Actions Speak Louder (11 page)

“Maybe it never really felt like home,” she suggested.  “Maybe when the bungalow is completed, it’ll feel like home to you.”

“I think you’re probably right.”

The dogs ran circles in the yard for a moment, and then Allie found a ball and dropped it at Ethan’s feet with a yelp.  He bent to pick up both her and the ball.  “Let’s let your stomach settle first, young lady,” he said.

Marcia watched him, stroking the dog and talking softly to her.  Jay would have never shown affection towards an animal.  The errant thought startled her.  Why was she comparing Ethan—a virtual stranger—to Jay.  Besides, the two men had nothing in common. 

She shook her head.  How did she know that?—that they had nothing in common.  She had absolutely no basis for that belief.  She didn’t know Ethan.  For that matter, she didn’t know Jay.  She thought she had, but she had been wrong. 

“I’d better get to those traps while we still have light,” Ethan said, interrupting her disturbing thoughts.

“Okay, I’ll put the dogs in the sunroom.”

He winced.  “Actually, you’d better stay here and wait for the pizza.  We’ve been out back awhile and it shouldn’t be too much longer.  I’ll take care of the traps and be back in a shake.”

She nodded and turned to go back into the house.  He followed, grabbing hold of the screen just above her head, to hold the door for her.  When he closed it behind him, he locked it and then closed the more substantial exterior door behind it and locked it too. 

“I usually leave it open and unlocked when I’m home,” she told him.

“Considering the intruder you spotted at my place yesterday, it’s probably a good idea not to take any chances.  Especially being that you’re a woman alone.”

She nodded.  “I’m sure you’re right.”

He left to set the traps, and returned before the pizza arrived. 

“You made good time,” she told him, as she opened the door to let him back inside.  “Did you see any sign of your animal intruders in the attic?”

The dogs danced around his feet, Allie barking enthusiastically.  “We’ll play fetch after pizza,” Ethan assured her, and turned back to Marcia.  He winced.  “Yeah, I’m afraid I found ample evidence of them in the attic.  I won’t go into detail, but I’ll have to do an extensive cleanup.”

“Is it raccoons, do you think?”

He nodded.  “That’s my best guess.  The little devils!  You should see the assorted items they have stashed in one of the walls.”

Marcia sighed.  “I sure hope I don’t have any in my attic.”

“Have you heard any sounds coming from up there?”

She furrowed her brow, thinking.  “Well, I’ve heard the occasional creak and groan, but nothing indicative of little feet running across the floor.  Wouldn’t they make a lot of noise?”

“Yes, probably.  I remember somebody telling me they sound a lot like bowling balls being tossed against the floors and walls.”  He grimaced.  “Last night was proof of that.”  He glanced around her home.  “But this place is well built.”

“And well insulated,” she told him.  “I did it myself.”

“Why don’t we have a look in your attic, to be on the safe side?”  He checked his watch.  “Can we hear the doorbell from the attic?” 

She nodded and led him from the room and upstairs, toward the attic entrance, which was actually accessed through a doorway at the end of the hall.  “This is convenient,” he observed, glancing at the staircase leading up.  “I wish I had this kind of access.”  He studied the immediate area for a moment.  “You know, I may just do something like this at my place.  It would sure make it easier to get up there.”

He followed her upstairs, to the unfinished space.  He noted there was a lot of room between the wood floor and the rafters, and if finished, would allow for high ceilings and ample floor space.  “What a great space,” he commented.

She nodded.  “Someday I’d like to turn it into a home office, since I don’t want one located on either the main floor or second story.  I used to work from home, and it seemed as if I could never get away from work.  I figure if I shut it off in the attic, it won’t feel as if work is always intruding on my home life.”

“Makes sense.”  He strode across the room, coming to stop at a large dormer.  “You could actually fit a large desk here, and you’d have great views of the neighborhood.  You’d never feel enclosed or claustrophobic.”

“That sounds like a good idea.  I hadn’t considered putting a desk right there.”

“Okay, well, let’s have a look around.”  He turned around and inadvertently bumped into her, instinctively reaching out to steady her when she took a quick step back.  “Sorry.”

“That’s okay,” she assured him, looking up into his face.  They’re eyes locked in some sort of silent communication.  Suddenly, the air was charged with a tension she couldn’t identify.  She cleared her throat and stepped away from him.  His arms dropped to his sides.  When he quirked a grin, she turned away and started across the attic.  “I, uh, don’t see any signs of wildlife,” she commented.

“Nope, everything looks good except…”  His words trailed off.

“What?” she asked, surprised.

“Look up there.”

Marcia followed his hand to where he was pointing, squinting to see what he was showing her.  She didn’t see anything.

He came up beside her, very close, and pointed again.  She swallowed hard, trying to focus on what he was showing her, rather than his proximity to her.  Inhaling his deep, masculine scent, she felt slightly disoriented and took a quick step away from him.

“Are you all right?” he asked with alarm.  “Did one of the wasps sting you?”

“No, I’m fine,” she assured him, suddenly spotting the nest on the ceiling several feet away.  She let out a sigh.  “Oh, I see it now.  Those darn wasps just keep coming back.”

“I’ll take care of it for you,” he told her.  He cocked his head, thinking—did he have any wasp killer at the bungalow?

Marcia couldn’t help smiling.  He would take care of it for her.  Sure, and get a dozen painful stings for his trouble.  She touched his arm in gratitude.  “I appreciate the offer, but dealing with wasps is practically my part-time job.  I’ve got it covered.”

He was about to protest when the doorbell rang. 

“Pizza!” Marcia said cheerfully, and hurried out of the attic.  He followed her down the stairs to the second story.  From there, they hurried down the stairs to the main floor and to the foyer.  Marcia had already left money for the pizza on a credenza in the entryway.  She was about to pay, when Ethan appeared beside her with money in hand.  He paid the man before she registered his intention.

When he accepted the pizza from the delivery man and closed the door, she turned to him.  “You didn’t have to do that.”

“If memory serves, pizza was my idea,” he said.

“Well, I didn’t exactly argue with you when you suggested it.”

He smiled.  “Yeah, I really like that about you.”

***

As Marcia cleared the plates off the table, Ethan watched her, frowning.  He had yet to find an appropriate opportunity to finally set her straight about his occupation.  He almost hated to do it now.  They had developed such an easy camaraderie over the past couple hours.  He hated the prospect that his confession might unravel what he had come to view as a new friendship.

Well, the truth was, he did see Marcia as a friend, but if he was being honest with himself, his feelings toward her were definitely deeper than friendship.  It was a revelation to him—that this woman had managed to get under his skin.  It was unlike him to develop feelings for anyone so quickly. 

He glanced up to study her as inconspicuously as he could manage.  She was still dressed in her workwear—overalls with a sunflower embroidered on the pocket—and seemed perfectly at ease.  She hadn’t run to a mirror once, and had even bypassed a large, decorative mirror in the hallway without pausing to check her face.

He wondered, what did that mean about her?  He’d gotten so accustomed to Gwen, who was decidedly high maintenance, and had, in truth, gotten so used to a particular lifestyle, that it was interesting to him that he seemed so at ease with his new neighbor.  They had really just met. 

Who was she? 

Who was he
? 

Was he the guy in a suit, essentially living the life of leisure in a high-rise condo?  He rejected that picture in his mind’s eye.  He had always worked hard in all aspects of his career, despite Gwen often suggesting to him that he consider forgoing any fieldwork in favor of taking a permanent place behind his desk at corporate.  The truth was, he liked getting out of the office—liked overseeing the big jobs from the field, and in the past, had never been able to give control over to someone else—which was probably why he had attained business success in the first place.  Of course, he’d recently turned the reins over to his brother-in-law.  While he trusted Thomas implicitly, it simply wasn’t his nature to step back and allow someone else absolute control. 

In fact, he had initially railed against the very notion of someone else taking charge, but lately, he’d given little thought to his business.  His thoughts tended toward Marcia these days.  Wow, he thought, that was so unlike him. 
What did it mean
?      

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, pulling him from his thoughts.  Marcia glanced away from the sink and to the front door.  “Wonder who that can be?” she muttered, hoping that Jay hadn’t picked this moment to drop by.  She just wasn’t up to a visit with him right now.  “I’ll be right back,” she told Ethan, who had stood up and was watching her.

She opened the door and found a man she didn’t recognize standing on her porch.  “Is Ethan Wi—”

Ethan heard his brother-in-law’s deep voice.  He rose in a blink and hurried to the door.  “Hey, Thomas, what’s going on?” he called out, before he’d even reached him.

“I need to talk to you, and your cell is off.”  He gave Ethan a dispirited look and ran a hand through his dark hair.  “Funny, you never turn it on anymore.  What gives?”

“Oh, uh, nothing.”

Marcia watched the exchange between the men.  She sensed some tension between the two. 

“Oh, hey, Marcia, this is my brother-in-law, Thomas,” Ethan said, realizing he hadn’t introduced them yet. 

She nodded, accepting his outstretched hand.  “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.”  He gave her a polite smile and turned his attention back to Ethan.  Had Marcia imagined him arching his eyebrows pointedly at his brother-in-law? 

Ethan cleared his throat.  “Hey, how did you know I was here?”

“Funny thing,” Thomas said, stroking his jaw.  “I was standing at your front door, pounding—since your doorbell is out of commission—and some woman came running up to me.”  He gave a rueful grin.  “And I mean, she was running.  And considering her advanced age, I have to say, I was impressed by her speed and agility.  Anyway, she told me you had come over her about an hour or so ago.  She proceeded to give me a play-by-play of your day’s activities…”  He shook his head.  “It was kind of odd, really.”

“Oh, wow,” Ethan murmured, and turned to Marcia.  He gave her a wan smile.

“Mrs. Jamison has a crush on you,” she said, and shrugged. 

He laughed uncertainly.  “Good thing you gave me those curtains.  I’d better put them up tonight.”

She nodded.  “I’d make it a priority.”

“Speaking of priorities,” Thomas said pointedly at Ethan, “you and I need to talk.”

Marcia heard Ethan sigh loudly, and he turned toward her.  “I guess I have to go.”  He winced.  “Shoot, there was something I needed to talk to you about.  Can…?

“Can it wait?” Thomas said, giving him a meaningful stare.

Ethan shook his head and sighed again.  “Guess it’ll have to.”  He turned to Marcia.  “I’m sorry, but I have to go.  Thanks for…”

She waved off his gratitude.  “Talk to you later.”

“Who’s the woman?” Thomas asked Ethan, as the two sat in a couple lawn chairs in his back yard.

“My neighbor.”

“Obviously,” he said, angling a suspicious glance at him.  “What were you doing over there?”

Ethan laughed without humor.  “And how’s that your business?”

“Hey,” he said, raising a conciliatory hand, “I’m not saying it is, but…”  He cocked his head, studying his friend intently.  “Have you forgotten about Gwen?”

“What about Gwen?  And what has my neighbor got to do with her?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, actually.”  He shook his head.  “Well, the first part.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.”  He sighed.  “Look, Gwen came by last night to talk to Holly.  She was really upset.”

“Okaaay.”

“She’s upset about the breakup.”

“It was six months ago.”  He gave a bitter laugh.  “Besides, it was her idea.”

Thomas ran a hand through his hair.  “Look, Gwen confided in Holly that she hadn’t intended to break up with you at all, that—”

“What?” he said, incredulous.  “Then why did she break up with me?”

“She was just trying to shake you up.  She figured it would jolt you into realizing how important she was to you—that you’d realize you’d been taking her for granted—so that you’d…”