Stonehill series collect.., p.94
Stonehill Series Collection, page 94
She’d hoped for that kind of life with Peter, but she’d ended up living more like a butterfly pinned to a cushion in a display case. Pretty to look at, but without much purpose. His career didn’t have room for all the mess of having children and he needed Jenna focused on the details of helping him succeed. How could she possibly raise a family when she was too busy polishing Peter’s culinary star?
She’d come to terms with not having kids soon after her divorce. And now she had Mallory, and Jess, and Phil—Mallory’s soon-to-be-husband. And Jenna imagined they’d have a family. Not to mention all the people that came through the café on a regular basis. Her life and her heart were full. Even so, she wouldn’t have minded having what Marcus and Annie had. The kind of rock-solid unconditional love they’d found wasn’t something Jenna ever expected to come her way, but she wouldn’t have minded having it.
No. She wouldn’t have minded having that at all.
Daniel stepped into the kitchen as Jenna was chopping carrots for the next day’s special. “Pick one.”
She looked at the binder he held open. The images were of two different styles of booth covers. One solid red, the other blue-and-white striped. Both were images she’d tucked into her plan book for the café, but he couldn’t do both.
He tapped the picture with the red vinyl. “This will be cheaper. Significantly.”
She wiped her hands on a towel as she met his gaze. “Then go with that.”
The hesitancy in her voice gave him pause. “If you want the blue—”
“It’s not that.”
He lowered the book. “What is it?”
She bit her lip and glanced away before looking in his eyes again. “Can you really do all the things you say?”
“By that I assume you mean reupholster your booths?”
“And the plumbing and the electrical and everything else you were talking about at breakfast.”
“Yes. I’ll know more about the plumbing and electrical once I dig into that, but I suspect as old as this building is, you’ll need all new pipes and a full rewire. My uncle can help if needed. I want to work out the budget first.”
“Are you licensed to do those things in Iowa?”
“Yes. I told you, I worked construction.”
“How much do you charge per hour?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want—”
“Look, it’s great that you replaced my window locks for turkey and mashed potatoes, but that won’t cover your time, Daniel.”
“I’m perfectly happy with turkey and mashed potatoes.” He grinned, thinking about the food that had filled his stomach before he went to work on cleaning up the dining room for her. “And an occasional meatloaf dinner.”
“You said to give you one month, right?”
“Yeah. I can’t get everything done, but I can get a good start.”
She took the binder from him. Dropping her collection of dreams on the counter with a thud, she crossed her arms over her chest again. She was clearly debating something. “Follow me.”
“Okay,” he muttered as she snagged her keys and headed for the kitchen door.
She walked up the stairs she took every night, bypassing the platform that led to her apartment, and kept climbing to the third floor. She unlocked the door and flipped a light switch on as she stepped inside. “One of the many things on my to-do list is turning this space into a rental. I wanted to finish the café first. No need to tell you how that’s been going. It’s a bit of a mess and there’s no furniture, but it’s a roof, electricity, and running water. So that’s a step up, right?”
“Jenna—”
She met his gaze. “I’m not comfortable taking handouts any more than you are. You know as well as I do even if you eat three meals a day at the café, that is not going to offset what I should be paying you for your time. This”—she gestured around at the dusty space—“isn’t much, but it’s better than sleeping behind a dumpster in an alley, and it makes me feel that we’re at least close to even.”
He stepped deeper into the loft apartment. The space had likely been used for storage years ago. The open concept made the apartment feel huge, but if he actually had furniture to put in the room, it would fill quickly. A line of cabinets, some with doors hanging on by broken hinges, lined one wall. Below that was a dingy yellow counter and sink. A fridge sat on the same wall as the only door in the space—one he suspected would lead to the bathroom. Large-paned windows rarely seen in today’s architecture adorned the rest of the walls. The space would be beautiful if cleaned and repaired properly.
No. It wasn’t much at the moment, but as she had said, it was definitely a step up from the alley.
Swallowing, he met her gaze. “I can fix this space up, too. Make it ready to rent when you’re ready.”
“Let’s update the café first. If there’s anything left in my budget, we’ll talk about what can be done here. I cleaned up a little bit, but didn’t have time to scrub the floors. You can bring up cleaning supplies from the café. Just be sure to return them when you’re done. And I didn’t know what kind of toiletries you used, but there are some things in the bathroom. There’s some food in what passes as the kitchen. Sorry I couldn’t do anything about the lack of a bed, but I’ll ask around. Maybe someone has one they’ll sell for cheap.”
“No. Don’t…” He met her gaze and smiled. “Don’t put yourself out. I’ve got my bag.”
She slipped a key off the ring in her hand and held it out to him. He tightened his fist around the small bit of metal. He had a key. To a door. That was his for at least a month. A quiet laugh left him.
“Thank you, Jenna. I promise I’m going to make your café amazing.”
Her lip twitched with a grin. “I hope you keep your promises better than most men.”
Chapter 6
Jenna sat up in bed, her breath stuck in her throat. She didn’t know what had woken her until blue light flickered behind her curtain. She exhaled slowly as thunder thudded across the sky like a bowling ball rolling over an uneven floor. Wind whistled for a moment, the pitch accentuated in the tunnel created by the building next to hers, and then the rain started peck-peck-pecking against her window.
A quick glance at the clock told her it was nearly four a.m. She pulled the blankets around her shoulders, silently counting when her window brightened again. One-two-three…
Rumble.
Then another sound caught her attention. Something heavy had been tossed down. In the bed of a truck. Her stomach dropped. She’d hesitantly left the café unlocked when she’d finally called it a night. Daniel had wanted to pull off some of the old paneling so he could check the condition of the walls before they went to Carson’s Hardware to get the supplies he needed to put up new wainscoting. Obviously he couldn’t do that when the café was open, and she couldn’t stay up all night supervising. She had wavered between trusting her gut where Daniel was concerned, hearing Marcus warn her against hiring someone without the proper references and remembering Peter mocking her for being too trusting.
She’d gone with her instinct and trusted Daniel to be in her café without her—and to have a key to lock up when he was done. And now someone was tossing heavy items into the bed of a truck just outside her window.
Had he left the café open? Was someone stripping the kitchen of all her expensive equipment to sell for profit?
Was he stripping her kitchen?
Jumping out of bed, Jenna flipped the locks on her front door—Marcus had installed three—and rushed down the stairs, squinting at the truck in an attempt to commit the make and model to memory so she could file a proper police report. The truck was black. Maybe dark blue. Big. Dual tires in the back. There was something written on the tailgate.
Burke Construction, along with a phone number.
Burke Construction?
Daniel had said his uncle owned a construction company. And that he was borrowing a truck.
She looked to the café’s kitchen door when a man stepped out carrying a sheet of paneling. He tossed it in the back and the sound echoed through the alley. Guilt and a bit of shame washed over Jenna. As much as she’d wanted to trust Daniel, she hadn’t. She hadn’t trusted him not to steal. Not to leave her door open. To take care of the things he’d said he’d take care of.
He turned and jerked to a stop when he locked eyes on her.
The rain had increased and his hair and T-shirt started clinging to his skin as he stood there. Finally, he took a few steps. “Jenna, are you okay?”
No. She wasn’t okay. She was mortified by the depth of her doubt in him. He’d proven himself reliable more than once, and she still didn’t believe him. But trust hadn’t come easily to her for a long time. So many people in her past had taken her confidence in them and used it against her. She closed her eyes to stop her train of thought before looking at Daniel again.
Though his broad chest and brooding look would frighten most who crossed him in a dark side street at four in the morning, she only felt shame. “Y-Yes. I’m…fine. I heard a noise. I thought there might be trouble.”
He flicked his gaze over her before staring into her eyes. “So you came running out like that to investigate?”
Startled, she glanced down at herself. A thin charcoal-colored tank top and tiny shorts were all that protected her from being naked. She wasn’t wearing a bra, but thankfully the dim light made it difficult to see the effect the cool night air was having on her. Even so, she crossed her arms over her breasts.
Something flashed in his eyes when she looked at him again. She couldn’t quite determine was it was, but his voice was clipped when he spoke again.
“Get back inside, Jenna.”
She glanced at the truck. He followed her gaze.
“My uncle has a dumpster on his work site. I can toss this there instead of you paying to have it hauled away. Unless you want to pay to have it hauled away.”
She shook her head and rain-damp strands clung to her cheeks. “No.”
He stared her down, and she knew he’d seen through her excuse before he said the words.
“You thought I was stealing.”
Guilt hit her again. “No. I…I thought you forgot to lock up and someone else was stealing.”
She hadn’t had to say what her next thought had been. She had considered the possibility that he was robbing her blind. Though the light in the alley was hazy, she saw the change in his eyes as he clearly heard what she hadn’t said. She’d hurt him by not trusting him. She wanted to explain. She had a way of trusting the wrong people. She was a terrible judge of character and had been burned before. But the words stuck in her throat.
“Go inside,” he said more gently before turning away from her. “I’ve got to get this mess cleaned up and the truck back to my uncle’s site.”
“I can help—”
He walked away and she exhaled a harsh breath before heading back up the stairs. Once inside her apartment, she looked at the bed, but knew she’d never get back to sleep. What was the point anyway? She’d have to be up in an hour to start getting ready for work.
She rushed through the shower to get the chill of the rain off her skin and then tossed on her usual café attire—jeans and an old T-shirt—before pulling her hair up in a bun and heading downstairs to offer the best apology she could muster to the man going out of his way to help her.
Daniel did his best to push the image of Jenna standing half-naked from his mind. She’d come flying down the stairs to what—catch him stealing? Stop him from stealing? What if she’d been right? What if there had been trouble in the alley?
What the hell was she going to do? Did she even know basic self-defense?
And wearing…that. Two flimsy bits of material that barely covered her.
Jesus. She was going to get herself hurt. She had no idea how dangerous the world could be.
No wonder he felt compelled to look after her. Raking his hand over his hair, pushing the too-long strands from his eyes, he went back into the café to gather the rest of the paneling he’d pulled off the walls. He was pushing the broom across the dining room floor when he heard her light footsteps enter from the kitchen.
“The walls look a little rough right now, but if you can find time to go to the hardware store with me today, we should be able to get everything I need to get the new wainscoting up tonight after you close. When I stopped in, they said they can deliver the board same day as long as they have it in stock.”
“Daniel,” she said softly, “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head at her apology. “Don’t be.” He pushed the broom a bit harder than necessary. “You should be on guard. You don’t know me.”
“I hurt your feelings. That wasn’t my intent.”
He finally stopped to look at her. Thankfully, she’d gotten dressed. Jeans and her usual vintage T-shirt. This one of the Moody Blues. He smiled slightly. “I like ’70s music, too. Reminds me of my mom.”
She creased her brow. “What?”
“All your shirts are of ’70s musicians.”
She looked down at herself, much like she’d done in the alley…and the night he’d rushed into the kitchen and pointed out that she was soaking wet. This time, when she met his eyes again, she wasn’t horrified. She was clearly confused. “Uh, I guess. I never really thought about it much.” She offered him a weak smile. “Daniel, I’m sorry I doubted you. You’ve been very kind to me—”
“You’d have to be gullible to trust me completely.” His suggestion caused her back to stiffen and her eyes to narrow a bit. He’d struck a nerve.
“I’m not gullible.”
He took a few seconds to digest her response. Something about his accusation angered her. Maybe because Marcus seemed to be so overprotective. Jenna probably resented that, but Daniel understood where her brother was coming from. She had an air of innocence about her that made Daniel want to protect her, too.
She took a step closer. “Let me clean this up. It’s the least I can do after you were up all night working.”
“I don’t mind. I’ll sleep when I’m done.”
“Please. Let me sweep this up. You take your uncle’s truck to him. I’ll have breakfast ready when you get back so you can get some rest. Unless you want me to follow you in my car and give you a ride back.”
“No. It’s not far.” He handed over the broom and left without another word, locking the kitchen door behind him as he went.
He pulled out of the alley and headed to Charlie’s construction site a mile or so away. The rain had eased but was still falling steadily. Jenna’s doubt in him stung, but he hadn’t lied to her when he pointed out that she was right to be on guard around him. She didn’t know him, yet she’d not only given him access to her business, but had given him a place to live above her. She was too nice for her own good. If he had the wrong intentions toward her, she had given him all the opportunity he’d need to harm her.
Sighing, he tightened his hands on the steering wheel at the idea of someone taking advantage of her kindness—or, worse, hurting her. He wouldn’t be living in her building forever. He had to move on eventually and the next person she rented to might not be as honorable. He decided that he’d give her at least the most basic skills she’d need to handle a bad situation.
Lesson one: don’t go running out into a dark alley in the middle of the night scantily clad to face perceived danger.
Shaking his head, he again had to force the image of her in a tank top and short-shorts from his mind. Her big brown eyes seemed so sad when she’d looked at him. Like her mistrust had hurt her more than him.
Speaking of lack of trust… A witless laugh left Daniel when he noticed his uncle parked next to the small trailer that held his mobile office. In the weeks that he’d worked with Charlie, they hadn’t arrived onsite any earlier than seven. It wasn’t even five thirty yet.
Someone else who didn’t trust him.
He’d been honest when he told Jenna she’d be crazy to trust a homeless man she’d just met—even if seeing the doubt in her eyes had cut at his pride in a way that was unexpected—but seeing his uncle here, waiting for his equipment to be returned, stung Daniel. He’d never conned his uncle. That was his dad, and he was damned tired of Charlie seeing him in the same light.
Sure, he’d screwed up plenty in his life, but he’d never deceived or stolen from anyone.
He drove past the office to the dumpster. He was lifting the third panel out of the truck when Charlie approached. “I told you I’d have everything back on time. You didn’t need to check on me.”
“I wasn’t checking on you,” he said, grabbing an end of the panel to help lift it over the side of the dumpster.
Daniel rested his arm on the truck bed and looked at his uncle with disbelief. “You just happened to be here at five in the morning?”
Charlie stared at him for a minute before smirking. “You never told me where you were taking my truck and equipment.”
Grabbing the last panel, Daniel went back to emptying the truck bed. “Stonehill Café.”
“Oh, I know the place. You’re fixing it up, huh?”
He wasn’t really in the mood for conversation after the two most important people in his life had looked at him with suspicion in a span of less than an hour. Grunting as he tossed the last panel in, he took a breath and wondered what the hell it said about him that the two most important people in his life were a woman he barely knew and a man who seemed to only tolerate him because of his dead mother.
Putting his hands on his hips, he faced Charlie. “The owner gave me a place to crash and a few meals a day to fix her place up. It’s something to do while I get my head worked out.”
