“Yeah? So?”
“So I want you to stuff that food down your throat and then get out of here.”
“This is my lunch break! And it’s not like she’s going anywhere. If you’ve already waited a month, why can’t you wait until I finish eating?”
Yeah...he supposed he could. He didn’t want to, but it made more sense than throwing Jesse out of the restaurant and rushing things. “Fine.” He liberally poured hot sauce on his food. “But don’t linger.”
For an answer, Jesse took an enormous bite of his sandwich.
For the next twenty minutes, Merrily stayed pretty busy. Brick noticed that she chatted with everyone. He wasn’t special in that regard.
Except that she didn’t touch anyone else, so regardless of what Jesse thought, her fleeting touch to his shoulder did mean something.
What, exactly, he didn’t yet know.
By all accounts, she’d turned down dates. Not that it mattered. He wasn’t an insecure schoolboy who quailed in the face of possible rejection.
If she turned him down, he’d just have to figure out a way to change her mind.
Without seeming pushy. Or stalkerish.
Coming out of the kitchen with a loaded tray, she moved around her seating area, dropping off food, refreshing cups of coffee, taking new orders and seeing that everyone had everything they wanted.
Finally, while digging a bill out of her pocket, she approached again.
“You guys need anything else? More to drink? Dessert?”
Jesse said, “I’m good, thanks.”
“Same here.”
She placed respective bills on the booth top before them, clasped her hands together and faced Brick again. “If you’re all done, mind if I ask you something?”
After a stifled grin, Jesse did him a solid by saying, “It’s your turn to pay, Brick, and I’m running late. So if you don’t mind....” He pushed his bill toward Brick and slid out of his seat.
Merrily sent him a smile. “Thank you for stopping by. Come see us again.”
“Will do.” Whistling under his breath, Jesse sauntered out.
In the middle of a busy restaurant, at the tail end of the lunch crowd, Brick relished the moment of relative privacy. “Got a second to sit down?”
“Oh, yes. Thank you.” She untied her apron and took Jesse’s seat opposite him. “I’m actually off early today.”
So now might be a good time to get to know her better.
She wrinkled her pert little upturned nose. “I can’t stay long, though. I have a ton of stuff to get done.”
“Classes?”
“Those are in the morning. But the animals have been closed up since this morning, I have laundry piling up, and I’m hoping to put in a doggy door.”
“You have your own house?” He’d love to find out where she lived.
She shook her head. “I’m renting a duplex, but my landlord is okay with it—for a small fee, of course—and I know my pets would appreciate it. I hate leaving them cooped up while I’m away, so...” She shrugged. “That’s what I wanted to ask you. I know you own the hardware store. Do you sell whatever I’ll need?”
He had what she needed, all right. “Actually, it’s a family business. Mom and Dad retired early, and Evan wasn’t interested in it, so I run it. In a couple more years, I’ll buy them out.”
“That’s nice. You’re close with your family?”
“Real close. You?”
Avoiding his gaze, she moved aside Jesse’s plate. “Dad died in a car wreck when I was seventeen. Mom was disabled. But last year she passed away, too.”
Wow. His heart clenched over such devastating losses. “Siblings?”
She shook her head. “It was just Mom and me.” With a cheerless smile, she added, “And our menagerie.”
So she’d inherited the animals? Drawn to her, needing the contact, he touched her slender fingers, hesitated, and when she didn’t pull away, he held her hand. “You said your mom was disabled?”
“Except for doctor appointments, she preferred not to venture out much. It was too difficult for her, and she felt conspicuous.”
“Did she need full-time care?” He couldn’t imagine that type of responsibility being dumped on someone so young.
Merrily shook her head. “I kept meals ready for her, and we cleared the house enough that she could get around pretty well in her powered wheelchair. When I had to be away, for school and grocery shopping and stuff like that, I kept a cell phone on me for any emergency calls. She loved our animals, and they loved her. They kept her company when I couldn’t be with her.”
Damn. “I’m sorry, Merrily.”
“We managed okay. I mean, until she worsened.” Slowly she freed herself from his touch. “After she passed away, the animals had a hard time adjusting. I figured a change of scenery would be nice, so here I am. With the animals, who, like I said, are family to me.”
“But you need that doggy door.”
“Yes. They’re happier now, but they were used to her being there. Now they’re alone...” She blew out a breath. “I think they’ll enjoy it more if they can get outside and play a little or even just lay in the sun.”
He considered her, wondering how much her mother’s health might have played into her broken engagement. Not many men would sign on for that type of responsibility. “Are you handy around the house?”
She laughed. “Not really, no. But I can read directions.”
Man, she had a nice laugh. Not too girly, not at all fake. Just...nice. “Do you have a good tool set?”
“I have a hammer and a screwdriver.” She bit her bottom lip but ended up shaking her head. “Will I need a lot of other stuff?”
Perfect opening. If it hadn’t been for the heartbreaking story she’d just shared, he’d have grinned in anticipation. But given her reasons for relocating, he managed to hold it together. “Tell you what. Why don’t I put in the doggy door for you?”
He waited for objections, for excuses, or a flat-out no.
She dropped back in her seat. “Seriously? You’d do that? I mean, I’ll pay you, of course, but I—”
“Neighbor to neighbor,” he said, cutting her off. Given what he wanted from her, no way could he let money change hands. “I’m happy to help out.”
Still surprised, she said, “But we’re not neighbors.”
No, but he wanted her bad. “In this town, everyone is a neighbor.”
“You’re sure?”
“It’ll be my pleasure.” He’d find out where she lived, make himself useful and in the end...he’d have her under him, where they’d both have some fun.
Even to him, that sounded like a Grade-A prick move.
But she forestalled any opportunity for him to retrench when she said with heartfelt gratitude, “Thank you. I appreciate it more than I can say.”
CHAPTER TWO
MERRILY LOOKED AROUND the duplex again, saw everything was in order and tried not to listen for Brick’s knock