I Picked You Page 19

  “He’s having a blast!” Linc observed.

  Raina laughed as she pulled the blanket smooth and collapsed down on it. “He is! This was a good idea,” she said easily, offering a smile. She hadn’t been sure, and had second guessed her decision to do this several times until Linc pulled up on her driveway and Oliver raced down the porch stairs with excitement.

  “I’m glad you think so!” He smiled easily, leaning back on one arm and brushing her hair from her face with the other. She settled herself next to him, mirroring his position so they could both watch Oliver run and play with his new friends.

  “So, while Ollie’s distracted, why don’t you give me part one of your story, Linc.”

  He laughed at her persistence. “Part one?”

  She just shrugged her shoulders and crossed her ankles out in front of her.

  “Alright,” he conceded. “I’m the youngest of three children. My sister Morgan is the oldest and my brother Chris is three years older than me. When I was nearly four years old, my Dad chose a different life. He left us with my mom and moved across the country to be with another woman.”

  Her attention which had been split between Linc who sat next to her, and Oliver a hundred meters away on the swings, focused solely on Linc. She understood with a sad relief what he’d said the other night about, knowing what it’s like to be the kid in the situation.

  There was no bitterness in his voice and when he pulled his eyes off of Oliver and brought them to rest on hers, there was no home for it in them either. He continued, his voice calmly even with an undertone of pride as he laid out his life for her.

  “My mom, Diane, is the hardest working woman I’ve ever known. She worked for an interior design firm for years, and after I was born she started up her own company. I don’t remember much from those years, I was too small, and like a healthy, well-adjusted child, I think I was oblivious to everything she was going through.”

  Linc’s eyes shifted back to the playground where squeals, cheers and shouts were the resounding chorus. When he spotted Oliver and he had stopped to see if they were still watching, Linc gave him a wave and her heart warmed for him.

  When he returned his arm to lean behind him, she adjusted her position and laid her hand over his and wove her fingers around his.

  “So as the youngest, I got carted pretty well everywhere my mom was. Morgan and Chris were in school and after school activities, and I had my time split between a babysitter and a job site.”

  He smiled over at her now for the first time, and she understood. That was where he fell in love and found his calling.

  “I loved the job sites, and hated the babysitters,” he laughed, because that was one part he did remember.

  “I loved to help and be around the guys, and they were as a whole, pretty laid back about my presence. When I was old enough, they gave me small jobs and started to teach me. Eventually it evolved into me doing what I do now.

  “At home my mom worked just as hard to keep us as close to a normal family as possible. We fought, don’t get me wrong, especially Chris and I, but all we had was each other and that became the most important thing. It still is.”

  Linc untangled his fingers from hers and she turned back towards him. Though he only moved inches closer, the way he moved his arm behind her, her shoulder could lean back into his and she knew if she would just let herself melt into him, her head would have found a home on his chest.

  “Did you work for your mom when you started?” she asked, wanting to hear more.

  “I worked for a crew who worked on projects my mom designed. That’s how I got started. My brother started that way too, though now he has his own contracting company.”

  “And your sister?”

  Linc brushed his hand down the arm furthest from him and leaned into her hair to kiss the back of her head. The natural feel and easiness of the gesture sent a shiver down the back of her neck.

  The feeling startled her. Not the feeling itself, but feeling that it was so natural to be sitting there with him, feeling him close and beginning to know him.

  “My sister is married to Dale-the-engineer, and yes, that’s often what I call him, and he adores her. She’s a teacher, but for the past ten years she hasn’t done more than sub. She’s busy managing the lives of their four children; she’s a content woman.”

  “Four kids?” she echoed; an expression of admiration which made him smile.

  “Four kids. Aren’t there that many in each of your families?”

  Her eyes widened at his recollection and mention of her families.

  “I guess there are,” she said, as she realized the truth. “Not much slips by you, does it, Lincoln?”

  “Not when it matters.” He grinned at her and her stomach jumped. She watched his eyes shift back to the playground and then saw his eyes squint as the smile grew. From the corner of her eye she saw Oliver streaking across the field towards them. Linc leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Let’s go for ice cream.”

  “Hey, Buddy! Are you ready to get out of here?” he asked, as Oliver did a somersault onto the blanket and came to an abrupt stop between them.

  “What are we going to do?” Oliver looked at Linc for an answer.

  “Hmm,” he said, scratching his unshaved cheek. “I think I’m hungry again, and do you know what my belly told me it wants?”

  Oliver shook his head and looked at Linc’s belly. Linc motioned with his finger for Oliver to come closer so he could whisper in his ear, and as Linc whispered, Oliver’s eyes grew and his little mouth opened into a smile. He nodded and stepped to Raina and threw his arms around her neck while he kissed her cheek over and over, until Raina gave in and fell backwards as she laughed.

  “Can we go to Linc’s for ice cream and a fire?”

  How could she say no with a tag team like that? She pinned Ollie to the blanket and tickled until his giggles peeled richly through the air. Then she pushed to her feet and happily gave in to their demands.

  “Yes, we can go for a while, but there’s school tomorrow, so we can’t stay late.”

  “Awesome,” Oliver cheered and leaped off the blanket.

  Linc grabbed the corners opposite Raina’s and together they folded the blanket before he picked up the remains in their picnic box and headed to his truck.

  Later, when he was driving them home and the day was fading slowly and Oliver was slumped over in the backseat sleeping, he thought the day had been as near perfect as possible.

  “Do you want me to carry him to his bed?” he whispered, when they’d stopped outside her house. She looked back at her baby. He’d played hard all day and they’d barely been off Linc’s property when his eyes closed.

  “If you don’t mind.” It was the best she could do at the moment, feeling overwhelmed and uncertain how to accept the help.

  “I would love to.”

  She opened the doors and led him up the stairs to Oliver’s bedroom. Linc was so gentle with him, and after he laid Oliver in his bed, he stepped away to give her a moment to do the tucking and nighttime snuggles. She dimmed the light and closed the door until only a crack of light snuck through.

  He waited in the hall for her, leaning casually on the wall with his hands in his pockets.

  “He had an amazing day; sorry he didn’t get to tell you.”

  “You don’t need to apologize! I take it as the highest compliment that he was out cold in the truck. A day that wasn’t amazing wouldn’t have lasted so long!” Linc’s eyes sparkled and he laughed under his breath.

  They were downstairs when she felt the wave of disappointment wash over her. She didn’t want the day to end.

  “So now is when you’d start work isn’t it?” he asked, angling his eyes towards the garage.

  “Yeah, I’d do a bit of prep so I don’t have to get up so early. It depends though on the day and the week. Summer and the weekends are the busiest, the traffic all around is up and people stop by for one thing and leave with more,” she explai
ned, with a pleased smile. “For the holidays we encourage they pre-order so they don’t leave empty handed.”

  He moved towards her as she spoke. She felt her pulse pick up speed before she found herself in his arms as he bent his head to kiss her.

  “So I know Oliver had a great day, how about you?” he asked, after his lips brushed hers. When he lingered inches from her, she could smell campfire mingled with his own clean manly scent; she breathed it in so she could remember when she woke in the quiet hours of morning what it was like to be near him.

  “I started out a jumbled tangle of nerves.”

  “And now?” He traced his thumb across her cheekbone as she looked into his eyes, and she saw that they were searching hers. She worried she wouldn’t be able to give him what he needed, and terrified that there was a piece of her that wanted to. She felt his mouth taste hers once more, and then saw his waiting smile.

  “This is going to sound cheesy, but now, I wish it wouldn’t end.”

  He brushed his fingers across her forehead and saw the curved red line that disappeared into her hair, for the first time she didn’t flinch or push him away. She stood motionless in his arms and let him look at her, never allowing her eyes to stray from his. When he spoke again his voice had the slightest edge of strain.

  “That sounds just right. Raina, I have to go now, because if you keep looking at me like that, I may never let you go.”

  She pulled away to allow him the space he needed, but he wouldn’t let go. He looked at her and pulled her possessively towards him one more time. When he released her she was breathless, and she understood what he’d said, because she didn’t want him to leave either.

  “Call me when you have time,” he said, and quietly let himself out.

  The problem in her mind wasn’t that she didn’t have any time to spare. The problem was that she was absolutely prepared to do whatever had to be done to make the time for him, and where that would take her was one giant, scary unknown.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Aside from a short phone conversation and a few random texts, the week passed with no further contact with Raina. He’d decided after leaving her house on Sunday that she would have to come to him. His feelings were too strong, too fast, and he needed for her to make the next move.

  So while he waited, he worked. The last coat of drywall mud had been sanded the previous day and he scheduled the tile guy to start Monday morning. This meant he had to get the great room and kitchen painted and find the time to get to the city to pick up the tile before the weekend was over. If he could get the priming done that night and the first coat on before noon the next day, he could pick up the tile, stay the night and be home to do a second coat Sunday night. He had it all worked out in his mind.

  He’d rented a paint sprayer which would make for quick work of the walls and ceiling. He was just about to begin the spraying when he saw a truck pull up outside his shop. He walked through a door and called out to his visitor.

  “Matthew.”

  “Hey, Linc, how you doing?” Matthew asked, hopping up the steps to the porch.

  “I’m doing great, you here for your chairs?”

  “That and some other things,” Matthew said, without explaining further. “You’re ready for paint? It’s coming along.”

  Linc looked back over his shoulder into the house. “I was just about to spray the first coat. You want to distract me and have a beer?”

  “Sure, I’ve got the time, if you don’t mind.”

  “I have nothing but time,” he said, trying to keep the frustration from his voice.

  “Great, let’s load the chairs and pretend we need a break after that!”

  Matthew followed Linc into the shop and immediately began to admire the cabinet doors lined neatly on a dry rack.

  “These for your kitchen?” Matthew asked.

  “Yeah, those are for the base cabinets and island.”

  Matthew nodded and walked over to where Linc stood by the chairs. They loaded the four of them and sat on the steps of the porch with their beer.

  It had cooled dramatically throughout the week, and the leaves were beginning to turn.

  “So when are you hoping to move in?”

  “I’m pushing for the end of October. It won’t be fully finished, but it will be livable and I can fiddle with the finishing all winter.”

  “My other reason for stopping by was I have orders to invite you to Thanksgiving dinner. If you’re not busy that is.”

  He hadn’t thought about it, or rather, he hadn’t let himself think about the holiday. He wanted to spend some portion of it with Raina, but he wasn’t sure if it was too big a step.

  “You have orders?” he asked, searching for more details.

  Matthew was quick to laugh. “Yes, Carrie’s been bugging me to talk to you. It looks like everyone has ganged up on you. Sorry, Buddy! Not much privacy in this family. The girls figure Rae won’t invite you, so they thought they’d take it out of her hands. They said they’d hate knowing you were all alone in your big house for Thanksgiving.”

  Linc could appreciate the sentiment and understand that it was also an offer of acceptance. The acceptance was greatly appreciated.

  “Thanks for the invite. I know I’ll be with my family for a portion of it, I just don’t know when.”

  “Sure, it’s nothing formal, just people eating together.”

  “Thank Carrie, but I think I’ll try and wait out an invitation from Raina. But I do appreciate the offer.” Speaking her name to her brother, he felt like he was confessing a secret that hadn’t had time to marinate, and he wondered in the moment if he had to justify his intentions or make anything with her official.

  “No worries,” he said, as he drank. “I know it’s none of my business, but she’s coming through a really hard time, so if you could be patient with her, it might help.”

  “She told me about Mark, and the accident. I told her the ball is in her court and that she’s in charge.”

  Matthew looked down and shook his head and Linc wasn’t sure what it meant.

  “Interesting! How’s that working out for you?” he asked with a grim laugh.

  Linc smiled, and facing Matthew, he made his first verbal confession. “The truth is I’m in love with her. The words haven’t been spoken but she knows it.”

  Matthew focused and blew a deep breath from his body as he looked with disbelief at Linc.

  “That’s fast.” It was the only thought Matthew managed to articulate politely.

  “It is. It took one look from her and I was a mess. Carrie was there, she could probably testify that Raina could have pulled me around by a string.”

  Linc shook his head and looked down at his hands as he remembered that first glance and how her haunting eyes had the ability to rattle his control. How he hadn’t been able to put her out of his mind even before he knew her.

  “It took one look, and I would have done anything for her.”

  Matthew could recognize a man who was speaking truth. He could also see that Linc’s own feelings were not the problem. “Man, I don’t envy your position,” he offered, meeting Linc’s eyes with a sympathetic camaraderie. Linc’s mouth formed a tight smile as he focused his eyes on his barn.

  “No, I don’t suppose there are many who would.”

  “You’re a cool one and I like you, so I’ll tell you this. She’s been coming back to us slowly the past few months. She’s kept everything inside since the accident, but before that she was a free spirit and there was nothing that scared her. When she gives, she gives everything, but after everything that’s happened, be careful with her.”

  The warning was subtle, but there was no mistaking its undertone.

  “I won’t hurt her, Matthew,” he offered reassuringly, even though it wasn’t asked.

  “I believe you won’t or I wouldn’t have shared any of this with you.” Matthew rose and slapped Linc on the back. “Give me a call next time you’re in town, I’d like you to se
e something, and I’ve got a question for you.”

  Matthew left him with his five gallon pail of primer and a case of beer to keep him company through the night. His beams were covered in poly, the flooring was double wrapped. Not even a speck of paint would touch anything important as he began to spray paint on his handy work. He worked well into the hours of darkness with a continuous flow of music piped in from his porch. He sprayed it all and stopped only once to open a new pail of paint. He finished with sore arms and a stiff neck, only to drag his tired body up to the barn loft. He carelessly tossed his shirt on the floor, his socks and pants close behind, before he collapsed onto his semi-inflated mattress in the middle of the floor. He didn’t care; he was out before he could put together a coherent thought.

  He woke with a stream of light splashed on his pillow and his phone vibrating on the floor behind him. He rolled, groaned from the weakened and battered state his body felt, and reached in the direction the vibrating sound was coming from.

  He didn’t look at the screen, his fingers didn’t need to; he hit talk as he brought the small rectangle to his ear and barked unwelcomingly at it.

  “Yeah,”

  “Linc?”

  He rolled onto his back, rubbed at his eyes and looked at his wrist, only to remember his watch was across the room where he’d left it the afternoon before. His head fell back on his pillow. He could tell it was light so he knew it was morning, but he was disoriented and displeased at how exhausted he still felt. With eyes still closed, his head fell back into the pillow, he stretched, and pushed a leg from beneath the blankets.

  “Yeah,” he repeated. Then he looked at his phone and saw the screen was dark.

  “Hi.” He heard again. He turned to the door and she was there. He pushed himself up and felt the muscles push back against the effort.