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Griffin nearly purred in her ear. “Let’s not get into your needs just now. I’ll see you in a minute.”
He hung up before Darcy could mount another argument. “He says he’s coming down here, but he’s just as likely to go flying right off the mountain on the first curve.”
Jeremy nodded toward the clock. “Let’s give him twenty minutes. If he isn’t here, we can call the police and ask them to check the road.”
Darcy could so easily imagine a black and white car with lights flashing also plunging off the road that she just shook her head. “I think I’m going to be sick.” She ran back toward the restroom and even then barely made it.
Jeremy sent Christy Joy a sad smile. “Is she sick because he’s coming here, or because he might not make it?”
“A little of both, I’m afraid, but Griffin will get the roof fixed and that’s all that concerns me right now. No one’s likely to be out shopping this morning. Would you mind if I went back upstairs to look after Twink?”
“Not at all. Looks like you were rearranging things. What can I do to help?”
He’d yanked off his cap, his hair was plastered to his head and his cheeks were pink from the chill, but for one wild instant, Christy Joy felt like asking him for his best kiss. It would have been an outrageous request and certainly would have shocked him, but as she turned away, her only worry was that he might refuse.
Chapter Twelve
Griffin had been lost in his new composition and hadn’t realized how hard it was raining until he went outside where an icy blast of watery wind greeted him with a rude shove. Head down, he braced himself as he ran to his Land Rover. Now convinced Darcy’s warning was well-founded, he eased the sturdy vehicle down the driveway and out onto Ridgecrest at a slow crawl.
He wiped the condensation from the inside of the windshield with the back of his leather glove, but the effort improved his vision only marginally. Fortunately, he knew each subtle curve and wide turn into town, so while it was a slow, harrowing trip, he made it without sliding off the hillside. He parked next to Darcy’s truck, then tramped through the water coursing across the rear of the nursery to enter the shop through the side door.
Her attention riveted on the clock, Darcy gasped as Griffin was ushered in on a chill gust of wind. Clad in a red and black plaid Pendleton coat, black cowboy hat, Levi’s and boots, he resembled a character out of an early Clint Eastwood western more than a concert pianist. Nevertheless, he looked awfully good.
“I was going to call the police if you weren’t here in another minute,” she exclaimed.
“I’d no idea I was expected to speed down the hill after the warning you gave, but if anyone is in need of rescue, it appears to be you with the leaky roof. Care to show me the problem?”
Darcy gestured toward the stairs, then led him up to Christy Joy’s bathroom. Twink wanted to come in too, but Darcy sent her downstairs to wait with her mother. “It’s dripping through the plaster, and we don’t want the whole ceiling ruined.”
The room was painted a pale aqua and Christy Joy had sewn a colorful valance for the window from a bright aqua fabric splashed with tropical fish. There were aqua towels and a basket of bathtub toys balanced on the side of the tub. Darcy couldn’t help but think how different the charming room was from Griffin’s gleaming art deco tiled bath.
He watched the water drip into the tub and nodded thoughtfully. “Might just be that the gutter is clogged with leaves, and that’s left water to pool on the roof. I can probably fix that myself.”
“You’re not serious.”
He flashed a disarming grin. “I doubt clearing leaves from a gutter is beyond my capabilities. Of course, even if it alleviates the problem, once the weather clears, I’ll still have to hire someone to repair the damage. For now, you must have a tarp or two lying around the nursery.”
She sagged back against the door. “Yes, but you’re not going up on the roof.”
“Why not? I can put a ladd
er on the porch by the back door and climb right up.”
Darcy shook her head. “There’s too great a risk you’ll fall.”
Griffin moved in close. “It’s my building, Darcy, and if I want to dance on the roof, I’ll do it.”
“Not while I have the lease,” she replied coolly.
He laughed at her resolve. “Better check the fine print. I’m responsible for repairs, and you can’t prevent me from doing them myself.”
Darcy chased him down the stairs. “Griffin, you’re being totally unreasonable. If the wind caught you, you’d go sailing right off the roof and—”
Griffin paused on the bottom step and turned to look back up at her. “And what?”
Before Darcy could finish her sentence, Jeremy broke in. “I’ll give you a hand if you want to stretch a tarp over the leak. We’ll need something to weight it down, but the potting mix bags seem to be holding up pretty well.”
Remaining on the stairs, Darcy clung to the rail. “You don’t have to show off for me. If we’re just going to use a tarp, I’ll call a couple of the guys from my crew to come over and do it.”
