josh Flannigan's piercing
blue eyes, the same startling blue as Clare's?
"I'm moving."
Josh's attention flew to his aunt.
"You're what?"
Clare climbed onto the step stool
to remove books from the top shelf of the bookcase. "I'm moving. Some
friends and I have invested in a lovely old house," she explained airily
as if she did something like this at least once a week.
Josh's fingers dashed through his
shaggy black hair. "Have you taken leave of your senses?"
Lexa set the figurine back on the
shelf and took a step forward, deciding it might be time to help Clare explain
the situation to her nephew. She offered her hand. "It's a pleasure to
meet you, Mr. Flannigan. Clare's told me so much about you."
Josh's gaze switched back to her.
"And just who are you?"
"Joshua, don't be rude!"
Clare scolded.
He took Lexa's hand but also took
the time to give her a more thorough looking-over. She didn't have to guess at
what he saw. Sweatshirt and jeans. Curly blonde hair that probably looked as
if she'd just escaped a stiff wind. Shiny face. "I'm a friend of
Clare's."
He dropped her hand. "Since
when?"
"Josh..."
"It's all right, Clare. About
two months ago Clare came to a workshop I was giving," Lexa explained.
"About?" Josh looked at
Clare as if she'd been bitten by some strange bug.
"Senior citizens developing
second careers."
"Oh, great. Just what Clare
needs when she's finally retired."
"You don't know what I
need." Clare's tone matched the fiery hue of her red hair.
"Mr. Flannigan, your aunt has
acted very responsibly."
"Where did you get the
money?" Josh asked his aunt.
"I had money saved."
Josh's hand slashed through the
air. "But that was your nest egg. I don't believe you've done something
so...
impulsive."
Clare exploded. "It's about
time I'm impulsive if I want to be impulsive."
Lexa took a deep breath. She had
to do something to prevent a full-blown fight. "I've directed Clare to an
experienced financial advisor."
Josh shook his head and rubbed the
back of his neck. "Clare, you can't be serious about moving. You've lived
in this apartment all your life. I've lived here much of mine. The rent's
always been reasonable, you don't have to worry about mowing grass or shoveling
snow." He looked around the room at the chaos. "My God! I go away
for six weeks and when I come back, you're packing boxes."
Clare shrugged and took Lexa's
place at the bookshelves. She reached to the top shelf for two volumes of
poetry. "I'm doing the right thing. Ask Lexa."
Acting as a buffer wasn't Lexa's
favorite position. She'd had to do it too many times between her younger
sister and their stepmother. But at least she'd had practice. "I think
you're doing what you want to do. That makes it right."
Striding toward Clare, Josh took
the books from her hand and dumped them into an open carton. His denim jacket
emphasized the width of his shoulders, and the snug fitting jeans encased long
legs and muscular thighs. He wasn't drop-dead handsome, but even with the
beard stubble, he'd certainly do. Do for what? Lexa asked herself, then pushed
every possible answer out of her head.
"I want to know where you got
this crazy idea," Josh was saying. "Do you know the work you're
letting yourself in for? The hassles?"
Clare's eyes threw rebellious
darts. "What about the joy? The challenge? The thrill of a new
adventure? Just because I'm over sixty, Joshua Flannigan, is no reason to put
me out to pasture. I'm still alive and kicking more than ever. Thirty-five
years of teaching English to teenagers is not enough to wear me out or put me in
a rocking chair."
She pointed her finger at him.
"You thought I'd be happy retired, you thought I'd be happy living a life
of leisure. Well, if it wasn't for the senior center this past year, I'd have
gone crazy! Lexa thinks this is a magnificent idea and I expected more support
from you."
Josh pushed his jacket flaps aside
and stuffed his hands in his back pockets as if he were considering the best
way to reason with his aunt. "Don't you thing you're acting
recklessly?"
Lexa squared her shoulders. This
was going to be more difficult than she'd expected. "Mr. Flannigan, your
aunt came to talk to me because she was bored, because she was feeling useless,
because sitting here by herself was making her feel ancient."
Josh's blue eyes were steady and
concerned as they swung back to Clare. "Aunt Clare, all you have to do is
call me. I can spend more time with you."
"What nonsense!" Clare
planted her hands on her hips. "You're thirty-four, You have your own
life to live and so do I."
Realizing her presence increased
the tension, Lexa stepped forward. "Clare, it might be better if I wait
in the other room."
"Don't let Josh chase you
out."
Lexa crossed the room. "He's
not. I think you two need to hash this out on your own. I'll take down the
wall decorations in the living room."
Josh moved aside to let Lexa pass,
wondering how to keep his aunt from making the biggest mistake of her life. He
cared about her too much to let her put herself in financial jeopardy, let
alone create more work for herself than she needed.
Lexa's delicate perfume lingered,
teasing him. After weeks of smelling only damp earth and woods, the scent
affected him. Or maybe it was her seeming fragility--the big brown eyes, that
fluffy blond hair. She certainly looked harmless. So what was she doing
meddling in Clare's life?
Josh turned toward his aunt, his
black brows pulling together in an effort to concentrate on her problem.
"Is a rambling old house going to give you a new life? I think it's going
to give you headaches. Think of the money you'll waste on repairs. Something
always needs to be fixed in old houses. Who's going to pay for that?"
Clare's tone was defensive.
"Lexa says it doesn't need many repairs. The door frames need a fresh
coat of paint. That's all."
The last thing he wanted to do was
dismiss or hurt Clare's feelings. She had given him a home since he was twelve
and he loved her dearly. But the idea of her giving up her nest egg worried
him. If Alexandra Kittredge had influenced Clare unduly, there'd be hell to
pay.
"How does Lexa know what
repairs this house needs?" Josh asked, amazed at the confidence Clare was
placing in a stranger who could be a con artist, even if she didn't look like
one.
"She knows the real estate
agent. She says he's honest and would tell us if anything else was wrong. My
partners and I looked at the whole place carefully."
Partners. His aunt was involved
over her head; he knew it. "You have no experience dealing with people
who might be less than honest. A real estate agent has one thing on his
mind--selling. As for your partners, who are they and what do they know?"
Clare's lips tightened. "I do
not have the time or inclination to keep arguing with you. I have to be packed
in five days."
"Five days? You mean the
deal's closed...finished? You did this without consulting me?"
His aunt's voice was even, but
silver sparks studded her blue eyes. "I'm an adult. I don't have to
consult you. And how could I anyway when you were off in no-man's land
back-packing?"
"You could have waited. You
knew my timetable."
She gently clasped his arm.
"I'm doing this whether you approve or not. We had to move fast on the
house. Someone else wanted it. We settle on Friday and I intend to move in
Saturday."
Whenever he argued with Clare, he
felt as if he was running against the wind. She could be so bullheaded. He
wanted what was best for her but he wasn't sure this was it. "You're
moving too fast; I don't like the whole thing."
His aunt gave him a pat, then
crossed to the desk and picked up a can of furniture polish. "I've made
my decision, Josh. You're not going to change my mind so you might as well
stop trying. I have a lot to do and not much time to do it. If you're going
to help, you're welcome to stay."
Josh closed his eyes for a moment.
He was tired. He had driven the last seven hours, anxious to get home, anxious
to see how the toy stores were faring without him, anxious to find out what his
aunt had been up to. No one had heard him knock, so he'd walked in. He'd
never expected this. The deal wouldn't be settled until Friday, so it could
still fall through or be cancelled.
"I'm going to talk to Ms.
Kittredge."
"You're not going to bully
her. This was totally my decision, no one else's."
"I want to know some
details."
"So ask me!"
"You're too busy
packing."
"Josh--"
"Aunt Clare," he parroted
with the same wary intonation.
Clare threw her hands up in
surrender. "Okay. But don't make her feel guilty or anything else.
She's been an extraordinary help. I wouldn't have been able to do this without
her."
Josh believed that. But why had
she torn his aunt's life apart? He was determined to find out exactly what
Lexa Kittredge had to do with this whole mess, and what kind of influence she
obviously held over his aunt.
His footsteps were muffled by the
carpet in the hallway. But when he entered the living room, Lexa turned toward
him, as if sensing he was there.
She propped the painting she was
holding against a sofa arm and sat down next to it. "Clare is sure about
the plans she's made."
Josh's expression was grim.
"Are they her plans or someone else's?"
Lexa stared up at him and didn't
seem to take offense at his protective concern. "They're her plans."
There were smudges of blue under
Lexa's eyes. Did she stay up late? Did she live with someone? He glanced at
her hand. No ring on her finger. He wondered how she spent her free time and
whom she spent it with, then immediately banished the thought.
He had to remind himself she could
be manipulating his aunt for some gain of her own. His words were brisk.
"Convince me. Convince me that you had nothing to do with her pouring her
life savings into an old house, nothing to do with her turning her life
topsy-turvy at her age. She said you've been advising her. What gives you
that right?"
"I have that right because I
have the qualifications and because I'm her friend. I have been since the
workshop."
He crossed his arms over his
chest. "I can't believe she was interested in a second career. She can't
possibly want to work again. She has a teacher's pension and social
security."
"Why wouldn't she want to work
again?" Lexa sat farther back on the sofa, clearly making herself at
home. "These days, it's almost a necessity."
"She doesn't need to work.
She's financially secure. If she needs anything, I'm here to help."
Lexa shook her head. "Maybe
she doesn't need to work right now, but she needs--"
"How do you know what she
needs? You can't just advise people without knowing their situation."
Her cheeks flushed. "Mr. Flannigan,
I majored in social work and I minored in psychology. I run a job counseling
and placement center. I didn't go looking for your aunt, she approached me.
She was sad and depressed."
Josh felt as if she'd kicked him in
the stomach. "Depressed? She's always smiling, whistling, doing
something. Clare's never depressed. She's the happiest person I know and you
can't seriously tell me--"
"I can seriously tell you she
was depressed. Just how much time have you spent with her the past six
months?"
During the past six months he had
been working more than usual, making sure his management and sales teams were
running without a hitch so he could squeeze in a much-earned, overdo vacation
before the Christmas rush. True, he hadn't seen his aunt much...