They all three nodded in agreement. “What’d he say?” Vance asked.
Sadness seemed to drain some of the life from Reilly in that moment. “That Jeanette deserved better than damaged goods.”
“Fuck,” Sammy replied.
“Pretty much,” Reilly said. He moved away from the counter and headed for the front door. “I’m going to start unloading the truck.”
Brodix grabbed his wool coat from a booth near the door and offered, “I’ll help.”
“Good deal,” Vance said. “We have spackling to do and a counter to rip out. Might as well get started.” After the brothers nodded and headed out, Vance looked over at Sammy. Neither of them said a word. They wanted River whole again, but they both feared that was one dream that may never come true. Hell, Vance knew too well how quickly a dream could disappear. He’d had plenty of dreams once upon a time, and several of them had included Shayla.
Chapter Four
Shayla watched Vance dish up the penne pasta and alfredo sauce he’d made for their dinner into a couple of cream-colored bowls. He placed one in front of her and smiled. “I hope you like it. The alfredo sauce is Mom’s recipe.”
Vance definitely had the “Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde” routine down pat. When she’d arrived, tension had filled the air as Vance took his time looking her over. Shayla’s body had responded to the heated journey his gaze took with a trickle of moisture between her thighs. Of course, she had taken an extra few seconds to admire Vance’s long, muscular legs in the snug-fitting jeans. What woman wouldn’t? When she’d finally managed to tear her gaze away, she’d gotten stuck on the way the white T-shirt stretched across his wide chest. Unfortunately, the frown he sent her way effectively chased away any remnants of desire.
“When I arrived earlier, you looked about as happy as a kid with a toothache, and now you’re cooking for me and smiling.” She squinted suspiciously at him. “What gives?”
“It’s dinnertime, and I’m hungry.” Vance shrugged. “Don’t eat if you don’t want it.”
She considered it a moment, then caved. No sense in looking a gift horse in the mouth. “I’m sure I’ll love it,” she offered. As she inhaled the aroma of parmesan cheese and fresh garlic, her stomach rumbled. “It smells heavenly. When did you learn to cook?”
Vance smiled as he took a seat across from her. “Mom taught all of us. She’s always held strong to the belief that whatever a woman can do, a man can do—and vice versa.”
“She’s a pretty special lady.” Shayla smiled as a memory surfaced. “I’ll never forget that time she brought that care package to the hospital for me when I had my tonsils removed. Remember that?”
“Yeah, she insisted on buying you that little red-and-white teddy bear. Swore it’d make you feel better.” He shook his head, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her that you were a senior in high school and probably didn’t sleep with teddy bears anymore.”
Shayla bobbed her eyebrows. “Ah, but you’d be wrong there. In fact, I still have George. He sleeps next to me every night.”
Vance’s eyes rounded in surprise. “Get out! Seriously?”
She laughed. “Yep.”
Vance went quiet, and she wondered where his mind had gone. She took a bite of her food and realized it tasted better than she’d imagined. It wasn’t at all fair that the man cooked as wonderful as he looked. How was a woman supposed to keep from drooling when she had a tanned, hazel-eyed hottie sitting so close? Shayla let out a sigh and dug into her food, wishing she had the right to do more than admire Vance from afar. For a while, they both ate in silence. Soon, Vance pushed his bowl away and sat back.
“I don’t see a ring,” he stated as he stared at her hand.
Shayla swallowed the last bite of her dinner and dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “Uh, that’s because I’m not married. Not dating either.” A horrible thought struck, and she asked, “You?”
“No. I’ve been too busy getting Vance’s Construction off the ground to even consider marriage.”
“Starting your own business isn’t a walk in the park. Lots of late hours.”
“You sound like you speak from experience.”
She stood, then brought her bowl to the sink and ran water in it. “I do. I started my own digital-first publishing company a few years ago. It’s just now making me enough money that I was able to quit the dreaded day job.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Digital? Like those books you can download to your phone and laptop?”
She smiled and propped herself against the counter. “Yep. And I’ve moved the company here, which was nothing short of a nightmare, let me tell you. I mean, I have a terrific staff, but there are always problems.” She shrugged. “First there was an issue with the Internet in the building we’re leasing, which took forever to fix. Then some new software we purchased recently didn’t want to cooperate with the old computers, so we were forced to upgrade. We managed to get things all worked out, but we were all pulling our hair out.”
“It sounds like a nightmare,” Vance said. He paused before adding, “So, you were serious when you said you were here to stay.”
“Very serious. I never wanted to move away in the first place. That was Dad’s idea. I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Now I do. And even though there are some bad memories associated with Blackwater, it still feels more like home to me than anywhere else.”
He watched her with suspicion. It was clear to see in his gorgeous eyes, and Shayla wished she could ignore it, pretend it wasn’t there. “You’re in Blackwater for another reason too,” he said.