He climbed the steps and tapped on the door, flicking a glance sideways to the table and chairs on the wide veranda. The chess game they’d left two days ago was sitting untouched on the table. The truth was, Sean wasn’t much of a chess player, but he liked that he could sit without having to talk. He could just simply concentrate on the game and purge everything else in life right out of his mind.
He waited, then tapped again. And again.
Sean heard something. He wasn’t sure what. Which wasn’t unusual because he was becoming increasingly used to mishearing, or simply not hearing things. Since the diagnosis twelve months ago, his whole life had changed. Thinking about it invoked a familiar helplessness and resentment, and he quickly pushed the feelings aside.
With no answer, he turned around to leave and then stumbled back on his heels.
A woman stood at the bottom of the steps. Recognition flickered for a moment in his mind, then quickly faded. She wore jeans and a checked shirt, a long sheepskin vest that came to her knees, mid-heeled cowboy boots and a bright orange hat. She had long, ink-black, wavy hair that hung down her back and deep green eyes. He stared at her, oddly fascinated by her riveting colors. She wasn’t like the women he was usually attracted to—but somehow, she was impossible to ignore. For one, she had the most incredible hair he’d ever seen, and the more he looked the more he noticed that there were colors of pink and purple subtly threaded throughout the long waves cascading down her back. And her emerald eyes were glaring at him, filled with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. A strange sensation hit him in his gut, one he didn’t want to acknowledge. Because feeling anything was out of the question.
Sean quickly pulled himself together and spoke.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
She propped her hands on her hips and tilted her head a little. “I was about to ask you the same question.”
“I was looking for Ivan.”
“He’s resting,” she said, head still at an angle. “You must the neighbor I’ve heard so much about.”
Again, recognition wavered inside his head, but Sean was certain he’d never met her. “You have?”
“Dad says you suck at chess.”
Dad?
Sean stared at her. This was Ivan’s daughter? Impossible. The girl in the photograph on the mantel had glasses, braces and a shy, awkward smile—definitely not the confidence of this...woman. He took a few steps toward the edge of the porch. “You’re not his daughter... Leah.”
Her shoulders tightened. “I’m not?”
Heat crawled up his neck, and he hated the fact she was making him uncomfortable. Sean didn’t do uncomfortable. Women didn’t make him tongue-tied. Women flirted with him and then usually, if things went well, fell into his bed. “You’re...the picture...the one on the mantel...”
She threw her head back and laughed, exposing a long throat that hitched his awareness of her up a couple of notches. He quickly pushed the notion aside.
“Dad’s favorite,” she said, her green eyes wide with amusement. “He still likes to think of me as his little girl.”
Sean did his best to ignore the way his heart was beating faster than usual. Perhaps because he hadn’t been close to an attractive woman in months. Not that he thought she was attractive. He didn’t go for artsy types. In the past he’d dated models and actresses who were uncomplicated and self-centered and no more interested in anything long-term or serious than he was. At the moment he didn’t date anyone. Hell, he tried not to even see anyone. Just like he wanted.
He uncharacteristically tugged at his collar and hated the way her gaze followed his every move. It felt like she was watching him—examining him. And he didn’t like it. All he wanted to do was bail and head home. But a good dose of ego made him stay exactly where he was and stare at her in return. Which, he realized, wasn’t exactly a hardship. Sure, she wasn’t his type, but he had to admit she was attractive in her own way. And he had time to kill. Since returning to Cedar River he had plenty of time.
The truth was, he’d spent the past couple of months trying to figure out what he was going to do next. He might have bailed on his career, but life still went on. Or so he’d been told by doctors and specialists. And he knew his family would say the same thing—if he told them the real reason he’d come home. He almost wished he had to work. But he had more money in the bank than he could ever spend and no inclination to earn more doing something he had little interest in.
“So, Dad’s resting...like I said.”
Her voice again, dragging him back into the moment. Sean managed a slight shrug and tried to appear indifferent either way. “Sure... I’ll come back later.”
She took a couple of steps forward. “You can wait for a while if you like. He usually only naps for an hour at a time. I’ve just made some hot chocolate.”
Chocolate? Why not? It wasn’t as though he had anywhere else he needed to be. And it was getting cool. Colder temperatures were forecast for later in the week, but it was a typical fall day, with enough bite in the air to
