Raina and Eric looked at Rick expectantly, obviously waiting for a translation.
“A nerd,” he explained. “Working with teenagers has expanded my vocabulary.” He grinned.
Hannah laughed again and over her head Rick caught and held Kendall’s gaze. Warmth translated between them along with an electric reminder of just how intimate they’d been before the telephone rang in his apartment earlier.
Now his hair was damp from his recent shower and he hadn’t shaved, the razor stubble she’d felt against her cheek earlier adding a sensual edge to her reaction to his ruggedly sexy appearance. Later. He seemed to transmit the thought with his darkened eyes. And oh how she wanted to be with him, Kendall thought.
But with a birthday bash to get him to and her sister who adored him, Kendall wondered how they’d find the time to pick up where they left off.
* * *
The morning after Raina informed them of Rick’s last-minute party, Kendall paced the floor of her attic workspace while Hannah cracked her gum and shot down every suggestion Kendall made for Rick’s birthday gift. They needed to create something by late this afternoon before they picked up Rick for what he thought was a family dinner at his mother’s.
In her brief time in Yorkshire Falls, Kendall had grown to know Rick well, his expressions and what went on inside his head. And though she didn’t know why, she was certain he wouldn’t be pleased with tonight’s event. She’d debated warning him ahead of time, then decided she had no right to come between mother and son or betray Raina’s confidence and surprise.
Kendall concentrated on his gift instead. She and Hannah had agreed to make a joint present, something special for Rick that no one else would possibly come up with. They’d been back and forth with ideas since late last night. With no success.
“Cuff links?” Kendall offered as another suggestion. Hannah rolled her eyes. “Yeah like he’s gonna use those in his T-shirts.”
“Tie clip?”
“Puhleeze.” She folded her arms across her chest. “What are you trying to do? Turn him into a dork?”
Kendall groaned and tossed her hands in the air. “Okay, I give up. What would you like to make for Rick?” So far the only other thing they’d agreed upon was the fact that they’d create his birthday surprise instead of purchasing an impersonal store-bought item. Short on cash and credit, Kendall had been relieved Hannah had gone along with the idea.
“Well since you finally asked, I think we should make him a necklace. Not a pansy kind but a cool kind. Leather braided maybe.” Hannah walked around the bridge table, searching through Kendall’s plastic containers with assorted varieties of stones and beads. “Hey, what are these?” She picked up a handful of round beads.
“Hematite rondelles.”
“Geez. How about using my language?”
Kendall laughed. “They’re rounded flat beads. Shiny and blue-black in color. All of which you can see by looking at them. The technical term for the mineral used in making the jewelry is hematite and rondelle describes the shape. That’s where the name hematite rondelles comes from.”
Hannah stared at her wide-eyed, a hint of interest flickering across her features. Perhaps they’d found a topic that could help them bond, Kendall thought. She’d love to teach Hannah all she knew about beads and jewelry making and she’d be happy to learn what she could from Hannah’s fresh, young perspective. She’d start by giving her sister a confidence boost.
Kendall held out her hand for some of the beads and Hannah transferred them to her palm. She fingered the smooth, lustrous stones and held them up to the window light. “Strung together they’d have a masculine look.” She glanced at Hannah. “You’ve got an eye for this, you know.”
Her sister blushed red. “Okay, these are way cool. Rick gets a necklace of hemorrhoids.”
“Hematite, you wise guy.”
Hannah giggled. “Whatever. We’ll use these.”
“I know which bead would break up the solid black look.” Kendall sorted through her sterling tube beads and pulled out her favorite. “Check this one out. It’s handcrafted on the outside of the tubing. Every twenty-fifth or so hematite bead, we add one of these for contrast.”
“Let’s get started.” Hannah rubbed her hands together and pulled up a chair to the work area.
Kendall was thrilled to see her sister animated and interested in something so close to her own heart. “Why don’t you pull out the nicest-looking hematite’s and I’ll get the wire ready.”
Half an hour later, they were still at it, Hannah absorbed in choosing flawless beads and asking all sorts of questions while she worked. For the first time since her arrival, Kendall felt as though Hannah had let down her guard, enabling Kendall to do the same. The sense of family and bonding she’d always missed in her life surfaced now and it was all Kendall could do not to pull her sibling into a huge hug and spoil everything.
“So how’d you get into this?” Hannah asked.
“Aah. Well, with all the moving around I did, I didn’t have many toys or things. But when I lived with Aunt Crystal, she taught me how to string macaroni as a way of making jewelry. We’d use all different kinds of pasta and put hooks on them. Then we’d paint. Aunt Crystal worked with real beads and things until her arthritis hit her hands. I guess you could say jewelry making runs in the family.”
“She probably made old lady stuff,” Hannah said in the snotty tone that had been noticeably absent the entire morning.
Kendall narrowed her gaze. “Crystal had talent.” She glanced over at Hannah’s choices in beads. “And so do you.”
“Right. Like it’s so hard to pick black beads.” Hannah scooped up a handful and tossed them all together, mixing all the beads and undoing the meticulous work she’d already accomplished. “Here you go. All done.”
“Oh, Hannah, why?” Looking at the mess, Kendall’s heart squeezed tight. “You did such an amazing job and
