He was right behind her, the wooden stairs groaning at his greater weight.
“When did you move to Eau Claire?” he asked over the squeak of a loose board.
As soon as I could, she thought. “About seven years ago.”
“I take it that the rest of your family has moved away, too.”
Not sure why he would assume such a thing, she opened the screen door, holding it back for him. “Everyone is still right here in town.”
“Your parents and Paige still live in Cedar Lake?”
“You sound surprised that they’re still here.”
“I am.”
Truly puzzled, she glanced behind her as he grabbed the door. “Why?”
“Because it doesn’t make any sense.”
“That they’d still be here?”
His tone went as flat as the lake. “It doesn’t make any sense that you came from two hours away to take care of this for your grandmother when your mom, dad and sister live within ten minutes of the place.”
He stood with one arm stretched out as he held the door, his broad chest blocking her view of the overgrown garden, his carved features knitted in a frown. She was aware of his nearness, his size and his obvious incomprehension. Mostly, she was aware that she wasn’t moving.
She stepped onto the enclosed porch, ignoring for now the chairs and chaises that needed to be wiped down and the potted plants she’d watered when she’d arrived yesterday but still needed to trim. Her mother simply hadn’t had time to give them their usual care while Bea had been convalescing. After three months of hit-and-miss tending, Amy figured they were lucky to still be alive.
“My family is busy,” she defended, on her way to the middle of the expansive, screened-in area. “Summer is Mom’s busiest time of year for house sales. Dad has been spending a lot of time out of town on a big audit. And Paige has a husband, two little girls, a big house and her Junior League committees to keep up with. No one else has the time except me.”
She’d thought for certain that mention of Paige and her family would give him pause. At the very least, the mention of her being married should raise an eyebrow, providing, of course, that he didn’t already know.
All he did when she stopped to face him was give her a slow, disbelieving blink.
“So they go on with their lives while you put yours on hold.”
“I wouldn’t put it that way,” she replied, not caring for the way the thought made her feel.
“I would.”
She already felt disquieted by him. The feeling only increased with his flatly delivered statement. “My only plans this summer were to take a course I need to keep my teaching certificate current and to spend a month in Europe prowling museums. I can take the class in the fall and do the museum tour next year. I’ve already postponed it twice, anyway.”
“I wouldn’t have thought that Junior League was more important than classes and a vacation.”
“Junior League does charity work,” she informed him, determined to maintain her position. “Being involved in the community is important, too.”
Nick’s brow furrowed as he watched her glance slide from his. A person would have to possess the sensitivity of a stone not to notice how completely she’d minimized and dismissed her own plans, or how staunchly she stood up for the more self-focused members of her family. Especially Paige. His ex-fiancée had probably been the first to come up with a list of excuses about why she couldn’t handle the responsibility Amy had so willingly taken on.
“Why do I have the feeling you’re the only one who thinks your grandmother doesn’t belong where she is?”
Because you’re incredibly astute, she thought. “I don’t know,” she replied, preferring not to discuss family disagreements with him, or be impressed by his insight. “Why do you?”
“For one thing, you’re the only one willing to be inconvenienced.”
“I told you—”
“Yeah. I know. They’re busy,” he muttered. “You don’t need to defend your family to me, Amy. I was just trying to make conversation.”
He wasn’t sure what annoyed him the most. Her coolness, or the fact that he was letting her get to him. That coolness didn’t even suit her. There was too much generosity in her spirit, too much warmth in her soul. Or there had been, anyway. It took amazingly little effort for him to recall how she’d befriended nearly every small child and animal in her neighborhood, or how easily her shy smile could come once she’d gotten to know someone. Her warmth was still there, toward her grandmother, anyway, and her generous spirit still thrived, but she’d clearly choke before he’d get a smile out of her.
“Look,” he muttered, knowing no way around the problem but to address it. “I know I’m not your family’s favorite person, but what happened between me and Paige happened a long time ago. It sounds like she’s moved on. So have I. There’s no reason—”
“You don’t need to defend yourself to me.”
“I’m not defending myself,” he shot back, not caring for how neatly she’d turned around what he’d said to her moments ago. “I’m just stating facts. And one of those facts is that it was your grandmother who asked me to come here, so I’d appreciate it if you’d drop the chill.”
He looked about as flexible as a granite post with his eyes boring into hers and his hands jammed on his hips. Amy didn’t doubt for a moment that he expected her to back down and, if not drop her guard, then at least be a little more hospitable.
As a woman who went out of her way to avoid confrontations, who made her students apologize and play nice whenever there was a difference of opinion, she normally would have found his expectation to be the more diplomatic course of action. Especially since he looked a little short on patience at the moment. But she didn’t feel diplomatic. What she felt was unnerved. His glance had slipped to her mouth, lingering there long enough to heat the knot of nerves in her stomach. If she was feeling anything at all at the moment, it was a strong and distinct need for distance.
“I realize Grandma called you. And as long as we’re stating facts,” she echoed politely, “I’m not totally convinced that her doing that is rational behavior. It makes no sense that she would do something that could bring back bad memories for a member of her family. She can be a little unconventional at times, and she’s certainly outspoken, but she’s not inconsiderate.
“You hurt her granddaughter,” she reminded him.
“Which reminds me,” she continued, loyalty to her sibling melding with a heavy dose of feminine self-defense, “did you ever marry the woman who stole you from my sister?”
She got the distance she was after. In the space of a heartbeat, Nick’s expression closed like a windblown shutter.
“No. I didn’t marry her. I have no intention of ever marrying anyone,” he informed her, his voice low and certain. “And just for the record, no one can steal someone from another person. If a man doesn’t care enough to stick around and make a relationship work, there were fundamental problems to begin with.”
The tension in his big body was almost palpable as his glance shifted over her face, his eyes revealing nothing as his gaze penetrated hers. That gaze was disturbing, intimate, and whatever it was he saw in her face caused the telltale muscle in his jaw to jerk before he turned away.
With his back to her, he drew a breath that stretched the fabric of his shirt against his wide shoulders.
“Where does your grandmother want the ramp?”
Amy