A Younger Man (4 page)

“So what do you think?” The sound of Noah’s deep voice yanked Zane out of his thoughts. “Will it work for you, your brother, and sister?”

At only five feet eleven, Zane had to look up to meet Noah’s gaze. God, the man had to be at least six feet three. And no one who had such rough-looking hands—Zane had noticed the calluses—and who possessed shoulders like a quarterback should have eyes that invited a person to trust him. Yet Noah did.

That brown stare held Zane, and Zane murmured, “I still don’t understand why you’re being so kind to me like this.”

With a shrug, Noah leaned his shoulder against an open door frame, but kept his focus fully on Zane. Finally, after what felt like minutes of scrutiny, Noah said, “Maybe it’s because I have a son about your age. I’d like to think if he was ever in trouble, and I couldn’t be there for him, someone else would.”

In immediate response, Zane looked Noah up and down, and then barked with laughter. “I’m sorry, but there is no way you have a twenty-four-year-old son.” The words “fit” and “healthy” filled Zane’s mind in relation to this man, and any lines around his eyes had to come from happiness and being outdoors, not age.

Noah quirked a brow. “You’re twenty-four?” As if he still couldn’t believe it, Noah then shook his head. “I pegged you as younger than that.”

Heat burned Zane’s cheeks. “Yeah, well.” He chuckled; he had to, or he would cry. “I guess I’m having a bad day.”

New lines of crimson slashed Noah’s harsh face. “Sorry. I’m sure you don’t really look as young as I thought you were.” Noah muttered a curse. “I’m bad at guessing that kind of stuff.”

Zane smiled at the guy; he couldn’t rein it in. “It’s all right. How old is your son?” The question escaped him—the desire to know so very real—before he had even consciously thought it.

“I actually have two,” Noah replied. “Older one is nineteen—that’s Seth. My younger one is Matthew, and he’s fourteen.” Noah’s eyes lit up as he shared, and it saturated the medium brown color with breathtaking depth. “They’re my pride and joy.” He looked to the heavens and shook his head. “And they pretty much hate when I say shit like that. It embarrasses them.”

A lightness in the air buoyed Zane, and this man only lifted his spirits even more. “We’ll keep your unabashed pride in them between us.” No strain or tightness choked Zane’s voice, and no tension ruled his body. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt such ease. “My brother Duncan is twelve. And Hailey is nine, or as she brags, almost ten.” God, Zane couldn’t wait to tell them they would have a roof over their heads, at least for a little while. “I appreciate what you’re doing more for their sakes than even mine.”

With a shrug, Noah shoved his hands into his pockets and wandered outside. From over his shoulder, he said, “They’ll both love the lake.” He braced his arms on the porch railing. As Zane joined him, he noticed Noah fix his stare on the lake, where twinkles of sunlight made the water gleam as if its surface were covered in gems. “Matthew really loves the water,” Noah said, his voice soft. “Seth does when he’s home too. He’s at college in Raleigh a lot of the time now.”

Shifting, Zane leaned his lower back against the porch railing next to Noah and studied the beat-up cabin that to him looked like paradise. “I still can’t help feeling like the work you want me to do here isn’t enough to repay what you’ve done for me,” he murmured, sliding his focus to Noah. Noah had shared the news that he’d spoken to the owner, and she was willing to accept a reduced monthly rent for a few months. After that they would have to talk again.

With only two feet of space between them, Noah adjusted to lean his hip against the railing, and he put his full attention on Zane. “I’m pretty damn busy with my business,” strength and force rang in his tone, “and it’s difficult to fit time in to come take care of this place. I’m doing it as a favor for the owner because she gave me such a great deal on my cabin. I felt I owed her, but working on the repairs have taken up pretty much all of my free time. You picking up some of the slack is more help than you think.”

Translation in Zane’ mind:
Stop badgering me about my offer. Take it or leave it.

Nobody had ever called Zane an idiot. He stuck his hand out to Noah. “Then we have a deal.”

Noah wrapped his bigger hand around Zane’s. “Excellent.” They shook on it—quickly, Zane noticed. Noah separated the hold almost immediately and jammed his hand into his pocket. “Anyway,” Noah started down the steps at a fast clip, “I’ll drive you to the other side of the lake, and you can take my car.”

Still standing on the porch, studying this man’s back, Zane murmured, “I don’t know where you came from, Noah Maitland, but I am grateful as hell you showed up when you did.”

From the bottom of the steps, Noah looked at Zane sideways, and a positively wicked half grin emerged. “I’ll remind you of that when I nitpick your paint job and sanding work.”

Sudden warmth suffused Zane’s flesh. He traipsed down the stairs, came to a stop directly in front of Noah, and found the man’s gaze. “I think I can handle your scrutiny.” Zane’s words came out thicker—sultrier—
shit
—than he’d meant. He abruptly veered toward the side of the cabin. “Before we leave,” he cleared his throat as silently as he could, “show me what kind of repairs you’re going to need me to do with the exterior of the cabin. I want to start getting a sense of what to tackle first.”

Noah quickly caught up and took the lead, and once again Zane fought the tingle in his hands that told him he wanted to touch this man, just to feel the solidness of his frame and know for sure he really existed. That handshake hadn’t felt like nearly enough. Zane felt as if much more intimacy had passed between them with one look than should for two people who’d met only hours ago.
I’m grateful, and I don’t know what to say or do to express it, that’s all.

Zane shook himself out of his strange thoughts just in time to veer his fingers away from the thick muscles roping Noah’s shoulders. Instead he ran them along the outer wall of the cabin.
Damn.

* * * *

The next morning, Noah listened to excuse-filled words bombard his ear, and he wanted to slam the cell phone against the dashboard of his truck.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“I’m sorry,” Lois repeated. “I tried to tell Rick to ease up last night, that he had work in the morning, but he said he would be fine. Only now I can’t get him up, and I didn’t want you to drive to the house to get him when he obviously isn’t going to be able to work for you today.”

Noah rubbed at the headache already forming in his skull. “I can’t keep having this happen, Lois. You know Janice and I have always had your back,” Lois was a friend of both of theirs from their high school days, “but I can’t keep giving your boyfriend chances if he won’t keep himself sober enough for the days I need him to work.” This was the fourth time in three months Rick had not come through for him on a job. “I’m going to have to let him go.”

“Give him one more chance,” Lois pleaded. “He told me putting in this new backyard for this client is a weeklong gig for you; give him a chance tomorrow. If he isn’t ready to go when it’s time for you to pick him up, you can fire him, and I’ll only say thank you that you even gave him a chance.”

Shit.
“Fine.” Noah practically bit off his agreement. He already knew he would regret this. “Tomorrow. But that’s it. If he’s not raring to go at seven a.m. then he’s done.”

“Thank you,” Lois said. Noah could imagine her clutching the phone tightly on the other end. “I promise he’ll be good tomorrow.”

“He’d better be.” Noah’s patience had worn remarkably thin. “Bye.”

After hanging up and tossing his phone on the passenger seat, Noah raced through his options, but quickly discarded one after the next. For a special job like this, Noah had often enlisted Seth’s assistance. He worked gigs like these on the weekends and holidays in order to give his son a chance to earn some cash. But with Seth in Raleigh so often now, Noah hadn’t had much choice but to break down and hire an assistant who could be available more often. Except now his employee was a no-show again, and Noah was screwed. He could not do this job solo.
Fucking last time I hire someone as a favor to a friend.

Just then a flash of light glinted from across the lake. Noah looked up to see movement outside the west cabin—Zane’s temporary cabin.
Yes.
Without second-guessing, Noah honked his horn, knowing the other two cabins were empty and thus the sound wouldn’t disturb anybody. After honking one more time for good measure, he hopped out of his truck, waved his arms, and then pumped his fist when Zane glanced up and waved.

Noah shouted, “Wait for me!” hoped like hell it carried the distance, then climbed in his truck as fast as he could. He made his way around the lake on the gravel road behind the cabins. Slowing as he got closer to Zane’s car—Noah’s car—Noah pulled to a stop and hopped out.

Before Noah could get to the porch, Zane met him halfway. Still on the steps a dozen feet behind Zane, an auburn-haired boy and dark-haired girl stood with backpacks hooked on their arms.

In front of Noah, Zane slipped off a pair of mirrored sunglasses, hooked them on his jeans, and grinned. “Good morning.”

“Morning.”
Jesus.
Noah swallowed, and his mind went blank. Over the course of the night, and a bit too much in his dreams, Noah had envisioned the depth of those pure blue eyes, and his stomach had flip-flopped and quivered in response. At some point, in order to get some sleep, Noah had convinced himself Zane’s eyes weren’t nearly as pretty as he remembered them being, but the light of day proved him a liar.
They are lovely.
On the heels of that thought, Noah jerked himself back into reality and put a clamp on the lid of any further inappropriate thoughts.
You’re here about work; nothing more.

With one more silent, stern warning to himself, Noah crossed his arms against his chest and put his mind back on business. “You mentioned a part-time job yesterday. I was wondering if you were working today.”

“Nope.” Zane crossed his arms too, and the action pulled his T-shirt against surprisingly toned biceps. “I’m going to drop the kids off at school and then see about getting out there and filling out more applications for work.”

Yes. Perfect.
“You feel like earning a day’s pay?” Noah asked. “My guy called in on me today, and I need some help laying in some sod and sprinklers. It’ll be a full day of work, and I’ll pay you a good wage in cash.”

Zane scratched his cheek, and he frowned. “I don’t know anything about installing sprinklers.”

With a chuckle, Noah replied, “That’s okay. I do. All you have to do is be able to follow my orders.”

“I can do that.” A huge grin lit Zane’s entire face, making the worry lines disappear. “Thank you.” He suddenly shuffled a bit, and pink dotted his cheeks. “Again. I seem to be saying that to you a lot.”

“I was in a bind just now.” Noah hated being late, canceling, postponing, or out and out not coming through on a job. “You’re really helping me out today.”

Zane glanced over his shoulder before coming back to Noah. “Can I drop the kids off first and then meet you?”

Nodding, Noah backed up to his truck. “I’ll follow you, and then you can follow me.”

“Sounds good. Hold on for a second.” Zane grabbed Noah’s wrist with shocking strength, and the contact licked wonderful flames straight up Noah’s arm. “Guys,” he let go of Noah and gestured to his siblings, “come meet Mr. Maitland. He’s the one who got us into this cabin.”

Christ. He called me mister.
Noah suddenly remembered his knees had cracked when he’d gotten out of bed this morning. The residual warmth from where Zane had touched him turned icy. Fuck, if Noah had bothered to look, he probably would have found another gray hair this morning too.
Shit.

“Call me Noah,” he said. That came out with a bit more of a growl than he’d intended. But damn, he fucking felt a hundred years old. Trying again, Noah added, “Please. All of you.”

“This is Duncan.” Zane put his arm around the auburn-haired kid. “And Hailey.” He tugged the girl’s hair.

Hailey held tight to Zane’s arm. “Thank you for the cabin, Noah.” She looked up at Noah with eyes almost as blue as her brother’s.

“Yeah.” Duncan shuffled his foot in the grass in the same manner his brother just had, but he maintained eye contact. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Noah breathed easier. Kids … now there was a group of people Noah had plenty of experience talking to and interacting with. He didn’t kneel in front of them—Matthew had once told Noah he’d found it patronizing when his mother’s boyfriend had done that to him when they’d first met. Instead Noah leaned against the front of his truck and crossed his legs. “Are you guys gonna help Zane with the painting? There’s a lot to do.”

Both kids shook their heads, and Hailey said, “Zane says it has to be perfect or else we’re not doing what we’re supposed to and we’ll have to leave.”

Biting back a laugh, Noah shifted his gaze to meet Zane’s. “Are you making me out to be some kind of slumlord or dictator, Mr. Halliday?”

The inky black of Zane’s pupils crowded out the blue. “I didn’t—I’m not—” He abruptly snapped his mouth shut, sighed, and then muttered, “Fuck.”

Hailey glared up at her brother. “Don’t curse.”

“Relax.” Noah let Zane off the hook. “I’m just teasing. It’s all in the technique, anyway,” he shared with the kids. “As long as Zane teaches you how to guide the roller to get an even coat then it’s just a matter of not letting your arms and shoulders get too sore. Age doesn’t matter.”

“Can you teach us?” Hailey asked. “Last night Zane said he’s never painted nothing in his life, and that he was gonna go to the library today to look up on the Internet the right way to do it.”

Did he now? Out of the mouths of babes.
Noah found Zane’s gaze again, and raised a brow.

“Busted.” Red flamed up Zane’s face once more. “I might have inflated my knowledge of home repair a bit yesterday.”

Once again, as Noah stared at Zane, he had to bite back an indulgent smile. “It’s fine. I’ll give you a quick tutorial on the basics before you get started.”