Part 26 (1/2)
”It's very you. It's got the whole brawny, masculine, log cabin vibe going on. It's homey. I love it,” she replied, smiling.
”Whatcha got in here? This knapsack is heavy.”
”Well, us girls planned out a dinner. I was bringing the main dish and the wine, so those are the wine bottles that are so heavy. But we'll be doing without desert-that was Taylor's contribution-and without Tori's amazing salad and...oh, crud, she was bringing the pasta. Hope you don't like spaghetti with your meatb.a.l.l.s.”
”I've got spaghetti, Harris. Are you forgetting I keep a well-stocked kitchen? And did I just hear you say that you cooked meatb.a.l.l.s? Since when do you cook?”
”Since I spent two years practically housebound.” She laughed and then looked up to me, c.o.c.king her head apologetically. ”I spent a lot of time learning to bake with my mom and cooking with my dad...it was easier for me to talk and connect through cooking.” Upbeat again, she added, ”My meatb.a.l.l.s rock, by the way. There's freshly ground veal in them, pecorino cheese and I make my own breadcrumbs. Then there's my secret ingredient.”
”Secret ingredient? What's that?”
”Nope. I'll take it to the grave, Rivers.”
”You think I won't be able to taste it? I'm like a meatball aficionado.”
”We'll see,” she teased as she pranced her fine self into the bathroom, shutting the door in my face with a smile.
”What are you doing?”
d.a.m.n, caught red handed. ”Nuttin',” I attempted to mumble around the full meatball in my mouth.
”Well?”
I shook my head as I chewed. ”I don't know. The first one I was thinking that you mixed pork, veal and beef, but that's no secret. Then I was thinking red pepper flakes or sardine paste? Cause it's got a nice tang to it. Then-”
Eyes wide, she pretended she was angry, but I saw that smile hidden beneath. ”How many have you eaten?”
”I don't know...four?”
”They're cold, Jeremy!”
d.a.m.n, she was cute with that scrunched up expression, acting like she was mad at me when we both knew she wasn't. ”That's the test of a good meatball. They have to taste good cold. These,” I said, tipping the fifth meatball I'd just grabbed from the tray into my mouth, ”are awesome.”
”Thanks,” she said, blus.h.i.+ng with pride. ”But put them away. Who knows, we might be snowed in for a week and that's all we'll have to live on.”
”I wouldn't mind that at all.” I couldn't help saying that. Fact was, I would give my right arm to be cooped up with her for the next...well, forever.
She smiled back at me shyly. ”So, the slopes are really closed?”
”Probably just for today. Tomorrow we'll be able to get out there.”
”I have to warn you, I haven't skied in four years.”
”Have you ever s...o...b..arded?”
”No. Tommy loves it but I nearly got killed by an out of control boarder careening down the mountain when I was in eighth grade. I basically looked down my nose at it ever since then. Anyway, it looks like it's so much harder than skiing.”
”Not harder...just different. C'mon, try something new. I'll teach you.”
”All right. You asked for it.”
Yes I did. I took her in as she stood not two feet in front of me. Her hair was damp, drying in waves, her cheeks were flushed, lips were sweet and full. She was dressed in a pair of leggings and a tank top, with a men's flannel s.h.i.+rt over it, sleeves rolled up. Her feet were bare. Carolyn had never needed anything fancy or expensive to make her desirable. Today was no exception. She looked hot as h.e.l.l.
She fingered the collar of the s.h.i.+rt. ”Sorry. Do you mind?”
s.h.i.+t, I was caught staring again. ”Sorry.”
”No,” she said, confused. ”Do you mind that I grabbed this out of the closet?”
”That's mine?” I asked as I felt redness creep up my neck. My s.h.i.+rt...on her...touching her skin. Yes, something was clearly wrong with me. I turned away as I rea.s.sured her, ”No, help yourself to anything you want.”
”Ok, thanks.” She went back into the room and came out balancing three wine bottles in her arms. ”A housewarming present,” she said as she lined them up on the counter and then went back in for something else. She then set each bottle into an opening on a rustic wine rack. It looked like it was carved out of a tree trunk. ”It kind of matches the decor, right?”
”It's perfect.” Everything you do is perfect. ”You didn't have to get me a gift.”
”I wanted to.”
”Jeez, you're like Mary Poppins. What else you got tucked into that bag?”
She waggled her eyebrows. ”You'll have to wait and see, now won't cha?”
This day, this so called boring day, stuck inside while the snow continued falling...it was ranking right up there with my all-time best ever days.
Jeremy and I spent the morning and afternoon putting up window blinds in the spare guest bedrooms and made up those beds with the sheet sets and comforters that were still sitting in shopping bags in the storage room.
He'd try to get me to stop every twenty minutes or so, saying he didn't want me doing work, but I was enjoying myself. Being in close proximity to Jeremy was making my body hum, and if I got to ogle that strip of skin on his torso every time his s.h.i.+rt rode up? Well, that was just a bonus.
When I broke out the wood polish and started dusting the furniture in those rooms, Jeremy grabbed me around the waist and made a game out of wrestling the can and the rag out of my hands. ”No. You're off duty, Harris. Who knew you were such a clean freak?”
The feeling of his hands wrapped around my waist? It felt so good that it almost brought me to tears.
I'd missed touching. I'd missed having a boy touch me...kiss me. And Jeremy was no longer that boy. He was even bigger and more manly then I'd thought of him back then. His unshaven face, his broad shoulders and the square, defined set of his jaw...he was a man. The man I wanted touching me.
I swore as he set me back down on the ground that he took me in-leaned in for just a moment and breathed in the scent of my skin. Maybe I was imagining it. I hoped not.
He broke the moment, stepping back and smiling as he held my shoulders. ”I owe you lunch. Prop your feet up in front of the fire and I'll whip us up something.”
I took in my surroundings as I snuggled into the corner of the soft leather couch. The large picture windows overlooked an endless forest of fir trees, the branches laden with the new fallen snow. ”It's really beautiful here, Jeremy.”
He walked in with two steaming bowls of something that smelled really good. ”I know. It's peaceful, right?”
I think I actually moaned when I got a taste of his broccoli cheddar soup. ”You made this?”
He nodded smugly as he slurped a big spoonful. ”Glad you like it.”
We sat together in companionable silence for the next few minutes, enjoying our soup. He sat on the opposite end of the couch, facing me. Our toes grazed one another's once, twice, and then Jeremy took his two giant feet and plopped them entirely over mine. ”Hey!” I said, acting affronted when really, I loved the feeling of his feet on mine, of any physical contact from him I could get.
”Hey, yourself,” he countered, smiling.
I was taken back to an afternoon so long ago, when I'd sat like this with him, spilling my painful secrets. So relieved to be able to say it all out loud, knowing that with him I would be all right. Jeremy had been so good to me that day. He made me feel protected and safe. He'd always done that.