Restorations (Book One Oregon In Love) (16 page)

“Looks like you need a ride home.”

“Hattie is expecting me.”

“You can’t go there in the condition you’re
in.”

Sara plucked at the fabric of her dress,
suddenly aware of the way it clung to her body.

Brian pulled out his cell phone from his
coat pocket. “What’s Hattie’s number?”

Sara told him and he made the call, he
handed her the phone. She explained her predicament to her
sympathetic aunt and made arrangements to come over another day.
After saying goodbye, Sara handed him the phone.

Brian tucked it into his pocket. “I think
with a truck like yours, a cell phone is a necessity.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why do I need one when
I can just use yours?” The moment the words were out, she wished
she hadn't uttered them. It was as if she assumed he'd always be
available to her.

“This weather is unbelievable,” he said
after a moment, thankfully changing the subject. “I’m sure glad
that roof is on.”

She murmured an agreement and shivered.

Brian looked over at her in apparent
concern. He wriggled out of his coat and settled it around her
shoulders. “I know it won’t help much now that you’re already wet,
but maybe it will take the chill off.”

Sara could feel the remaining warmth of his
body and smelled a hint of his cologne. “Thanks.”

“As soon as the rain lets up a bit we’ll go
over to my truck.”

The rain drumming on the
roof of the Ford was almost deafening. Sara hoped it drowned out
the noisy pounding of her heart. Brian’s nearness had its usual
effect on her. Through the smears of rain on the windshield, she
saw everyone had left.
Great
.

“That was a very good service, don’t you
think?”

Staring straight ahead, she nodded.
“Yes.”

“Hattie’s had your car for quite a
while.”

“The problems with the Corolla were worse
than expected, so I told her to use mine as long as needed.”

“Oh.”

Several awkward minutes followed while she
prayed the rain would stop. Brian shifted toward her. As she sensed
his gaze, she lowered her eyes, cursing the heat she felt spreading
across her face.

“Sara,” he said with a husky note in his
voice. “I—”

A rapid knock on the driver side window made
them both jump. Brian rolled the window down to reveal the pastor
standing next to the truck. Rivers of rain poured off his hat as he
smiled at them.

“Is everything all right?”

“Sara got caught in the downpour and her
truck won’t start,” Brian explained. “I’m going to give her a ride
home but we’re waiting for the rain to let up.”

“Anything I could do to help?”

“Can we leave the truck here for a few hours
until I can get someone out here to take a look at it?

“No problem. Do you need to use a
phone?”

“I have my cell with me.”

“Sounds like you have everything under
control. I was about ready to leave and lock up the church, and
just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

“Thank you,” said Brian before rolling up
the window.

“What made him think there was anything
wrong?” Sara wondered aloud.

He grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “Maybe
the foggy windows made him think a couple of teenagers were in
here.”

“
Oh, yay
.”

He shrugged. “Nothing happened, so there’s
nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Now why did that thought make her feel so
depressed?

Brian cracked the window a few minutes later
and peeked out. “Looks like this is our chance. Ready?”

There was nothing for Sara to do but lock up
her Ford and follow him to his truck. A few tattered clouds spit
out the last bit of rain as they navigated around all the puddles
in the gravel parking lot. Brian’s truck roared to life and soon
warm air poured out of the heater. After the cold, stark interior
of her truck, this felt like decadence.

They completed the short drive in silence.
At the farmhouse, Sara slid the coat from her shoulders and thanked
him for the ride.

“I’ll wait for you to go change, and then
you’ll need to come back with me in case we get your truck
running.”

At his words, Sara noticed the sun made a
bleary attempt to shine down on the rain-washed landscape. She
suddenly smiled at him before hurrying into the house.

After stripping off her sodden clothes and
towel-drying her hair, Sara donned a rose-colored cotton sweater
and pair of blue jeans. She quickly brushed her hair and grabbed a
coat from her closet before going back outside.

When she got back into the truck, Brian was
talking on his phone and looked agitated.

“What do you mean you’re closed on Sunday?
If your sheep fell into a pit, wouldn’t you go and get it out?” He
pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it in amazement.
“That guy just hung up on me!”

Sara bit back a smile. “Who were you trying
to call?”

“A mechanic. I can’t find anyone in this
Podunk town who will look at your truck today. Even if I wanted to
have it towed to a shop, the towing company is closed! Who ever
heard of that?”

Leaning her arm against the
rest on the door, she gave him a speculative look. “This is a small
town, Brian, and
so
unlike you. Why exactly are you here?”

He seemed to become overly interested in the
steering wheel. “I’m sure you know why.”

Sara slowly shook her head. “Nope. No idea.”
She composed her expression into a careful blank as she waited for
his explanation, having no intention of revealing her tumult
within.

But Brian was as
forthcoming as she. His eyes gave nothing away as he studied her.
The ringing of his cell phone broke the spell, but not before Sara
saw his look of relief.
Saved by the
bell
.

She sagged against the seat
and listened to him talk. Had he come to Oregon because of her? If
that was the case, why wasn’t it more obvious? Surely if he wanted
to reanimate her affections he wouldn’t be so slow about it. Brian
wasn’t the type to dillydally. She always thought of him as someone
who got what he wanted.
Does he want
me?
Goose bumps crawled up her arms and she
huddled deeper into her coat for warmth.

“That was one of the mechanics I called. I
left a message with his wife, and he called back to say he could
meet us at the church.”

“Great.”

A short time later they all met back at the
church parking lot. Before checking under the hood of the Ford, the
mechanic asked for the keys and got into the truck. The engine came
to life and proceeded to idle smoothly. Brian shot Sara a look of
comic dismay.

“I must have the magic touch,” the mechanic
said as he emerged from the cab. “Bring it around to the shop next
week, and I’ll take a closer look at it.”

Sara agreed and watched Brian walk him to
his car. The mechanic refused payment for his time and waved as he
drove away.

“Why didn’t it start before?” she asked
Brian as he walked back toward her.

“It’s an old truck and is probably getting
cranky.”

“Well, thanks for your trouble. You can go
back to your paperwork now.” She got into her truck and rolled down
the window.

“I’ll follow you in case it breaks down
along the way.”

Sara nodded and pulled out of the parking
lot. All the way home, she had to remind herself to keep her eyes
on the road and not in the rearview mirror. When she stopped in her
driveway and shut off the motor, she said a quick goodbye to Brian
and went into the house, deciding she felt a lot like her
truck.

Cranky.

Chapter Fifteen

Sara found that by avoiding Brian, she could
put off the gut wrenching self-examination as well. She continued
to study up on business management using her aunt’s computer,
though she noted Hattie was absent from home more often than
not.

The construction proceeded according to
plan. Brian and his crew worked very hard, and she was pleased with
the progress. The bay window was framed in, and although the
opening was now boarded up with plywood, she could easily imagine
the view she’d enjoy once the windows were in place.

When Brian needed to discuss anything with
her, she made sure it was in full view of the crew, grimly
satisfied when he no longer subjected her to false intimacy. In the
evenings, in case he planned to seek her out, she stayed behind the
closed doors of her room, thereby cutting off any excess of
communication.

Despite clinging to the idea the current
state of affairs was desirable, Sara became increasingly bad
tempered and out of sorts. She blamed it squarely on the weather.
But the rainy weather of the past week evaporated before an
incoming burst of perfect summer weather, taking even that excuse
away.

One morning, the day dawned bright and
glorious. Sara awoke early and decided to go for a walk before it
got too hot. Confusion, worry, and edginess didn’t belong in such a
setting. By the time she returned to the house, she was in a better
mood and decided to make an extra effort to be friendly to
Brian.

Eli’s old appliances had been moved into the
dining room so she could use them while the kitchen underwent
remodeling. A plastic sheet separated the kitchen from the dining
room, to keep dust and debris out her cookery. Because of this
arrangement and the fact she had to wash all dirty dishes in the
bathtub, she didn’t do much cooking.

This morning she thought it would be fun to
bake something. When she heard Brian grumping at one of the crew
members, she decided a pan of warm cinnamon rolls might go a long
way in soothing the savage male beast. As Sara collected everything
needed for the recipe, she found she was out of a few key
ingredients and needed to make a trip to the store before she could
begin baking.

She returned home from the supermarket
nearly two hours later, and her earlier boosted spirits long gone.
A minor tractor incident and hitting a busy time at the grocery
store made a quick trip into town take twice as long. Then her
truck didn’t want to start, and it took many threats and prayers to
make it home. Sara wondered how repairs were going on the Corolla,
and realized she’d need to get the Ford looked at before she ended
up having to share the Accord with her aunt.

As she edged her way through the front door
with two large sacks in her arms, she tripped on the threshold and
a carton of eggs toppled out and hit the floor. Ten out of the
twelve eggs broke, and by the time Sara cleaned the mess up, she
felt irritable. She considered holing up in her room and eating the
whole pan of cinnamon rolls herself—if she ever managed to get the
things made.

Sara pulled out several bowls and began. She
mixed, kneaded, and punched, venting some of her angst. After
spreading the flattened dough with butter, cinnamon and sugar,
rolling it up and slicing it with thread, she let them rise for a
while before placing them tenderly in the oven.

Sara went into the kitchen to tell the crew
they were welcome to some after they were done. She wondered
whether or not Brian was worth the effort when he made no comment
about the heady aroma filling the house. Instead, he disappeared
out the back door.

She glanced out the kitchen window and saw
him climb a few steps up a ladder. She watched the play of muscles
in his arms as he cut a piece of copper flashing with tin snips.
Yes, he was definitely worth it—from an aesthetic point of view
anyway. Her eyes lingered on him as he climbed the rest of the way
up to the roof.

After cleaning up the mess from baking in
the dining room, she returned to the kitchen to check the progress
of construction. The electrician was there, threading wire through
specially placed holes in the wall framing. He smiled briefly at
her and continued working. A sudden muffled exclamation jerked her
head back to the window. Sara saw a dark shape plunge past. She
collided with the electrician as they both rushed out the back
door.

They found Brian on the ground tangled up
with the ladder. His face looked ashen and blood flowed from a gash
on his head. Sara hurried to his side as the crew arrived, alerted
by the crash. Brian kicked away the ladder and struggled to his
feet.

“I’m fine!” he repeated as he batted away
all attempts to aid him. Sara watched with concern when he
staggered slightly and leaned against the side of the house for
support.

He looked at his watch and then at his crew.
“It’s almost four o’clock. Go ahead and call it a day, guys.”

“But the cinnamon rolls aren’t ready yet!”
Jeff protested.

All three of the crew retreated before
Brian’s basilisk stare. Sara stifled a smile as they scrambled to
put away their tools. She followed and quietly told them they could
have some the next day.

After they left, she approached Brian and
touched his arm. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Just a little dizzy, that’s all. More than
anything, I’m mad at myself for falling. I wasn’t paying proper
attention to what I was doing.”

“Well, I think you should come into the
house and let me patch up that cut on your head.”

Brian reached up and touched his head,
visibly surprised to find blood on his fingers. Without waiting for
permission, she slid her arm around his waist and ‘helped’ him into
the house. She led him through her bedroom and into the bathroom
where Brian wearily sank onto the toilet seat lid.

“I think you’re hurt worse than you’re
admitting,” Sara said as she rummaged through her medicine
cabinet.

He shrugged, then winced at the resulting
pain. “I guess I am still seeing stars.”