Feeding the Fire (9 page)

“Yes, well, we do seem to be prone to these sudden moments of weakness. But that doesn’t mean we’re just throwing caution to the wind.”

“Pepper, what do you—?”

The chime sounded from the front door, interrupting the question she didn’t want to answer anyway.

“Crap.” Who the hell was at her house? She never had any visitors and now it seemed like she couldn’t stop her doorbell from ringing. She scrambled to her feet and quickly started tugging her clothing back on.

“What’s the big deal?” Grant said, lying back with his arms folding behind his head. He was gloriously naked on her kitchen floor like he belonged there. “Just don’t answer. They’ll go away.”

“I can’t not answer,” Pepper said. “No one ever comes to my house, it has to be important.”

“Or it could be someone trying to sell a subscription to the
Rosewood Times
. Or some kids selling candy bars or magazines. Oh, wait. It’s Girl Scout cookie time, isn’t it? Open the door.”

“I doubt you’re getting any cookies out of this, but either way, get up and get dressed.”

Reluctantly, Grant sat up and started pulling his clothing on as well. “Fair enough. But don’t think I’m finished with you yet.”

Pepper tugged on her shorts and gave him a suspicious look. “I think that’s still up for debate.”

Pepper pulled her wild hair back into a knot and approached the front door. Looking out the peephole, she found her brother, Logan, standing on her front porch.

“Crap,” she muttered again, looking over her shoulder at Grant. “Get dressed, it’s my brother,” she hissed. She ran into the dining room and grabbed her paint tray and brush from where they’d fallen on the drop cloth so she would look busy. “One second!” she shouted through the door.

She finally opened the door, cracking it open just enough for her body to barricade the doorway. “Logan!” she said, trying to gather up some faux enthusiasm. “What are you doing here?”

Logan furrowed his brow and looked down at her. “Mom mentioned you’d taken off time this week to work, so I thought I might stop by and see if you needed any help.”

“That’s sweet of you, but I’ve got it under control. You’ve got a law office to run, anyway. Don’t you need to be there if a client comes by?”

“Client?” he chuckled. “I’ve had two so far. I left a note on the door to call me if someone comes by. It’s just a couple of blocks away. Besides, I haven’t seen your house.” He tried to press his way forward, but Pepper held her ground.

“There’s a good reason for that, Logan. It’s not ready yet. I don’t want anyone to see it until it’s done. Mama hasn’t even been here.”

“Someone has to see it if they’re going to help you. Come on, Pepper. We grew up in an old, busted trailer. I guarantee you this house isn’t going to bother me. I want to help.”

“She has help.”

Pepper heard Grant’s voice behind her. All she could do was close her eyes and sigh. Apparently she had not expressed to Grant how much her brother disliked his family and how bad it would be if he found them here together. This wasn’t going to go well.

“Who was that?” Logan asked with concern lining his eyes.

“That was . . . Grant.” She spoke his name slowly; her mouth didn’t want to cooperate.

“Chamberlain?” His brows shot up and his voice raised a few decibels.

With a groan, Pepper let the door swing open the rest of the way to reveal the smiling Grant standing in the living room. “Yep,” she said.

“How ya doing, Logan?”

Logan looked Grant up and down. He didn’t acknowledge his question; he just turned to look at Pepper with a disapproving frown. “Why is
he
here?”

“I told you,” she said. “He’s helping me.”

Logan narrowed his gaze at her. Pepper prayed her kiss-swollen lips and teeth-grazed throat weren’t obvious. Her disheveled appearance could be accounted for by working on the house, but a hickey—that would be all Grant’s doing.

“Helping you what?” he asked, his face starting to turn an unpleasant, splotchy red. He was seconds from a full-blown meltdown, she could tell.

“Grant is very handy. He’s helping me do a lot of things.” He’d done an unending list of chores over the last two days, but at the moment, the only things that came to mind involved his tongue.

“He is, is he?” Logan’s gaze traveled back over her shoulder to where Grant was standing. Grant didn’t say anything that she could hear, but he must’ve done something—grinned wickedly, waggled his eyebrows suggestively, made some crude gesture . . . Whatever it was pushed Logan over the edge. Logan’s mouth dropped open, his blue eyes widening in horror. “Oh my God, Pepper, you’re sleeping with him!”

“Shhh!” Pepper hissed, shoving Logan out onto the porch and slamming the door shut behind her. “You just hush your mouth and mind your own business.”

“A Chamberlain, Pepper! Didn’t Mama teach you anything? Didn’t their superior, stuck-up ways turn you off? Or were you blinded by the money?”

Money?
Grant had done nothing but
cost
her money. “All right, you stop right there, mister!” Pepper said, jabbing her index finger into Logan’s chest. She might not have come to terms with how she felt about sleeping with Grant, but she wasn’t about to let her brother tell her what she could and couldn’t do. She’d have sex all day with Grant if she wanted to, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

“For one thing, who I’m sleeping with is none of your damn business. I am twenty-six years old and I don’t need your permission to do anything. I’ve grown up a lot since you left for law school, and you’d better get used to that. I don’t care who you’re sleeping with and I expect the same courtesy if you’re going to be living in Rosewood again.”

“But—”

“No buts, Logan. This is the way it is. I’m not going to tolerate any macho bullshit from you. You’re not going to start any fights with Grant or any of the other Chamberlain boys, and there’s not going to be any crap about defending my so-called honor. This isn’t the dark ages. Grant is a guest in my home and you’re going to treat him that way or you’re going to leave. Got it?”

Logan shuffled his feet on the ground and shrugged. He refused to commit to that. Fine, he could go home if he didn’t like it.

“And lastly, I’m certainly not going to tolerate you accusing me of sleeping with a Chamberlain for money. I mean, really? Do you
think
I’m a whore, Logan? Because that’s what you just said.”

Logan’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d implied in thoughtless anger. “Of course not, Pep. People can get caught up in the Chamberlain mystique, though. I just don’t want to see you getting hurt. He’s just going to—”

“Use me and break my heart. Yes, I know, Mama has said it a million times. But I’m not giving him my heart, Logan, so there’s not a problem there. He’s helping with my house because I accidently bid on him at the bachelor auction. You were there, you know that. That’s all there is to it. We’re not dating. He’s just spent all morning buffing my floors and no, that’s not a metaphor.”

“So . . . you’re
not
sleeping with him?” Logan shook his head dismissively as Pepper arched an eyebrow at him in warning. “Okay, okay, it’s not my business if you’re sleeping with him. I get it.”

“Thank you.”

“I guess you don’t need my help today, then.”

She shook her head no. “Maybe in a few weeks when it gets warmer, you can help me with the yard. You were always really good with Mom’s roses and getting things to grow. I don’t have anything, not even a lawnmower, so I’ll need all the assistance I can get.”

At that, Logan brightened. He smiled and the bravado faded away. “Sure. Just let me know when.” Logan reluctantly stepped back from the door. “I’ll see you later, Pepper.”

Pepper waved as he disappeared through her yard and down the street. The incident was averted for now, but she knew it wouldn’t last long. If she continued to see Grant, eventually her mother would find out and that would turn into a huge scene she’d rather avoid. But unless she and Grant went their separate ways at the end of this week, it would come to that. After all, she
was
sleeping with a Chamberlain. She had broken the cardinal rule of the Anthony household.

Pepper could ignore all the problems while she and Grant were working on this house, as if they were in a protective bubble from reality. But she knew it was certain to end badly sooner or later.

She didn’t need Logan or her mother’s help there.

Chapter Eight

“Um . . . why is the ladder truck parked outside my house?”

Grant came out of the bedroom, his face covered in a mask and every inch of him covered in drywall dust. He looked out the window and tugged the mask down to his chin. “They’re here!” he declared. “Great!”

“Wait, wait,” Pepper said, her eyes growing wide. “Who is here? Why are they here?” She turned back to the window, watching Mack, Kyle, and Paul make their way up the stone path with heavy toolboxes clutched in each hand.

“They’re here to help,” Grant said.

“No . . . I can’t have all these people in the house. You’re the only one I’ve let in. Tell them to go home.”

Grant turned to Pepper and gripped her shoulders in his hands. “The two of us can only do so much, Pepper. If you want to get your four thousand dollars out of this week, you need their help. Mack does electrical work, Kyle has experience with plumbing, and Paul used to work for his father’s drywall business. They’re here to help until they get a call and all they want in exchange is some pizza. I suggest you take full advantage of the opportunity while you can.”

Pepper’s lower lip trembled as she considered her options. Grant couldn’t understand why she was so hesitant to let people in her house. So it needed work? People couldn’t help her when they were standing on the sidewalk, gazing in her windows.

“Okay,” she said at last, but she still seemed doubtful. “Who’s watching the fire station?”

“The paramedics and the dispatcher are still there to take the calls. If something comes up, they’ll radio Mack.”

She reached for the doorknob and opened the door just as the guys reached the porch. “Morning, boys!” Grant shouted at them in welcome. “Come on in. Thanks for coming.”

The three men piled into the house, greeting Pepper and taking a look around. “No problem,” Mack said with a warm smile. Mack had the radio strapped to his hip, so they’d instantly receive any distress calls, as he’d told her. Weekday mornings tended to be relatively quiet, so Grant was hopeful they could make serious headway before anything came up.

“Where’s Travis? He was coming off the night shift with Paul, right?” Grant asked. They were a five-man firehouse, with only one of them off at a time. The remaining four alternated nights and days in twelve-hour shifts, with everyone on call in a major fire emergency. The firehouse worked in concert with the EMTs next door to make up the Rosewood Fire and Rescue squad. There were always two paramedics on duty as well to drive the ambulance.

“He’s coming,” Kyle said. “He went to his brother’s house to pick up the window and some sheets of drywall.”

“Window?” Pepper asked, looking confused.

“Travis’s brother owns a construction company in Trussville. He got us a deal on a new window for the bedroom and enough drywall to redo the other room.”

Pepper’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? Can I . . . I mean . . . I didn’t think I’d have enough money for that.”

Grant nodded. “You do. Travis’s brother got him the supplies at cost.” Pepper’s money would cover some, and if not all, Grant would cover the rest. With the peeper on the loose, he didn’t like the idea of her having an insecure bedroom window. It didn’t matter to him if it was full price, he’d pay for it himself to keep her safe.

“So where do we start?” Mack said, looking from him to Pepper for guidance.

Pepper held out her hand to Grant. He brought them here; he knew best what to have them work on.

“I’ve got to rip out all the drywall in one of the bedrooms. That’s what I was working on, so if you can help me with that, Paul, that’d be great. Once we get that down, I need you to check the electrical wiring in there, Mack. None of the switches or outlets work. If we need to do anything, I figured doing it when the Sheetrock was down would be easiest.”

Mack nodded. “I can check the other wiring in the house while you’re working on the drywall. These older houses usually need a good bit of updates.”

“Sounds good. Pepper, could you show Kyle the problems you’re having with the hot-water heater and the faucet in the bathroom? That should give us all a starting point.”

The crew split up, each of them tackling different tasks in the house. He didn’t tell Pepper about this, knowing she’d balk, but he’d had it set up from the very first day. After he’d visited her Sunday and assessed the damage, he knew this was a bigger job than just the two of them could handle. He’d gone straight to the firehouse to see what the others could do to help. The guys he worked with were all too happy to do what they could, especially with the promise of pizza in return.

The work went a lot quicker with additional sets of hands. They had pulled down all the Sheetrock from the bedroom walls and were hauling it outside when Travis finally pulled up. They all worked to bring in the new sheets of drywall and stack them inside while Mack worked on the wiring in there. In just a few hours, they’d installed the new window, gotten the electrical outlets working again, and rehung the drywall panels on the walls.

They were taping and mudding the seams when Pepper came into the bedroom to examine their progress. The smile on her face was priceless. It made every bit of the sweat and mostly self-inflicted pain of the last few days worth it.

“Well,” she said, “Kyle and I have fixed the leaky faucet and the hot-water heater is shipshape. It’s about noon. I was thinking of running up the street to pick up pizza and drinks. Will you guys be ready to take a break when I get back?”

A chorus of yeses answered her.

“Great. Any pizza requests?”

“Meat,” someone shouted, and his response was echoed enthusiastically by the others.

“All right, I’ll be back.” Pepper smiled at Grant and gave him a wink before she disappeared into the hallway.

Kyle picked up a trowel and started mudding seams with the others. Once they heard the front door slam, he turned to Grant with a curious expression on his face. “So tell us, Grant, what is this all about?”

Grant frowned and continued to smooth mud across the wall. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Kyle chuckled. “Come on, man. We’ve worked together for almost three years. Since that time, I’ve seen you mow through half the single women in this town. Not once have you done any hard labor for one, and you most certainly never recruited us to help.”

That was true, but Grant didn’t want to talk about it. He had a reputation of being a ladies’ man, and he didn’t want them to know that he had a soft underbelly exposed where Pepper was concerned. “None of my other dates paid four grand for my services. I want her to get her money’s worth.”

Paul wiped the sweat from his brow and smoothed over the last piece of tape. “Couldn’t you just give her four thousand dollars’ worth of orgasms?”

“Well, I could,” Grant said with a wicked grin. “And I still might. But this was more important to her.”

“You like her,” Mack said as a statement of fact.

Grant shrugged. “I do. There’s not much more to it right now, but I do like her.”

“Oh, how the mighty has fallen,” Travis wailed. “Could it be true that the great Grant Chamberlain has fallen prey to the clutches of a woman at last?”

“Big talk,” Grant muttered. “Considering two of you are married, one is divorced, and one is engaged, I’d say you all are experts of falling prey to women. But I think it’s a little early to be writing a eulogy for my bachelorhood.”

The guys snickered and went back to their chores, but Grant found himself struggling to focus on the drywall. Their jabs had struck a chord with him.

Grant had lived every day of his life since he was eleven worried that one day, he would turn into his father. He wasn’t sure if his mother knew the truth and turned a blind eye, or if she lived in blissful ignorance, but he knew if his father’s infidelity became public, it would hurt and embarrass her. He couldn’t bear for that to happen to his mother or to whatever woman had the misfortune of marrying him.

The guys ribbed him about Pepper, but the idea of getting serious with a woman was unnerving. He didn’t want to turn into his father and hurt the woman he loved and the family they’d built. Grant loved women. His father loved women. If he was the chip off the ol’ block that people always jokingly said he was, he was at risk of making the same mistakes. Grant refused to do that to someone and decided early on that if he couldn’t be faithful, he wouldn’t get in a committed relationship.

It was an easy fix, at least until Pepper came into his life. Grant could feel her pull on him. It was as though Pepper had hooked him and was reeling him in like a bass on an invisible fishing line. No matter how much he fought, he felt himself getting closer and closer. But unlike an unfortunate fish, Grant liked it. His original quest to bed Pepper just wasn’t enough. Now that he’d spent real, quality time with her, he wanted to keep doing it.

That meant facing his fears of being just like Dear Old Dad. It also meant potentially hurting Pepper if things didn’t work out. He hoped he could be monogamous, but he’d never tried. What if he failed? His falling for a woman was just fun and games to the guys, but it was a serious concern for him.

Grant’s ears perked up at the sound of the front door creaking open and slamming shut. “Pizza!” Pepper called from the living room.

Everyone put down their tools and shuffled one by one into the bathroom to wash up before they ate. Grant was the last in line, giving himself plenty of time to consider his coworkers’ words. If
they
could see that what was going on between the two of them was different, it must be. His grandmother seemed to see it, too, and had gone to a lot of trouble to make this relationship a possibility.

Was he falling into Pepper’s clutches? And if so . . . did he really mind?

As the sun set on an extremely productive day, Pepper stood in one of her newly renovated bedrooms and just shook her head. “It’s amazing. Just a few days and we’ve done what I couldn’t do in almost a year.”

They’d made leaps and bounds today, even with the other guys at the house for only a few hours. After lunch, Travis and Paul went home to get some sleep before their next shift at the firehouse. Mack and Kyle helped clean up, and when they finally got a call about a car accident on the interstate, they left for the day. She and Grant had completed mudding the drywall and finished up alone.

“We’ve still got work to do,” Grant said. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Pepper was startled at first by the intimate gesture, but found all too quickly that she liked it. Even though she knew she should, she couldn’t pull away.

“Once the mud is completely dry and sanded, we’ve got to prime and paint the walls in here. We still can’t move furniture in until Saturday because of the polyurethane on the floors.”

“None of that matters,” Pepper said. “That’s all little stuff I can do on my own. I can paint and hang pictures, move furniture, and put up curtains. Hanging drywall and disassembling my bathroom faucet is another matter. I mean . . . the lights come on in here now. You don’t understand how huge that is.”

“Well, remember, Mack says you still need to look into getting the house rewired. He was able to fix the connection so the outlets and switches would work in here again, but they’re old and really need to be replaced. If I were you, I’d contact an electrician to get a quote and start saving up to have that done.”

Pepper turned in his arms to look at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her body tight against his own. “Thank you for this. For all of this. It’s more than I ever expected.”

“Hey, when you pay good money for Grant Chamberlain, you get nothing but the best.”

“Indeed.” Pepper leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. A tingle of awareness surged down her arms, making her fingertips press hungrily into his neck. She felt the familiar tug of desire in her belly, even after just a few moments of touching him. He had this ability to draw an immediate reaction from her body. He always had. It was a wonder she managed to resist his advances for as long as she had. Now that she had given in twice, it was hard to imagine ever stopping. So many women had loved and lost Grant in the past. How had they gotten through it? Perhaps they were smarter than she was.

Grant pulled away and looked down at her. He seemed to study her face for a moment, then a small smile curled his lips. “I want to take you out for Valentine’s Day,” he said.

Pepper’s brow drew together in confusion. That was the last thing she expected to hear. “You said that working on the house was my date.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said with a dismissive tone. “And it is, technically. But I can’t spend all week with you, working on your house, making love on the kitchen floor, and then leave you alone and lonely on Valentine’s Day. It just doesn’t seem right.”

Pepper shrugged. She had never put much value in the holiday, but standing here in his arms, she understood what he meant. She suddenly wanted to spend the day with him, too, but she wasn’t about to say it. “I told you, I’m not that big on Valentine’s Day. I think it’s just an excuse to drain a guy’s wallet on crap no one really needs.”