Sweet Home Colorado (The O'Malley Men) (4 page)

“I’ll get that window repaired and new locks put on all the
doors tomorrow, too.”

“Thank you for agreeing to renovate this house, Jack,” she
said. “I really appreciate that you made room for me in your schedule.”

“I aim to please.” He began to walk to his truck, then paused
and turned back. “If you don’t have any plans, would you like to come to dinner
at the ranch tonight? Mom won’t mind another mouth to feed. I’m sure my folks
would love to see you.”

Taken aback by the unexpected invitation, and the implication
that there was neither wife nor girlfriend in the picture, Grace could only
stumble over her words. “Er, no, not tonight, Jack, thanks.” She covered an
exaggerated yawn. “As I said, I’ve got some sleep to catch up on, and calls to
make.” She held up the slip of paper he’d given her.

“See you tomorrow, then,” he said. “And don’t forget, come
dressed to work, not to party.”

He gave Grace a long look that took in her too-short dress and
left those welcome tingles racing up and down her spine.

* * *

“D
UMB
, J
ACK
,
DUMB
!”
He hit the wheel and
berated himself as he drove down Lincoln and turned onto Main. What was he
thinking, inviting Grace to dinner with the family? Now she’d know there wasn’t
a girlfriend in the picture. He almost wished he
did
have a significant other in his life, just to show Grace he’d moved on,
forgotten about her. But that would be a complete lie.

He wondered what had really brought her back to Spruce Lake,
since she’d made her career such an important part of her life. So important
that she’d left Spruce Lake—and him—without a backward glance.

But most of all, he wondered why she was no longer married.

Chapter Four

When Jack arrived at Two Elk, the family ranch, that
evening, the front yard was already crowded with his brothers’ vehicles.

The babies and toddlers would all be tucked into beds and
travel cots, in a first-floor bedroom. The older kids would be watching TV or
playing games somewhere in the big house.

Inside he found Will and Becky’s son, Nick, and Carly and
Adam’s boys playing a video game in the living room. “Hi, guys,” he greeted
them, and got grunts in return. They were all enthralled with their game and
allowing themselves to be sidetracked would mean they could lose.

“Hi, Uncle Jack!” Luke’s daughter Daisy called as she breezed
through the room, followed by the clatter of feet on the stairs as her sister
Celeste raced down to greet him.

“We’ve been waitin’ ages ’n’ ages for you!” Celeste told him.
“Daddy says you’ve got a girlfriend.”

Hoo, boy! The O’Malley telegraph was fully operational. He
could picture it now—his parents and all his brothers and their wives lying in
wait for him around the kitchen table.

He pushed open the kitchen door and saw that the situation was
exactly as he’d suspected. Conversation ceased and eleven pairs of eyes swiveled
in his direction. Even his nephew, Cody—who at seventeen was old enough to join
the adults—was staring at him.

His mom looked at him expectantly. She leaned sideways a little
as if to see whether anyone was following him.

“Hi, Mom. Sorry I’m late,” he said as he crossed the room and
bent to kiss her cheek. He should have brought flowers; they might have
distracted her for a whole millisecond.

“Pop.” He shook his father’s hand, then made the rounds,
exchanging kisses and handshakes.

They all sat down and looked at Jack.

After a full five seconds of silence, Will asked, “So where’s
Grace?”

“At her hotel.” Jack glared at Adam. No secret was safe with an
O’Malley.

“You should’ve invited her to dinner, dear,” Sarah said, her
voice filled with disappointment. “I made extra.”

“Mom. Everybody,” he said, looking at each relative in turn.
“As you’re no doubt aware, Grace is back in town. I’ve agreed to renovate the
house she bought from her aunt Missy. End of conversation.” He snatched up a
bread roll and tore it in two. “I’m starving, Mom. What’s for dinner?”

“That’s it?” Sarah said as she placed bowls of fluffy mashed
potatoes on the table, along with a huge salad. His father got up to carve a
roast. Pop loved roast.

Sarah took her seat at the other end of the table. “That’s it?”
she asked again. “You’re not going to pick up where you two left off?”

“Mom! Please.” He softened his tone, seeing the hurt in his
mother’s eyes. “She just got back here. I need to come to terms with that.” He
passed a plate loaded with slices of roast beef down the table.

“He’s got a point,” Matt, who was the county sheriff, said.
“Grace Saunders broke my little brother’s heart. I might go arrest her and throw
her in jail until she makes a full confession of her sins.”

“You just made a joke,” Will observed. “A pathetic one, but
it’s not bad for you, big brother.”

Everyone knew that Matt took life way too seriously, in
free-spirited Will’s opinion. “So where’s she staying?” Will asked. “I’ll ride
shotgun.”

“This is not the Wild West anymore,” Will’s wife, Becky,
admonished. “But, if you’d like, I could beat her to a pulp with my
interrogation tactics. Find out why she left a great guy like you. And why she
really
came back to Spruce Lake.”

Jack smiled at Becky. She wasn’t known for joking, either. “I
appreciate your loyalty, but the truth is, she really
has
come back to renovate Missy Saunders’s Victorian.”

“And then she’s going to flip it,” Adam said with conviction as
he piled mashed potatoes onto his plate.

“Grace is renovating it to save it from further ruin. She won’t
be selling it. The house has to stay in the family.”

He turned his gaze back to Adam. “Have you remembered who Mike
is yet?” he asked, then muttered, “Traitor,” under his breath.

Carly grinned and said, “Jack, there’s really no hurry to start
building our house. For the moment, I’d prefer to stay closer to the hospital.
And town. If Adam was on duty and I went into labor, at least he’d be close
by.”

“Not that he’d be any use,” Luke, their oldest brother,
said.

“Eat, everyone!” Sarah instructed. “Before it gets cold. We can
ask Jack about his intentions toward Grace over dessert.”

Jack groaned. And to think half an hour ago he’d been singing
the praises of his close-knit family. He should’ve begged off coming here
tonight, although, that would only have delayed the inevitable. When he and
Grace were dating in high school, his parents and brothers had welcomed Grace
into their lives. They’d been almost as devastated as he was when she’d accepted
the scholarship to the college in Boston, and turned her back on Spruce Lake—and
him.

While Grace seemed to have her life carefully mapped out, Jack
had drifted from the peace corps to college, and then entered the seminary,
believing that that was where he could best help others. But he’d felt there
wasn’t enough time for those genuinely in need. That was why he now helped train
homeless and troubled youth in carpentry, to give them a skill, a job, a future.
It was satisfying and both physically and emotionally exhausting, but Jack
wouldn’t have it any other way.

Thankfully, the focus was now off him as everyone ate and
chatted about other topics. Next to him, Becky said, “I’d like to meet Grace
sometime. I promise not to interrogate her.”

Jack took a swig of beer and said, “I’d like to believe that,
Becky. But I’ve seen you at social functions. Within five minutes of meeting
someone, you know their name, occupation, hopes, dreams, likes and dislikes down
to the most trivial facts of their existence.”

“I do not!”

“Yeah, you do, sweetheart,” Will said.

Everyone around the table murmured agreement. Becky harrumphed,
then whispered to Jack, “Will told me a little about Grace. It sounds like she
and I had a similar upbringing. I thought we could be friends. Maybe I could
help ease her back into life in Spruce Lake.”

Immediately Jack felt bad for misjudging Becky. She and Grace
had both had fathers who were bums, they’d both moved around a lot growing up,
they were supersmart and they’d won scholarships to college. And they were both
divorced. Except Grace didn’t have a child from her ill-fated marriage.

He said, “I’m sorry, Becky. You’re right, of course. How about
swinging by the old house tomorrow and I’ll introduce you.”

* * *

G
RACE
FLOPPED
BACKWARD
onto the bed in her hotel
room. She hated hotels, their transient nature, accommodating you for a night or
two and only too glad to see you on your way. That was why, when Jack had made
the deal that meant she had to stay, she’d wanted to move into the house. To
feel as if she had a home here until the renovation was finished and she went
back to Boston.

She’d moved in with Edward when they got married, only buying a
place of her own after the divorce. They’d kept their money separate, which
meant she’d saved a lot, but she’d also spent a lot on holidays of Edward’s
choosing.

“Fool!” she muttered. How gullible she’d been to sign a prenup
that stated she was responsible for all her own expenses! She’d thought that
meant her makeup and clothes, but once she was earning she was also responsible
for her share of airfares, hotels and grocery bills. Edward would use his credit
cards to purchase things, then bill her for her share. When she’d pointed out
that he was claiming all the credit card reward points accrued for himself, he’d
flown into such a rage she’d dropped it. She’d only realized years later that
she’d been in an emotionally abusive relationship.

Grace blew out a breath, lifting her bangs off her forehead.
She’d been so naive, marrying a man like that. “Never again!” she vowed, and
headed to the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, she was in bed, after calling Marcie,
the interior designer, and arranging to meet her at the house in the morning.
Next, Grace reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. She removed the
photograph she kept there, tucked away where no one else could see it.

The photo had become worn around the edges over the years, so
Grace had laminated it. She studied her newborn daughter. In the picture Grace
was holding her close and gazing down at her, but Amelia was looking right at
the camera, a tiny frown on her face.

Grace kissed the photo and returned it to her wallet, then
closed her eyes and thought of what tomorrow would bring. More of Jack, she
hoped. How different would her life have been if she’d stayed in Spruce Lake and
married him? And kept their baby?

Chapter Five

When Grace arrived at the house at eight-thirty the
following morning with Marcie Mason in tow, Jack had already replaced the broken
windowpane, ordered the materials necessary to start the job and was just
signing for a consignment of oak to fix the broken stair treads.

He gave one of his men a list of door and window locks to
order, then went to meet the two women.

“Hi!” Grace greeted him as she alighted from her sleek red
rental. “You fixed the window already!”

Jack ignored the instant effect Grace had on him, instead
giving her a rundown of what had been achieved so far. “I’ve marked the steps
that need replacing,” he told them, “but be careful. If you don’t mind, I’ll
leave you ladies to it, while I get on with making the new stairs.”

Grace led the way to the second floor, chattering with Marcie
like they were old friends. Satisfied, Jack set to work, doing a final measure
of the treads.

Twenty minutes later, the two women were moving about the main
floor, taking measurements and discussing color schemes.

Marcie disappeared into the kitchen, and Grace paused beside
Jack. “She seems very competent,” Grace said.

“More so than you,” he said, nodding at her outfit. “I thought
I told you to come dressed for work.” He regretted the words the moment he said
them. Being rude to Grace to cover his discomfort wasn’t right.

“I was meeting an interior designer! I didn’t want her getting
the wrong impression of me.”

“And what impression would that be?”

“That I let my contractor boss me around?”

“I’m so glad you made that a question,” he said. “Once she
leaves, you need to go buy a pair of boots like these.” He indicated his heavy,
steel-toed work boots.

Grace stared at them in horror. “You must be joking!”

“Nope. They’re a health and safety requirement. And my
requirement—which you agreed to, is that you pitch in and help. Remember?”

Grace screwed up her face. “Stuck between a rock and a hard
place.”

“Yup. And by the way, here’s my estimate. In spite of your
haste to get me going on this project, I think it only fair you should know what
to expect.”

Jack pulled several sheets of printed paper from his pocket and
handed them to her. He watched as Grace scanned the pages, taking in all that
needed to be done.

She looked up at last and said, “That’s an awful lot of money.
More than I expected...”

“This is an awful lot of house that hasn’t been touched since
it was built—apart from that eyesore of a seventies bathroom and kitchen
renovation. This is the bare minimum it’ll cost to renovate the place into
something you can be proud of. If you want a cheap job, there are contractors
who’ll do it for you, but it won’t be me.”

“I don’t remember you being this forthright at school.”

“School was half our lifetimes ago. A lot has happened to both
of us since then.”

* * *

I
T
SURE
HAS
,
Grace thought.
I had our
baby, gave her away, then capped it off by marrying a complete Svengali—all
to get away from my family, and what have I got to show for it?

“Something wrong?” Jack asked.

Grace snapped back to the present. “No, everything’s fine. Just
don’t order me around too much, okay? I need to find my own pace.”

Jack frowned, but before he could ask about that revealing
statement, Marcie reappeared.

“All done,” she said. “I hope you accept my estimate, Grace.
It’d be an honor to work on this place. It might even get a mention in the
Digest of American Architecture.
”

Jack groaned.

“What’s wrong with that?” Grace demanded. “It’s a very
prestigious publication.”

“Sorry, Jack,” Marcie said. “I forgot about the fallout the
last time you were featured in it.”

Intrigued, Grace glanced from one to the other. “What?
What?
” she demanded.

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Marcie said, packing her notebook
and tape measure into her briefcase. She waggled her fingers at them as she
dashed through the front door.

Grace spun around to Jack. “Well? What was that about?”

“I got a bunch of, uh, fan mail when I was in that magazine a
few years back.”

“Which must have led to a lot of work for you. That’s good!”
she said, immensely pleased that her contractor was so talented he’d been
featured in the magazine. Just wait until Edward and his horrible family saw her
home in an upcoming issue! He’d tried to have their house highlighted several
years ago, but the publication had rejected his bid. Probably because their
mansion was more like a mausoleum than a home.

“All it led to was a lot of work dodging enthusiastic women.
And some men,” he said.

Grace started to giggle.

“Don’t laugh! It was really distracting when so many people
showed up at the work site asking for me. Luckily, Al fended most of them
off.”

“
Most
of them?” Grace nearly choked
she was laughing so hard.

“Why is this so funny?” he demanded.

“Because you seem so unaware of your looks,” she responded. “I
guess I missed that issue. Tell me how they posed you for the photograph.”

Jack widened his stance and crossed his arms.

Grace flushed. Jack’s biceps, broad shoulders, black hair and
vivid blue eyes made a pretty devastating combination. “I can see why you got so
much fan mail,” she said.

Jack scowled. “I wasn’t posing like this,” he said. “I’m
crossing my arms because I’m refusing to discuss it.”

“Wow! That must’ve been some photo,” she said. “I’m going to
look it up online.” Grace slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the
front door.

“Wait!”

She turned to see Jack blushing to the roots of his hair.

“It was that good, huh?” she teased.

“No, it was stupid. The photographer asked me to change. The
photo they published was of me taking off my old shirt. It looked like a cheesy
striptease.”

Trying to lighten the situation she said, too flippantly, “No
wonder you got so much attention. From both sexes.”

“It wasn’t funny at the time. And it still isn’t. I take my
work seriously.”

Grace schooled her expression. Jack really felt hurt and she
needed to respect that.

Changing the subject, she asked, “So, how are the rashes this
morning?”

“Much better. I’ve quit the orange juice, and the cream is
giving me a lot of relief.” He rolled up his sleeve to show her. “Looks fifty
percent better already.”

Grace brushed his inner elbow with her fingertip. She noticed
him flinching. Surely Jack wasn’t that unused to a woman’s touch?

A sudden wolf whistle surprised her and she jumped back from
him, searching for the culprit.

“Tyrone!” Jack shouted.

A lanky black youth sauntered over, grinning from ear to ear.
“Yes, boss?” he said.

“Don’t ever do that to a client again. In fact, to any woman.
It’s disrespectful. Now apologize to Dr. Saunders.”

The kid raised one finger to his head in a salute. “Sorry,
ma’am.”

Jack turned to Grace. “This is Tyrone. He’s one of my
apprentices, and since he’s only been here a couple of weeks, he hasn’t been
fully house-trained yet.” He cuffed the kid gently on the shoulder and said,
“Get back to work.”

“Sure, boss, and sorry again, ma’am.” Tyrone went back to
planing some timber.

“Actually, I wasn’t all that offended. Especially since he’s
just a harmless kid,” Grace said.

“Ten weeks ago that kid was serving time in juvie for pulling a
knife on a shopkeeper.”

Grace paled. “Oh.”

Then she glanced around at the rest of the young men working on
her house. They all seemed a little rough around the edges.

“I can see your mind working,” Jack said. “Let me assure you
that underneath the tough exteriors, they’re just kids who need a chance.”

“And you know this because...”

“So far I’ve trained about forty kids who were either homeless
or headed for jail. All of them now have jobs in the building trade all over the
States. Some have even started their own businesses.”

“I had no idea you did this.”

Jack shrugged. “Why would you?”

“I, uh...” Grace’s life suddenly looked awfully shallow from
where she was standing. What had she ever done to give back to the community?
“Am I taking you away from helping them? By hiring you to work on my home?”

“Nope. This is the perfect project for them. Come and meet the
rest of the guys. They don’t bite.”

Grace stayed where she was. “I feel a little foolish dressed
like this when I’m supposed to be part of the crew. Should I change into work
clothes first?”

“No, it’s better they meet you in all your prissiness, and then
when you get changed they’ll realize you’re human, too.”

Grace rolled her eyes at his mild chastisement. “Okay, then.
Lead the way,” she said.

They went inside and up the stairs where one of the boys was
working on her banister railings.

“Dr. Saunders, meet Zac. He’s been with me for over a year and
is shaping up to be a fine carpenter.”

“Please, call me Grace,” she said, offering her hand to Zac, a
short, bespectacled kid whom Grace couldn’t imagine ever being in trouble with
the law. He seemed too...
normal.
Or was she just
seeing the glasses and equating them with being studious?

He shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, ma’am. Jack said you’re
going to pitch in around the job site.”

He looked a little too long at Grace’s totally inappropriate
attire and she felt it necessary to joke, “I guess heels are a no-no?”

Zac shrugged. “Whatever the boss says.”

Something crashed downstairs. She and Jack raced to the first
floor to find dust billowing out of the kitchen. As it cleared, Grace saw that
half the cabinets had been torn from the wall.

A huge man stood in the midst of the debris.

“This is Ace. He specializes in demolition,” Jack said with a
wry smile.

“Grace,” she said, shaking hands with the tall, well-built
young man sporting tattoos on his arms and shoulders.

“This your house, ma’am?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, taking in the wreckage. The old seventies
cabinets were hideous, but at least they’d hidden the wall. Now that it was
exposed, she could see it was covered in years of built-up grime.

“Ace has only been with me a couple of weeks, so I’m not
letting him near the power tools yet.”

Ace grinned, revealing a missing front tooth. Grace feared he’d
be missing some digits if he went anywhere near a power tool.

“My other two apprentices have a couple of days off. They’re my
most experienced men, and one of them will be taking Ace under his wing.”

“I thought
you
were going to be
working on my house,” Grace said.

“I will. But I’m a contractor, which means I have a lot more to
do than hammering nails and cutting lumber. I teach the guys and do the finer
work myself. Al is the foreman and he keeps an eye on them. Don’t worry, your
house is in good hands—the entire crew just finished building a new house.
Renovating a Victorian is a real challenge and they’re all up for it.”

They walked outside, escaping the sound of more crashing as Ace
got back to cabinet demolition.

A truck with a Dumpster on its flatbed was looking for a
parking space farther down the street.

“It would help if you moved your car,” Jack pointed out. “Go
change and I’ll see you back here in an hour. No later, okay?”

“
Who
exactly is the boss here?” she
demanded.

“I am,” Jack said unequivocally. “And what I say goes. You’re
just the owner. Now get going.”

If he hadn’t said it with a smile, Grace might have been
offended. Instead, she bustled to her car and waved at the Dumpster delivery guy
to indicate he could have her spot.

* * *

J
ACK
SHOOK
HIS
HEAD
as Grace drove away. Already he
regretted his request that she roll up her sleeves and pitch in. Working in such
close proximity with Grace wasn’t one of his best ideas. Yet from the moment
he’d laid eyes on her again, he’d wanted her back in his life. But he needed to
forgive her first.

Forgiveness didn’t come easily to Jack, in spite of his time in
the seminary. It might have had something to do with the two weeks he spent on
life support after being assaulted and knifed by gang members. The memory of
Jayden Tyler, the kid he’d tried so hard to save from the gang, walking away
from him as he lay bleeding in that L.A. alley, had never stopped haunting him.
The fact that someone he’d put so much faith in could be so callous still burned
his guts.

Pushing the memories away, Jack went inside and ascended to the
attic to check the roof for leaks.