Annie's Neighborhood (Harlequin Heartwarming) (17 page)

“People don’t need me to paint.”

“Maybe...”

“Honestly, Sky, you can be so frustrating sometimes. Why ‘maybe’?”

“Can’t you see that you’re the driving force? Your enthusiasm is infectious. You make people want to do better. Be better.” He lowered his voice. “You’ve had that effect on me.”

“Wow, when you put it like that, it feels like a heavy burden.” Annie’s brow knit.

Sky shut off the Crown Vic’s engine. Lips pursed, he skimmed a finger down Annie’s nose. “Let’s go take a gander inside.”

She fumbled a ring of keys out of the flowered, quilted bag she’d grabbed from her truck. “I picked up the keys from the city clerk after I got our lunch order today. I can’t believe she handed them over to a virtual stranger.”

“More proof that your reputation precedes you,” he said, and sprang from the car to rush around and open her door.

“Why don’t I think you meant that as a compliment?” Brushing past him, she tried two keys before one opened the lock on the chain looped around the gate. Sky refastened the chain, while Annie repeated the key trials with the front door lock. She had it open by the time he caught up with her.

“I was afraid it’d be pitch-black inside,” she said, and her voice echoed in the empty building. “There’s tons of light from that row of clerestory windows.” She stared up.

Sky bumped into her, and settled his hands around her waist. “It’s a nice space. Cleaner than I expected.”

Annie glanced back over her left shoulder and found herself staring at Sky’s clean-shaven jaw. With his hands almost spanning her waist, she was reminded that he was a toucher. She wasn’t. Or at least she hadn’t been. Now she thought she could be, because she liked the feeling of his body heat through her blouse. Not only did she find his warmth seductive, but she loved the woodsy scent of his soap or aftershave.

“What do you want measured?” he asked, his breath teasing her ear.

“Wha...at?”

Sky stepped around her and unclipped a metal tape from his belt. He wagged it in front of her face. “Measured...ah, didn’t you need measurements for Sadie?” he asked, voice slightly gruff.

“Separated by a few feet, Annie felt her shaken senses coalesce, but her voice had deserted her. “I, uh. I, uh.” She madly scanned the interior, hoping for a burst of brilliance that didn’t come.

“I’ve never been in a teen center,” Sky said, walking farther into the cavernous room. “Are they partitioned?”

At last her faculties returned, and Annie dug her notebook out of her bag. She managed to say, “Chantal Culver wants room to dance. That area needs to be as open as possible so staff can monitor it. My original thought was to create separate spaces for Ping-Pong, and basketball, and...what’s that table game boys like―the one with plastic people on sticks?”

“Foosball? We big boys like that, too.” Sky grinned.

“That’s it.” She rolled her eyes. “Males are so shallow.”

“Ha! Why, because we choose to be active rather than sit around gossiping about friends who aren’t there?”

“Right.” She rolled her eyes. “You also sit around gobbling chips, drinking beer and shouting at teams on TV.”

“Teens do that, too. However, even if you install a flat-screen TV, I’m sure you won’t be supplying beer.”

“No, but snacks and soft drinks...so a large fridge. A flat screen’s a good idea.” She wrote in her notebook, then looked up. “Bathrooms. We need two to meet code. If this building hasn’t got plumbing that works, that’s a deal-breaker.”

“I think you’re in luck,” Sky said, stabbing a finger toward the far end of the room. “I see a door in each corner of the wall.”

Annie hiked back there and called out, “You’re right, and thank heaven both look fairly decent. This place couldn’t be more ideal. And it’s selling for a song.”

“That may be, but all the stuff you mentioned adds up to a pretty penny. Not to mention staffing... I know you said your grandmother left you money, but this seems riskier than furnishing paint and decorative iron for residents.”

“By riskier you mean if a teen gets hurt on the premises?”

“Insurance. I hadn’t even got to that yet. I’ve mentally added up costs for the building―putting in interior walls, even half ones, sports equipment, a TV, a kitchen...well, the list goes on.” He handed her a scrap of paper. “Take a good look at that list. Surely you aren’t thinking of footing the bill for staff salaries.”

“I’ve done quite a bit of research since Chantal gave me the idea. The place where I worked in L.A. had cubicles with movable half walls separating counselors. The sections snapped together with metal clips. I’d buy the building and partitions, and give it to the city. They’d be responsible for insurance. I’ve applied for grants to cover staff salaries. A number of teachers have had their salaries slashed, and I’ll bet some of them would love to supplement their incomes running the center during the afternoons and on weekends.”

As Sky continued to frown doubtfully, Annie added, “No new venture is ever risk-free. If I succeed with this, can you think of a better way for me to invest Gran Ida’s money than in Briar Run’s youth?”

“I sure could. Buy a sailboat and sail around the world. Or pick up a beachside condo in the Bahamas. But not you. You see this town through rose-tinted glasses. Like I said, I can buy into your reno project. But I’m not convinced by this idea. You’re ready to bankroll sticky-fingered kids, some of ’em dopers, some dealers. We suspect that part of our teen population are already gangbangers. Don’t you think they’ll bring in drugs and liquor, and trash this building?”

“That’s a cop talking, Sky. The home owner in you, the
dad,
should want to save kids like Deshawn and Chantal and their friends―for selfish reasons, among others.”

“Selfish how?”

“So your family caseworker can look at the improvements here and tell the judge that Zack will be as safe living half-time with you as he is on the farm with his mother.”

Sky set his hands on his hips above the laden belt, and lifted his eyes toward the ceiling. “I realize Corrine will never approve of Zack living in Briar Run. I have résumés out with police departments in safer small towns. I did some fix-ups inside my house. Painting it with your help will up its appeal. Should it sell before I find a new job, I’ll probably rent in Koot and Sadie’s area until something comes through.”

Annie blinked at Sky. “I see,” she said, but she didn’t. She didn’t want to see. She felt light-headed again, as though she might pass out. All the feelings he’d brought to life in her shriveled like dead grapes on a vine.

“Stop looking at me like I kicked your cat.” He frowned, but was the first to drop his gaze.

“I don’t have a cat.”

“You know what I mean,” he said defensively. “Nothing in the world means more to me than Zack. One of his mom’s main objections to shared custody is this town and its bad reputation. You can’t apply enough cosmetics to counter that in the eyes of Corrine, Archibald and their high-powered attorney. It is what it is, Annie.”

Annie tucked the paper with his numbers and measurements in her notebook, and returned it to her bag. “I think we’re finished here. I need to get back to my paint crew, and you’re still on the city’s clock...until you get a new job offer, of course.”

“I can hear criticism in your voice, Annie. You act like I planned to deceive you. When have I not been frank about my feelings toward your more grandiose projects?”

Annie wanted to shout at him, to say he ought to be ashamed of—of what?
Of leading her on with his casual touching and his sincerity and his charm
. But those were her shortcomings, not Sky’s. She’d begun to relax her guard around him. She’d always had a strong resistance to trusting men. Men made women fall in love with them, and then they died, or left their wives or lovers to raise their kids alone. Pain and betrayal came with the territory, as she’d learned from her own life and her work with single moms in L.A.

Without another word, Annie led the way to the door and stepped aside to let Sky pass.

“My plans needn’t impact yours, Annie. As long as I’m chief of police, I’ll worry about the Stingers—although I’m not sure I need to. I was on the receiving end of your martial arts expertise, remember. Are you hiding the fact that you’re also a crack shot?” Sky knew he was trying too hard to relieve the tension he’d felt swirling around them from the minute he’d divulged his plans.

“I hate guns,” Annie said, leveling a scowl at him after she’d locked the warehouse door. “It’s too easy for criminals to lay their hands on guns.”

“You won’t get an argument out of me. Listen, I know when I’m beaten, and when you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. So, here’s an idea for your teen center. Have you considered teaching a beginner’s class in judo?”

“I don’t do judo, I do tae kwon do,” she said stiffly as she padlocked the gate.

“I could take a class of boys, if you handle the girls. The training I got at the police academy doesn’t have a fancy name, and the army called it close-order combat. But it all boiled down to martial arts.”

“Really? You never told me you had hand-to-hand training,” she said, gawking at him as he opened the passenger door for her.

“Yeah, well it’s taken me a while to get over the embarrassment of you flipping me like a pancake.”

She laughed at that, dissolving the tension that had grown up between them.

“You caught me totally off guard,” he muttered, motioning for her to get in so he could shut the door.

She sat and swung her legs inside. “I must have.” She kept gazing at him with new awe even after he’d slid behind the wheel. “You know, that’s a great idea you just had. Girls and women feel empowered once they receive martial arts lessons. And boys like Deshawn, who are a little on the skinny side, yet have the good sense to be afraid of older bullies, would benefit from a few techniques. Although I’d prefer that we not call our classes combat lessons. Real martial arts teach respect for opponents as a number-one rule.”

Sky made a face, but started the car before drawling, “Whatever you say. But these opponents don’t deserve respect.”

“It’s all about discipline, Sky. I don’t want these kids to go out looking for fights. I’d teach a class in order to build character and confidence.”

“I’ll have to think about whether or not I can teach that way. Where I learned, we didn’t stop to bow to our opponents or we chanced getting a knife in the gut.”

She shuddered. “War is so terrible, so vicious.”

“I’m talking about breaking up a plain old street fight. Or school knife fights.”

“I think Gran Ida sheltered me growing up. I don’t recall more than the occasional playground tussle. I wouldn’t call them fights compared to the way kids kill other kids today.”

He studied her. “That’s a sign of getting old, Annie, when you start saying your generation was saner, smarter, all around better, than the current one.”

“Hmm.” Once again her thoughts drifted to the countdown of her biological clock. Sky couldn’t be much older than she was, yet he’d gone to war, been married and divorced and had a child. Maybe life
was
passing her by. Maybe she ought to make more of an effort to get out and meet men her age. She’d barely gotten used to calling Briar Run her permanent home. And Sky Cordova, who’d lit a fire in her belly, had made it plain that he was moving on.

“What new plan are you cooking up in that brain of yours now?” Sky asked, giving her a sleepy-eyed smile.

“New plan?” She jerked up straight, then sank back, afraid her face might betray where her thoughts had wandered.

“Yeah, it’s the way your eyes get distant and then you pop up with some new scheme.”

He did have her pegged, so Annie was thankful they’d arrived at the Dodds’. The crew she’d left earlier was gone. Nor were they working next door at the Mickelsons’. That house was all painted except for the trim. “What time is it?” Annie checked her watch. “After five! I had no idea we’d stayed at the warehouse so long.”

“My shift’s over now. Listen, do you want to get something to eat? I skipped lunch and I’m starved.”

“Me, too. But I’ll just eat at home. If you let me out here, I can walk back to my house. We’ve both had a long day, and I’m still in my paint clothes.”

“True, but you look fine. Restaurants around here aren’t fancy. Besides, I’d like to celebrate tonight. You had a hand in today’s outcome.” At her puzzled glance, Sky elaborated. “Remember, in court I won extra time with Zack, partly because I took your advice and didn’t mouth off to Corrine’s lawyer in front of the judge.”

“You did tell me that.” Everything in Annie argued against any kind of personal relationship with Sky when he had made it very obvious that it was a dead end. On the other hand, he’d never indicated he wanted a relationship. That might all be in her head. “Sure. Okay. But we’ll go Dutch.”

“You’re a hard woman. However, if you’re so inclined, you can buy my dinner. I am, after all, a lowly public servant.”

Unsure if he was teasing, and still debating whether she could handle the volcanic feelings he aroused in her without even trying, Annie eyed him apprehensively.

He threw back his head and laughed. “I’m kidding. Don’t ever play poker, Annie. All your thoughts are reflected in your eyes.”

“I hope not.” And she meant it.

Chapter Ten

“H
OLD
ON
A
minute, Sky. I have another favor to ask you before we go eat.” Annie stayed him with a hand on his arm. “I told Rita and Homer Gonzales and the two men you referred to me that I’d pay them something at the end of each workday. Rita and Homer live next door to the Dodds.” She pointed. “I can run do it now. I trust you know where Roger lives?”

“Do you need to go back to your house for your checkbook?”

“I’ve been giving folks grocery store gift cards. Tonight I’ll just pay them in cash. It’s not much―little more than gas money.”

“I swear, Annie, it’s crazy to carry cash around. A druggie will kill for the price of a joint.”

She put a hand to her head. “Please, I’m too tired and hungry for lectures.”

Saying nothing, Sky put his cruiser in reverse and backed up to park in front of the Gonzales house.

Hopping out of the car, Annie pried a wad of cash out of her jeans pocket and peeled off a few bills before she rang the doorbell. “Hi, Rita, I got back late from an afternoon appointment. The work you guys did looks fantastic. I stopped by to give you this to thank you for your labor today.”

“Annie, heavens, you bought the paint for our house and we saw the wrought iron you ordered. Yesterday you gave everyone grocery gift cards. Girl, your grandma, who pinched pennies until Lincoln squealed, would turn in her grave to think you’re out squandering your hard-earned money.”

“Rita, I appreciate your concern, but painting homes on Rose Arbor is the just the tip of the iceberg. I want the help of people all over town if they have the time to pick up a sander, roller or brush. They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it wasn’t built for free, either. The little I’m giving you for helping is merely a token.”

“Well, thank you. Homer took a huge cut in pay when the glove factory closed. He did find another job, mind you, doing maintenance at the racetrack. A lot of folks weren’t so lucky.”

“What was Homer’s job at the factory?” Annie asked.

“He was a product inspector. No bad gloves were ever shipped. So, the factory didn’t shut down because of poor-quality merchandise.”

“I’ve heard that from several former employees. I have to run. Will I see you at the Mickelson house tomorrow?”

“I’ll be there. Is that our handsome chief of police waiting for you at the curb?” The older woman’s eyes twinkled. “Uh-huh, what did I tell you...that he’d keep coming around, right? He’s not just doing his duty when it comes to you, Annie.”

Annie’s eyes shifted toward the street. She almost gave away Sky’s plan to leave his job for greener pastures. But it wasn’t in her to be mean-spirited. “It’s nothing like that, Rita. He helped me on another project. Neither of us got any lunch, so we’re going now to grab something to eat, that’s all.” Annie scampered away rather than hear more of Rita’s romantic predictions—her off-base predictions.

“If you take that long at Roger’s place and Charlie’s, I may die of starvation,” Sky said.

“Rita’s a talker. I did offer to let you off the hook, remember?”

“See, hunger’s making you cranky.” Sky gunned the cruiser.

“No, Rita’s insistence that you and I should get romantically involved made me cranky. She’s persisting in this, even though I’ve tried to squelch her speculation. I did warn you people would gossip about us.” Annie adjusted her seat belt. “From now on, you need to help stamp out the gossip.”

His thumbs did a drumbeat on the steering wheel. “I haven’t heard any speculation or gossip.”

She shrugged and turned her face toward her side window.

Sky glanced at her reflection in the darkening glass. There was enough light from the sinking sun to profile the soft curve of her cheek, and to highlight a few dark curls that had managed to stray from under the odd triangle scarf she still wore to control her long, wild hair. Sky had a thing for her hair. It had been what first caught his attention. Now he found a lot more to like about the total package—although there was plenty that drove him crazy, too. “There, the house with the yard lights belongs to Roger and Loretta McBride.”

“Oh, the McBrides live adjacent to the park. Is that why they have perimeter lights? You were right about the park being a disaster, by the way. It’s a crying shame. Gran Ida took care of weeding the flower beds, and trimming the roses. Now the birdbath is broken, swings are torn down and the roses are dead. Restoring the park will be my final tribute to Gran,” she said as she got out of the cruiser.

Sky shook his head, watching her hurry up the walkway. How could she possibly find more hours in the day to work on the park?

Annie wasn’t gone long. She ran back to the car and flung herself into the passenger seat. “That was lucky. Charlie was at Roger’s house. They were just sitting down to eat. It smelled so good and I’m about to pass out from hunger.”

“We can’t have that.” Sky made a U-turn in the street.

“Wasn’t that illegal?”

Sky flashed her a guilty grin.

“That’s what I thought.”

“It’s shorter taking this direction to the restaurant I have in mind.”

“Well, then, by all means, it’s okay to break the law getting there.” Annie gave him the old evil eye.

“Hey, I don’t want you fainting away from hunger.” He made two more left turns and merged with the highway that headed toward bluegrass country.

Annie scarcely had time to read a couple of road signs lit by his headlights when Sky pulled off the road and into the parking lot of a restaurant called Ye Olde Irish Pub. “It says they feature forty kinds of lagers and twenty ales,” Annie said. “And you’re in uniform, Chief.”

“I got drinking out of my system a long time ago, Annie. Before I became a cop, when I saw how drinking can get out of hand, and the results.” Sky cracked his car door ajar and sniffed the air. “Mmm, smell that grill.”

“Race you to the door, Cordova. I’m ready to taste whatever smells so good.”

Annie did beat him, but not by much. Sky reached around her, opened the heavy outer door and ushered her in. The interior was cavernous, but lit by small lanterns in the center of each round table. A bar stretched the length of the room down one wall. Booths lined the other three. It was to one of the booths that a hostess led them.

Again Sky guided Annie’s steps with his broad hand nestled in the curve of her back. His casual touch felt more intimate to her in this setting. Trying not to think that they looked like a couple, Annie concentrated on checking the food on other diners’ plates as she passed by. Even before the smiling hostess placed a menu in her hands, Annie knew what she wanted.

When the waiter came, she requested sweet tea with plenty of ice. “It’ll save time if we order now,” she said, glancing across the table at Sky, who’d asked for coffee, black.

“I’m afraid I don’t know anything about their salad selections, but our waiter will, so you go ahead and order.”

Annie frowned at him. Closing her menu she said, “I’ll have a T-bone steak medium rare, fries and a double order of mixed vegetables.”

Sky gaped at her as he managed to stammer out his order. “Give me an eight-ounce sirloin, fries and corn on the cob.” After the waiter left and someone else whizzed past, dropping off a basket filled with steaming dark bread, Sky watched bemusedly as Annie pulled off two slices and slathered them with honey-butter. She moved her plate aside to let the waiter deliver drinks.

“I guess you plan to take half your meal home,” Sky said.

She opened her eyes, because she’d closed them to savor her first bite of the heavy brown bread dripping with its sweet topping. “I intend to eat every morsel. Oh, I didn’t mean to hog all the bread.” She pushed the basket to his side of the table.

He helped himself. “I meant their T-bone is big enough for two.”

They ate their bread in silence and when it was gone, Annie asked, “Are you one of those guys who thinks a woman should nibble like a mouse?”

“Most do, don’t they?”

A heated discussion ensued on that topic. Annie broke off and smiled at the waiter who carried their steaming plates to the table. “Mmm.”

“These are piping hot, so be careful,” he warned. The metal plates he set before them sizzled. “Can I get either of you anything else?”

“Ketchup,” Sky said at the same time Annie asked for steak sauce.

Both appeared like magic.

They dived into cutting and eating their steaks. For a time, talk fell by the wayside. Sky spoke first as he buttered his corn. “This is my favorite vegetable. I wish it was easier to eat in public.”

Annie blotted her lips with her napkin. “Everyone here seems too busy eating to pay attention to you, Sky. Me included.”

He scanned the room. “You’re right,” he said as he unbuttoned the sleeves on his uniform shirt and rolled them up to his elbows. “I’m self-conscious, I guess. One time in Maryland at one of Corrine’s horsey banquets, I ordered lobster and corn on the cob. Melted butter dripped down the backs of my hands onto the cuffs of my dress shirt. She ranted all week about how I’d humiliated her. Anytime we went out after that she’d remind me. I pretty much stopped eating corn until I found this restaurant.”

Annie cut another slice of meat off her T-bone. “The messiest things to eat taste the best. If those things were on your banquet menu, I doubt you were the only one dripping butter.”

“I was the only one at our table,” he said, biting into his corn.

“Food is meant to be enjoyed.” Annie dipped one of her fat golden fries into a pile of ketchup and grinned. “This place was a great choice. I feel like I’ll never be hungry again.”

Sky dispatched his corn, then wiped his face and fingers. “Skinny as you are, I don’t know where you put all that food.”

“I’m not skinny.”

He held up his hands, fingertips touching. “I could circle your waist with my hands.”

She started to say he had big hands, but the waiter came with the check and she snatched it.

“I was joking when I suggested you buy me dinner, Annie. Come on, give me the bill. I eat so many meals alone, tonight was a treat.”

“You know, it was nice for me, too.” She looked up with real surprise at that discovery as she tucked cash inside the folder.

Sky’s cell phone rang, cutting short the dance of slow-dawning comprehension their eyes had engaged in. He frowned down at his phone’s readout. “It’s my lawyer,” he murmured, and his expression turned to one of apprehension. “Lyle? Sky here. Is something wrong?”

Annie handed the waiter the check folder and told him to keep the change while Sky listened intently to his caller. “Okay, that’s good. Tomorrow’s pretty short notice, but I agree that we should take what we can get. Do I need to give her advance notice of my plans? Maybe we’ll take in a movie, or hang out at my place watching TV. Do I ask what
she
does with Zack, Lyle? Do I ask her how often she goes riding and leaves him in the care of Archibald’s teenage daughters?”

Indicating with gestures that she was going to the restroom, Annie slid out of the booth and headed for the ladies’ lounge.

By the time she came back, Sky was off the phone. He rose as soon as he saw her. “Are you ready to leave?”

“Trouble?” she asked, collecting the bag she always carried.

“No, but apparently one of my new visitation days is going to be tomorrow―or not at all this week. Corrine knows it’s a hardship on me to switch duty on such short notice. I’m reasonably sure Koot will trade with me, but it’s hard when we’re both on most days. Corrine knows that, too. She chose tomorrow out of spite.”

“Maybe not, Sky,” Annie said quietly as they moved toward the door. “Why don’t you pick up the phone and discuss things with her directly?”

He let out a jagged laugh. “We communicate through our lawyers.”

“Since she’s happily remarried, I should think the two of you―or even all three of you, if she wants to include Zack’s stepfather―could sit down over coffee and arrange a plan that covers six months or a year.”

“The only plan that will suit Corrine is to cut me out of Zachary’s life completely,” Sky said grimly. “She’s not a reasonable person like you are, Annie.”

“Perhaps that’s because you immediately get defensive or hostile,” she said as he unlocked her door.

“You’re darned right I do.” He slammed her door after she got in, and stomped around the car, throwing himself into his seat.

“I’m not the enemy, Sky. I’m just saying you and your ex face coparenting for at least thirteen more years, or beyond if your son gets married and you share a grandchild or grandchildren.”

“You just ruined a perfectly good meal,” he muttered as he started the car.

Annie knew that tone, that closed look. She’d encountered this attitude numerous times in counseling divorced couples. She wasn’t Sky’s counselor, but where
was
his? she wondered. “Divorce doesn’t have to be contentious,” she ventured, hoping she could make Sky see that his life and his son’s would be happier if the people who loved Zack got along. “Even if you don’t agree on everything, it’s infinitely better if you’re not always at war. I can tell you, having worked with older kids from divided homes, that they have more trouble if the parents fight.”

“Take it from me,
she’s
made our divorce contentious. And if she thinks I’ll go away quietly and not fight for more time with Zachary, she’s mistaken. This last judge increased my visitations to once a week, but there’s still the matter of holidays. Corrine’s demanded she have him for birthdays and Christmas. When I first got back from military duty, I mailed him his gifts. Anytime I asked how Zachary liked them, she claimed they hadn’t arrived. I put a tracker on one, and then she changed her story―said the box got smashed in the mail. So now, I make sure I hand him his gifts in person. I have to do it on one of my visits, which never coincide with his birthday. And heaven forbid I’d get to see him Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Archibald’s family
always
spends the holidays at their mountain cabin.”

Annie faced him. “Holidays and vacations should be evenly split,” she said matter-of-factly. “You need to keep plugging away through the courts, Sky.”