Dumbfounded, Rand watched her for a few minutes, before he roared, “Delphine! No!”
The dog glanced up at him, her muzzle covered with rich black dirt. “Get away from there!” Rand gestured with his hand, and with one last longing look at the hole she’d dug, Delphine rolled over on her back in the large pile of dirt surrounding the hole and stuck her legs in the air, whining piteously.
Rand advanced toward her, the scowl imbedded in his forehead, his blue eyes hard and vengeful. Delphine rolled back on to her stomach and hunched herself into a defensive position. Before he could reach her, Haley knelt beside the dog and began to croon in nonsensical baby talk.
“It’s okay, Delphie. Rand’s not mad. He’ll find what you’re looking for.”
“Don’t tell her that. I’m mad as hell! Look what she did to my yard. And why’d she knock my furniture into the pool? The wicker will warp.”
Haley’s eyes glinted. “The wicker will warp? Just listen to yourself. Can’t you see she’s suffering?”
And truly, Delphine did appear to be caught in the throes of some canine angst. Her sad brown eyes watched him carefully, and he felt a helpless stirring of sympathy. She really did look depressed. What the hell was the matter with this dog?
What the hell
’
s the matter with you?
His inner voice revved up.
This dog tore up the lawn and ruined some expensive patio furniture, and you
’
re worrying about her psyche?
“Tie her up, and I’ll fill in the hole after I get the chairs out of the pool.”
“But...” Haley began.
“Tie the damn dog up! I don’t want to talk about her problems. She’s given me plenty of my own to deal with.”
With her chin lifted and her back straight, Haley scooped Delphine in her arms and marched around the corner of the garage. She came back a minute later minus the dog, carrying a small shovel. When Rand reached for it, she moved away from him and began shoveling the dirt into the hole.
“Give me the shovel, Haley.” He held out his hand.
“I’ll do it,” she said mutinously. “You’ve got a broken leg.”
“Give me the damn shovel!” he ordered, trying to wrest it from her grasp.
She released the shovel and threw up her hands. “Fine! I’ll get the chairs out of the pool, and then I’ll take Delphine back to my apartment. We’ll wait for Phyllis there.”
He couldn’t believe she was siding with the enemy. He threw the shovel on the ground and grabbed her hand as she started to slip past him.
“Why are you angry? I’m the one who should be mad. That stupid dog tore up my lawn and probably ruined my chairs. I have a legitimate right to let off some steam.”
She stared pointedly at his fingers clasped around her wrist. “Rights! Delphine is suffering, and all you can think about is your yard! Didn’t you hear how pitiful she sounded? She’s trying to find her children.”
Rand stared at her, dumbfounded. She sounded perfectly serious. “What children?”
“The duchess’s stolen children were buried alive,” Haley flung at him, tears crowding her eyes.
Rand shook his head. “You don’t really believe that crap about that dog being a reincarnated duchess, do you?” He paused, and then looked more closely at her. She refused to meet his eyes. “Haley, look at me. Do you really think that’s why Delphine ruined my yard?”
She finally raised her eyes to his, embarrassment flushing her cheeks to a delicate pink. “I don’t know. Phyllis believes it, and everyplace that Delphine goes she digs and wails, and I...” She shook her head and looked away again.
His anger evaporated. As incredible as it seemed, Haley did believe it. He turned her hand so it fit into his more easily and began to stroke the fleshy base of her thumb with his finger. “If she does this all the time, why didn’t you tell me to put her in the garage in the first place?” he asked in a more reasonable tone.
Fascinated, he watched a dark red flush move up her neck and turned her whole face rosy. She tugged, trying to get her hand away from his. “I forgot.”
“Haley...?
She glared up at him. “If you must know, all I could think of was going back to bed with you. I couldn’t think of anything else.”
The thrill that surged through him at her confession took him by surprise. He laughed, his good humor restored.
“Since I’ve met you, we have raced to the hospital for a suspected case of food poisoning, my sister thinks I’m into some kind of sexual bondage, I have swallowed an impotence elixir, and Delphine has destroyed my yard and probably my patio furniture.”
“Since you’re keeping score, don’t forget the brakes on you car,” she muttered as she grabbed the shovel and began furiously scooping dirt back into the hole.
He laughed again, and enfolded her in his arms, shovel and all. “I’ve also had the most incredible lovemaking experience of my life, and laughed more than I have in years. Haley, you’re good for me.”
She stared up at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Right! Like a tax audit is good for people.”
Rand had always maintained a certain reserve with people. This new freedom to be spontaneous felt alien. Not bad, just strange. He rested his head on top of hers as she dropped the shovel and tentatively slipped her arms around his waist as she leaned against him. And just like that, his pulse kicked into overdrive.
Framing her face between his palms, he lifted her chin. “Witch,” he whispered, just before he kissed her.
For a second, she resisted then melted helplessly into the kiss, her mouth trembling and opening for him, her fingers flexing against his ribs. She made a soft sound as he dragged her even closer, and then she aligned her body against his and moved her hips in a sensuous rhythm.
His heart pounded so hard he struggled to breathe. He slid his hand under her t-shirt to cup her breast, and for a moment he contemplated sinking with her into the soft pile of dirt at his feet. His broken leg was a minor inconvenience they could ignore.
“Now, isn’t this nice?” Phyllis voice barely penetrated the sexual haze that held them both in thrall.
“Rand.” Haley tried to break away, but he held on tighter. “Rand, Phyllis is here!” She pulled away from him and tugged her shirt down.
Swearing softly, Rand moved behind her to hide his arousal.
Phyllis stood in the corner of his yard, next to the garage, her hair a gleaming, fire-engine red. Her blue eyes twinkled and her wide grin told him his maneuver was useless. Suddenly her grin faded, replaced by a look of chagrin as she noticed the gaping hole at their feet.
“Oh, my dears, I am so sorry.” She shook her newly coiffed head as she rushed to them and stared at the messy hole in Rand’s lawn. Her blue eyes misted over. “I’ll have my gardener come over immediately.”
“That’s not necessary, Phyllis,” Rand protested. “I can fill in the hole.”
“No. We’re used to this. And Samuel knows where to get the matching sod if it’s necessary.”
Rand’s head was reeling. Phyllis acted as if Delphine’s aberration was a common occurrence.
“Phyllis,” he began hesitantly, not wanting to hurt her feelings. “Don’t you think some sort of obedience training might break Delphine of the habit? And why did she push two chairs into my pool?”
Phyllis wiped at the corner of her eye. “Chairs? She pushed chairs into the pool?” Her voice sounded tremulous, old and fragile. Rand felt like a heel for even mentioning the chairs. He searched for something he could say to change the subject.
“It’s no problem. Don’t even think about it,” Rand hastened to assure her. “And thanks for that stuff you gave me, it really worked.”
In a twinkling, Phyllis was smiling again. “I knew it would help. It’s such a shame that someone your age should have a problem. If you need another batch, just let me know.” She nodded benevolently at both of them and then headed over toward the pool area.
In front of him, Haley’s shoulders shook helplessly. She was laughing at him.
He pointed his finger at her as if it were a gun, then wrapped his arms around her and whispered, “You say one word about this, and your body will be found floating down the Snake River.”
She turned in his arms to look into his face, her eyes brimming with mischief. “If you ever need a testimonial...” She choked on her own giggles.
Phyllis trotted back to them, her flamboyant hair waving gently in the afternoon breeze. “You have orange cushions on your chairs,” she announced happily.
“Peach,” Rand said sheepishly, wondering what the hell the color of his chair cushions had to do with anything.
“They look like flotation devices. Delphine thought they were flotation devices.” Phyllis paused as if the answer was now obvious.
Rand glanced at Haley, who shrugged.
“Phyllis, we don’t understand about the flotation devices,” Haley said kindly.
Phyllis nodded. “The duchess almost drowned in 1647, so Delphine always makes sure there are flotation devices in any body of water she is near.”
Haley’s hands tightened on his arm, and with an effort, Rand stifled his initial desire to inject some logic into the conversation.
“Yeah? Well, that’s...very clever of her.” He finally got it out and was rewarded with a brilliant smile from Haley. A smile full of sunny approval and something else, something he refused to put a name on.
Haley was turning his life upside down. He wished he could tell her how he felt, but he wasn’t completely sure himself, and he certainly didn’t want to give her any unrealistic hopes for a future together if it wasn’t in the cards. But the longer he spent with her, the more he fell under her spell, and the more he felt that this emotion welling up in him was perilously close to love. He wanted to kiss her again, but Phyllis was standing right there, smiling benevolently at both of them.
Chapter Thirteen
Haley looked up from the keyboard to check the date on the contract against the date on the calendar. Friday, August eleven on the contract and today was Wednesday, the sixteenth. Six days. She and Rand had been together six days.
Their days had been quite businesslike, except for the occasional moments when he wandered into the office and kissed her neck while she was typing, or kneaded her shoulders while she tried to proofread documents. A few times she’d threatened him with a sexual harassment lawsuit if he didn’t let her finish the project. Usually she melted at the first touch of his fingers.
Their nights were...glorious. That was the only word that even came close to the shimmering, joyous union of their bodies in Rand’s big bed, his sunken bathtub, his pool at midnight. The heavy plaster cast had been replaced two days before with a removable styrene cast, and Haley blushed to remember how inventive Rand had been with the cast off.
“What are you thinking about?” Rand asked from the doorway, where he stood balanced on a slim metal cane.
“Nothing.” She stared at the computer screen, willing the color to fade from her face.
“Don’t ever play poker,” he said, limping over to stand behind her. “You can’t lie worth beans.”
Although she chuckled at his imitation of her Oklahoma accent, she refused to look up. She willed the telltale red to subside as her fingers flew across the keyboard.
Rand settled his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently. “Haley?”
She finally glanced up at him. “If you must know, I was thinking about trying to finish these contracts so I could get them in the mail by noon.”
“You weren’t thinking about last night? Or this morning?” A grin tilted the corners of his mouth.
She couldn’t lie to him. “I was thinking about last night,” she admitted, feeling her scalp tingle as the heat moved up her neck and behind her ears. “I’ve never thought about making love that way.”
“Um...did you like it?” There was a slight hesitancy in his voice.
She grinned up at him. “No. Don’t you remember me screaming?”
“I remember.” He laughed, his face clearing. “I thought the neighbors might call 9-1-1. Come with me now, Haley.” he coaxed. “You can take care of those papers later.”
“This is why you hired me. I want to get them out of the way.”
Rand tapped her lightly on the shoulder. “I’m your employer. I have another assignment for you.”
“Go away, you sex fiend,” She tried to look stern. “I need to earn money to get my car fixed.”
Rand almost offered to buy her a car, then thought better of it. Their relationship was still so new he wasn’t sure how she’d take the offer. He stood behind her, watching her work.
Her fingers flew skillfully over the keys as her head bobbed to the rhythm of a Martina McBride CD. She had incredible powers of concentration. Better than his, he ruefully admitted. She would work for hours at a stretch if he didn’t keep coming in every half-hour or so. He felt like a kid with free run of a candy store. She was too tempting for him to stay away.
He wondered if he could entice her now. Inching a finger up the back of her neck, he gently pulled on one of the dark curls. Laughing, she swatted his hand away and turned resolutely back to the computer.
“We have a deal, Rand. No talking until lunch time.”
“I don’t want to talk. In fact I will be totally, absolutely silent.”
Although she grinned, she shook her head. “Go do your physical therapy or something, so I can be done with these by noon.”
He saluted her. “Yes sir, Captain, sir.” And with a quick kiss at the back of her neck, he limped out of the room.
She stopped typing and raised a hand to the spot where the heat still lingered from his kiss. Love. It felt like love. In the past, she’d been cautious in relationships, waiting for the big L-word to hit her. But even while she waited, she’d always believed that for her it would be a gradual progression from friendship, to intimacy, to love. Well, scrap that idea, she thought. She had leaped from initial attraction into love without waiting to set up a safety net. They didn’t know enough about each other to be real friends, at least not yet.
Rand had more reasons to be cautious. She would have to be patient. He didn’t want a rebound romance any more than she did. Maybe he wouldn’t recognize what they had for a while. A wave of emotion brought tears to her eyes. The past six days had been idyllic. She grinned to herself, remembering the flimsy reasons he’d manufactured for her to stay at his home.