Second Chances (8 page)

He heaved a sigh of relief.  “Well, other than this, what do you think?” 

Looking in to his eyes, she thought about tempering her answer for a moment, but then decided that she had always tempered her answers.  And what had it gotten her?  She was treated like a doormat and left.  Not this time.  Not even for a business arrangement.  She was going to be real.  “I think your decorator hated you,” she said bluntly.

Obviously taken aback, Gavin spoke without thinking.  “What makes you say that?”

Shrugging, Hannah continued with her explanation.  “I guess that idea was initially formulated downstairs with the dark oppressive colors and the angry artwork, but now I’m convinced.”  She glanced over her shoulder into her room once more.  “This was supposed to be your room, right?  But it was never finished?”

Inhaling sharply, he responded, “Something like that.”  They started to walk back down to the foyer and Gavin began to study the place, see it from her perspective.  “Huh,” he said.

“What?”

“I think you’re right.”   He smirked.  “I think my decorator did hate me.”

Hannah scowled.  “I hope she didn’t take you for too much,” she said angrily.

“For more than she deserved,” he answered wryly.

And with that observation, he headed back to the study and shut a door behind him.  Hannah, who was used to never having a man to help her out and certainly not expecting her employer to start now, thought nothing of moving her boxes in all by herself.

He couldn’t concentrate.  For the last two hours, Hannah had been traipsing back and forth, moving stacks of boxes.  She would carry a few in, empty them and then break down the boxes and stick them back in her SUV.  He had watched her struggle some, dropping boxes here and there, trying to lift too many and putting them back.  She had seemed to maintain a pleasant demeanor through it all, laughing at herself, giggling and smiling through it all.

And while she did that, Gavin paced.  Not helping went against his very nature.  He was raised to be a gentleman, to assist the fairer sex at every opportunity, opening doors, pulling out chairs, helping them with their coats.  He closed his eyes as he remembered their first meeting and how it felt to help her with her coat.  Gavin rubbed his hands together.  This was silly.  There were plenty of ways he could teach her a lesson.  It shouldn’t be this.  And with that decision made, he opened the door of the study and prepared to assist however possible.

For the last few hours, Hannah had been moving boxes.  She hadn’t seen Gavin the entire time, but she assumed he was busy at work in his study, making money so that he could keep her in the manner to which she might like to become accustomed.  She giggled at the thought. 

The girl’s room was completely finished.  That was always her first priority.  She wanted them to be comfortable and feel as at home as possible in their new surroundings.  She had lugged up boxes of toys and games, their matching comforters, and even stuffed animals.  Each trip had taken its toll.  She had lost count of the number of times she had gone up and down the steps.  Her legs were sore, and her back ached some from the bending and stretching and like movements.

Now she was on what should be her last trip.  Her legs quivered a little as she added the second box, but it was so much better than the idea of going up and down yet another time.  She balanced the boxes precariously in one arm as she reached up and shut the trunk door.  Hannah pushed her way through the front door and backed into it to shut it behind her.  Moving cautiously, her vision partially obscured by the second box, she made her way to the stairs and felt her way up one curving step after another.  She had almost reached the top when the boxes began to shift and she started to lose her balance.  “Oh.”  That was all she had time to say before she began to stumble.

When Gavin stood in the open doorway, he discovered that she was part way up the stairs.  He began to go to her, but he had to admire her first.  She was so strong, mentally and apparently physically.  She had been working diligently all afternoon without disturbing him.  He had set one foot on the stairs and looked up, gauging the distance between them when he noticed the top box begin to slide.  Fear clenched his throat.  He wanted to call out and warn her but there wasn’t time.  Without thinking, he rushed up the stairs.

Just before he reached her, the boxes tumbled and so did she, while making a last ditch effort to right them, and clearly injuring her back.  By the time she landed in Gavin’s arms, there were tears in her eyes and she was biting back the pain, her lip white and shaking.

“It’s okay,” Gavin murmured, pulling her tightly against him.  “I’ve got you,” he said while he stared intently into her eyes. 
I thought they were brown,
he marveled.  But up close, it was obvious that her eyes were this incredible shade of hazel, more than a hint of green and flecked with gold, whose color would best be dictated by whatever she was wearing that day.  As the first tears spilled out of them, he couldn’t help himself.  Pressing his lips against her temple, he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the girls’ room.

Once inside he paused for a moment to note how much she had accomplished in such a short period of time then carefully deposited her on the nearest bed.  Kneeling beside her he asked, “Are you okay?”

Hannah closed her eyes for a moment.  It was too much.  He had held her close like she was so fragile, so precious to him.  He had planted the most delicate kiss on her right temple, a kiss that still warmed her skin.  And she had responded by crying.  Well, true, her back did hurt, but she was ashamed of her clumsiness, that she had needed his rescue, and even more that she was so moved by his kiss.  She swallowed.  “I’m fine.”

Brushing the hair back from her face, Gavin paused a moment before he stood.  He was being ridiculous and far too…concerned.  “Well, I’ll leave you to it then.”  He stopped at the doorway.  “Where should I leave those boxes?”

“They go in my room,” she said weakly.

He felt his heart slamming into his sternum.  “I’ll just leave them outside that door for you.”  And with that, he turned on his heels and walked away.

Ever so gingerly, Hannah began to move from the bed.  She swung first one leg, then the other over the edge and braced herself for the pain as she rolled off and attempted to stand. 
Great,
she thought,
and I still have to drive to get the girls and make it back.

She laid her hands on her lower back as she straightened and followed it with stretching her arms, one at a time in front of her to stretch the area between her shoulder blades.  Her back still hurt, but it would.  There wasn’t much else she could do about it now.  There was work to be done.

As Gavin passed by the doorway, he noticed how she worked to maneuver herself from the bed, and then on his way back down the hall, she was attempting to stretch out her back.  He sighed and shook his head, knowing full well it would never work.  What she needed was a massage, a nice deep tissue one, or better yet, a hot stone one.  That would soothe her muscles and work out the tension.  He knew just who to call.  Reaching for the phone that seemed permanently affixed to his belt, he scrolled through his contacts and dialed. 

“Mr. Meyers!”  The woman on the other end of the phone exclaimed.  “What a pleasant surprise!  I didn’t expect to hear from you again.”

In truth, Gavin never expected to have to call her again.  They had become acquainted during his rather extreme last-ditch effort to save his marriage.  When he finally realized that all was not well in his world, a world he took much pride in creating and maintaining, he had decided to examine the marriage as he had every merger and business transaction in his life.  All he needed to do was provide a little service and surely India would be happy.  He had sought to uncover her need and then merely fulfill it.

Day after day she would be hunched over a pottery wheel or in odd positions soldering stained glass pieces, or welding.  The list of her mediums grew.  And night after night he had seen her stretching much like Hannah had earlier in an effort to ease her discomfort.  In his first approach, he had a pool company and landscapers come in and install a hot tub that would match the pool.  He imagined opening a bottle of wine and cuddling up there with her, but India had argued about the dangers of all those chemicals against her skin.  At last, he realized he was going to need a more hands on approach, literally.  After hiring a masseuse to come to the house and work out her muscles, Gavin was drawn to the doorway when he heard the sounds India was emitting.  He had never heard her moan in pleasure like that before and blushed.  Immediately he knew that he wanted to be the one to get that kind of response from her.  It wasn’t about passion; it was a matter of pride.  He took classes in the evenings until he was a certified masseur.  And then, he went a step further.  Because he understood her desire for natural elements touching her skin, he had flown to Arizona to take La Stone therapy seminars.  He sighed.  He had never even had the chance to show her all he learned.

“So, to what do I owe this pleasure?”  Sierra continued to gush.

“It appears that I need your services this evening,” he began slowly.  “Do you still make house calls?”  He could feel his gut clench as he asked.

“For you?  Of course,” she cooed.

“Well, it wouldn’t be for me exactly, but I would be paying you.”  He waited expectantly for an answer.  “I would need you here, say…8:00 tonight?”  He could hear the sound of pages turning rapidly.

“Hmm.  I think that could be arranged,” she said slowly, writing the appointment on her date book.  “One hour?”

Gavin, thinking of the pain he had seen in Hannah’s face as she lay in his arms, shook his head.  “Better make it an hour and a half,” he said.

Gingerly making her way down each step, Hannah finally reached the foyer.  She walked over to the side table to grab her purse, retrieve her keys, and head out to pick up the girls when Gavin stuck his head out of the study.  She stiffened a moment, having nearly forgotten he was here somewhere.  “I want to thank you for…catching me,” she said slowly.  “I probably could have been very hurt.”  She shrugged off her embarrassment.  “So, I’m off to go get the girls now.”

“When will you return?”  He asked as he studied her.  She was shifting nervously and it couldn’t be entirely from his gaze.  Something about her made something in him want to walk over and pull her close, calm her concerns, soothe her nerves.  He wanted an excuse to kiss her silky skin once more, inhale her scent deeply until it was imprinted on his brain.  His jaw clenched as he realized the direction his thoughts were turning.

Hannah glanced at her watch.  It was four now, allowing just enough time for traffic she should make it to the girls on time.  “I don’t know.  Maybe six?  And I’ll still need to feed the girls.”  She thought a moment.  She was exhausted.  No way was she going to suddenly turn into Betty Crocker and whip up a meal when she hadn’t even had a chance to study the contents of the kitchen.  “And I guess we’ll have to eat out or pick something up…”

Walking across the foyer, Gavin opened the closet door even as Hannah watched confused, and grabbed his coat.  “Let’s take my car.  I’ll drive; we’ll grab some food, and then be back here in time for the girls to check out the place before they go to bed.”

She cocked her head to one side.  “That’s a really nice offer, but I hate to pull you away from all your work.”  She gestured to the study.  “I saw all the files piled in there.”

He could tell that she would continue to argue and he wasn’t sure why.  “Is there a reason you don’t want me to come along?  I have to meet the girls some time.”

She was biting her lip in the most endearing manner.  “It isn’t the girls,” she mumbled.

“Part of our deal was that I cover room and board.  Dinner comes under the ‘board’ part, you know?”  His eyes were twinkling right now.  Part of him was enjoying her discomfort, the way that he was playing with her.

“It isn’t entirely dinner,” Hannah said slowly.  Part of it was.  She wasn’t sure she was ready to sit down with the man and her kids.  It was so personal.  She should be glad he wanted to contribute financially, keep up his end of the bargain.  So far he was more involved in her life than Brett had been all five years of their marriage.  Even more than how personal this drive was, she couldn’t help but think of where they were going, and who would be there when they arrived.