Heartfire (31 page)
Authors: Karen Rose Smith
Zack couldn't help but be curious about this member of the McIntyre family who was so different from the others.
Lucy came to stand beside Zack, her arm brushing his. "I'm sorry about his attitude. He's had rough going lately."
Rick frowned. "A lot of that rough going is his own fault. More than once I told him Angie wasn't ready to get serious, but he wouldn't listen. He wouldn't take advice then, just like he won't take advice now. He's as hard-headed as they come."
Mary Jo nudged her husband's arm with a small smile. "As if you know nothing about being hard-headed. Lucy's the only one of the McIntyre siblings who knows how to bend."
"Are you saying I'm stubborn?" Rick asked with mock indignation.
Mary Jo laughed. "That's a pleasant way of putting it."
Tom shook his head. "Stubborn or not, that boy better get his head together. Lucy, try to talk some sense into him again, will you? Of any of us, he listens to you best."
"I'll try, Dad."
When she turned toward her father and her elbow brushed Zack, electric charges danced up his arm.
Esther beckoned to them. "Come on! Supper's ready. When we're sitting around the table, maybe Marty will realize how much he still has."
Josh maneuvered to sit on Zack's left. Lucy sat on his right. When Marty rejoined his family, he positioned himself across from the two of them.
It had been over two years since Zack had sat down and eaten a home-cooked family dinner. The night before his camping trip with Kay...
Rick asked, "So...Zack. What do you do besides ride around on a bike?"
Zack accepted the platter of roast beef Lucy passed to him and considered his options. He didn't want to lie to these people but he also didn't want to answer questions that would lead to areas he'd rather avoid. Noticing Lucy's "I-warned-you" look, he answered, "Along with working on ranches, some construction jobs. I've done a little bit of everything. Mr. McIntyre, I hear that construction is particularly slow in Wyoming. Why do you think that is?"
Fortunately for Zack, the conversation turned to the housing market and the economic conditions in Long Brush and the surrounding area. Then he concentrated on his food and tried to keep his mind off Lucy as she reached for the salt shaker. Her hair swayed along her cheek—silky, soft, natural.
Suddenly, she leaned close to his shoulder. "You managed that one like a pro."
If Zack turned his head, his chin would brush her hair. He tightened his hand into a fist, inhaled her scent, and said as casually as he could manage, "I know a secret. Most people like to talk about what concerns them."
"I'll remember that," she said with a smile in her voice.
He turned his head then and his chin did brush her hair. His chest tightened and all his senses went on red alert until suddenly Josh tugged on Zack's arm. Turning from Lucy, he felt Marty's stabbing gaze on him as he leaned down to the five-year-old.
#
After supper, Marty followed Zack to the living room.
Zack stood at the fireplace and waited. If Lucy's brother had something to say, he might as well get it off his chest.
It didn't take long until he did. "Lucy hired you mighty quick."
Zack faced Marty squarely. "You don't trust her judgment?"
"I don't trust a stranger who looks at her the way you do. I'm just warning you—we protect our own. So watch your step."
Zack wondered just how he
did
look at Lucy. As if he wanted to touch her, and kiss her, and wrap his body around hers? He thought he was more guarded than that. Yet, there was no point denying his attraction to her, and he wouldn't lie about it. "Lucy and I are adults. What happens between us is our business."
"Lucy is a McIntyre."
"That doesn't mean you can run her life."
"No, but I can watch out for her like I always have."
As Rick and Mary Jo entered the living room, Marty moved away, leaving Zack to realize more fully what it meant to be a member of a family. An ache for the wife and son he'd lost filled him...an ache he'd managed to deny for over two years.
Excerpt from TOYS AND WISHES:
CHAPTER ONE
"What in blazes is going on here?"
Lexa Kittredge almost dropped the porcelain figurine she'd lifted from Clare Flannigan's bookshelf. Before she could answer, Clare slipped from behind the desk she'd been dusting.
"Josh! You're back!" She pushed her blue glasses farther up her nose. "Lexa, this is my nephew, Josh Flannigan. Josh, meet Alexandra Kittredge."
Lexa only had time to nod before Clare rushed on, "So how was Colorado, Josh? You deserved that long vacation. Anything exciting happen? Meet any bears?"
Lexa suppressed a smile, recognizing Clare's attempt to turn the focus of the conversation on her nephew, rather than the disordered state of her apartment.
"Aunt Clare, what's going on?"
His question was directed at Clare but his gaze was on Lexa. Suddenly she wished they'd opened a window. She hadn't noticed it before, but the heat in Clare's apartment was stifling. Her sweatshirt was sticking uncomfortably to her shoulders. It wasn't supposed to be this hot in Pennsylvania in October, Indian summer or not. Or did the sudden rise in temperature have something to do with Josh Flannigan's piercing blue eyes, the same startling blue as Clare's?
"I'm moving."
Josh's attention flew to his aunt. "You're what?"
Clare climbed onto the step stool to remove books from the top shelf of the bookcase. "I'm moving. Some friends and I have invested in a lovely old house," she explained airily as if she did something like this at least once a week.
Josh's fingers dashed through his shaggy black hair. "Have you taken leave of your senses?"
Lexa set the figurine back on the shelf and took a step forward, deciding it might be time to help Clare explain the situation to her nephew. She offered her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Flannigan. Clare's told me so much about you."
Josh's gaze switched back to her. "And just who are you?"
"Joshua, don't be rude!" Clare scolded.
He took Lexa's hand but also took the time to give her a more thorough looking-over. She didn't have to guess at what he saw. Sweatshirt and jeans. Curly blonde hair that probably looked as if she'd just escaped a stiff wind. Shiny face. "I'm a friend of Clare's."
He dropped her hand. "Since when?"
"Josh..."
"It's all right, Clare. About two months ago Clare came to a workshop I was giving," Lexa explained.
"About?" Josh looked at Clare as if she'd been bitten by some strange bug.
"Senior citizens developing second careers."
"Oh, great. Just what Clare needs when she's finally retired."
"You don't know what I need." Clare's tone matched the fiery hue of her red hair.
"Mr. Flannigan, your aunt has acted very responsibly."
"Where did you get the money?" Josh asked his aunt.
"I had money saved."
Josh's hand slashed through the air. "But that was your nest egg. I don't believe you've done something so...
impulsive."
Clare exploded. "It's about time I'm impulsive if I want to be impulsive."
Lexa took a deep breath. She had to do something to prevent a full-blown fight. "I've directed Clare to an experienced financial advisor."
Josh shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "Clare, you can't be serious about moving. You've lived in this apartment all your life. I've lived here much of mine. The rent's always been reasonable, you don't have to worry about mowing grass or shoveling snow." He looked around the room at the chaos. "My God! I go away for six weeks and when I come back, you're packing boxes."
Clare shrugged and took Lexa's place at the bookshelves. She reached to the top shelf for two volumes of poetry. "I'm doing the right thing. Ask Lexa."
Acting as a buffer wasn't Lexa's favorite position. She'd had to do it too many times between her younger sister and their stepmother. But at least she'd had practice. "I think you're doing what you want to do. That makes it right."
Striding toward Clare, Josh took the books from her hand and dumped them into an open carton. His denim jacket emphasized the width of his shoulders, and the snug fitting jeans encased long legs and muscular thighs. He wasn't drop-dead handsome, but even with the beard stubble, he'd certainly do. Do for what? Lexa asked herself, then pushed every possible answer out of her head.
"I want to know where you got this crazy idea," Josh was saying. "Do you know the work you're letting yourself in for? The hassles?"
Clare's eyes threw rebellious darts. "What about the joy? The challenge? The thrill of a new adventure? Just because I'm over sixty, Joshua Flannigan, is no reason to put me out to pasture. I'm still alive and kicking more than ever. Thirty-five years of teaching English to teenagers is not enough to wear me out or put me in a rocking chair."
She pointed her finger at him. "You thought I'd be happy retired, you thought I'd be happy living a life of leisure. Well, if it wasn't for the senior center this past year, I'd have gone crazy! Lexa thinks this is a magnificent idea and I expected more support from you."
Josh pushed his jacket flaps aside and stuffed his hands in his back pockets as if he were considering the best way to reason with his aunt. "Don't you thing you're acting recklessly?"
Lexa squared her shoulders. This was going to be more difficult than she'd expected. "Mr. Flannigan, your aunt came to talk to me because she was bored, because she was feeling useless, because sitting here by herself was making her feel ancient."
Josh's blue eyes were steady and concerned as they swung back to Clare. "Aunt Clare, all you have to do is call me. I can spend more time with you."
"What nonsense!" Clare planted her hands on her hips. "You're thirty-four, You have your own life to live and so do I."
Realizing her presence increased the tension, Lexa stepped forward. "Clare, it might be better if I wait in the other room."
"Don't let Josh chase you out."
Lexa crossed the room. "He's not. I think you two need to hash this out on your own. I'll take down the wall decorations in the living room."
