Stonehill series collect.., p.96
Stonehill Series Collection, page 96
“This is Daniel. He’s doing some work for me around here. You’ll see him coming in and out. He eats for free.”
His response was a nod before returning to his task. Daniel let his breath out slowly. The little shit should have shown more respect to his boss, but as Charlie had reminded Daniel a hundred times, he’d save himself a lot of trouble by minding his own business.
“Speaking of eating,” Jenna said in her usual happy tone. “Hungry?”
“Yeah. Actually, I am. I thought we could head over to the hardware store if you have time. I don’t want to wait too late or they may not deliver today. I’d like to get the wainscoting up tonight.”
“That’d be great. What do you want to eat?”
“Whatever you feed me.”
By the time he’d put the tools on the shelf and come back, she was covering a mound of real mashed potatoes with chicken and noodles—the day’s special. Yes!
She added a smaller portion of the same to another plate and backed out of the kitchen as Daniel followed. She eased their plates onto a table where there was a tub with utensils waiting to be rolled up in napkins. After setting that aside, she slid into the booth and dug into her lunch. “I was thinking about what you said this morning.”
“Which part?”
She glanced up at him and chuckled. “I’m sorry. You’re going to have to give me a day or two to get used to the new you.”
He instinctively stroked his chin again. “This is actually the old me. On the surface anyway.”
She returned her focus to her food. “You’re right about how unprepared I am to defend myself. You’ve heard me say that my sister-in-law is disabled, but she hasn’t always been. She was shot during an attempted robbery, and she’ll never fully recover. I know,” she quickly added, “nothing you can teach me will stop a bullet, but I can’t keep pretending like nothing bad could ever happen to me. All the things you pointed out put me at high risk. I should at least have an idea what to do.”
He nodded. “I’m glad you see it that way. I was actually afraid I’d gone too far. I don’t want you to be afraid of me. I would never do those things.” Grunts had used to give him the same wide-eyed, terrified stare that he had gotten from Jenna. Seeing that look on kids just coming into boot camp had given him never-ending amusement. Watching Jenna’s face melt into horror hadn’t been nearly as fun.
“I know. I get what you were saying and you were right. You may be a good guy. But maybe the next man who finds his way to my alley won’t be. I have to prepare for that.”
“Yes, you do.”
“You know, I spent ten years living in San Francisco, but I was in a bubble. I guess that’s part of the Midwestern charm Peter always pointed out. A nice way to say naïve. Which is a nicer way to say ignorant.”
Daniel drew a breath and exhaled slowly so that when he spoke, he didn’t sound as frustrated as he felt. “You’ve said that more than once, and I’ve let it slide, but now I’m setting you straight.”
She lifted her brows at him, but he didn’t stop despite the surprise on her face.
“You got taken advantage of by someone you trusted. That doesn’t make you stupid, Jenna. It makes you human. What you have to do now is shake it off and move on. You’re doing better at that than you give yourself credit for.”
“Oh, please. Look at this place. It’s a disaster.”
“You look at this place.” He used his fork to point toward the four elderly women sitting in a corner booth. They were always laughing and their conversation never seemed to lull. “I see them here several times a week. What’s their story?”
“They’re all widows. They have coffee every other morning. Usually talking about grandkids and planning church events. It’s more about the companionship, but I don’t think any of them would admit that. They need to feel that their little group is working toward something, even if it is just a potluck dinner in the church basement.”
“And that guy?” he asked of the man who came in at least twice a week and sat at the counter. He always seemed too busy scribbling in a notebook to talk to anyone, but Daniel had noticed how he’d pause and smile at Jenna and Sara when they refilled his coffee mug.
“He’s a writer who just needs that one big break,” she said with a smile.
“And this guy?” He pointed to himself.
Her smile softened. “A guy who’s a little down on his luck and needs someone to give him a chance.”
He nodded. “And you?”
“A hot mess trying to pull herself together.”
“You know the building might be a little run-down right now, but you’re working on fixing it up. Kind of how every single person here is working on fixing themselves in some way. We’d all be the same people going through the same problems without the café, Jenna, but isn’t it nice how we all seem to have found a place here?”
She met his gaze again, and there was a sheen in her eyes. Shit. He hadn’t meant to make her cry. He’d only wanted her to think about how the café was more than just a building. He was about to apologize when she sat a bit taller and smiled.
“I hadn’t thought of it like that. I only see the cracks and dings. But you’re right. It’s a work in progress. Just like all the people sitting here.” She sighed and nodded as if processing his words. “You know, I always feel guilty when I need Marcus to come help me with something, and he always says it gives him a chance to work on something he can actually fix. I guess I never considered what he meant by that. Can you imagine watching someone you love hurting and not being able to help her? He has to feel pretty powerless sometimes.”
Daniel gave his head a quick shake as images from his childhood tried to enter his mind. “It’s not an easy thing to go through. He probably needs this café as much as you do. I know it’s overwhelming sometimes, but so is life. If you give up on the café, you’ll just have a different kind of hurdle to overcome.”
She put her hand on his and squeezed. “Thank you, Daniel. I’ve been feeling really sorry for myself lately. Walking away from the café seemed like the only answer, but giving up on my dream isn’t going to make me feel better. In fact, it will make things much worse.” She nodded. “Time to let go of past mistakes and move on, right?”
“Exactly.”
“For both of us.”
The smirk on her face wasn’t lost on him, nor was the fact that her hand was still on his. He tightened his fingers around hers, taking a moment to soak up her touch. He would have liked to hold on to her kindness forever, but that wasn’t an option. He pulled his hand back and nodded. “Finish your lunch, and we’ll see what we can do about replacing this paneling.”
Chapter 8
Jenna’s breath caught when Daniel gripped her wrist and pulled her to him.
He held her gaze for what seemed like a lifetime. His dark eyes stared into hers, and his breath whispered across her face like feathers. She swallowed hard, debating what she should do. Before she could decide her next move, he frowned and released his hold on her.
“Jenna.”
She shrugged as her cheeks warmed. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want to hurt you.”
“Yes, you do,” he countered. “If I grab you with the intention of hurting you, you most certainly do want to hurt me.”
“No, I mean…”
“I know what you mean, but you don’t want to wait until you’re being attacked to figure out how to use what I’m teaching you. Now, come on. Break away from me.”
She braced herself. “Okay.”
This time when he yanked her, she stepped into his move and turned.
“Raise your elbow as you spin,” he reminded her. “Now slam your arm down.”
She did, but he didn’t release her.
“Harder, Jenna. You aren’t going to get away like that.” Releasing her, he let her step back. “Stop worrying about hurting me. I’m teaching you how to hurt me. Do it again.”
They repeated the move, but when she failed to break his hold this time, he startled her by roughly yanking her back against his chest. He wrapped his fingers around her jaw as his other arm pinned her against him. His hold on her was firm but gentle. Still, she felt a sense of panic, mostly because he’d been able to pin her without much effort.
He put his lips close to her ear. “Two seconds. That’s all that stands between running away and being a victim. Two seconds.”
Her heart started pounding. She’d swear his voice, quiet as it’d been against her ear, vibrated around the empty apartment that he was now occupying. She needed a moment to remember how to breathe. Closing her eyes, she leaned into him a bit more than necessary as his heat enveloped her. She didn’t lift her lids again until the moist heat of his breath tickled her cheek. He lowered his hands and gently pushed her away and she faced him.
Then he reached for her. She locked her hands together, spun her back to him, and shoved her elbow down with all her force, jerking free from his hold.
“Good,” he said from behind her. “Again.”
She did, and then did it again several more times and probably would have done it several more, but her cell phone pinged and she stopped to read the message. “They’re here,” she told him, and a giddy smile spread across her face. She hurried toward the door and down the stairs, reaching the bottom just as the hardware-store deliverymen lifted the door on the truck. Watching them pull the panels from the back made her want to squeal.
“In here,” Daniel ordered, and she let him. He was the one who would be installing the wainscoting; she’d let him handle the process of delivery as well. But once the load was sitting in the back of the kitchen, she signed the paperwork and went inside to admire the wood.
“On a scale of one to ten, how big of a dork does it make me that standing here looking at these flimsy pieces of pressed wood makes me so incredibly happy?”
“Eleven,” Scott called from the grill.
She ignored him. His naturally gloomy mood wasn’t going to overshadow hers. This was a step—a rather large step, in her mind—toward the facelift she’d been wanting to give the café. She couldn’t wait to see the wainscoting on the walls.
“It doesn’t,” Daniel said as he glanced at his watch. “Just about closing time. What do you say we get started?”
“We?”
“Your help is needed on this one, Miss Jenna.”
While it was easy enough to put the wainscoting up on his own, Daniel liked the idea of letting Jenna help. He had a few reasons, but he focused on the one that involved giving her back some pride in her café by having her do some of the hands-on work of repairing it. He was ignoring the reasons that kept her close to him for just a bit longer. He wouldn’t keep her long. She’d worked all day and dark circles were starting to form under her eyes, but he wasn’t quite ready to face how empty the café felt when she left him alone.
“We need to pull the booths out so I can get to the wall.” He handed her a screwdriver and showed her where to find the brackets that secured the seating to the wall. While he pulled tables out she removed screws, and then he went behind her and pulled the booths back enough to give them room to work. He’d measured and marked the walls the night before when he’d pulled the paneling, so he was already ahead of the process.
Within a few minutes, Jenna was trailing behind as he carried a panel of pressed wood to the alley. He had her hold the board as he measured and marked it, and then prepped Charlie’s jigsaw. Not long after, she was helping him press it against the wall. “Still level?”
“Yep.”
“Hold it while I drive a few nails in.” The gun thunked as it shot finishing nails through the board and into the café’s studs. “That’s it. First board’s up.”
She stepped back as he set the gun aside. Brushing his hands, he stood and faced her, pausing at the way she had her hands over her mouth and tears had filled her eyes.
“This will look better after I give it a light sanding and add finish.”
She shook her head. “It already looks beautiful.”
She sniffed and he grinned and maybe stood a bit taller.
“I never would have gotten this done without you, Daniel. I couldn’t possibly have asked Marcus to do this and anyone else would charge an arm and a leg. Thank you.” She put her hand on his arm and held his gaze. “I mean it. Thank you. This place is already looking so much better.”
He cleared his throat as he wiped his hands on his pants again, pretending to brush away dust or glue or…whatever it was that was stirring inside him. Oh, right. Pride. That feeling was pride. He hadn’t felt that in some time, but seeing her so happy and knowing he had a hand in making the smile on her face made him feel proud. Made him want to rebuild the entire damn building. “You’re welcome,” he said before moving around her to get the next board.
They followed the same process—measure, cut, glue, nail—and then Jenna would stand back and smile and Daniel would have to take a deep breath to keep himself grounded.
When the last board was put in place, she laughed. “Oh my god, Daniel. Look at that. It’s amazing.”
There was that damned warmth expanding in his chest again. “And it’s not done yet.”
“What’s left?”
“I need to fill where the nails went in and give it a quick sanding before I put the varnish on. I think that’ll keep until tomorrow night, though,” he said, looking at his watch. “It’s getting a bit late to paint tonight. The surface will be sticky when you open. Don’t want to ruin someone’s clothes. Or overcome anyone with fumes.”
She nodded her agreement. “So what do you need me to do?”
“Go to bed.” He nodded toward the kitchen when she looked at him, clearly confused. “You’re exhausted. I can handle the rest of this.”
After a few seconds longer of looking at the latest upgrade to the café, she sighed. “Okay. I’m going to bed.” She lingered, still staring at the wall. “I’m really glad you’re here, Daniel.”
He swallowed hard, surprised at her words. “So am I, Jenna.” He waited until he heard the kitchen door open before following her. He didn’t want her to know he was watching, but suspected she wasn’t completely unaware. He focused on brushing the sawdust off Charlie’s tools while she walked up the stairs. Once she was inside her apartment, safe behind her door, he locked the tools in the box in the bed of the truck and went back inside.
He filled a cup of coffee and stood back, as she had done, admiring the work they’d done as her words played over in his mind.
“I’m really glad you’re here, Daniel.”
When the hell had anyone ever said that to him and meant it? As he stood there, staring at the damn wall, his need to make this café the best it could be for Jenna became his new mission. This was no longer just a project to pass time or to keep his mind from focusing on how shitty his life had become.
Saving this café was his new purpose in life. His only purpose in life.
Well, that, and bringing a smile to Jenna’s face as often as he could.
Chapter 9
Seeing the café back in order took Jenna’s breath away, but seeing Daniel leaning against the wall, sound asleep in one of the booths, made her chuckle. He’d put the seating and tables back in place and swept the floor clean. The truck was no longer in the alley, so at some point he’d returned the vehicle and presumably walked back only to fall asleep, despite the coffee cup sitting on the table beside him.
She eased to the booth where he was slumped against the wall and took the cup. She’d let him rest while she made breakfast. She practically hummed as she tossed hash browns on the griddle and cracked and scrambled eggs for omelets. She started a fresh pot of coffee and served up two heaping plates. She slid the plates onto the table where he’d dozed off and called out to him, smiling when he didn’t even stir.
“Hey, I made breakfast.”
He still didn’t respond, so she put her hand to his knee and gave him a gentle shake. The amusement she’d found in him sleeping faded the instant he gripped her wrist and twisted.
How many times had he told her two seconds was all the reaction time she had? A dozen or more? He hadn’t been kidding. She tried to knock his hand away, but the way he turned her arm, her body had no choice but to follow.
She yelped, and his hold on her eased, but it was too late. She’d already gone too far into the motion. Starbursts exploded behind her eyelids when her forehead cracked on the table edge as she dropped to her knees to ease the pain in her arm.
“Oh, shit. Jenna.” He sat beside her and pried her hand from her head. “God. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“My fault,” she said around her grimace. “I scared you. Am I bleeding?”
“No,” he whispered.
She blinked a few times as the pain started to spread and throb. He sat before her, guilt and shame and a hundred other emotions playing across his face.
“I’m sorry,” he said under his breath again. He dragged his hand over his hair and she grabbed for him.
Gripping his hand with hers, she waited for him to look at her. “That was my fault. I scared you. I should have known better.”
“No. I should have known better. I don’t belong here.”
She widened her eyes. “Daniel.”
“I hurt you.”
“I fell.”
“Because I hurt you.”
Her heart ached at the horror in his eyes. She put her hands to his face, forcing him to look at her. She realized that probably didn’t help when his gaze immediately went to what was likely a ping-pong-ball-sized knot by now. “Look at me,” she said in as soothing of a voice as she could manage given the ache rapidly spreading across her forehead. “I didn’t think before grabbing you. I know better now. I won’t do that again.”
He exhaled harshly. “I should go.”
“No.” She stroked his face like she would a child. “This was an accident. Take a breath. Daniel, take a deep breath.”
