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“That’s perfect,” he murmured as if he were talking about the feel of her skin against his.
“Maple kitchen cabinets. Maple floors. It’s light and open and airy.”
“Good.” He paused and lowered his voice to an even deeper tone. “Now tell me about the bedroom.”
She shivered as she sank further into her fantasy of the two of them tangled up together, his body heat surrounding her.
“French doors leading out to a small deck.”
“And the hot tub.”
She bit her lip. “Of course.” She saw him in the bubbling water, reaching for her.
“Do you want it?”
“Yes.” God, yes. What she wouldn’t give to finally have a home, to finally have a place—and a man—she wouldn’t have to leave behind the way she’d had to for so many years.
She opened her eyes because she couldn’t bear the fantasies anymore. He was close enough for her to make out the dark cocoa laced with milk chocolate in his eyes.
“You can have it, Tasha. Let me help your dreams come true.”
This wasn’t what her time here in the forest, on this mountain, was supposed to be about. She wasn’t supposed to build her own dreams after playing a part in helping her father and brother crush those of so many other people. Yet here she was, on the verge of letting Daniel help her.
Then it hit her—he’d be leaving soon. She’d be alone again.
And nothing would hurt more than watching him go.
Maybe that was the reason she’d been compelled to come to Tahoe, to buy this cabin. Because she was destined to meet Daniel, to fall for him, to want him, to need him. To love him.
And then to lose him.
It would, she knew with perfect certainty, be the ultimate atonement for her mistakes.
The lump in her throat was
so big she could barely speak around it. “Okay, Daniel, you’ve convinced me.” It was nearly impossible to keep the tears from falling as she said, “Make my dreams come true.”
Chapter Thirteen
Daniel took Tasha to his store in Carson City and helped her pick out slate for the hearth, log cabin paneling for the walls, and hardwood for the floors. They chose roofing material and new leafless gutters based on the guys’ measurements and decking for the sagging porch. They wandered the kitchen displays, checking out cabinets and countertops, appliances and fittings. Everything she purchased, he got for her at cost.
He wanted to give her so much more.
The least he could do was buy her a ball cap that read, Carpenters know how to nail it.
She put it on right there in the store, and he nearly threw the rest of his caution to the wind and kissed her. All day, he’d been overwhelmed by the heat of her skin, the scent of her. Not to mention their earlier talk, which seemed to be about so much more than simply planning her house.
Could she possibly know how much he wanted to make all her dreams come true?
With her eyes closed, her body so close, so touchable, kissing her had been a temptation that was almost his undoing. And it sure as hell didn’t help matters that the phrase on the ball cap gave him seriously hot fantasies.
The roofing materials were all he could fit in the truck bed, and the rest would be delivered tomorrow. Shortly after they returned to the cabin, the guys got to work, and the woods rang with the sound of hammers and nail guns. As long as everything went according to plan, her roof would be done tomorrow.
He hadn’t forgotten a present for the puppies, having picked up chicken wire to build a simple outside enclosure. Soon, the dogs were in the pen, wrestling in the fresh air.
Daniel stood behind Tasha as she watched through the window. “They’re getting better every day.” Her voice was a sigh of relief.
“More like every hour. It’s amazing.” The little creatures were incredibly resilient.
