Actions Speak Louder (13 page)

“Yes?” she prompted.

“I’ll be tearing off the roof soon.”

She winced.  “The … whole … roof?”

“‘Fraid so,” he told her.  “There’s so much damage up there, even separate of the destruction caused by my unwanted houseguests, that I’m better off starting from scratch.”

Marcia gave him a concerned glance.  She sincerely hoped the contractor was being forthright with him.  The job he described would be a huge expense—heavy on the huge.  She decided not to say anything now, since he’d apparently already made his decision.  Besides, from what she saw of the house, the roof likely required a total tear-off.

“Where will you stay during the rebuild?” she asked him.

“At the bungalow.”

“But you won’t have a roof for a while.”

“Weatherman is predicting fair skies,” he told her confidently.  “Besides, I actually can’t wait to look up from my air mattress at the starry skies above me.”  He sighed.  “It’ll be great.”  Marcia harrumphed and he gave her a bewildered glance.  “What?”

“You know those big trees across the street, on Mrs. Jamison’s property?”

He nodded.  “Sure.”

“At night, they’re full of bats,” she told him ominously.  “When you glance up at the starry, starry sky, you’ll likely see a colony of them overhead.”  She shrugged.  “Heck, I’m sure several will happily join you as you camp on the second story of your house.”  She returned her attention to the road ahead, biting back a chuckle.

She heard him gulp.  “Bats?”

She nodded.  “Hundreds.  Maybe thousands.”

“Hmm,” he said in response.

“You might want to make other sleep arrangements,” she told him.

“Yeah, maybe.”  He grinned cheekily then.  “I noticed you have a couch.”

She was taken aback by the remark.  Was he serious?  She gave him a brief glance, but realized he was teasing when he spoke. 

“I’ll head back to the condo while the roof’s off.  No bats there.  Or raccoons, for that matter,” he added.

Marcia smiled.  “I’m sure your condo is more comfortable than my place anyway.”  Not that she had any intention of letting him stay over.  She hardly knew him, yet…  It occurred to her suddenly—being with him felt comfortable.  Why was that the case? she wondered. 

“So, you mentioned needing to talk to me about something,” she said, trying to divert her own mind from disturbing thoughts.

She heard him gulp again.  “Uh, yes.  Yes, I do.”

“Okay, well, let’s talk,” she urged, struggling to focus.  But she just couldn’t seem to manage it. 
Why did she feel so comfortable with Ethan?
  Even now, she felt absolutely at home with him sitting beside her in the car.  That just wasn’t like her.  She was such a private person to begin with, but having him coming in and out of her life on a daily basis seemed … natural.  It had never felt like that with Jay.  With Jay, it had been work.

She shook her head to clear it.  Why was she thinking about the two men at all?  Jay was ancient history, and surely the ease she felt with Ethan portended a friendship, rather than anything more.  And that was good, because she didn’t want a relationship.  A friendship? 
Absolutely.

“Marcia…” Ethan’s voice penetrated her thoughts.

“Oh, yes?  What?”  She turned to him, embarrassed.  She noticed he was presently watching her with concern. 

“Where’d you go just then?” he asked, furrowing his brows.

“Oh, nowhere,” she assured him, waving a dismissive hand.  “What was it again you needed to talk to me about?”

He opened his mouth to talk, when suddenly, both dogs leapt up and began bouncing in his lap.  Allie emitted a shrill bark, which Tootsie promptly emulated.

“What is it?” Ethan said, stunned by their behavior.  It was then he saw the airport sign, indicating it was just up ahead.  He laughed with chagrin.  “You weren’t kidding when you said they know when they’re at the airport,” he said. 

“Sometimes I think they know how to read,” Marcia observed, sending the dogs a quick glance.

No amount of soothing calmed the dogs, since they knew their folks were close by.  Ethan berated himself.  Why hadn’t it registered with him that the airport was only a short drive from his house?  Why hadn’t he talked to Marcia when he’d had the chance?  Now, they were drawing up to the sign directing them to “arrivals.”  The dogs erupted into full-out howls now.

“You were saying?” Marcia said over the din.

Ethan sighed heavily.  “As I said, I have something to tell…”

Allie suddenly leapt up, planting her feet on the dash, and began bellowing even louder.  Tootsie, who was still in Ethan’s lap, rose up and planted her paws on his chest.  She stared intently into his face, albeit briefly, and then kissed him, before letting out a bellowing wail.

“Oh, look,” Marcia remarked calmly, as if the dogs weren’t currently piercing her eardrums with their howls, “I see Tammy and Dan just ahead.”

She pulled up to the curb, put the car in park, and hurriedly got out, careful to keep the dogs from bolting from the car.  Ethan would have followed, but both dogs were scrambling all over him, and still howling at the top of their lungs. 

Since he felt wrong remaining in the car while Marcia helped her neighbors with their luggage, he scooped up both wriggling dogs and climbed out.  He approached Dan as he was opening the trunk of the car.  “Hello, I’m Ethan,” he said, still trying to keep the dogs from launching out of his arms.

“Hi, I’m Dan,” he responded, smiling briefly before he reached for Tammy’s luggage.  Once he’d situated everything in the trunk and closed it, he reached for Allie, tucked her in his arm, and then extended a hand in greeting.

Ethan accepted his hand, careful to keep Tootsie from launching out of his arms.  When Tammy approached to take her from him, the Dachshund practically went into orbit—her tail beating against him in a circular motion. 

“I’m Tammy,” she said, smiling.    

“Good to meet you,” he replied, as he carefully passed the Dachshund to her.  “The dogs are awfully glad to see you.”

“And we’re awfully glad to see them” she said, pulling Tootsie close in a hug.

Soon the group was sitting in Marcia’s car, ready for the short drive home. 

As always, the girls settled right in with Dan and Tammy, promptly falling asleep in their arms.  Marcia always marveled at their contentment once their people arrived home.

“How was your trip?” she asked them.

“Great,” Dan answered.  “But it’s always good to be home.”

“We really missed the girls,” Tammy said, stroking Tootsie’s soft head.

The group was quiet for a moment, but Dan spoke from the back seat.  “Aren’t you Ethan Winslow?” he directed to Ethan, his voice full of question.  “I think we met at the fundraiser for the library—what?  A year ago … March.”

Ethan stiffened in his seat.  He ventured a glance at Marcia, who had turned toward him. 

“Do you remember, hon?” Dan directed to his wife.

Tammy nodded.  “That’s right.  It’s good to see you again, Ethan.  I can’t tell you how much we appreciated everything you and your company did for our library.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Dan said with chagrin.  “Heck, without E.J. Winslow Construction, the new wing would still be in the planning phase, and as far as funding..?”  He laughed without humor.  “Frankly, it was nonexistent until you came along.” 

Ethan sighed as he glanced at Marcia.  Even in profile, her features conveyed her confusion.  When he glanced at her hands, he noticed she was white-knuckling the steering wheel.

He turned away, wishing the two of them were alone in the car.  He desperately wished he had come clean to her when he still could, rather than letting the opportunity get away from him.  Now, the cat was out of the bag, and he had had no control over the delivery of the news.

He needed to talk to her, alone.  Unfortunately, the conversation would have to wait.  He didn’t want to be impolite to the McAdams.  He cleared his throat.  “If memory serves, your company was awfully generous to the library too.”

Dan acknowledged his words with a laugh.  “Well, my guys didn’t actually
build
the new wing.”

Marcia pulled into the McAdams’ driveway to drop them off.  She climbed out of the car to open the trunk, grabbed a hold of one of the suitcases, and trotted up to the front door.  The couple followed, each carrying a piece of luggage in one hand and a Dachshund in the other.  Ethan brought up the rear, carrying a large suitcase.  At the door, Dan and Tammy invited them in, but both Marcia and Ethan declined. 

Marcia knew her neighbors were likely tired after their trip.  She could also see the girls were eager to have their people to themselves.  After quick hugs and ‘welcome homes,’ she turned to leave.  She climbed into her car, ready to drive away.

To her surprise, Ethan jogged back to the car and climbed in.  She glanced his way.  He swallowed and smiled tentatively.  “We need to talk.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but words escaped her.  What could she say to him?  She felt…  How did she feel?  She wasn’t sure.  She simply shook her head, confused.  Why hadn’t he told her who he was?

“Look,” he began, “I tried to tell you.”

She turned away from him and backed out of the McAdams’ driveway.  Heading to her house, she nearly turned into her drive, but opted to pull into his instead. 

“You could have parked in your own driveway,” he told her.  “It’s not as if I can’t walk the few feet between our houses.”  Suddenly, his eyes widened as understanding dawned.  “Oh, this is your way of unceremoniously dumping me off.”

“I’m not...”  She frowned, her words trailing off.  She refused to look at him.  She was too embarrassed to look at him.  She felt … betrayed.    

“Oh, yes, you are,” he said with a sigh.  “I don’t blame you, but if you’ll just let me explain.”

“I really have to go.”  She still wouldn’t look at him, lest he see how badly he had hurt her.      

He watched her, and had she turned and made eye contact even briefly, she would have seen the guilty expression on his handsome face.  “The McAdams are sure nice people,” he said, by way of making small talk.

Marcia nodded.  They were nice people.  The nicest.  They had a wonderful marriage too.  One she had hoped to emulate.  She had never seen Dan or Tammy be anything but loving and respectful to one another.  If she ever had a marriage like theirs, she would count herself blessed. 

For whatever reason, the latter thought about her wonderful neighbors brought an eruption of tears to her eyes.  If only she and Jay had gotten along as well.  If only their love for one another had transcended their differences.  If only they could have made it work. 

“Marcia, are you all right?”

She wiped the tears away, praying Ethan hadn’t seen them.  “I really need to go,” she told him, sniffling.

“Hey,” he said softly, feeling as if he’d been stabbed in the heart.  “Please can we talk?”  He desperately wanted to make amends.  He certainly hadn’t intended to make her cry.  He felt a wave of anger wash over him—at himself. 
He’d made her cry
.  Why hadn’t he come clean from the beginning?  Hearing who he was from her neighbors had obviously been too big a shock.

“Look, Marcia, I’m so sorry…”

She waved off his apology.  “Oh, no, it’s … fine.  But I really … have to go.”

“It’s not fine,” he said crisply.  “I know it’s no excuse, but I did try to tell you who I am.  I really did, but something always came up whenever I tried.”       

She gave him a skeptical glance, but then made her face impassive and shrugged.  “It doesn’t matter.  I do need to go.”

“Can we talk later?” he asked.

She sat stiffly for several seconds.  “I don’t think so.”

He sighed heavily.  “I’m really sorry.  Will you please give me a chance to explain?”

“I can’t … right now,” she murmured, and then stared at the passenger side door. 

“Okay.”  He climbed out of the car, but paused beside the open door.  “I hope you’ll give me a chance to explain…”

She began backing up, as he pushed the door closed.  She drove home and pulled into her garage.  She felt relief when the big door closed behind her car.

Back inside her house, she subsided onto the couch.  She grabbed a throw pillow and held it tightly against her chest.  A wave of mortification washed over her.  Ethan was the “E” in E.J. Winslow Construction. 

She searched her brain, remembering a series of articles she’d read about him in the paper.  Some year’s back, he’d been touted as one of the town’s up-and-comers in the business section, and in recent years, had been featured so many times on the society page it was truly a wonder she hadn’t recognized him.  Of course, in the photos, he was always dressed to the nines.  She recalled that not too many years before, he’d been deemed one of the town’s most eligible bachelors, until he began dating a local heiress, Gwen Mannington.     

Marcia sighed.  He was the owner of the biggest construction firm in town.  Hadn’t she read he’d worked for his father since he was a young teen, learning every facet of the trade?  Of course, his father had owned a small construction company, but Ethan had expanded his own business beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.  The man built skyscrapers!