my battle gray splattered with blood. I only want to go home. I'm ashamed of it, but I'm terrified. Then I see him, the other soldier, the enemy. We stare at each other for a dozen heartbeats, then charge. It's bad, the fight. It's brutal and stupid and useless. After, I come here, crawl here. I think I'm home. When I see her, when she speaks to me and tells me it's going to be all right, I believe her. She's right beside me when someone carries me up the stairs. I can smell her, the roses. Then she shouts, looks at someone coming toward us down the stairs. When I look up, I can see him, and the gun. Then it's over.'
Rafe took a long drink. 'What stays with me the longest, after it's over, is that I just wanted to go home. I haven't had it in a couple of months.'
'Maybe that's because you are home.'
'Looks that way.' Suddenly he grinned and tapped his bottle against hers. 'A hell of an introduction. Are you up to seeing the place, or do you want to pass?'
'No, I'd like to see it. You've done some work in here.'
'Yeah.' The kitchen had a long way to go, Rafe mused, but the counters had been built and were topped by a warm slate blue that showed off the creamy ivory of new appliances and gleaming glass-fronted cabinets of yellow pine. 'Regan put her foot down,' he explained. 'A workable kitchen and a finished bath and she'd handle living in a construction site for a while.'
'Sounds like a practical woman.'
'That she is. Come on, I'll give you the tour.'
He took her arm and started back down the hallway. 'I'd like to start upstairs,' she told him before he could open the door to the right.
'Sure.' Most people liked to start with the parlor or the library, but he was flexible. As they started up, he felt her hesitate, brace. Just as he felt the hard shudder move through her as they continued. 'No one feels it anymore,' he said. 'Not in weeks.'
'Lucky for them,' Savannah managed, grateful when they reached the top of the landing. She looked beyond the tarps, the buckets and tools and saw sturdy walls that had been built to last.
'We finished—' He broke off as she turned away from the bedroom he and Regan shared. A room that had belonged to the mistress of the house and had been lovingly repaired, redone and furnished. Saying nothing, he followed her to the opposite wing.
The door had been removed from this room, a room with long windows that faced the outskirts of town. The walls had been painted a deep green, the wide, ornately carved trim a bone white to match the marble of the fireplace.
The floors had been recently sanded. She could smell the wood dust. The little room beyond—the valet's room? she wondered—had been roughed in as a bath.
'The master's room,' she murmured.
'We thought it was likely.' Fascinated, Rafe watched her walk from door to window, from window to hearth.
Oh, it had been his, Master Barlow's, she was sure of it. He would have studied the town from here and thought his thoughts. He would have taken one of the young maids to bed in here, willing or not, then slept the dreamless sleep of the conscienceless.
'He was a bastard,' Savannah said mildly. 'Well, he didn't leave much behind.' With a smile, she turned back to Rafe. 'You're doing a wonderful job.'
Rafe rubbed his chin. 'Thanks. You're a spooky woman, Savannah.'
'Occasionally. I read palms in a carnival for a while. Pretty tedious work, really. This is much more interesting.' She moved past him, back into the hall, and headed straight for the mistress's room. 'This is beautiful,' she murmured.
'We're jazzed about it.' From the doorway, Rafe scanned the room himself. He could smell roses, and he could smell Regan. 'It's going to be our honeymoon suite.'
'It's perfect.'
She meant exactly that. In all her travels, she had never seen anything as lovely. Rosebud wallpaper as delicate as a tea garden was trimmed with rose-toned wood. There were beautiful arched windows framed in lace that had the sunlight streaming in patterns on the highly polished floor.
A four-poster with a lacy canopy dominated the space. There were candles, slim tapers of ivory, and rose burned downed to varying lengths that stood on the mantel in crystal holders. An elegant lady's desk was topped by a globe lamp. Petit-point chairs, curved edged tables. A pale pink vase crowded with sunny daffodils.
No, she'd never seen anything so lovely. How could she have? she reminded herself. Her life had been dingy trailers, cramped rooms and highway motels.
Envy snaked through her so quickly she winced.
'Jared said your wife did the decorating.'
'For the most part.'
What would it be like, Savannah wondered, to have such exquisite taste. To know exactly what should go where?
'It's beautiful,' she said again. 'When you're ready to open, you'll have to beat off guests with a stick.'
'We're shooting for September. It's a little optimistic, but we might pull it off.' His head turned, his eyes changed at the sound of the door opening downstairs. 'That's Regan.'
Savannah had a firsthand view of what a MacKade looked like when he was very much in love. Another surprising snake of envy curled through her.
'Up here, darling,' Rafe called out. 'I'm in the bedroom with a gorgeous woman.'
'That's supposed to surprise me?' Regan strolled into the room. 'Hello, Savannah.' It was all she managed to get out before Rafe cupped a hand behind her neck and drew her up for a lengthy welcoming kiss. 'Hello, Rafe.'
'Hi.'
They beamed at each other. Savannah could think of no other word for it. Unless the word was
Her clothes were beautifully tailored—the teal blazer and pleated slacks, the smart white shirt with the copper bar pin at the collar. She had a sexy-lady scent about her. Not prim, not overt. Just perfect.
Savannah felt like a grubby Amazon who'd stumbled on a princess.
'I've been giving Savannah the tour,' Rafe explained.
'Great.' Regan pushed back the right curtain of her hair, and rings glittered on her fingers. 'What do you think so far?'
'It's wonderful.' Savannah remembered the beer in her hand and lifted to it her lips.
'Let's not stop here.' With a friendly smile, Regan led the way out. 'Jared called the shop this morning and said he'd like us to work on redoing his offices.'
'About damn time,' Rafe commented. 'The place is as cheerful as a mausoleum. White and gray. Might as well work in a tomb.'
'We'll fix that.' With boundless confidence and enthusiasm, Regan showed off the house.
Every room, whether it was complete or in progress and filled with nothing more than dust and cobwebs, scraped at Savannah's confidence. She knew nothing of fine antiques, expensive rugs or window treatments.
She didn't want to know.
'Jared's really impressed with your art,' Regan went on as they wound their way down to the first floor. 'Obviously it inspired him to do something about his work space. I'd love to see some of what you've done.'
'It's no big deal. I don't have any training.'
Savannah took one long scan of the front parlor, with its curvy settee and elegant side tables, and jammed her hands in the pockets of her jeans. A marble fireplace gleamed like glass, set off with polished brass tools and andirons. And everything, down to the last candlestick, was picture-perfect.
'Nothing of mine would fit in here, that's for sure. Or a lawyer's office, either. Thanks for the tour. And the beer,' she added, handing Rafe the empty bottle. 'I've got to go pick up my kid.'
'Oh.' Surprised by the abrupt exit, Regan followed her to the door. 'If you've got some time over the weekend,
