AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No heels?” he asked, looking at her socked feet.
“I wasn’t informed we were having company over or I’d be in my finest.”
“You look just fine to me,” he said softly. Something deep and liquid hot flickered in his gold-brown eyes. Then he ducked his head and turned toward the truck.
Had she seen what she thought she’d seen? Was he flirting or just teasing? Probably teasing.
“Yeah right,” she laughed, looking down at her black cotton pajama pants. She wasn’t wearing a speck of makeup.Definitely teasing.Though, what about when he’d pulled up the sleeve of her sweater three days ago? Remembering the light brush of his fingertips across her skin caused goosebumps to prickle her arms. He might be teasing, but it was doing all sorts of havoc to her body.
Sully pulled down the tailgate of the truck and earned several extra points by refraining from asking any debasing questions like whether she could handle the weight of the larger pieces. Instead, he simply trusted her, jumping into the bed of the truck to grab the end of one piece and turning it toward her so she could take the other end. The piece was covered in a protective sheet, but it felt heavy and solid in her arms. The two of them carefully maneuvered the piece up the porch and through the door. After setting it down, Sully pushed up his glasses.
Alanna’s mother offered to carry in some of the smaller pieces, but Alanna and Sully nixed that idea together.
“Your wrist is still healing,” Alanna told her mother.
“Yeah, we’ve got this,” Sully added. Alanna was now sure he’d noticed her mother’s difficulty with her hands.
After a few more trips, all the pieces were laid out in the foyer, each one covered in thick plastic sheeting.
“Time for the grand reveal?” Alanna asked. Though her tone was playful, she felt a flush of excitement in the base of her spine.
Pointedly ignoring Alanna, Sully picked up one of the smaller pieces and turned to Dede. “I called in a favor from a very grouchy friend. I probably owe him a million beers by now, but I think the result was worth it.”
He unwrapped the piece, and her mother gasped in delight. It was a peg for the banister, Alanna realized, and then she saw the design running around the shape of the peg.
“It’s beautiful,” her mom murmured, stepping forward to take the peg from Sully’s hands. Her mother was right. The peg included a carving of a songbird in flight, its tail feathers wrapping around the side of the peg. It fit perfectly into the home’s cluttered farmhouse motif. More importantly, it fit Dede.
Sully unwrapped more pegs, and Alanna saw that each one contained a different songbird design.
“It took him a few days to do all the carvings, and I spent yesterday sanding and staining it all,” Sully said. “Sorry for the delay, but I’m really happy with the result.”
Without a word, Alanna’s mother wrapped her arms around Sully’s neck. The handsome handyman smiled and blushed. “My friend did all the work.”
“But it was your idea. You made it happen,” Dede gushed.
Was there anything more attractive than a guy who was as thoughtful as he was handy? Alanna felt like a confetti-filled parade was about to march through her vagina.
Alanna’s mother finally released Sully from her grasp. He turned to Alanna, his eyes searching hers.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “Thank you.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he replied, then quickly amended, “I’m glad you both like it.”
Over the next five hours, Alanna discovered an impressive array of house chores that needed to be done; all downstairs of course. The dishes had to be put away. When was the last time anyone dusted the shelves filled with her mother’s gardening books and Precious Moments figurines? Time to do some laundry.Wow, when did all the windows get so dirty all of a sudden?
While Alanna worked, her eyes kept shifting to Sully. Sweat beaded on his brow as he pulled down the old banister and walked the pieces to the bed of the truck. By the time he was drilling new anchors into the floor, his shirt stuck to his chest, revealing tantalizing hints of definition.
He caught her sneaking glances at him more than once. Questions lingered in his gaze, but she always turned away, pretending it was all an accident. Once, she looked up and caught her mother’s eyes through the window in the yard. When her mom smiled and gave her two thumbs up, Alanna retreated to her room and tried to figure out why her plant was dying this time.
Instead of brown and dried, the leaves of the peace lily were now wilted and yellow. A few Google searches told her she’d over-watered the thing.
“First you’re dying from thirst, and now you’ve had too much,” Alanna growled at the plant. “Make up your damn mind!” How did people like her mother coax a million roses to bloom every year? Blood sacrifice. It had to be.
Alanna found a slight indentation on the bed quilt where Petunia had earlier engaged in the savage battle with the dust mote. No doubt, all the hammering and manly grunting in the house was agitating the cat. Alanna felt a little agitated herself. She slid down on the floor, back up against the bed, and tucked her knees to her chest.
“I think I like him,” she admitted to Petunia. “Even though he’s a nice guy. What’s wrong with me?” Nice guys were for soft, giggly girls, like Layla, who, ironically, was engaged to a not-at-all-nice guy. Alanna’s preference had always been men like Thomas. Handsome, emotionally distant, employed. You can’t get hurt when it’s only physical.
Downstairs, she heard the soft baritone of Sully’s voice, met by the higher tones of her mother’s voice. Was Sully finished? Would he be leaving?
