“Absolutely not.”
“What’re you saying no to? The project or hiring my friends?”
“Both.”
“Why? It’s the perfect solution. I’d have my own place, and at the same time, I could be there for Dani.”
“But it would be only slightly better than you living in the house.” His behavior that morning left no doubt in her mind he would be peeking out the window every time she went on a date. “You’d still be invading my privacy.”
“No more than you would invade mine.”
“Except I couldn’t care less what you do or who you date,” she lied. “Can you say the same about me?”
“Look.”He spread his arms in a beseeching pose. “I’m tired of living in a dump. That’s all I can afford to rent if I continue paying the mortgage.”
“Then stop. No one asked you to do it in the first place.” Of course, if he quit covering the house payment, she really would have to consider taking her clothes off to pay the bills.
“Fine.” Nick shrugged. “I can use that money to buy the Hanson’s place. Keith mentioned they may be forced to move. Or maybe he and Jenny would be interested in taking in a boarder to make ends meet until Keith finds another job.”
“And how would having you live right next door be any better than over my garage?”
“It wouldn’t. But you’re the one who says I’m an absentee father. I can’t spend time with my daughter unless she’s accessible.” He tipped his head and flashed a victorious smile at Sam. “Now, will you have enough to pay the mortgage at the end of the month?”
He knew darn well she’d been forced to lay out a bundle for new tires only a few weeks ago, along with paying for her car’s sixty-thousand-mile service.
“If you don’t, I’m going get a home improvement loan and use what I would be spending for rent to pay off the cost of the renovation.”
“You’re doing it again, Nick. You’re deciding what, when, and how without consulting me.”
“I thought that was what I was doing. I’ve left the ball entirely in your court,
querida
.”
How did he always manage to push her into a position where she was forced to agree with his plans, even though he made it seem like she had another option?
“It’s your choice. If I’m going to help keep tabs on Dani, I can either buy a place in our neighborhood, or I can continue paying the mortgage and live over the garage.”
“Some choice.” She glanced into the classroom. “I need to go back to work. If you insist on living within spitting distance anyway, you might as well do the renovation.”
If nothing else, having the attic finished and adding an apartment over the garage would make her half of the house worth a lot more.
~*~
Dani flopped next to Haley on the front porch glider and watched her father kneel beside Ryan’s Toyota in the driveway, helping him replace his brake pads.
“Ryan must really like you,” Haley said, inspecting her freshly painted fingernails as she replaced the brush in the bottle of bright blue polish. “This is the second night in a row he’s come to see you.”
“No, it’s more like he wants to see my dad.” The two of them had been fooling around with the car ever since Ryan arrived that afternoon. Her father had heard Ryan’s brakes squeal, and they’d headed directly to the auto parts store. Other than during their dinner—the black bean chili her dad made
especially for Ryan
—neither of them had said more than two words to her. “Last night we spent most of the evening fooling around on our guitars—
with my dad
.”
“At least your father likes him.” Haley tucked her feet under herself and blew on her nails. “He could’ve told Ryan to stay away from you. Then where would you be?”
Same place she was now—sitting alone with Haley talking about Ryan. “He kissed me goodnight.”
“Oh-my-gosh!” The glider rocked as Haley bolted upright. “Was it, like, a really long one? Is he a good kisser?”
“I guess.” Dani shrugged. “Remember, I have nothin’ to compare it to.” All she knew was, when Ryan slid his tongue into her mouth, her stomach did several somersaults, and her breasts tingled as if they’d been bathed in warm soda. She couldn’t wait until they could be alone again.
“That proves he likes you,” Haley insisted.
“No, all it proves is that he wants to get with me. My mom says teenage boys aren’t fussy. A lot would even do Miss Murdock if she was willing.” And Dani was a lot better looking than her muscle-bound gym teacher who, suspiciously, seemed to have an Adam’s apple.
“Are you gonna let him....you know?”
“Go all the way? Maybe.”
“No!” Haley lowered her voice to a whisper. “I meant are you gonna let him feel you up?” She turned and peered at Dani. “Are you actually thinking about goin’ all the way with him?”
Dani shrugged. “If it feels right, I might. I don’t want to die a virgin.”
“You’re not going to die.” Her friend huffed.
“I wish I could be as sure as you are. The thing is,” Dani whispered, “I want it to mean something to him, too, ya know?”
Haley nodded her agreement.
“That should do it,” Nick announced loudly as he leaned on the car’s fender to stand. “Take it on a slow trip around the block to check it out.”
“Thanks, Mr. R.,” Ryan said. “I never would’ve been able to fix this without your help. And I definitely couldn’t afford to pay someone.”
“No sweat. Later this week, I’ll help you with the oil change.”
“Now that you’re all finished,” Dani called to Ryan, “do you wanna watch a movie with us? We’ll let you pick.”
“Uhh—I can’t really stay that long. And I told your dad I’d teach him how to play Guitar Hero. Do you two wanna play, too?”
Dani heaved a sigh. “Why not.” Hanging out with Ryan in the company of her dad was still better than not being with Ryan at all.
CHAPTER 8
Nick wore a path in the living room carpet, pacing back and forth, peeking out the window every time a car drove by the house.
“She only went out with Haley’s dad to make you jealous,” Dani assured him from the hallway.
“I know.” Intellectually, he had no doubt Sam was simply trying to torture him. But in his heart, he couldn’t stand the idea of her dating another man—especially someone he considered a friend.
When Marc had arrived to pick Samantha up, his stunned expression made it clear the traitor had no idea Nick was back on the scene. They’d spent five uncomfortable minutes talking baseball while Sam finished getting ready for her date.
“Come play some more Guitar Hero with us,” Ryan suggested, jerking his head toward the family room, trying to lure Nick away from watching the road.
“No, thanks.” The rock star video game frustrated him. He could play all of the songs on a genuine instrument, but on the miniature toy guitar, he was booed off the stage every time. “It’s getting pretty late. Didn’t you say you had to be home by ten-thirty so your sister could leave for work?”
Ryan glanced at his watch. “You’re right. I’d better get going.”
Nick felt bad for the kid. Sixteen was too young to have the responsibility of caring for an invalid mother. “It’s just as well. Dani’s health problems mean she needs as much sleep as—”
“Dad!”
Nick cringed. Obviously his daughter hadn’t mentioned her illness to Ryan.
The boy’s forehead wrinkled. “Are you sick?”
“No!” Dani denied emphatically before Nick could explain. “I was, but I’m fine now.”
“Good.” Ryan released a long breath and called to Haley who was still playing Guitar Hero in the family room. “See ya, Haley.”
“Wait. I’ll walk you out.” Dani dashed after him while Nick trailed behind her.
He might be a little preoccupied, wondering what Sam was doing on her date, but he wasn’t so distracted he was about to leave his daughter and Ryan alone in the dark.
The yearning way she’d stared at the boy’s mouth during dinner suggested Ryan must have already kissed her. Dani’s insistence on walking him outside implied an eagerness for an encore or, Heaven forbid, something more.
Nick didn’t want to consider how much more. The first time he’d kissed Sam, in only a matter of minutes, she’d begged him to make love to her. Of course, Samantha had been nearly eighteen, and he’d had a lot more experience at foreplay than Ryan could possibly have. He hoped.
Even so, girls matured much younger these days. That was evident from the clothing Swann’s carried in the children’s department. From what Nick had seen, they were also a lot more aggressive than when he was a teenager. He and Sam had raised their daughter with good solid values, but as much as he trusted his little girl, he also knew raging hormones made kids stupid.
She stopped on the bottom step of the porch and turned back to Nick standing guard in the doorway. “Da-aad!”
“Wha-aat?”
“We’d appreciate some privacy to say goodnight.”
“You’re too young to need that much privacy. You’re only friends, remember?”
She huffed and planted a platonic kiss on Ryan’s cheek. “Goodnight.”
“See ya.” Ryan saluted him. “So long, Mr. R. And thanks again for dinner and your help with my car.”
“It was my pleasure.” It had been quite a while since he’d gotten his hands greasy. He closed the front door after Dani stepped back inside. “It’s about time for you and Haley to go up to bed.”
“But it’s only ten-fifteen. We’re not babies.”
“You know you’re going to spend at least an hour talking before you go to sleep. You can’t afford to let yourself get run down, Danita.”
“Yeah, and by the way, thanks for mentioning that to Ryan.” She stomped off to the family room and a few minutes later, the girls footsteps clomped up the back staircase.
To distract himself from watching for Marc’s car, Nick called his brother to discuss the feasibility of the renovations he’d planned.
“It can be done,” Justin agreed, “but the ceiling will be pretty low unless you want to raise the roof.”
“How low?”
“If we slope it, we can probably squeak out eighty inches at the walls with a few inches more down the center line of the roof.”
He was six-three, so he’d only have five inches of head room at the lowest points. “As long as the center of the room is at least seven foot, I can live with that.
“If we cut in a couple of dormers on each side, you could end up with about three or four hundred square feet of well-lit living space.”
“That should do nicely.” All he needed was two decent sized rooms with a bath.
“You’ve already got electricity in the garage, but you’ll need an upgrade if you plan to use it to heat the apartment. And you’ll also have to hook into the house’s water supply and install a new septic system, which will cost a bundle. Are you sure you want to do this?”
He was dead certain he
didn’t
want to. “What I want is to convince Sam to give me a second chance. But, failing that, I need to be close enough to see my daughter every day. The house probably could use a new septic system anyway.”
“Well, if you do the renovation and things work out between you and Sam, you can always rent the apartment out.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
“Okay. I can have some plans drawn up in about a week. In the meantime, I’ll send a plumber to give you an estimate on what needs to be done.”
“
Gracias, hermano
. It always pays to have an architect in the family.”
“I could provide a construction crew at a discount, too,” Justin said.
“Normally I’d jump on your offer, but I’m hoping to use this project to help out a few of my friends. Although I may let you send me one of your more experienced guys to act as foreman.”
By the time Nick finished catching up with his brother and hung up the phone, it was eleven-thirty, and his imagination ran rampant. It didn’t take five hours to have dinner, even on a Friday. Obviously Marc had taken Sam somewhere else after their meal.
Rather than continuing to pace, Nick went upstairs to her workroom and studied her records to get an estimate of her production costs. While she’d been working at the preschool that morning, he’d made some preliminary phone calls to small toy manufacturers to investigate the possibility of outsourcing Sam’s manufacturing, packaging, and distribution.
Shortly before one a.m., he heard a car pull up to the house. He stuffed the files back into the drawer, extinguished the light, and raced next door to the master suite. He peeked out the turret windows and watched Marc walk Sam to the house, his arm slung around her shoulder. She stopped a few feet before the stairs and hugged him before both of them stepped up to the covered porch.
Damn it. The porch’s roof made it impossible to see if she kissed the Benedict Arnold goodnight.
Nick shucked his clothes in record time and slid between the sheets. He switched off the bedside lamp only seconds before the creak of the fourth step heralded Sam’s approach.
“I saw you peeking out the window, so you can quit pretending you’re asleep.”
Busted.
When she turned on the light, he sat up and plumped his pillow against the headboard. “Did you have a good time?”
“Very nice.” She dragged a set of pink shorty pajamas from the drawer and strode into the bathroom, leaving the door open while she got ready for bed. “Marc took me to the Fountain Restaurant.”
Five years ago, Nick had surprised Sam with a suite at Philadelphia’s posh Four Seasons hotel to celebrate their tenth anniversary. Her eyes had sparkled with delight all through their formal dinner at the five-star Fountain.
“I knew what their prices are like, so I planned to have just an appetizer and dessert.” She stuck her head out of the bathroom for a moment and spoke past the frothy toothbrush in her mouth. “Marc insisted on ordering the chef’s six-course tasting menu and a bottle of champagne.”
Nick whistled. “Justin did say their business was doing well.”
“I guess. Marc said dinner was his way of thanking me for everything I’ve done for him and Haley since Lindsey was killed.”
“That’s one helluva thank you.”
“Considering the amount of weight Marc has lost since his wife’s funeral, I was glad to see him eat well. Unfortunately, by the time we finished dessert, I was so stuffed I could barely breathe.”