glanced at his casual shorts and T-shirt. “Out jogging?”
“No. I’m playing softball.” He pointed to the game in progress on the diamond. “My team’s batting, but I won’t be up this inning.”
Confusion darkened her blue eyes. “But you don’t like organized sports.”
Her statement surprised him. “Who told you that?”
She took a step back and shrugged. “I mean, I didn’t hear it from anyone. I just thought…” Her voice trailed off. “How long have you been playing?”
“A couple of years.” He took a drink from his water bottle. “I’d been thinking about getting more physically active for a while. I jogged for a bit, but it was too boring, and I’m not really the go-to-the-gym type. So I tried team sports. I found I enjoy them a lot.”
Rose had an odd expression on her face. As if she wasn’t sure she believed him. “It’s always nice to get out,” she murmured.
“I agree.” He glanced over his shoulder and saw his team was still at bat, then returned his attention to her. “Want to come watch? Afterward we all go out for pizza. You’d be welcome to come along.”
Rose swallowed and took another step away from him. “That’s really nice, but I can’t. I don’t know any of your friends and I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“You wouldn’t be an intrusion. You’d like everyone. I promise.” He made an X over his heart.
She shook her head. “It would be too awkward. I’m not dressed and I still feel kind of strange going out into the world.”
He stared at her. “Why?”
“Because of how I look.”
He peered at her face. “Because you’re not wearing makeup? It’s Saturday. Don’t women get a day off from that stuff?”
The tension left her body, leaving her relaxed. She laughed. “You don’t get it, do you?”
“Not for a second. Want to explain it to me? Is this a chick thing?”
“No. It’s a cane thing.”
He glanced at her leg, then at the cane. “You mean because you need one to help you walk? Why would anyone care about that?”
She smiled a perfect smile. One that said he’d conquered the world for her and made him want to kiss her. But he wasn’t going to. He didn’t want their first kiss to be fast, impersonal and in public. Which meant he was in more trouble than he’d realized.
“I appreciate that my disability is no big deal to you,” she said, “but it matters to other people. I’m not comfortable being stared at. But thanks for the invitation.”
Before he could say anything else, he heard his name. He turned and saw his teammates waving him back into the game.
“Looks like you’re needed,” she said. “Good luck. I hope you win.”
“Thanks. See you on Monday.”
“Sure. Bye.”
He turned and ran toward the diamond, all the while swearing under his breath. He should have asked her out. That’s what he wanted. Client or no client, he wanted to spend time with Rose. He wanted to get to know everything about her. He wanted to be in the same room with her while they read or watched a movie. He wanted to kiss her and touch her and-
He turned back to wave, but she was already gone. The place where she’d stood on the path was empty. He wished she’d stayed to at least watch the game.
“Who was that?” Jason called as Del set down his water bottle and grabbed his mitt.
“A friend.”
“Uh-huh. What about Jasmine?”
Del didn’t reply. Jasmine was his on-again, off-again girlfriend. They were currently in off-again mode. He hadn’t thought about her for days. A while back he’d been thinking of calling her, but things had changed in the relationship. He shook his head. No point in lying to himself. Nothing had changed. Instead he’d become distracted by a very attractive woman. Someone he couldn’t wait to see again. If only he could think of an excuse to drop by her place tomorrow.
Del’s crew showed up promptly at eight on Monday morning. Josie was grateful to let them in. Except for her brief encounter with Del in the park on Saturday, she hadn’t spoken to anyone all weekend. She was tired of her own company.
She greeted the guys and ushered them into the main room where she’d already brewed a pot of coffee.
“You don’t have to do this, ma’am,” Jerry said as he filled a mug. “But we sure appreciate it.”
She smiled. “It’s not as if I have to spend my morning cleaning house or cooking.” She motioned to the gutted kitchen. “It’s my pleasure. Oh, and please call me Rose.”
Jerry nodded his agreement. The other men poured themselves coffee, then they went to various parts of the house to get to work. Josie watched them go. She wondered if Jerry would have been as pleasant if he’d known who she really was. She remembered overhearing him talking with one of the other guys. She’d been at a construction sight, fighting with Del. Jerry had said that while she had a great butt and was probably dynamite in bed, her personality was such that he would rather try taming a wounded polar bear.
Josie leaned against her cane and admitted to herself that Jerry’s assessment had been right on the money. Since arriving back in Beachside Bay she’d been getting all kinds of information about herself that she hadn’t expected. Ironically she’d returned for closure but instead she was getting a life lesson in eating crow. While she didn’t especially like it, it might be just what she needed.
And there were one or two bright spots. She thought Del might like her a little. While she didn’t think he was interested in more than being friends or possibly a mild flirtation, it was nice to know that her altered appearance hadn’t sent him screaming from the room. She still found the concept of him with another woman disquieting, but she was willing to let that go as long as the other woman was her.
The thought made her smile. The other piece of good and interesting news was that Del had taken up softball. During their three years of marriage she’d been on his case constantly, trying to get him to participate in some form of exercise. He’d resisted and yet now he was on a team. She knew that was from her influence. At least she hadn’t been completely horrible-there had been one or two good things in their marriage.
She walked over to the coffee maker to start a second pot. As she moved, the pain in her left leg shot up into her hip and back. She was sore from her walk on Saturday-her own fault. She hadn’t been keeping up with her exercises or her physical therapy. If she didn’t start soon, she was going to pay a price. Unfortunately she wasn’t motivated at the moment. She’d worked so hard and so long and it still was not where she wanted to be. Occasionally-like now-frustration overwhelmed her good sense.
“Get over it,” she said aloud, knowing she didn’t have time for self-pity. She had a life to rebuild. After she made the coffee, she would go upstairs and start a list. She didn’t know what for, but list-making always improved her mood.
As she poured water into the pot, using the gallon of bottled water she’d bought, the front door opened. She heard several voices. Most of them were low and masculine but one was shrill, demanding and crabby. Josie set the pot down and turned toward the sound.
Three good-looking burly construction workers walked into the main room followed by a tiny, redheaded woman in her sixties. She glanced around at the main room, then focused on the kitchen.
“It’s all a mess,” the woman announced planting her hands on her hips. She wore denim coveralls and a long- sleeved red T-shirt that clashed with her bright-red hair.
“Once again I’m going to have to fix everyone’s mistakes.” She turned to the three gorgeous twenty-something males hovering beside her. “You fellows plan on posing for a calendar or did you want to do some work?”
The three hunks jumped to attention at her question.
Josie couldn’t keep herself from grinning. If she’d been able to run, she would have thrown herself into the older woman’s strong arms and stayed there forever. Annie May wasn’t just a master plumber and a force to be reckoned with, she was the closest thing to a grandmother Josie had ever had. Leaving her when Josie had left Beachside Bay had been nearly as difficult as leaving Del.
Josie took a single step toward her, then paused. She had a disguise to think of.
