She was dressed for it when he stopped for her the next morning. Even if those jeans did look as if she had been poured into them. Her loafers were scuffed, the yellow pullover faded, and that gorgeous hair was tied back with a yellow scarf. Suddenly the sun was brighter, the air more refreshing, the day crisp and rich with promise.
He laughed as he lifted her into the truck. “You’re worth three hours,” he said. Just the sight of her was worth a whole darn day.
“What are you talking about? I’m ready, at eight, just like you said, aren’t I?”
“Right. Don’t mind me. I’m mad because Pedro’s cutting into my prime time, and I’m taking it out on you.”
“Pedro? The owner of the Mustang?”
“Who’s demanding payment pronto!”
“Oh, yes. The...er...landscaping. I take it his yard is bigger than your other brother’s. What’s his name?”
“Frank. Yeah, Pedro bought one of those old houses in Richmond. East End.”
An alarm bell sounded. Mel gasped. Wasn’t that the section where Jake’s wife’s company was doing a lot of business? If she ran into Judy...
Oh, for goodness’ sake, Judy might be a dedicated architect/contractor, but was surely at home now, very much occupied with their two-week-old son. Oh, hell, Judy wouldn’t be hobnobbing with the residents, would she? Not even anywhere in the area on a Sunday, and...
And I’m getting paranoid. This is ridiculous. I should just tell Tony who I am.
“Used to be a pretty bad section.” Tony, who seemed not to notice her reaction, was still talking. “They’re upgrading it now, and Pedro got a real bargain. Not bad. Big yard, trees.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah. More breathing space than the new ones like Frank’s.”
“Space enough for vegetable gardens than need tilling, huh?” Why not tell him? What difference would it make?
“Right. But it won’t take long. And it’s on the way to the farm.”
“Does Pedro have children?” That’s when she’d tell him. On the drive to the farm. It would be awkward, but... Oh, well, just a misunderstanding. Not worth mentioning. Didn’t seem important, forgot.
“He has three, and one on the way. You’ll meet them.”
She did meet them. All at once. They converged upon the truck as soon as it rolled around the house into the backyard. A boy and girl who jumped from a tree and came running. A dark-haired pregnant woman with a toddler squirming in her arms.
Tony jumped down and took the boy from her. “You shouldn’t be lifting him, Rosie.”
“I didn’t want him to run under your truck. He heard you turn into the drive and was off!” The woman spoke to Tony, but her wide speculative eyes were on Mel.
Uncomfortable under the inspection, she smiled. “I’m Mel,” she said, glancing at Tony. He was involved with the children who were climbing all over him. “I hope you don’t mind my tagging along.”
“I’m Rosalie, and I don’t mind at all. I’m delighted. You can keep me company while they work.”
The screen door slammed, and a man came out. Pedro, of course. A slightly heavier version of Tony, almost as good-looking. “Get off Tony,” he shouted. “He’s here to work, not to play with you.”
Tony, relieved of the children, made the introductions, including the kids. “Patsy, Jerry and Mike, better known as Buddy.”
As they were exchanging greetings, another man came across the lawn. A tall lean man.
“Charlie Hill, my neighbor,” Pedro said. “This is Melody Sands, Charlie, a friend of Tony’s.”
Mel’s heart jumped into her throat. She knew this man. She had met him at Jake’s just last week, when he and his wife came to bring a present for the new baby. Did he recognize her?
His look said he did. But evidently he had also caught the slight shake of her head, for he simply acknowledged the introduction as if he had never seen her before. She thanked him with her eyes, wanting to explain that it would be all right as soon as she told Tony who she was.
Tony was taking down a machine, and talking to Charlie about some plants he wanted. Mel, still a little shaken, found she was being addressed by the little girl.
“Tony’s got to work,” Patsy explained. “You want to play with us?”
Mel looked down, delighted by the wide, friendly, one-tooth-missing smile. “What are you playing?”
“We’re pirates. That’s our ship.” The boy pointed to a wooden platform that had been constructed along two limbs of the wide-spreading cedar tree.
“Can you climb a tree?” Patsy asked.
“Sure,” Mel answered. She had ridden horses, sailed boats, skied steep mountain slopes. But...she had never climbed a tree in her life. It seemed a good idea. “I’d enjoy it,” she assured the apprehensive Rosalie.
“Well, only for a few minutes. Then it’s my turn. Women talk,” Rosalie added, and winked at Mel before going into the house.
Mel was glad she had opted for the tree. She wasn’t ready for Rosalie’s “women talk.” Not until the coming talk with Tony.
Following Jerry’s instructions, she mounted the two-stair step boards that had been driven into the trunk of the tree and swung easily onto the first big limb. The platform was sturdy with ample space for the three of them, and, with a bit of pretend, was a ship tossing upon an ocean far below.
“I’m the captain, and Patsy’s first mate,” Jerry announced. “You can be the second mate,” he generously conceded.
“Aye, aye, sir.” Mel saluted, and following orders, climbed to the “masthead” to sight vessels within capturing distance. The weather had turned warm, but there was a gentle breeze stirring. The top of the tree swayed in the breeze, and Mel held on, viewing the vast ocean of fenceless backyards that stretched below her. There was Tony expertly handling the noisy rototiller that was uprooting the garden soil several yards from the house. There was Pedro directing Tony and making sure a scampering Buddy was kept safely away from the machine. There was a blue fenced-in unoccupied swimming pool in the yard next door. “Belongs to the Hills,” Jerry had said, “but we can swim in it anytime... that is, when Charlie’s there to watch us.”
Charlie, who knew who she was. For goodness’ sake, she was acting like being rich was a crime! And it wasn’t like she was trying to deceive Tony. She planned to tell him this afternoon, as soon as she got the chance!
She took a deep breath and continued to survey the neighborhood. Two houses away, three teenage boys tossed a basketball at a hoop mounted on the back of the garage. There was the sweet smell of cedar mingling with the fresh aroma of newly overturned earth.
There was a vague sad sense of something she had missed. A yard that blended into other people’s yards where other children played and shared swimming pools and basketball hoops. Hers had been a big yard that stretched for acres, and contained no child but herself. Plenty of trees, but not one to climb. Or was it she had not thought of climbing? Would it have been permitted? Visions of her childhood flashed before her. Coloring books, games, or puzzles with whichever nanny. Contact with other children was restricted to birthday parties or visits to the club under the careful supervision of several nannies. Less supervision when she graduated to horses and boats, of course.
But