saying something to Andrew. But he couldn’t tell Andrew what he wanted to hear, either.
“Have a good day at school,” he said, his tone soft. The woeful way Andrew looked at him nearly made his heart break. “And tell Mrs. Graham I’ll be there.”
He slipped through the living room and out the front door just as Megan exited the bathroom.
CHAPTER FIVE
“ARE you and Dad mad at each other?”
Megan glanced at Andrew, who stood on a stool next to the counter, spatula in hand. With a weary sigh, she removed a sheet of chocolate chip cookies from the oven. She set them on the stove, thinking back to the night on the porch when the dissension started. “Your father and I had a…little difference of opinion.” She pulled off her insulated mitt, put it in the drawer and turned off the oven.
Andy scooped up a warm cookie with his spatula and put it on the cooling rack. “About what?”
“But Dad hardly ever talks to you anymore.”
“I think he just has a lot on his mind.”
She’d been shameless in her approach on the porch, but she didn’t care, and she didn’t regret her actions, not if that’s what it took to get through to the stubborn man and make him realize he was good and kind…and certainly not the monster the people of Linden believed him to be. He could no more have killed his wife than he would harm Andrew. She knew it and believed it, so why couldn’t he?
Her plan had backfired. While she’d reveled in his earthy, sensual kiss, he’d retreated. He’d warned her to stay away, that she didn’t know what was bad for her, but as she’d told him. it was too late. What she felt for Kane was overwhelming and a little frightening in its intensity, but she wouldn’t and couldn’t deny her growing emotions, despite his continual attempts to push her away. This morning’s ridiculous argument was a perfect example of his stubbornness.
Andy stacked warm, fragrant cookies on a small plate. “Maybe you could take Dad some cookies and talk to him,” he suggested, licking smeared chocolate from his fingers.
Megan shook her head. “I’d better not.”
“Please?” He looked at her with hopeful brown eyes. “Dad
Megan smiled, appreciating Andrew’s creative attempt to get her and his father to reconcile. “I doubt cookies will change his attitude,” she said, wiping the counter.
He grabbed her arm and waited for her to look at him. “Please, Megan? I want Dad to like you as much as I do.”
Gently, she cupped his cheek in her palm, wanting to tell him that you couldn’t force someone to like you. The feelings were either there or they weren’t. Judging by that kiss, there was a definite spark between her and Kane, but
But when Andrew looked at her as if she had hung the moon and stars, she found it difficult to refuse his request. God, she was going to miss him. She knew a huge, empty void would fill her when she left.
Knowing she didn’t want to spend the next few days with this awful tension between her and Kane, she smiled at Andrew. “Okay, sweetie, I’ll give it a shot.”
Andrew threw his arms around Megan’s waist and hugged her tight. “Thanks, Megan!”
“Yeah, well, let’s just hope your father doesn’t bite the hand that feeds him.” They broke apart, and Megan tapped his nose. “While I’m talking to your dad, why don’t you water those pansies and gardenias I planted out front?”
He gave her a dimpled grin that made her melt. “Okay.”
Megan picked up the plate of cookies and headed for the back door, wondering if sweets truly could tame this savage beast.
The high-pitched whine of a power saw filtering from the barn made Megan wince. She hesitated at the entrance, debating on whether she really wanted to do this when Kane had made it abundantly clear, in his words and actions, that he preferred being alone while she was here.
Shifting on her feet, she glanced over her shoulder. Andy stood at the flower bed, spraying a stream of water at the colorful flowers she’d planted and watching her at the same time. He gave her an encouraging thumbs-up sign, and she knew she couldn’t back out now.
Running her fingers through her hair, she drew a deep breath to calm the nerves tumbling in her stomach. She moved into the cool interior of the barn, cookies in hand. Kane’s back was to her, and he hadn’t heard her enter. She stood there for a moment, discovering a fascination in watching him in an element where he seemed so comfortable.
He grabbed a measuring tape from his worktable and measured the huge slab of pine he’d just cut, then made marks on the wood with a pencil. He put on his protective glasses, hefted the scroll saw and cut out the scalloped edges. The scent of sawdust filled the air, blending with other tangy, woodsy smells. Particles of dust and wood settled on his black hair and broad shoulders.
The muscles beneath Kane’s blue chambray shirt bunched and rippled as he maneuvered the saw to his whim. Her gaze drifted lower, to the way soft denim outlined his firm buttocks and strong thighs. The man had an incredible body, powerful and lean and down-to-earth sexy. Her pulse acknowledged the attraction with a sudden flutter.
When he turned the power tool off and set it on the worktable, Megan decided to make her presence known. “What are you making?”
The fingers running over the rough edges of wood stilled but he didn’t glance in her direction. “A headboard.” His tone was abrupt and flat and didn’t encourage conversation.
Megan experienced a twinge of annoyance. Determined to chisel a few notches out of that damned emotional barrier he erected whenever she was near, she walked toward him. “For yourself?”
“For my sister. Her birthday is in July.” He pulled off his plastic glasses and tossed them onto the table.
“Diane, right?”
“Yep.” Still he didn’t look at her.
“Are the two of you close?”
“Close enough,” he said brusquely, and grabbed a square piece of sandpaper.
Boy, was he ever a wealth of information, she thought in mild irritation. Prying personal stuff from him was worse than trying to coax a turtle from his shell. “Does she see Andy very often?” she persisted.
He brushed his fingers over the wood he’d just cut, then followed it with the sandpaper, his gaze narrowed on the task. He was quiet for so long, she thought he either hadn’t heard her or wasn’t going to say anything. Finally, as if he sensed she wouldn’t let the question go unanswered, he said, “She hasn’t seen him since after Cathy died, but she calls.”
Megan was pleased that Andrew at least had a good relationship with his aunt, even if it was a long-distance one.
He continued with his work, ignoring her. She sighed in frustration but wasn’t totally discouraged. She glanced at the thick piece of wood Kane intended to shape into a headboard. The pine was smooth except for the raw scalloped edges he’d just cut and was now trying to sand. The potential for an exquisite piece of work was evident in the intricate detail of the design.
Remembering the toys he’d made for Andrew and that Andrew had told her he’d made most of the furniture in the house, she said, “You make beautiful pieces of furniture. Have you ever thought about contracting your work?”
His body visibly tensed. “Nope.”
“Well, you should consider it.” When he didn’t respond, she set the plate of cookies on the table beside him. “I
