Shadows of Yesterday
Page 8
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Way to go, Leigh, she derided herself. What would he think of her? That she had men traipsing in and out of her house all the time? That she was a man-hungry widow? She shouldn’t have
“Are you sure you’d rather cook than go out?”
No, she wasn’t, but she didn’t want him to know that. At least he hadn’t looked at her with lascivious speculation. He hadn’t taken her invitation to include anything but dinner. “Sarah can’t sit in a high chair yet, and I have to hold her in her carrier, which she’s almost too big for. She’s usually very good until my meal arrives, then she starts fussing. I have to eat with one hand while”
“I get the picture,” he said, laughing and holding up one palm to ward off her objections. “All right. I’ll stay. But only tonight. We’ll try a restaurant another time. It won’t be so hard to do with help.”
Another time? “Wh… what do you like to eat?”
“Name it.” Sarah was loudly slapping his cheek with her hand. He didn’t seem to mind.
“I just bought a canned ham at the grocery store. Do you like cold ham?”
“Love it.”
“Salad?” He nodded. “My parents were here Sunday. Mother made a big bowl of potato salad, swearing that the longer it stays in the refrigerator, the better it gets.”
“My Mom says that, too. What can I do to help?” His teeth shone whitely in a dazzling smile.
“You seem to be doing fine with Sarah. Would you mind keeping her occupied while I put the groceries away and get dinner on the table?”
“That’s the easiest job I’ve had in a long time,” he said, his brilliant blue eyes twinkling.
Leigh glanced down at the floor awkwardly. When had she entertained a man? Not since before she and Greg were married. How did one go about these things? Few women entertaining men had a four-month-old baby to cope with as well. “Will you excuse me for just a few minutes?” she asked, edging across the living room toward her bedroom. “I just need to… I’ll be right back.”
She hastily closed the bedroom door behind her and raced to her closet. What could she wear? She had a new pair of wool slacks.… No, the change would be obvious. Would jeans be too casual? Ridiculous. They were spending the evening at home, weren’t they? Evening? Only dinner, Leigh. Only dinner.
She pulled on her starched, creased pair of designer jeans and changed blouses. Sarah had drooled on the other one. She chose an apricot-colored shirt made of a polyester that only a discerning eye could distinguish from silk. Then, yanking the pins from her hair, Leigh brushed it until it shone and secured the gleaming tresses behind her ear with a comb. There, that was better. She misted herself with a subtle fragrance and hurried back into the living room. She was breathless and her pulse was racing.
Chad was sitting on the sofa with Sarah lying on her back on his thighs. Her feet were kicking his stomach. His eyes opened appreciatively when Leigh walked in. His whistle was long and low and too exaggerated to give offense. “Leigh Bransom, you are one beautiful woman,” he complimented her huskily.
Leigh’s hands were clasped tightly together in front of her. “Thank you,” she said simply.
“I hope you don’t mind that I took off my jacket.”
It was draped over the arm of an easy chair. His sleeves had been rolled back to the elbows. “No. Make yourself comfortable.” She turned toward the kitchen. Scooping up the baby in his arms, Chad stood up and followed her.
“I like your house,” he said, taking in the small but tastefully decorated rooms. The muted blues and beige of the living room were carried over into the infinitesimal dining area. The kitchen was stark with accents of royal blue in decorative tiles bordering the countertop. Copper pots hung suspended from a rack on the ceiling. Chad had to duck his head to avoid some of them.
“Thank you again,” she said, delving into the sack of groceries and neatly placing the items in her carefully arranged cupboard. Space was at a premium in the cabinets.
“When I moved here, I didn’t like the idea of an apartment, but didn’t want the responsibility of a house,” she explained, putting eggs in the grooved tray of the refrigerator. “This condo community was the answer. The house payment covers the maintenance of the yard. And I like having close neighbors.”
The house was U-shaped around a central courtyard. As he jiggled Sarah in his arms, Chad peered out into the courtyard through a wide picture window over the sink. “Your patio is nice. The landscaping’s pretty.”
She laughed. “As you know, grass and trees aren’t exactly in abundance in Midland, and I found that barrenness depressing. I had to create my own garden spot. Of course, nothing’s blooming now, but in the spring it’s nice to have flowering plants. My water bills this summer were horrendous.”
“You’re not a native west Texan?”
“I’m an Air Force brat. My father was a career man, and his last post was in Big Spring. That was before the air base there was closed. When he retired, he and Mother decided to stay. By that time, I was away at college. Greg and I lived in El Paso.”
“Your husband?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.” Her hands paused in their busy activities. It had been over a year now. All the books said that the first year of widowhood was the hardest to survive. She had been through the first Christmas, the birthdays, their anniversary. The bad times, the arguments over his work, had been replaced by happier memories.
“You said he was a narcotics agent,” Chad recalled thoughtfully. “Did his work bother you?”
She didn’t find Chad’s question a prying one because of the way he asked it. He seemed genuinely interested in her answer. “I hated it. Greg and I were happy together. Our only conflict was his work. I had begged him to give it up, but…” She hastily closed the cupboard door and reached into another for place settings. “What about you? Are you still working as a mechanic?”
“Mechanic?”
“You said you were working on an airplane engine. I thought you must be a mechanic.”
“Oh, yeah, well, I do work on engines sometimes. I putter around on different things.” He looked away self-consciously and she didn’t press him to provide her with more information. Maybe he didn’t have a steady job and took work when and where he could find it. He had apparently bought the clothes he was wearing during a more lucrative period. His conservative attire was obviously of high quality and fit him to perfection.
“Are you sure you’d rather cook than go out?”
No, she wasn’t, but she didn’t want him to know that. At least he hadn’t looked at her with lascivious speculation. He hadn’t taken her invitation to include anything but dinner. “Sarah can’t sit in a high chair yet, and I have to hold her in her carrier, which she’s almost too big for. She’s usually very good until my meal arrives, then she starts fussing. I have to eat with one hand while”
“I get the picture,” he said, laughing and holding up one palm to ward off her objections. “All right. I’ll stay. But only tonight. We’ll try a restaurant another time. It won’t be so hard to do with help.”
Another time? “Wh… what do you like to eat?”
“Name it.” Sarah was loudly slapping his cheek with her hand. He didn’t seem to mind.
“I just bought a canned ham at the grocery store. Do you like cold ham?”
“Love it.”
“Salad?” He nodded. “My parents were here Sunday. Mother made a big bowl of potato salad, swearing that the longer it stays in the refrigerator, the better it gets.”
“My Mom says that, too. What can I do to help?” His teeth shone whitely in a dazzling smile.
“You seem to be doing fine with Sarah. Would you mind keeping her occupied while I put the groceries away and get dinner on the table?”
“That’s the easiest job I’ve had in a long time,” he said, his brilliant blue eyes twinkling.
Leigh glanced down at the floor awkwardly. When had she entertained a man? Not since before she and Greg were married. How did one go about these things? Few women entertaining men had a four-month-old baby to cope with as well. “Will you excuse me for just a few minutes?” she asked, edging across the living room toward her bedroom. “I just need to… I’ll be right back.”
She hastily closed the bedroom door behind her and raced to her closet. What could she wear? She had a new pair of wool slacks.… No, the change would be obvious. Would jeans be too casual? Ridiculous. They were spending the evening at home, weren’t they? Evening? Only dinner, Leigh. Only dinner.
She pulled on her starched, creased pair of designer jeans and changed blouses. Sarah had drooled on the other one. She chose an apricot-colored shirt made of a polyester that only a discerning eye could distinguish from silk. Then, yanking the pins from her hair, Leigh brushed it until it shone and secured the gleaming tresses behind her ear with a comb. There, that was better. She misted herself with a subtle fragrance and hurried back into the living room. She was breathless and her pulse was racing.
Chad was sitting on the sofa with Sarah lying on her back on his thighs. Her feet were kicking his stomach. His eyes opened appreciatively when Leigh walked in. His whistle was long and low and too exaggerated to give offense. “Leigh Bransom, you are one beautiful woman,” he complimented her huskily.
Leigh’s hands were clasped tightly together in front of her. “Thank you,” she said simply.
“I hope you don’t mind that I took off my jacket.”
It was draped over the arm of an easy chair. His sleeves had been rolled back to the elbows. “No. Make yourself comfortable.” She turned toward the kitchen. Scooping up the baby in his arms, Chad stood up and followed her.
“I like your house,” he said, taking in the small but tastefully decorated rooms. The muted blues and beige of the living room were carried over into the infinitesimal dining area. The kitchen was stark with accents of royal blue in decorative tiles bordering the countertop. Copper pots hung suspended from a rack on the ceiling. Chad had to duck his head to avoid some of them.
“Thank you again,” she said, delving into the sack of groceries and neatly placing the items in her carefully arranged cupboard. Space was at a premium in the cabinets.
“When I moved here, I didn’t like the idea of an apartment, but didn’t want the responsibility of a house,” she explained, putting eggs in the grooved tray of the refrigerator. “This condo community was the answer. The house payment covers the maintenance of the yard. And I like having close neighbors.”
The house was U-shaped around a central courtyard. As he jiggled Sarah in his arms, Chad peered out into the courtyard through a wide picture window over the sink. “Your patio is nice. The landscaping’s pretty.”
She laughed. “As you know, grass and trees aren’t exactly in abundance in Midland, and I found that barrenness depressing. I had to create my own garden spot. Of course, nothing’s blooming now, but in the spring it’s nice to have flowering plants. My water bills this summer were horrendous.”
“You’re not a native west Texan?”
“I’m an Air Force brat. My father was a career man, and his last post was in Big Spring. That was before the air base there was closed. When he retired, he and Mother decided to stay. By that time, I was away at college. Greg and I lived in El Paso.”
“Your husband?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.” Her hands paused in their busy activities. It had been over a year now. All the books said that the first year of widowhood was the hardest to survive. She had been through the first Christmas, the birthdays, their anniversary. The bad times, the arguments over his work, had been replaced by happier memories.
“You said he was a narcotics agent,” Chad recalled thoughtfully. “Did his work bother you?”
She didn’t find Chad’s question a prying one because of the way he asked it. He seemed genuinely interested in her answer. “I hated it. Greg and I were happy together. Our only conflict was his work. I had begged him to give it up, but…” She hastily closed the cupboard door and reached into another for place settings. “What about you? Are you still working as a mechanic?”
“Mechanic?”
“You said you were working on an airplane engine. I thought you must be a mechanic.”
“Oh, yeah, well, I do work on engines sometimes. I putter around on different things.” He looked away self-consciously and she didn’t press him to provide her with more information. Maybe he didn’t have a steady job and took work when and where he could find it. He had apparently bought the clothes he was wearing during a more lucrative period. His conservative attire was obviously of high quality and fit him to perfection.
