The Widow of Saunders Creek (12 page)

“Yes ma’am. I reckon you did.”

“Well, thank Aunt Trudy for worrying about me, but I’m fine. I was actually just about to go to sleep.”

“On the swing?” He nodded toward the bedding.

“Yes.”

“That ain’t safe.”

I gave a laugh. “Why not? Who’s going to come all the way up here except for family?”

“Lots of folks do, Corrie.” Ray’s eyes grew serious. “I reckon you ought to get yourself back inside.” His commanding tone bumped up against my stubborn streak.

“Well, thank you for your concern, Ray,” I said firmly. “But I make my own decisions.”

His gaze narrowed, and he stared down at me from his lofty Saunders height. “Suit yerself.”

He turned and left as quickly as he’d come, firing up an old pickup
that I had no idea how I’d missed hearing. A shudder went over me as he sped down the hill.

Still, I gathered up my bedding and went back inside. I stretched out on the couch, glad the storm was over. I closed my eyes and dreamed of twisters, Eli, and Jarrod.

Before I turned around, it seemed, two weeks had gone by. During those two weeks, rain pelted the land almost daily, but without threat of violence, and I worked for Eli’s mom in the shop.

The morning of my thirtieth birthday began just like every day had since I moved to Saunders Creek. I sat on my swing with Kitty stretched out next to me, just out of arm’s reach, which he still seemed to prefer. I watched the fog lift off the river and sipped my too-sweet coffee. I had brought my phone outside because I knew my family well enough to know they’d be calling one at a time. Sure enough, my grandparents called, then my mother called. She was not at all happy that I’d decided not to go home for the anniversary and the shopping trip. I’d used the storm damage as an excuse rather than my job. I knew Mother would balk about her daughter working in “retail,” so I chose not to bring it up at all. Why borrow trouble?

Finally the birthday greetings concluded with a call from Lola. “Happy birthday, little sister! Am I the first to call?” she crooned into the phone.

I smiled. “Not even close, but it’s definitely the best call.”

We small-talked for a while, and I was still sitting there an hour later when Eli showed up.

“Lola, Eli’s here. I better go.”

“Oh?” she said in a higher tone. “Eli, huh?”

“Lola …”

“Okay, fine. You’re not interested in anyone but Jarrod. I get it. Make sure you do something nice for yourself today.”

“Your call was just the birthday gift I needed. Everything else will be a disappointment.”

She gave a short laugh. “Sure it will.”

My attention had shifted to Eli. He got out of the truck and lifted out a flat, rectangular package.

“Thanks for calling, Lola,” I said. “Love you.”

I stood to get a better look as Eli waved and walked toward the house.

“What’s that?” I called.

He grinned, climbing the steps. His nose had a little crook to it since the night it was broken. I had to admit I found it a little rugged and cute. It had healed nicely, and only smudges of bruising were noticeable under his eyes. “What’s what?”

I rolled my eyes. “Very funny.”

He handed me the flat rectangle wrapped in brown paper. “For you. Happy birthday.”

“I don’t know what to say.” I took the bulky gift. “How’d you know it was my birthday?”

“Mom told me. It’s on your employee information at the shop.”

“Ah. That explains why she insisted I take the day off.”

Eli nodded, his eyes bright with anticipation as he glanced at his gift in my hands. “Are you going to open it?”

I walked to the swing and sat. I knew by the size and shape it had to be some sort of painting. I ripped off the paper and turned it around,
held it up, and studied the white canvas on my lap. “Thank you,” I said with poorly disguised confusion.

He chuckled. “I wanted to get you a painting for your birthday, but not knowing what sort of art you enjoyed, I decided you might like to paint your own.”

“I don’t know what to say.” I looked up at him. “That was incredibly thoughtful.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him all my paints were old and unusable. They’d followed me from one storage unit to the next as Jarrod and I moved from base to base over the years. As it turned out, I didn’t have to mention it anyway.

“Jerry Wright, at the art store, said to come in and pick up anything you need. He’s charging it to me.”

My surprise must have shown on my face, because he looked even more highly pleased with himself. “Do I seem like the kind of guy to just buy a girl a blank canvas for her birthday?”

“I didn’t know Saunders Creek had an art store.”

“Well, it’s also a bakery, but I checked with Jerry to be sure the art supplies were good ones.”

I laughed. “Well, only the best for me.”

“I agree.”

I was kidding, of course, but Eli wasn’t. I caught my breath at the intensity of his tone. I shifted my gaze back to the canvas and cleared my throat. “So this bakery art store. Where exactly is it?”

“Two blocks past my mom’s store, next to the coffee shop. You can’t miss it. There’s a big blue sign that says ‘Jerry’s.’ He’s expecting you today.”

I stood, lifting the canvas with me. “Well, I have the whole day off, so I think I’ll go into town and check out this art supply store.”

“Corrie,” Eli said, halting me with his hand on my arm.

Turning to him, I lifted my gaze with difficulty.

“I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable.”

“It’s okay, Eli.” There was no point in denying the truth, so I nodded. He deserved honesty from me. “We’re friends, right?”

“I like to think so.” He smiled. “And friends buy friends gifts on their birthdays. Don’t read anything else into it, okay?”

Relief went through me. “There I go overthinking things again.”

“It’s okay. It must be your advanced age.”

“Hey!” I gave his arm a light punch.

He chuckled and let go. “There’s something I need to run by you.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m hiring a couple of guys to help finish the work here. With the tornado damage at my place and the work I need to do on the campground, I’m afraid I’ve overextended myself.” He seemed a bit embarrassed by the admission, which I thought was sort of macho-sweet. “They’re going to start on the back deck tomorrow. With both of them working on it, they should be finished inside a week, and then they’ll start on the porch next, if you say it’s okay. I ordered the bricks, but it’ll be a few days before they come. You’re sure you don’t want concrete for the front porch?”

Two questions at once. “Yes, I’m sure I want the porch to be brick. And yes, you can hire anyone you need to.” I flashed him a grin. “I pay by the job, not the manpower.”

He smiled back. “I know. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t mind the extra people around here for a few weeks.”

“I don’t mind.” As long as he didn’t hire his cousin Ray. The creeper. I still hadn’t gotten over his visit.

“Okay, I’m going to work on your bedroom floor today if you’re good with that. You won’t be able to sleep in there for a few nights.”

“It’s fine. I don’t sleep in there anyway.”

His eyes narrowed. “Still?”

I shook my head and moved toward the door with my canvas tucked under my arm. “Do whatever you need to.” The wood floors had been refinished during an earlier remodel years ago, but now they were warping, and a few boards needed to be replaced. I hated the idea of using new wood with the antique wood, but I knew Eli would make it beautiful anyway. “Help yourself to coffee,” I said as we stepped inside. “I’m going to go make myself presentable and head into town.”

By nine, I had showered and dressed. I pulled my hair up into a clip and applied just enough makeup to be presentable. It wasn’t like Mother was around to shame me into a Mary Kay nightmare.

I drove down the steep road with the doors off and the warm wind blowing through the Jeep. My straw cowboy hat covered my head, and I felt pretty good for a girl who just turned thirty. My size six Levi’s still fit comfortably, and I wore a sleeveless shirt with confidence. All in all, today was a good day.

A horse and rider cantered toward me as I reached the intersection at the end of my long drive. I expected them to ride past so I could move forward toward Saunders Creek, so I did the polite thing and waited. Instead, the woman waved and turned her horse toward me.

She was pretty—no, more than pretty. The kind of woman that made normal, decent-looking women feel dowdy even in their Sunday best. Dark brown hair touched sun-kissed shoulders, and suddenly I
wished I had on sleeves. “Hey, there,” she said, bright-eyed, with a big smile.

“Hey.”

“I’m looking for Eli Murdock. Is he up at the home place?”

I hated to admit it, but my curiosity was piqued. I’d been in town for two weeks and had never seen her before, and yet she was relaxed and comfortable, like one of the locals. “Uh, yeah. He’s working on the floor.”

“You must be Corrie.” Her eyes went sober. “I’m sorry about Jarrod. We grew up together.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m Ava.” She reached down and offered her hand. I shook it.

“Nice to meet you.” I studied the brown mare. I knew nothing about horses, but this one was shiny and sleek and beautiful. “Pretty horse.”

By the widening of her smile, you’d have thought I complimented her baby. “Thank you. I don’t get to ride often, only when I come home to visit my mom.”

I hated the way my heart lifted at the knowledge that she was only visiting, so I tried to be extra nice.

“You said you’re looking for Eli?”

“Yeah, I just got here today. Thought I’d stop in and say hi.” She frowned. “The two of you aren’t …”

“Dating?” I shook my head. “No. Just friends.”

I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination or not, but I thought her face relaxed.

The encounter was beginning to feel awkward, and from the way
her gaze kept darting toward the house, I was pretty sure Ava felt the same way. “Feel free to go upstairs when you get there. Eli should be in the master bedroom working on the floor.”

“Thanks. Hope to see you again.” She nudged her horse and took off at a gallop up the hill.

I moved the Jeep forward at a crawl, wrestling with the sudden emotions I hadn’t felt in a really long time. I pictured Ava throwing herself into Eli’s arms in a hearty hello. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t attracted to Eli. Any living, breathing woman would be. He was tall and really good looking in that understated way that came with a five o’clock shadow, ripped jeans, and a T-shirt. I enjoyed my status as his obvious crush, although I tried hard not to lead him on. Another woman entering the picture hadn’t been a consideration. I didn’t think of him that way. Or did I?

I had another surprise for Corrie and hoped I could finish it before she got back from town. My mother was supposed to call her in the next half hour and insist on taking her out for a birthday lunch. That would give me more time to work.

Rather than purchase new lumber to replace the warped boards, I made a deal with a local family to salvage flooring from an old home on their property. I’d been pulling up flooring and anything else I could save for months. It saddened me that descendants would choose to build new homes and leave the originals to fall into disrepair, but I understood, and in this case, I could use it to my—or, more specifically, Corrie’s—advantage.

I yanked up the six warped boards and was just about to carry them outside and bring in the replacements when I heard the door open. My heart sped up. Was Corrie back already?

“Eli?” called a female voice that was definitely not Corrie’s.

“Hang on,” I called back. “I’m coming down.” I held on to the boards and headed down the steps. I knew that voice. Ava.

She smiled up at me, gorgeous as ever. “Nothing as appealing as a guy doing manual labor.”

“Hey stranger.” I ignored the comment. No sense starting something I wasn’t willing to finish. “When did you get to town?”

“Yesterday.” I got to the landing, and she stepped out of the way. “Need a hand?”