A Week Till the Wedding (9 page)

It had almost killed him not to see Daisy for the past two days, but she’d made it clear that she needed time. Time was something he didn’t have enough of. The clock was ticking, his time here was rushing past. He’d been so tempted to go into town just to manage a quick and “accidental” moment with her, but he hadn’t. He owed her the time she’d asked for.

Preparing the Tasker property for the annual reunion meant clearing fallen limbs and cutting those which were suitable for firewood into the proper lengths to dry for the coming winter. Winters were short in Georgia, but when the occasional ice or snowstorm came through there was nothing more comforting than a wood fire in one of the many fireplaces. Unfortunately, physical labor that didn’t require much in the way of actual thinking gave Jacob’s mind an opportunity to wander. His mind
never
wandered. There were so many aspects of his past that he’d given little—if any—thought to until he’d come home. Family, of course. His mother was under a lot of stress; his father didn’t seem to be much help. His grandmother was aging before his eyes. Ben, the youngest of the Tasker boys, had grown up. Physically he was bigger, sturdier. Mentally he was sharper, less distracted than Jacob remembered, and he seemed to be doing a good job for the family company. He still needed some maturing, but Ben was a far cry from the kid Jacob remembered. Jacob had to admit, he didn’t really know his little brother anymore. Time had changed them all.

He wondered if he’d notice the same kinds of changes in Caleb and Luke, when he saw them. Of course, they hadn’t been kids when Jacob had left. They’d been grown men, so the changes shouldn’t be as dramatic. Still, you never knew what the years would do to a person.

Jacob had borrowed suitable work clothes from Ben, who had joined in on this hot, summer weekend to take care of the chores that had been assigned to them by their mother. She enjoyed ordering them around like they were still teenagers.

After they took care of the limbs they needed to address the fire ant hills and a wasps’ nest. When that was done, Susan would give her two younger boys another list of chores. In two weeks this land would be crawling with relatives. Young and old, from near and far...the property had to be made safe. Heaven forbid that anyone might find a flaw.

Jacob hadn’t been assigned chores for a very long time. He couldn’t say that a day in the sun, working and thinking as little as possible, was necessarily a bad thing. Physical labor outside his usual three days at the gym proved to be invigorating and more challenging than he wanted to admit. Even if his mind did wander to unfortunate what-might’ve-beens.

He wouldn’t allow himself to admit that he’d missed Daisy. Her smile, her eyes, her walk. The simplest things grabbed him and wouldn’t let go. Not that it mattered how much she appealed to him. Even though her sisters were grown and on their own, he didn’t think for a minute that Daisy would ever consider moving to San Francisco. Even if she did forgive him for not sticking with her when she’d been forced to quit college and come back home, there was the simple fact that Daisy was a small-town girl. She loved it here; she was a part of the community. This was her
home,
in every sense of the word. He’d heard it in her voice when she’d called to let him know she’d arrived home safely and told him about the neighbor girl doing cartwheels on the lawn. And when he’d spoken to her that morning and she’d mentioned stopping by the farmer’s market and running into an old mutual friend, someone who’d asked about Jacob.

While he could admit to perversely enjoying his simple chores, while talking to Daisy reminded him of what it was like to truly have a home town, giving up a very lucrative career to come home and work for his mother was not an option. Tasker Enterprises was diverse and there were a dozen positions he could take, if it suited him. But no matter what he chose to do, if he was employed by Tasker Enterprises he’d be working for his mother. No, thanks.

Which left the situation with Daisy entirely unworkable. A long distance relationship hadn’t worked seven years ago, and it wouldn’t work now.

Ben wiped the sweat from his face, grabbed a couple cold bottles of water from the ice chest and headed Jacob’s way. “Slow down, bro. The faster we get this done, the sooner we’ll get new marching orders. I swear, I don’t know why Mom won’t hire this out. It’s not like we can’t afford a crew of yard men and exterminators to get this done. Why don’t you convince her that she’d be assisting the local economy by hiring a couple of unemployed guys to do the grunt work?”

Jacob set his chain saw aside and took the offered water. “Either she doesn’t think workmen she’d hire would do a proper job, or she just likes ordering us around like we were still kids.”

Ben smiled, and for a moment he almost looked like he was no more than thirteen again, gangly and awkward. The boy was still there, barely disguised by the years. “Probably both.”

“Probably.” Jacob drank the water too quickly, glad for the moment of rest and the much-needed hydration.

Ben’s smile faded, and he glanced toward the house as if he was afraid someone might be headed their way. “So, how’s it going with Daisy?”

“How the hell do you think it’s going?” Jacob snapped. “This is the worst scheme I ever agreed to participate in, and if I could take it back I would do it in a heartbeat. Daisy’s miserable, I’m miserable and Grandma Eunice seems to forget about everything else
but
the wedding plans, which remain clear as a bell. I wanted to give her a few good days, I wanted to see her not so upset, but what’s going to happen when the reunion rolls around and she’s still set on this wedding?” Had he just made matters worse by trying to do something nice for his grandmother? Maybe he should’ve left well enough alone. Too late, now.

Daisy still had his rental car. He hadn’t bothered to try to collect it because it wasn’t like the Tasker family was lacking in modes of transportation. There was a separate four-car garage out back and every bay housed a vehicle of some sort. Besides, Daisy had been so upset when she’d left the house a couple of days ago. She seemed better on the phone, but she was still cautious where he was concerned. And the days without her slipped by.

As soon as the reunion was over, he had to get back to San Francisco and back to work. He’d been trying to keep up by cell and computer, but it wasn’t the same as being there in the thick of things.

“I talked to Daisy this morning,” Jacob said. “Grandma Eunice has been asking for her, so she’ll be here tomorrow for lunch.” He didn’t mention that he’d had to gently twist her arm.

“Good! I’ve gotten used to seeing her on the other side of the dining room table.”

Jacob stared at his little brother. “I noticed that. Stare at her boobs the way you did the last time she was here, and I’ll kick your ass.”

Ben laughed. “You can try.” His laughter faded. “Seriously, you can ditch the macho act anytime, bro. This isn’t the real thing, remember? You aren’t supposed to get possessive about a woman you’re not actually involved with. It’s all pretend, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Jacob said then he gave his brother a level glare. “But that doesn’t change what I said. I
will
kick your ass.”

Maybe Ben was right and he had no right to feel possessive about Daisy, but that didn’t do a thing to squash what he was feeling. Regret and frustration...with a little bit of unexpected hope thrown into the mix.

* * *

Mari swiped her hand back, trying to move a stubborn strand of hair out of her eyes, and ended up smearing grease across her cheek. Daisy smiled as she looked on. This was Mari’s normal weekend look. Coveralls, a crooked ponytail and grease. When it came to repairing engines she was as messy in the shop as Daisy was in the kitchen.

There were some repairs Daisy could handle, but for the more complicated jobs she needed Marigold. The youngest Bell sister had always had a magic touch with engines large and small. She could’ve made a career of it without going to college, but she’d decided to pursue a nursing degree, instead.

Always the fixer.

“So, what’s up?” Mari’s eyes were on her work, but repairing engines came so naturally to her she had no problem multitasking.

Oh, where to begin.
Jacob is home. He kissed me. His grandmother thinks we’re getting married
.
I want him so badly I can barely keep my hands off of him
. “Same ol’ same ol’. You?”

“You remember that guy I met at that thing? He asked me out.”

“Did you say yes?”

Mari shrugged. “I said maybe. He’s cute, but who has time for dating? Between school, my part-time job and coming home on weekends, my calendar is full. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with making him work for me if we do end up dating.” Mari smiled. Grease and all she was a princess, the baby girl of the family, the charmer who could do no wrong. She shifted her attention away from the engine on the workbench and settled it squarely on Daisy. “Are you dating? Please say yes. You need a man, big sister. If you can’t find one in Bell Grove then we’ll get you to Atlanta and do some shopping for a suitable penis.”

“Mari!”

“Well, one with a man attached to it. Believe it or not, you really can get them unattached. That’s
not
what I had in mind. Just so you know.”

Her sisters weren’t blind to the sacrifices Daisy had made for them. They’d tried numerous times to fix her up with a friend, or a friend of a friend. A time or two Daisy had agreed, but it never worked out. Thanks to the current charade she finally realized that it never worked out with anyone else because she’d subconsciously compared every man she met to Jacob. Dammit, any man who gave her the time of day should come out well in that comparison.

Daisy’s mouth went dry. She scooted her chair back a foot or so, tapped her foot against the plain concrete floor and finally worked up the nerve to say, “Jacob is back.”

Mari dropped her wrench. The clatter of metal on concrete made Daisy jump. “What do you mean,
back?
”

“I mean, he’s at the Tasker place for a couple of weeks. He’s in for the big family reunion.”

Mari’s eyes hardened; she squinted. “That snake.”

Yeah. Snake. Why couldn’t she just agree with that statement and move on? Mari didn’t need to know everything. She really didn’t need to know anything. At the same time, Daisy was dying to talk to someone. “We’ve...kind of dated a couple of times since he’s been back.”

Mari clapped her hands on her cheeks in an expression of extreme frustration. “What’s the difference between dated and
kind of
dated? Oh, Daisy, any man but him. He really is a snake. Mom would call him a scalawag. Dad would call him a lot worse. Jacob Tasker left you when you needed him most!”

“We left each other,” Daisy said defensively, recognizing the words as painful but true. “Besides, it’s not serious.” She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “It’s just, kind of, sorta...”

“Spit it out,” Mari said sharply.

Daisy did, telling everything. Well, almost everything. She wasn’t about to tell her little sister that she still had the hots for her first love, that she was seriously considering sleeping with him just because she could, that when he’d put his hand on her leg she’d almost come apart.

She couldn’t possibly admit to her sister that no matter how she tried to fight the feelings, she enjoyed seeing Jacob. She liked touching him, looking at him, hearing the timbre of his voice wash over her. Painful as it was, she liked pretending that they were still together. Was she a glutton for punishment or what?

The changing expressions on Mari’s face, as Daisy filled her in on most of the details, told it all. Sadness, horror, frustration, indignation. All the emotions Daisy herself had suffered since Jacob had walked through her door.

But eventually the pretty face of the youngest of the Bells settled into a smug expression. Daisy knew that look, and she couldn’t remember a time that anything good had come of it. Mari leaned back in her chair, forgetting her work for the moment. Her blue eyes sparkled and her lips quirked in a half smile. “Sunday lunch tomorrow afternoon, yes?”

“Unless I beg off.” Daisy was considering doing just that. The thought of seeing Jacob again was both terrifying and exciting. She dreaded and anticipated the next date. “Since you’re in town I really should just call and cancel....”

“Don’t you dare.” Mari smiled. “I’m going with you.”

* * *

Jacob showered, washing off the sweat and dirt of an oddly satisfying stint of yard work. After that he spent most of Saturday afternoon in his room, working via computer and cell phone. The desk where he’d once done his homework now served as a place for his laptop. The chair was uncomfortable, but it would do, for now. Both were antique, as most of the furnishings in the house were. So were the bed, the bedside table and the lamp on that table. Everything in the room was older than he was, and a stark contrast to his modern apartment in San Francisco.

His job was one emergency after another, and had been since he’d signed on. That had never bothered him before this moment. In fact, he’d fed off the intensity. He’d learned to love being indispensable.

But now he realized that the job had stolen years of his life. He was home for the first time in a very long time, and he should be visiting with his parents, his little brother and his ailing grandmother. In a few days his older brothers were coming in. He hadn’t seen them for years, and he didn’t intend to spend the short time they were here sitting in his old bedroom, working.

What among the mountain of emails couldn’t wait? What couldn’t be handed over to someone else if it was critical? This was supposed to be a vacation, and he’d spent hours working from a distance when he should’ve been
on vacation
.

When he thought about abandoning work for a while, more than his family crossed his mind. Daisy. She had crawled under his skin, and the only way to take care of that would be to spend some time with her. Alone. Without the charade, without his family watching every move. He could forget that she wanted time and space, find an excuse to go to town, drop by her shop, and maybe walk her home. They could stop by the ice cream shop for a cone or a sundae. She used to be fond of strawberry sundaes...