then perhaps a walk—”
Hannah didn’t wait to hear the rest.
Outside again the air was cooler. She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and her popovers settled back down.
Terrific, she thought as she crossed the back porch and went into the house. Just terrific. Meat-eating plants. Not exactly normal. Okay, so maybe it was her fault for expecting nothing more exotic than an orchid or two. Obviously, there should have been a follow-up question on the entry forms. Do you garden—followed by just what the heck grows in your garden? Or even better yet, does your plant’s lunch have wings?
“Pollard isn’t going to like this,” she muttered to herself as she went through the kitchen. Maybe she could just cross the greenhouse off the list of possible sites for photo shoots. In fact, it might be better to keep the subject of gardening out of the picture entirely. “Calm down,” she told herself as she went through the lovely dining room and the inviting living room. So there was one little thing that didn’t quite fit the perfect picture. She’d just have to find a way around it, she thought as she opened the front door. Danny Walker was standing on the other side of it.
“Feeding time over already?” he asked.
Okay, thought Hannah with a groan, make that two little things that didn’t fit.
“Would you please remove yourself from the doorway so I can pass?”
“What’s the matter, professor? Did your data promise you a rose garden?”
“Very clever, Mr. Walker. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going for a walk.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No, you won’t,” she said curtly and started to step around him.
He put out his arm and braced it on the doorframe next to her, blocking her way. “But, professor, aren’t you afraid you’ll get lost again?”
This close to him, getting lost wasn’t what she was afraid of at all. More like afraid her heart was going to jump right out of her chest. She thrust her chin up defiantly. “I think I can manage.”
He lifted a hand and reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, then he leaned in close, so close she could feel the heat coming off his skin. So close she could smell him. Sawdust and sunshine. Her pulse shot up at least another half dozen beats when he whispered, “But I know secret places in this town that no one else knows about.”
She didn’t doubt it for a moment. Already he’d found a highly erogenous zone in her ear that she hadn’t even known existed. Enough, she told herself. You’re a scientist, not a pushover for a cocky slice of beefcake. She stepped back from him and folded her arms across her chest.
“You might want to save all this charm for the local girls, Mr. Walker. It’s totally wasted on me.”
“Liar,” he said.
“Unbelievable. You really think you’re irresistible, don’t you?”
He grinned and her stomach took a dive. “Well, aren’t I?” he asked.
“Watch, Mr. Walker,” she said. “This is me resisting.” She ducked under his arm, crossed the porch, walked down the stairs, and started up the street. She could hear his laughter all the way to the corner.
3
LAUGHING, DANNY WATCHED Hannah walk away. She had a determined stride on her—no surprise—and long legs. Too bad she dressed like a man. For a moment he wondered what might be underneath that severe black pantsuit but shook off the thought in a hurry. Hannah Ross had so much starch in her a man could get hurt if he got too close.
He sauntered down the steps and out to his pickup parked in the driveway. Windows down and the radio blasting something about broken hearts, Danny drove across town to Lukas McCoy’s freshly painted Victorian. He turned into the driveway and coasted around to the back where the old carriage house and stable was now home to Timber Bay Building and Restoration. He parked in front of the cumbersome double doors that his partner Lukas refused to replace. Never mind that the place housed a computer, a fax machine, and just about every power tool known to man. Lukas insisted on keeping the old doors for authenticity.
Danny got out of the truck and walked around to the side door that led to the office. Inside, Lukas sat at an old oak desk he’d restored, his fingers plunking away on the computer keys as he filled out an invoice.
“I thought you were going over to take some measurements at the church.”
“Just want to get these couple of invoices in the mail, Danny. We can use the cash.”
“Huh—no kidding.” Danny picked up a stack of mail from the desk and started to flick through it. Mostly bills. Bills needing that cash Lukas mentioned. “Any messages?”
“Not the one you want,” Lukas said.
Danny threw the mail back on the desk. “Damn, I hate this waiting. And if I know the dragon lady, she’s making us wait on purpose.”
“Take it easy, Danny. It’s only been two weeks since we sent the proposal to her lawyer. For all we know, the rumor that Agnes Sheridan wants to restore the old hotel isn’t even true.”
“That job would make all the difference to this company, Lukas. And if we don’t get it because of me—”
“Ancient history. Agnes Sheridan is a smart woman. We’re the best for the job and if she looks into it she’s going to know it.”
“If she looks into it.”
“Will you chill? Tell me about lunch. Did the cereal rep show?”
Danny grinned. “With a little help from me.”
Danny told Lukas about jumping on the hood of her station wagon and Lukas shook his head slowly. “Now that kind of behavior, Danny, is exactly the kind of stuff that always got you in trouble,” he said, but Danny could see the laughter in his partner’s eyes.
That’s how it had always been. Danny had been the one forever in a scrape and Lukas had always been the good guy, admonishing Danny’s antics but secretly admiring his guts. They’d been best friends since third grade when Lukas, who’d towered above Danny, rescued Danny’s jacket from the basketball hoop where some older bullies he’d messed with had tossed it. Lukas, at six foot four, still towered over Danny’s five foot ten. And he was still the good guy as far as Danny was concerned.
“I got a feeling that I’m going to be in a lot of trouble during the professor’s visit.”
“The professor?”
Danny shrugged a shoulder. “It suits her. She’s got ice in her veins and she likes to throw her master’s degree around. I don’t know how smart she could be, though, if she chose us to be on that box of cereal. Perfectly normal, we ain’t.” He looked at his watch. “I’m going to head on over to the high school to have a look at those warped floors. Catch ya later.”
“Yeah, later,” Lukas said absently.
Danny left him to his hunting and pecking and headed back out to his pickup. He spent about an hour at the high school, taking measurements to replace warped floorboards in a few of the classrooms, then took a slow ride down Sheridan Road and pulled up in front of the old hotel that Agnes Sheridan still owned.
Man, he wanted that job so bad he could feel it in his skin. And not just for the money. He was tired of building kitchen cabinets and replacing floorboards. He wanted a challenge. Plus, a job like restoring the Sheridan Hotel would involve hiring sub-contractors and that would raise Timber Bay Building and Restoration to a whole new level. They were ready for it. They could do it. And if old lady Sheridan would meet with them, they could get that job. Danny just knew it.
If she’d meet with them.