Restorations (Book One Oregon In Love) (18 page)

“Nope.”

He turned away from her but
not before she saw him rolling his eyes. Sara decided he needed to
be brought down a peg or two.
She
was his boss and deserved to be treated with more
respect. Putting up with his moodiness for weeks on end was getting
old. Plus he talked to girls that weren't her.

Sara tiptoed to the basin and scooped up a
handful of mud. Before taking the time to consider her actions, she
lobbed the mud at him, smacking him squarely in the back.

Brian spun around. Exhilaration filled her.
She threw another handful, which, she noted with grim satisfaction,
got him in the side of the head. Brian lunged for her.

Sara managed to hurl one more handful before
he caught her by the arms. She smiled at the wild look in his eyes,
which only seemed to rile him further.

He dragged her away from the basin and
backed her up against the wall, pinning her hands by her sides.

“What was that all about?” he asked in a
mild tone at odds with his ragged breathing.

“Um.”

“Well?”

Sara tried to slow her own breathing and not
stare too obviously at his lips. “Would you believe that I have
absolutely no excuse for what I did?”

He shook his head and released her. “Not
good enough. You deserve to be punished.”

“It was just a silly prank,” she said
lightly, noting all the white stuff in his hair.

“Okay, if not punishment, then a
reward.”

“Reward for what?”

“For my heroism. You still owe me from when
I rescued you in the upstairs bedroom.”

Sara looked up at him with wide eyes,
silently telegraphing a message she didn't have the guts to
verbalize.

Brian, not known for being slow on the
uptake, drew her to himself and claimed her lips, subjecting her to
a long and drugging kiss. Clutching a handful of his shirt to
steady herself, she kissed him back with all the yearning of her
heart.

Shimmering on the edges of her consciousness
came the sound of the front door bell ringing. Sara wrapped her
arms tightly around Brian’s neck, refusing to acknowledge anything
else besides him.

“Hello, is anyone home?”

A sharp intake of breath finally got her
attention.

Sara reluctantly freed her lips and in a
daze, looked into the neon-red face of Brian’s employee, Todd,
standing just inside the kitchen.

“I forgot my radio,” he bleated. Edging
around them, he grabbed the handle of a nearby boom box, and rushed
from the room. The only evidence of his presence was the banging of
the front door.

Sara stiffened against Brian, suddenly
anxious. The light from the bare bulb hanging above them seemed to
burn with a harsh light. She swallowed hard, sure he’d make a
flirtatious comment and drain the moment of all meaning. Before he
extinguished her vulnerable emotions completely, she decided to
take the offensive. “Hattie is letting her tomatoes die.”

Brian blinked several times and glanced down
at her hands crushing the fabric of his shirt. He looked back at
her. “Huh?”

Hastily smoothing his shirt before putting
her hands at her sides, she took a deep breath. “I’m worried about
Hattie.”

Releasing her, Brian backed away. He rubbed
a hand over his face, leaving a few streaks of white behind. “Begin
at the beginning.”

Sara watched him from under her lashes,
noting the high color in his face. She wondered if that kiss shook
him up as much as it did her. “I went to my aunt’s house today, and
she wasn’t home when she should be and her garden has been
neglected. She’s apparently been working more and more hours and
won’t give me any real explanations why.”

“Maybe she needs the money.”

Sara shook her head. “I already asked her
that.”

He sighed audibly. “What are you going to do
about it?”

“I don’t know.” She bit her lip and as if
pulled by an invisible force, stepped close to him. “You have
texturing mud in your hair.”

“I wonder why,” he said dryly.

Sara reached up and tried to brush the
drying mud from his hair. He stayed motionless while she worked,
watching her steadily. She stood close enough to feel the warmth of
his body. Her heart fluttered like a trapped bird. She secretly
hoped he’d take her in his arms again, then wondered why she just
couldn't say the words out loud.

Brian gently pulled her hands down. “Why are
you doing this, Sara?”

Unable to meet his eyes, she stared down at
their joined hands. Knowing he wasn’t referring to the cleaning of
his hair, she wanted to admit her true feelings, but cowardice
overruled passion. What if he was still a flirt? What if she was
just convenient? What if he felt the same way about her?

He released her hands and tipped her chin,
forcing her to meet his eyes.

“Are...are you going to kiss me?” she asked
in a strangled whisper.

Brian suddenly grinned. “I’d like to but I’m
sure we’d somehow be interrupted.” He tilted his head back and
yelled,“Is anybody hiding out there? Come on out where we can see
you!”

Sara let out a shocked giggle and slapped a
hand over her mouth.

His eyes glinted down at her. “Shall we test
my theory?”

Sara experienced a twinge
of disappointment.
I was right, he’s just
the same old flirt he always was
. It only
confirmed her decision to keep her true feelings hidden. But she
couldn’t deny the desire for one last kiss.

Brian put his hands at her waist and bent
his head.

The phone rang.

Straightening, he gave her a sheepish grin.
“I hate being right.”

Sara grudgingly slipped past the plastic and
went in the dining room to answer the phone. She felt a measure of
relief to hear her aunt’s voice on the other end. “Hattie! Are you
all right?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re hardly ever around anymore and your
tomatoes are wilting.”

“That’s what I called about, dear. Thank you
so much for watering them and for tidying up my house, although
there was no need. I got a little behind, that’s all.”

With Brian only a few feet away, Sara
decided this wasn’t the time to grill her aunt. “Are you sure
everything’s okay?”

“Everything’s fine, dear. I need to let you
go now. Good night.”

She hung up before Sara could say she’d see
her at church the following day. Surprised at the abruptness, she
replaced the receiver in the cradle and went back into the kitchen.
As if nothing had occurred between them, Brian resumed working,
texturing the sheetrock, seemingly oblivious to her presence.

Sara firmed her lips and resolved to go
straight to bed before she made more of a fool of herself than she
already had.

***

The next morning Sara awoke with a blinding
headache and a keen sense of regret over her forward behavior of
the night before. What possessed her to act so boldly? The
impetuousness of tossing around sheetrock mud paled in comparison
to the way she practically begged for Brian’s kiss.

After a shower and dressing in her silk
pewter blouse and black slacks, she went outside and found Brian
lounging against the side of her truck. Sara’s first instinct was
to turn around and go back into the house, but she forced herself
to continue in his direction.

“Good morning,” she said, relieved at the
steadiness of her voice.

“Good morning, Sara. I thought we could ride
to church together.”

Oh, you did, did
you?
She gave a little shrug.
“Sure.”

Brian motioned the way to his pickup.

“What’s wrong with taking mine?”

“I have a desire to go to church today, not
to the nearest mechanic’s garage.”

“My Ford is not unreliable, just
misunderstood.”

“You really ought to consider having some
major repairs done before you get stranded somewhere.”

“Nonsense. You’re just trying to cover the
fact that you’re unadventurous.”

Brian chuckled. “That’s one way of looking
at it, I guess. Are you ready?”

Sara acquiesced and followed him to his
pickup. The short ride to church seemed longer than usual as she
wondered what Brian thought about her behavior from the previous
evening.

That thought went out of her head when she
entered the church sanctuary and didn’t see her aunt. Sara put a
hand on Brian’s arm before they continued on. “Hattie’s not here.
Something must be wrong.”

“Maybe she’s just late.”

“Do you think I should call and check?”

“Sara, relax. She’s probably just a few
minutes behind us.”

Brian propelled her forward to a pew as the
service began. The sanctuary was crowded and they ended up sitting
shoulder to shoulder, a fact that would’ve sent Sara into raptures
had it not been for worry over Hattie. She fidgeted all during
worship until Brian took her hand in his. Instead of calming her,
his action only succeeded in increasing the tension within her.

When the worship portion of the service
ended, Sara slipped from the pew and went into the foyer after
Brian offered her the use of his cell phone. She dialed Hattie’s
number and the phone rang and rang on the other side before her
aunt finally answered.

“Hattie! Are you okay? I thought you’d be at
church this morning.”

“Sara, dear, stop worrying about me. I got
in late last night as you know and I decided to sleep in this
morning.”

She suddenly felt ridiculous. “Sorry. I just
wanted to check up on you.”

“That’s very sweet. As you can hear, I’m
doing just fine.”

Once again, Sara got the feeling she was
being dismissed. “Well, I guess I’ll see you later. Get plenty of
rest.”

“Goodbye, dear.”

She frowned as she made her way back to
Brian’s side, dissatisfied with her aunt’s blithe excuses of late.
Sara resolved to stop by on her way home just to be sure everything
was okay, then she’d leave her aunt alone. After a moment, Sara
remembered Brian had driven her to church.

She leaned close and lowered her voice. “Do
you mind if we stop by my aunt’s house on the way home after the
service?”

Brian found it difficult to follow the
sermon when the female next to him persisted in teasing him with
her light perfume and frequent whispers. He cleared his throat.
“No, I don’t mind. Were you able to get a hold of her?”

“Yes, she said she slept in. But I still
want to check in on her, just to make sure everything’s all
right.”

“Fine.”

Sara relaxed against the back of the pew and
appeared to forget about him completely. Brian spent the remainder
of the service trying to keep his thoughts and hands off her, and
realized the only way he’d get anything out of any church service
in the future was to marry her.

He'd come to Oregon to find her—to ask her
forgiveness, though he'd hoped for more. Now that she was back in
his life, the not-so-old flame had been fanned into a forest fire.
But did she feel the same way? Just because he stole a few kisses
didn’t mean she’d fall into his arms if he proposed. He peered down
at the side of her face, wondering what she really thought of him.
As if sensing his gaze, Sara glanced up at him and gave him a smile
of singular sweetness. Brian caught his breath. Well, there was one
way to find out. No more nibbling at the edges. He decided to buy a
ring the next day—just in case.

As they made their way to the doors after
the service ended, Brian shook hands with several people and
uttered inanities to a blur of faces, scarcely knowing to whom he
spoke. He hustled Sara out to the truck, eager to divine any
reciprocal feelings to bolster his decision.

Consumed by his thoughts, he was surprised
to find they were already at Hattie’s house. Sara sat up straight
and stared out the window. The sun neared its zenith and caused a
blinding glare to bounce off the windshield of an unfamiliar
vehicle parked in Hattie’s driveway.

He looked over at Sara. “Looks like she’s
got visitors.”

Chapter Seventeen

“I’ve met most of her friends and I’ve never
seen that car before,” Sara said, turning her avid gaze to him.

“So what do you want to do next? Knock on
the door or go home?”

She puckered her brows. “I don’t want to
interrupt if she’s visiting with someone, but at the same time I’m
dying of curiosity. If she saw us drive up, then she’ll come out in
a minute.”

Brian peered out his window. “The way her
house is oriented, it’s entirely possible she has no idea we’re
here.”

“That settles it, then. Just one little
peek, and I’ll quit bugging her.”

“Do you mean you’re going
to
spy
on her? What
if she’s in the middle of a romantic tryst?”

Sara looked up at him and laughed. “I have
never seen Hattie interested in any man before. She’s probably
having tea with one of the ladies she works with.”

“Then why spy on her?”

“Not spy,
peek
,” she said, sliding
out of the truck. “Are you coming with me or not?”

“Sure. You’ll need someone to help you talk
your way out of an embarrassing moment.”

Sara shushed him. “Don’t let the truck door
slam.”

Stifling a grin, Brian followed her stealthy
lead around to the front of the house. They silently climbed the
steps and approached the screen door. Because of the heat of the
day, the main door was opened wide, giving a good view into the
shady interior of the house.

The sound of a man’s voice
caused Sara to freeze. She turned back to Brian with wide
eyes.
There’ll be no getting her to leave
now
, he thought ruefully. Furthering his
plans for romance would have to wait for another time.