Harlequin Superromance November 2014 - Box Set 2 of 2: Christmas at the Cove\Navy Christmas\Until She Met Daniel (67 page)

“Of course.”

“They ran into each other in my office last week,” he told her grimly. “The next thing I knew, they were arguing fast and furious about everything. I swear, if it had been raining, they would have disagreed about the size of the raindrops.”

Mandy’s gut clenched. There was nothing she could do for her friends. And the old feeling washed over her, the sense of responsibility, as if there ought to be something she should do to make things better.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Daniel asked. “You almost look desperate.”

“Oh.” She waved a hand. “You already know I’m the original fussbudget who thinks she ought to be able to fix everything. Even when babies cry, I feel bad, as if it’s my fault, or it’s my job to make it better.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve got some sort of guilt complex.”

“Not exactly.” Mandy heaved a sigh. “My great-grandfather ran out on his family when my grandfather was twelve. He quit school to support his mother, and has never seemed to get over his father’s desertion. He’s very grim and serious. In fact, I think he once tried to add ‘Thou shalt have no fun’ to the Ten Commandments.”

A fast smile crossed Daniel’s mouth. “I take it he passed his serious attitude down?”

“You bet. He brought up my dad to be super-duper responsible, so you could say it’s an overdeveloped instinct in the family. My brain knows the reasons, but there’s this tiny little voice from somewhere that I have to tell ‘shut up’ to once in a while.”

Daniel’s face seemed puzzled, but he appeared to dismiss whatever he was thinking.

“So, do you have new questions from the seniors?” he asked.

“Yes,” she exclaimed. “And now I’m getting calls from other people in town.”

“I kind of expected that.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have ducked.”

“I doubt it. You’d have to jump over that barrel of responsibility you lug around, and that sounds like too big of a leap...even for a sleek black cat with a long tail.”

The reference to her Halloween costume made her self-conscious, but she pushed it away.

“Very funny. Anyway, the environmentalists in town are getting more upset than ever. Chris is stirring the pot, and some of the seniors were already touchy on the subject. Not all of them, but the issue is more out in the open than it used to be.”

“So what questions are they coming up with?”

“They don’t have enough information for more than generalities right now, but I was looking at that old report, the one where it recommended the best place for a second reservoir.”

“Yeah?”

“Have you thought about having a university class or something out to survey the site again and do another impact study?”

“What difference would that make?”

“If the town puts a bunch of money into moving in that direction, and then they find out there’s some rare species of fish or insect or flower or whatever, then the game is up. I mean, you’ll get environmentalists from all over the country chaining themselves to boulders.”

He was staring at her as if he thought she was nuts. “Hey,” she protested, “I’m not saying
I’d
chain myself to a boulder.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Unless it looked like fun,” she added with a grin.

He closed his eyes and she was reasonably sure he was counting to ten.

“Six, four, nine, two, five,” she droned.

Opening his eyes, he glared. “Did anyone ever threaten to spank you?”

“Nah, my parents felt guilt trips were much more effective.”

“I see. What a scenic way to travel.”

“Absolutely, but the luggage is a downer. You have to take all the mistakes you ever made right along with you.”

It was a surprising conversation. Daniel was smart and dangerous for her peace of mind. Plus, he was acting less like a stick-in-the-mud these days. He also loved his daughter, something Mandy hadn’t actually wanted to know. The last thing she needed was to see his better qualities.

* * *

O
RIGINALLY
D
ANIEL
HAD
wondered if Mandy was too flighty to be any benefit in the water debate, but now he was seeing that she was more capable than she had first appeared. Her occasionally runaway conversations revealed wide interests and a variety of experiences. And she’d obviously mastered numerous skills.

Mandy was also proving to be very smart, and she’d brought up a good point about the environmental study. Nowadays, impact studies were done whether someone wanted them or not. But if Willow’s Eve waited until a study was forced on it, the city might invest time and money into something that could get canceled, or delayed by more protests.

He reached for his coffeepot and found there was only a small amount left.

“There’s still some in my pot,” Mandy offered.

“Won’t you need it?”

“Not a chance. I’ve drunk so much today, my toenails are floating.”

Grabbing his mug, he walked down the hallway to her office. That was another thing she did well. He knew how to brew a decent pot, but it wasn’t as good as Mandy’s. She’d explained she had worked at one of those fancy coffeehouses for a few months, learning their trade secrets.

No doubt her wanderlust had contributed to her variety of skills and interests. It appeared that she moved from place to place, whenever the wind blew. Furniture restoration, computer programming, tour boat operator, plumber’s assistant, farmwork, souvenir shops, coffeehouses and who knew what else. He couldn’t imagine living that way, but she’d been doing it for years.

Back in his office, he set his mug down and saw Mandy had opened her sketch pad and was busily working. She seemed unable to sit and do nothing.

“Mice on roller skates?” he questioned, looking at the picture she was polishing.

“From an old ‘died and went to heaven’ joke. I thought I’d put it on the bulletin board—the seniors will love it.”

Daniel shook his head. “Joke? It’s not ringing a bell.”

“I don’t know how old it actually is, but it made the rounds in several places where I lived, and I think someone put it on the internet. It’s about a group of mice who died and went to heaven. Saint Peter welcomed them and said they’d been nice little mice, then asked what reward would they like. Remember?”

“No. Why would anyone reward mice?”

Her eyes rolled. “Cripes, Daniel, it’s a
joke.
”

“Now who doesn’t have a sense of humor? I was just pulling your leg.”

Reluctantly, she grinned. “Okay. Were you yanking my chain about knowing the joke, or about why mice should get a heavenly reward?”

“I can’t remember the joke, so it must be that.”

“Well, the mice said they’d had to run everywhere all the time, so they’d like roller skates to get around heaven. So Saint Peter gave them tiny roller skates and they happily set off to explore. Stop me if you’ve heard this.”

Daniel shook his head, so she continued.

“A while later, a barn cat arrived at the pearly gates and was asked what kind of reward
she’d
like to have. She explained she’d never had a soft place to sleep, so she was given a soft pillow as a bed. A while later Saint Peter went to check on the cat and asked how she was doing. She said heaven was terrific, the cushion was soft, and she just
loved
those meals-on-wheels they kept sending over.”

Daniel burst out laughing. Somehow he’d recovered his sense of humor, and it felt damned good.

Mandy laughed, too, maybe in response to his humor, but it was incredibly...erotic. Her sketch pad slipped to the floor as he leaned over for a kiss. A second later, she was up against him, laughter still rumbling, pushing her breasts against his chest.

That also felt good. Better than good. His hand found its way beneath her T-shirt to the soft skin underneath. Unfastening her bra took even less time.

“Wait a minute,” she gasped, stepping back and pulling the shirt over her head. The bra came with it and she started to snuggle back against him.

“Wait your own minute,” he said hoarsely, holding her off and viewing the sight he’d imagined any number of times. Full breasts, with pink tips begging to be touched. He reached out and stroked the one on the right. It was already hard, but he teased her with his fingers, loving the way her breathing quickened as he moved his hand against her skin.

Slowly, he tugged her close and pulled her mouth into his, still filling his palms with her firm flesh.

Jerking, he realized that Mandy’s own fingers had been busy, unbuttoning his shirt and pushing it aside. The feel of her against his bare chest almost sent him reeling.

He hurried to the office door, locking it, and turned again toward Mandy, enjoying the sight of her bare breasts. It had been years since he’d made love outside of a bed, but he found his instincts hadn’t lost their edge as he unzipped her jeans and tugged them down. She’d already kicked off her shoes, so the jeans quickly went sailing across the room, Mandy’s silky briefs followed.

With a saucy grin, she pushed him against the desk and rose up on tiptoes to rub against the hard bulge between his legs.

Hell, where was a couch when he needed one? There wasn’t even a carpet on the polished floor.

Mandy had moved again, and was unfastening his belt, tugging the zipper open. Before discarding his Levi’s, he found his wallet and the square package he kept there.

He nearly went insane as Mandy watched him unrolling the condom over himself, a Mona Lisa smile on her lips.

“What’s it to be?” she murmured when he was done. “The office chair? A stand-up routine. Or...”

Reaching out, he swung her around, lifting her to sit on the desk, and pulling her legs around him. He entered her and grasped her hips, beginning a smooth, hard rhythm. Mandy hung on to his shoulders, yet arched backward until he could see the way his thrusts shivered up her body, swaying her breasts like the waves of the ocean. Daniel held off, needing release, but determined to get her there before he lost control. She hit a minute later and he let go, pleasure exploding inside him.

With a long breath, her body stilled and she pulled herself upward to press against him again. When he tried to move backward, she tightened her legs to keep him buried in her softness. It was so good that if he’d had another condom in his wallet, he might have started all over again. How many years had it been since he’d felt that urge?

Yet sanity was also returning.

“How about a doubleheader?” she murmured.

“Sorry, I don’t have any more protection with me,” he said hoarsely.

“Damn. It would have been nice.”

Nice? It would have been mind-blowing.

Carefully, he eased out of her, his ego in danger of getting overinflated when he saw her disappointment.

Silently they dressed. Daniel made sure the condom and its wrapping were safe in his pocket. No custodian was going to have the chance to speculate on what activities had taken place behind closed doors.

Mandy sat down in her chair and raised an eyebrow at him. “So,” she said, “what do you think about getting a bunch of college students to study the site?”

Another Mona Lisa smile curved her lips as she spoke, and he had to close his eyes.

“It’s a good idea,” he agreed. “I’ll make some calls tomorrow.”

He could hardly believe he’d lost control.

“What’s the matter,” Mandy taunted, “regrets already?”

“This isn’t funny.” He stopped and ran his fingers through his hair, trying not to remember her doing the same. “Damn it, this is City Hall, Mandy.”

“So the location is the problem, not the quality of the activity?”

He knew she was goading him and tried to calm the hard rush of his pulse. The whole thing had been a mistake, pure and simple, but he couldn’t blame anyone but himself. He’d initiated the kiss, and it had led to the rest.

“You know the ‘activity’ was...as good as it gets,” he admitted.

“Isn’t there a movie by that title?”

He let out a breath. “I think so.”

“Well, I agree. It was awfully good.”

“You sound surprised.”

Mandy smoothed her hair. “Not at all. You already proved you were skilled in the kissing department.”

“That shouldn’t have happened, either.”

“But that was in my office, not yours. Well, and in the kitchen.”

“Hell, none of this should have happened,” Daniel exploded. “And it especially shouldn’t have happened
here
at work.”

“Technically it’s
after
work. You’re just being stuffy again.”

He glared. “It isn’t stuffy to recognize when something isn’t appropriate. I don’t know what I was thinking. You’ve scrambled my brain.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t cast
me
as a Delilah. I may have an overly developed sense of responsibility, but it seems to me there were two people in this room and I wasn’t the one who made the first move.”

“That isn’t what I meant.”

“Then what
do
you mean? And please tell me in
tiny little
words,
so I’ll be sure to understand.”

Sheesh, she was impossible. She had him thinking and talking in circles, yet the recognition didn’t keep him from wanting to take her to bed for a month and explore every inch of her peach-tinted skin.

“On second thought, never mind,” Mandy said. “Not interested. I’m going home.” She got up, unlocked the latch and left the office, closing the door smartly behind her.

Daniel groaned. He’d slipped over the line with Mandy, but he couldn’t do it again.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

M
ANDY
DROVE
HOME
,
her body zinging with the aftermath of pleasure, even while her brain fumed.

So, Daniel didn’t want it to happen again. Any of it.

And as much as she hated admitting it, he was probably right. Life was getting more and more complicated—it was impossible to relax anymore. Her comfortable world in Willow’s Eve had almost completely dissolved. That pigheaded, annoying city manager kept slipping into her thoughts no matter where she was...even when she was asleep. Just the other night she’d woken up, almost certain he was in bed next to her, the dream had been so real. Except now their encounter in his office made her dreams look wimpy.

The next morning, Mandy headed for City Hall determined to be cool and sophisticated about the whole thing. Basically, to pretend nothing had occurred. And she was not, repeat,
not
going to speculate on whether Daniel had restocked the condom in his wallet...except she obviously was already wondering about it. But she didn’t have to linger over the image or try to decide if it meant anything.

Those thoughts took an abrupt detour when she got to the Senior Center. Joyce was there, sitting at a card table with Lou Ella on one side and Samantha on the other. She looked up when Mandy came into the parlor.

“Mandy,” the little girl cried. She slid from her chair and ran across the room for a hug.

“Hey, Sam,” Mandy said. “How come you aren’t in class?”

“It’s some sort of in-service training day,” Joyce explained. “I’d forgotten about it until we got to the school and nobody was there. Lou Ella and I had plans to meet down here this morning, so I brought her along.”

“We always have kids whenever there’s a holiday or other school break.”

Samantha smiled happily. “I like it here.”

Mandy wasn’t surprised. Most of the people at the Senior Center liked children and enjoyed having them around since their own grandchildren usually lived at a distance. “Great. Do you want to be an assistant Senior Center director for a while?”

“Ab—solutely.”

“That’s terrific. Come on, we can redecorate the bulletin board. There’s a box of stuff we can use, and if it doesn’t have what we need, we’ll make more.”

The next hour was fun as Sam pored over the items in the box. She didn’t like the available turkeys or pilgrims, so she and Mandy studied seasonal images in a clip art program. Eventually, the little girl decided she liked autumn leaves the best, so they printed out a nice selection.

As Sam cut out the leaf-shaped forms, Mandy was impressed by her dexterity. Many six-year-olds might have done a choppy job, but Sam concentrated and took her time.

By midmorning, Samantha was fastening leaves to the lower part of the bulletin board, while Mandy put them above where Sam couldn’t reach, the youngster solemnly directing the location of each piece of decor. Daniel walked by and stopped.

“Hi, Daddy,” Sam said as she arranged some leaves so they extended past the edge of the frame.

“What are you doing here, pumpkin?”

“Grandma brought me ’cause we aren’t having school today. I’m the ’sistant seniors director.”

His lips quirked into an affectionate smile. “That’s great, honey. Nice to know you’re already a career woman.”

“Uh-huh. I have to go, Daddy.” Sam handed the stapler to Mandy. “I’m going to help in the kitchen now. Mrs. Barker needs me to butter the garlic bread.”

Mandy took a deep breath, knowing this was the first test of her resolve to act as if nothing significant had happened between her and Daniel.

“Sam is amazing,” she said when they were alone. “So articulate. At her age, it seems as if most kids are trying to stay inside the lines, but look at the artistic way she scattered the leaves on the board.”

“Art is one of her favorite things.”

Mandy smiled brightly. “Since she’s having lunch with the seniors today, would you like to join us?”

“I...sure. Listen,” he continued in a low voice. “I handled things badly last night. We should talk, so we can clear the air and—”

“No, we shouldn’t,” Mandy interrupted. She wheeled away, went down the hallway and into her office, only to find that Daniel had followed. He closed the door and fixed her with an intense gaze.

“Okay,” he said. “We don’t have to discuss it. But on the water issue, I thought you’d like to know I called the universities in Sacramento and Davis earlier this morning. They’ll have someone get back to me if there’s interest in doing a research project up here. I’ll give other schools a try, as well.”

“How about Berkeley?” she suggested. “It’s a high-profile university and a study from there might carry a lot of weight, though UC Davis
does
have a strong department in environmental studies. But the thing about Berkeley is that Evan Russell is a student there and he might help get a professor interested. Oh, on second thought, maybe not. He doesn’t know what’s been going on...between his parents, I mean.”

“I’ll give the school a call, without bringing Evan into it. Along with San Francisco State and Stanford. One of them should have a class that’s looking for a field project. I also thought about checking around to see if anyone is willing to house students while they’re doing a study. Being able to offer free lodging might help get a professor interested.”

“Except it could divide the community even more,” Mandy said worriedly. “Anyone housing the students would look as if they support building a new reservoir.”

“That’s an excellent point. I’ll think about it some more. See you at lunch.”

“Right. Have a good morning.”

She held her head high and didn’t watch as he walked away. That was how grown-ups handled things. Of course, an adult wasn’t supposed to accidentally have sex with a guy with whom she had no future, and didn’t want a future with in the first place.

Accidentally. As if they’d fallen off a sidewalk curb?

Something approaching a giggle escaped her.

“Mandy?” Samantha said, skipping through the door. “Mrs. Barker wants to know if we should have some bread without garlic.”

“That’s a good idea,” Mandy said. “Not everyone enjoys it and a few can’t eat fresh garlic.”

“I’ll tell her.” Samantha hurried out with an air of importance.

Mandy sympathized with Daniel’s daughter. Samantha was a sweet kid and she seemed to be facing some of the same issues that had bothered Mandy herself as a child. How was it that some mothers could relate to their daughters only when the daughter was just like the mom?

She reminded herself that if she couldn’t resolve the problems in her own family, she sure couldn’t do anything about the ones in another. And if she tried and failed, she’d just feel worse. But liking Sam didn’t mean Mandy had to like Daniel. She’d rather not see anything admirable about him...such as his intelligence or how much he loved his little girl, or the fact he actually
did
have a sense of humor—it might be rusty, but he definitely had potential.

And as much as she wanted to see him as insensitive, he had recognized times when she was upset or restless.

No, she didn’t need to dwell on any of those things. It was hard enough finding him so attractive that her body was screaming for a repeat of the previous night. She definitely didn’t need to feel anything deeper for the man.... That was a guaranteed broken heart.

* * *

C
AREFULLY
, D
ANIEL
STRAIGHTENED
the items on his desk, unwillingly recalling how they’d gotten scattered the night before. Some professional he was, having sex in his office.

With all his might, he almost managed to concentrate for the rest of the morning. Then at noon, a soft tap came on his door.

“Come in,” he called.

It was Samantha. “Time for lunch, Daddy.”

He let her grab his hand and lead him into the dining hall. With a swift glance around the room, he saw that some other children were there, as well. No doubt more than one senior was providing child care during the school’s day off.

“Come on, Daddy,” Samantha said. “We’re going to eat with Mandy.”

He smiled stiffly and nodded.

Before giving the go-ahead for serving the food, Mandy rapped a spoon against a glass to get attention. When the chatter quieted, she bent and whispered to Samantha, who smiled and nodded before climbing onto a chair.

“The fire department ’xilary is selling a calendar for ten dollars,” Samantha announced. “There’s a pile of them in the parlor and a box for the money. Oh, and the plain bread is on the left, and garlic bread is on the right.”

There were smiles and scattered applause around the room while Samantha jumped off the chair and ran to Daniel’s side. “Did I do it good?”

“You did great, honey.” He pulled his wallet out, removed a ten-dollar bill and handed it to her. “Go get me one of those calendars before we eat.”

Mandy gave her a thumbs-up, while Samantha giggled and ran out of the dining hall.

“They make a great calendar every year,” Mandy murmured. “It’ll look terrific on your office wall with that beautiful male flesh.”

Daniel choked and coffee sprayed out of his mouth. “My God, you mean it’s one of those—” He stopped, glanced around to be sure no one was close. “It’s that type of, uh... Lord, and I sent my daughter to buy one. Who is on it?”

Then he saw Mandy’s grin.

“You’re an easy mark,” she said.

“And you’re impossible.”

Samantha came trotting back into the room, and handed him the calendar. He thumbed through it and saw well-photographed scenes of the area.

“What about that other stuff you mentioned?” he asked Mandy with a grin.

“There,” she said, pointing at a photo of a gnarled old man sitting on a Victorian farmhouse porch, a golden retriever resting its head upon his knee. “That’s Bill Saunders and his dog, Mitch, both male as promised.”

“He’s the oldest man in Willow’s Eve,” Samantha said. “He told Mandy that when she took the picture.” Her eyes opened wide. “He’s a hundred and two. I guess that’s pretty old.”

One of the volunteers called for Mandy’s help at the serving table, and Samantha happily trailed after her. Daniel noted the other kids in the room seemed to bounce off Mandy, as well.

Alongside the others, Daniel went through the food line with Samantha and they returned to the table with their plates. The first mouthful of chicken Parmesan was delicious, but his appetite vanished when one of the volunteers sat next to him and asked how things were progressing on the water issue.

Daniel swallowed his bite of salad. “The town is still a long way from making any decisions.”

“Now, Pete, remember that we declared mealtime off-limits for that subject,” Mandy lectured sternly as she sat down with a plate of her own. “We had to, everyone was getting indigestion.”

“Sorry,” Pete apologized meekly. “Maybe we should discuss fishing. Daniel, if you haven’t found a good hole around here, I’m your man.”

Mandy nodded. “That’s true.”

“What do you like best?” Pete asked. “Bass, trout? Or do you prefer salt water?”

“I’m afraid I’ve never gone fishing,” Daniel confessed.

“Hell, son, you’ve missed out.”

“I’m sure.”

“What did you and your dad
do
together when you were growing up?” Pete made it sound as if fishing was the only father-son activity imaginable.

“Not much, a few ball games on television,” Daniel answered carefully. “What sort of fishing do you prefer?”

“Trout. There’s nothing that beats fly-fishing.”

A few questions kept the fisherman’s stream of stories coming.

Daniel stood as the meal ended. “Terrific food, folks,” he said. “Pete, you’ve made me wonder what I missed as a kid.”

“You get your old man up here and we’ll make up for lost time.”

“Sounds good,” he answered more stiffly than he intended.

He shook hands with the other man, dropped a kiss on his daughter’s forehead and waved at Joyce, who was sitting at another table with some of her new friends. Back in his office, he sank into his office chair, his head throbbing.

Mandy’s rapid knocks came a few minutes later. “You okay?” she asked, closing the door behind her.

“Why would you ask?”

“I don’t know. Just a feeling.”

“I’m fine.” He gritted out his answer.

“Yeah, that’s why you’re chewing your words before spitting them out of your mouth.”

“Mandy...”

“You got all uptight as soon as Pete started talking about fishing, or was it the mention of your father that started it?”

Damn, she was perceptive.

“I noticed something,” she continued. “At your house, you’ve got pictures of Sam and there’s some of Joyce, but none of your parents. Not that I’m judging. I don’t have any of my parents, either. I don’t need ‘Disapproval, Incorporated,’ hanging on my walls.”

“Disapproval?” he asked, hoping to divert her attention. He did
not
want to discuss his family background today.

“Like I’ve said, they’re college professors and extremely set in their ways. I was supposed to follow in their footsteps, or at minimum fit in with their world. Too bad. I guess they’re the ‘Hokey Pokey’ and I’m ‘Puff the Magic Dragon.’ Or maybe I’m like Jackie Paper, going off for adventures with Puff.”

“Well, Jackie Paper, I’d better get to work.”

“And besides, you don’t want to talk about your parents. Don’t worry, I can take the hint.”

As the door closed, Daniel couldn’t help chuckling. Despite her scatterbrained manner, Mandy Colson was as sharp as they came.

He glanced at the fire station’s calendar and saw Mandy was listed as a member of the auxiliary. Naturally. For a will-o’-the-wisp, Mandy was deeply involved with the community. Daniel found it hard to fathom. He was trying not to get too involved, avoiding anything that would make it harder to look for another position at the end of his contract. But Mandy didn’t seem to have any trouble leaving a place, no matter what ties she’d made—her history made that clear.

His lingering smile faded.

Mandy was smart and funny and turned him inside out with her sweet, passionate ways. He even understood now why she moved from place to place. But he had to be more careful and remember Samantha could get hurt if he let the wrong person into their lives...and so could he.