“For Samantha,” she said quietly. “You’re a protective father.”
“Comparable to a she-bear with cubs,” Tag said with a slight grin.
“It’s very clean in here. I think I expected sawdust…and… Oh, there’s the furniture you’ve finished.” She left him to walk over to an elegant dining table with a Sold sign on it. “You actually built this?” she asked in amazement.
Tag nodded. “Sure did.”
“You’re not just an ordinary carpenter, you’re a craftsman, an artist.” Linda moved to some chairs and then a coffee table. “Oh, these are all wonderful.”
“Glad you like them. What I like is you.”
Linda sucked in a startled breath.
Tag moved directly in front of her and put his hands on her waist. “I don’t need a year to decide on whether or not yesterday was a red-letter day, Linda. I knew it only minutes after meeting you. And I’ll tell you something else. I don’t say things like that to every woman I meet. You can ask anyone in this town and they’ll all inform you that I’m pretty much a loner. Once in a great while I go down to Joe’s Bar and have a beer or two. That’s about the extent of my social life.”
Linda probed the depths of his eyes. “Tag, you must have had women friends along the way,” she said softly. “You’ve been widowed for five years. Men don’t live without female companionship for that long a time.”
“I’ll tell you about every woman I ever knew if you want me to. Do you?”
She shook her head. “No, of course not.”
“I don’t want to hear about the men in your past, either.”
“But there weren’t any. Other than my husband.”
“Linda, Linda,” he whispered. “Do you realize what’s happening here?”
She knew he was going to kiss her. His face came closer to hers, and she almost felt his lips on hers.
But then they both heard Samantha calling. “Daddy? Where are you, Daddy?”
They quickly broke apart. “There you are,” Samantha said, and smiled when she saw her daddy.
Tag went to his daughter and picked her up. “Let’s go make those burgers, okay, sweetheart?”
“Okay, Daddy,” she replied happily.
Chapter Five
Linda loved Tag’s house. Modern-rustic, she called it—only in her own mind while wondering if there was any such thing. But what else would one call a house with every modern convenience that had the feel of a cozy cabin? In particular she loved the childish drawings—held in place by fruit and vegetable magnets—covering the door of the refrigerator. It was clear that Tag was a loving father to his little daughter.
The floor plan of the house was simple and sensible and would accommodate a larger family than Tag’s, all very impressive, but what delighted Linda most was the craftsmanship that Tag had lavished on his home. He was indeed a master carpenter, and Linda confidently ordered two bookcases with dimensions to fit the now vacant wall space in her compact living room. She looked forward to the day she could start unpacking her books, and she told Tag she would order three more bookcases for her bedroom if the first two were well-done.
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