Granddad's House (On Geneva Shores) (30 page)

She smiled, loving the feel of him, her face cushioned against his chest. The steady beating of his heart soothed her, a quiet call to her to relax, that she was safe, that nothing bad could happen to her as long as he was with her.

Sometime later, she sat up and pulled off her nightgown and began to show him with her hands and her lips and occasional whispers, sighs and moans how she felt about him. She brought them each to an exquisite orgasm, and they held each other close.

He murmured, “I love you more than the world itself,
Livvy. May I call you that—the name your granddad used?  It fits you.”

She nodded. “I’d like that.
He’d
like that.”

She slept in his arms, feeling at last that this must be what Granddad had wanted for her, and what she now wanted for herself.

Chapter 18

Sally sat on the couch eating a piece of pizza. “So, is he living here—or just visiting every other night?” One eyebrow rose with her next bite. “You’re blushing, Olivia. Let me guess. He’s a major league lover, right?”

Olivia laughed. “As if I have lots to compare him to.”

“So compare him to Ned, though I have a feeling that’s no comparison at all.”

“You’re right about that. He seems to know just what to do, and when to … you know.” The heat in her face and neck spiraled down into her core. “I feel funny talking about it, Sal.”

“We’re best friends. Soul sisters. We tell each other everything, at least when I’m around. What with everything’s that’s happened to you this year, I’m sorry I’ve been gone so much. ’Sides, I won’t tell anyone. And just think, you’ve given me something to imagine so I can dream dewy dreams at night.” She laughed. “That’s what my mother used to call them. Dewy dreams—sort of like saying that women ‘glow’ rather than sweat. Ha!” she exclaimed. “I don’t care what she called it. That’s what I want—dreams that get me worked up. I need a man. I want one. Just can’t seem to find one—at least not one like Beau.”

“I thought you were seeing that new guy,
Rafe. Your first boyfriend after Judd.”

“I am, but I’m taking it slow. I haven’t slept with him yet, and I don’t want to get my hopes up that he’s the one.” She reached for another piece of pizza. “So where is he, your man Beau?”

“He flew to DC. His brother’s at Walter Reed Hospital. He had to satisfy himself that Paul is okay, after all the terrible things he went through.”

“What’s Paul like?”

Olivia smiled. “Beau said he’s tall, taller than him, and he has blond hair and dimples. He showed me a picture of the two of them when they were younger. They’re definitely brothers, even though Beau doesn’t have dimples and he has dark hair.”

“Yum, and I don’t mean the pizza. If he’s half as gorgeous as Beau, I definitely want to meet him. Do you suppose he and I could be friends—maybe with benefits?” Sally smirked. “Someone as good-looking as Beau couldn’t possibly have flaws, could he?”

Olivia handed Sally a napkin. “Probably. Don’t they all?” But she couldn’t think of one that mattered when she thought of Beau. “And you’ll get your chance to meet Paul. Beau wants him to move here after he’s out of the service. He thinks Paul could get on with one of the engineering firms in Seattle. That’s what his degree is in—some kind of engineering. Katie and Ted and Paul, if he’s able, are coming here for Christmas—for a family reunion.”

“Promise me you’ll invite me over.” Sally sipped her soda. “What’s happening when Beau gets back? Are you going to move in with him permanently, or get the big rock on the left hand first?”

“He hasn’t asked me. Maybe in the spring …” She smiled at Sally. “And I want you to be my maid of honor if we do get married. In fact, if you do, you’re sure to meet Paul, because I know Beau will want him to be his best man.”

“Count me in. The last couple of years I’ve had tons of practice being a bridesmaid.” Sally looked at her phone. “I’ve got to go. I’m scheduled for an early morning interview with that newspaper editor I told you about. Jerry liked what I showed him. Now to convince him I can do real news, not just the weddings-and-funerals stuff I’ve been stuck with at the Seattle paper.”

“I’m sure you’ll convince him.” Olivia walked with her friend to the front door.

Sally pointed to the Mercedes in the driveway. “What are you doing with Beau’s car?”

“He let me borrow it while mine’s in the shop. I’ve got some showings tomorrow, and I’m previewing homes for a couple of buyers this weekend.”

“You don’t know how lucky you are, girlfriend,” Sally said with a sigh. “You’ve got a real winner in Beau James.”

“
Darlin’, it’s me. Can you pick me up about five?” Beau’s voice rumbled in the phone.

Olivia grinned. “I’ll be there.”

She held her arms wide when he came out of the airport security gate, his smile telling her better than words that he was glad to be home. He picked her up and gave her a hug that took her breath away.

“How was Paul?” she asked, as they walked toward the baggage area, hand in hand.

“Better than I thought he would be.”

“Is he getting the therapy you wanted him to have?”

He nodded. “When I first asked him about it, he didn’t say much, but by the second day, he opened up some.” He tossed his bag into the trunk of the car.

“And?”

“He seems eager to get back on his feet. I talked to the doctor. He said that’s what they aim for—a future orientation. The first step in healing is planning for the future, not just rehashing the past, with regrets and all.”

When Beau spoke to Katie a week later, the phone reception was interrupted with waves of static. He raised his voice in hopes she could hear him.

“Don’t forget. I want you here for Christmas. Paul should be out of the hospital by then, and he goes on leave as soon as he’s able to walk without help. He’s already cleared it with his commander. Put it on Ted’s calendar, Katie.”

“I hear you, Beau. It’s not necessary to yell.” Then her voice disappeared completely.

He closed the phone and debated whether to resort to email to ask for her advice. Finally accepting that she couldn’t really help him from thousands of miles away, he
Binged different ring designs, sketched what he had in mind, and left the office early the next afternoon. When he showed his sketch to the person behind the jewelry store counter, the man smiled.

“Just one moment, sir.” He returned carrying a small box, out of which he pulled two rings that were near matches of what Beau said he wanted. The engagement ring curved down and around the wedding ring, setting off the large center emerald with small diamonds that winked in the light as he looked at the piece from different angles.

“Perfect,” he said. “Could you replace the emerald with a sapphire?” He wanted a stone to match Olivia’s eyes.

“Certainly. What size is the lady’s finger?”

Beau looked blankly at the man. “I guess I never checked. Can you hold that one for me? I’ll have to find out without letting the cat out of the bag.”

The man retrieved the ring and placed it back in the box. “I’ll put your name on it.” He handed Beau a business card. “Call in her size and we’ll take it from there.”

Beau left the store feeling one step closer to making the biggest decision of his life. Nothing like with Heidi when he was too dumb and blind to see that she’d been calling all the shots.
Now if he and Olivia could just decide where they were going to live. Neither his condo nor her town house was acceptable. He’d raise the issue of an alternative when he picked up his car.

“How’re you going to get there?” George asked. “You’ve been without those fancy
Questionss of yours since you got home from DC.”

“Olivia’s coming over tonight for dinner, and I’m going to drive her to her open house tomorrow. Well, actually, it’s not hers, but one of her agents has a sick kid, so she said she’d do it. After she’s done, we’ll talk about finding a place. I like my digs upstairs, the convenience and all, but it’s too much of a bachelor pad and, after a while, it won’t have enough room.” He smiled at George’s knowing grin. “We ought to be able to find something we both like. After all, she’s a realtor.”

George chuckled. “She’ll sell her place, then?”

Beau grinned. “The other night she was saying maybe she’d hang on to it and rent it out. Right now, she’s gearing up to put her grandfather’s condo on the market—as soon as the repairs are done. And when I talked to Jay, he said he’d be finished with what I asked him to do by the end of next week. That means she can list it right around Thanksgiving.”

“How’s she feel about that?”

“I think she views it as closure. When she doesn’t have to go over there, she won’t think so much about what happened to her grandfather.”

George rose and reached for his coat. “Tell her I want to see her the next time she comes over. I need to warn her, prepare her—”

“For what, exactly?” Beau asked with a grin.

“You know—how you get testy when a plan you’re working on isn’t pulling together like you want.”

Beau’s grin widened. “As if she needs a warning.”

“Whether she needs it or not, I want to bask in her beauty. Give me that, Beau. And Karyn wants the two of you over for dinner one of these nights.”

“I’ll mention it to her. See you later.”  He locked the door behind George and went back to his design table to complete the last of the changes he planned to show the doctors when they came in on Monday to review what he and George were proposing for the new medical clinic.

The next morning, Beau drove Olivia to her office, waited while she gathered her supplies and accompanied her to the site of the open house. He followed her into the home and his eyes feasted on the woodwork.

“This place is gorgeous.”

She nodded. “It’s the almost same vintage as Granddad’s house, built in 1906. Original woodwork, probably from around here. The man who built this house was a lumberman. The sellers bought it fifteen years ago, but they want to be near their relatives, who all live in the Midwest. Let me show you around.”

She took his hand, and they walked up the curving central staircase to the second floor. “Three bedrooms on this floor; the master is over there to the left, the big room with the French doors and coved ceiling. The two bedrooms—Jack and Jill style—are to the right with the hall bath between them.”

He wandered into the master bedroom and came back out. “I have a question about this,” he said, pointing toward the large walk-in closet. When she entered the area, he flipped off the light and gathered her in his arms.

“Just as I suspected. Perfect for a clinch,” he murmured, and kissed her.

She kissed him back. “Beau,” she chuckled. “I’m working here.”

“I love the way you work, lady. Let’s work together some more.” He reached for her again. 

But she pulled away when the doorbell rang. “I have a customer. Feel free to look around. I’ll be downstairs putting on the coffee after I talk to these people.”

Beau wandered through the rooms. Down a side hall, he opened a door into a large open room with windows on two sides. What Olivia would call a bonus room. With a closet, it could be another bedroom. Just off the hall was a light-filled smaller room set up as an office. He walked downstairs slowly, not wanting to disturb her.

He sauntered into the main floor study and examined the leaded glass fronts in the bookcases. He suspected the glass was original from when the home had been built. The living room with its fireplace fairly shouted cozy-on-a-winter-evening. He imagined what it would be like snuggling with Olivia while they toasted their toes and kissed in the firelight.

Another hour went by before two more people entered the home. Olivia encouraged them to look around while Beau went into the kitchen and poured himself another cup of coffee.

The front door closed and she joined him. “That was good. New people in town, and they like this place. It’s really slow today. I wish we had more people coming through. Melanie could use another sale about now. That transaction with the Reynolds was a nightmare.” She turned when the front door opened.

“Hi, there. Come on in. What would you like to know about this lovely home?”

“I’m not interested in buying it.” The man pointed outside.  “I live down the street, two doors over on the other side. Name’s Tony Rathbone. Are you Melanie?” The man looked at her nametag.

“No. Melanie couldn’t be here today. I’m Olivia Brown, the broker from her office. Would you like some coffee, Tony?”

“No, thanks. I was wondering if you could come over to my house. My wife broke her leg and isn’t up to doing much walking, but we’re thinking of putting our home on the market, and the Stewarts said yours was the only agency we should use, so I thought if you could just come over and meet my wife, maybe we could schedule a visit—perhaps next week, to talk to you and Melanie about selling our house.”

“Give me a minute, Mr. Rathbone.” Olivia walked over to where Beau was sitting in the breakfast nook. Her father’s words cautioned her.
Never leave an open house unattended.
But the time was almost up. Barely fifteen minutes to go. What was the likelihood anyone else would show, especially since it had begun to drizzle?

“I need to go over to this man’s house. It’s been so slow today, I doubt anyone else will come and it’s almost time to close up. In case someone does come in before I get back, just let them to look around and offer them some coffee and one of my cards on the kitchen table. I’ll be right back.”

“What if they ask me questions?”

“You can’t tell them anything. And, it’s so slow I doubt anyone will stop by. I promise not to be long.”

He nodded. “Go ahead.” 

After she left, he took a seat in the living room facing the door, the better to respond should someone enter. He sipped his coffee. The house was quiet. It had a warm feeling, a relaxed solidity that appealed to him. And the main floor office. The light would be perfect for his drafting table. The little room upstairs would work for
Livvy, assuming she wanted to have a home office. The backyard could use some work, and the deck, too, but that would be easy to fix.  He closed his eyes, continuing to imagine living here.