Luca's Dilemma (8 page)

Sheila could only nod in response. Her eyes followed as he stood up to his full height and then sat beside her, his large frame overtaking the small bench. The close proximity instantly warmed her.

“Here, drink this.”

He placed his arm on the bench behind Sheila’s shoulders, sending a strange electric jolt up her spine that left hot tingles in its wake. Gently, he lifted a bottle of water to her lips and held it there, not removing it before she got a good swig. Sheila held his hand in place, feeding off the protectiveness that it offered.

“You want to tell us what happened?”

Although her distress had subsided, it remained very real. However, it wasn't overwhelming with him sitting next to her and holding her like he was. “I think I need to leave,” she said quietly with her eyes cast down.

“Why, Shi?” Tina asked with concern. “You were doing well until we entered the sheep barn.”

At the mention of the sheep barn, Sheila's distress returned. Luca must have sensed it because he moved his hand from where it rested on the back of the bench to her shoulder. Warmth spread through her as he began rubbing little circles there, the action comforting her enough to meet his inquisitive gaze.

“Did something happen in the sheep barn, baby?”

Sheila affirmed it with a nod.

“What happened in the barn?” Tina inquired, scrunching her tiny nose up in confusion. Richard squatted next to his wife, both of them staring at Sheila with their eyebrows knitted together, awaiting her answer.

“The sheep…” she started, but the rest of her sentence was inaudible, even to her own ears. Although the crowd had dispersed, she could still feel the heat of the many curious eyes that lingered on her. Those eye bearers had ears too.

“What?” Richard said with a quick shake of his head, prompting her to speak louder.

“I said the sheep… they look like Klansmen,” she bit out through clenched teeth, making every attempt to keep all others from overhearing. Her head and eyes darted back and forth in paranoia, as if the hooded men would instantly materialize at the mention of their infamous name.

Poor Sheila was granted less than a thirty–second reprieve before her two friends were practically rolling on the ground in laughter. Her paranoia gave way to irritation at their refusal to take her seriously.

“Hey, hey! That shit’s not funny, man!” Sheila vociferously admonished, still dead serious in her fear.

She turned to Luca to assess his take on her predicament. A slight twitch at the corners of his mouth was all the proof she needed to know he wanted to join her friends in their merriment. She lifted an eyebrow daring him, but he appeared to remain sober for her sake.

Just then a little girl and an adult that Sheila assumed was the girl’s mother stopped a few feet away and began to stare at her. The intensity of the child's blue–eyed gaze made Sheila squirm, and she was about to speak to the adult about the girl's blatant rudeness when the child spoke first.

“Mommy,” the girl said, tugging on the adult’s coattail. “That lady with the dirty face is sad.”

The girl’s poor mother gasped in horror.

“That’s it. I’m out of here, even if I have to walk home,” Sheila stated just loud enough for those in close proximity to hear. Her attempt to rise and stomp off was thwarted by Luca’s strong arm as he increased his grip on her, effectually holding her in place.

“Stay,” Luca commanded, earning him one of Sheila’s signature glares that could easily kindle dry wood. “Please stay?” he said in a much milder tone before standing and walking over to the mother and child. “Would you mind?” he asked the still stunned mother while holding his large hand out to the child.

“Uh, um, I guess not,” the mother responded, her hand still clutching the front of her fleece jacket with embarrassment.

The little girl hesitated. She looked up at her mom, who gave her a reassuring nod. Reluctantly, the child grasped Luca's hand with her small one and held on to her mom for dear life with the other. They both proceeded to accompany Luca over to the bench where Sheila sat, wondering what the hell he was up to.

“What’s your name?” Luca asked the little girl.

“Andrea,” she answered bashfully. She lifted her little pink finger and beckoned Luca toward her.

Luca complied, leaning in and giving Andrea his ear.

“Is she going to be okay?” she whispered loud enough for Sheila to hear.

Luca righted himself. Repeating the girl’s motions, he beckoned Andrea to turn her ear toward him and leaned in close. “Why don’t you ask her yourself? She won't hurt you, and she happens to be cleaner than the two of us at the moment,” he whispered back just as loudly.

Upon closer inspection, Sheila noticed that the girl's tiny lips were surrounded by what looked like syrup topped with dirt. Nevertheless, Sheila had to admit the girl was adorable with high brown pigtails on either side of her round head. The little girl’s large blue eyes were wide with curiosity. Sheila watched, her own curiosity now piqued, as the little person moved closer to her. She couldn't begin to fathom what would come out of the girl's mouth next.

Andrea stopped directly in front of her. “I’m sorry I called you dirty. I hope it doesn’t make you cry anymore.” Pure innocence danced in her celestial orbs.

Sheila couldn’t help but smile. “No problem, sweetie. I promise I won’t cry over it. Friends?” she asked, offering her hand to solidify their new pact.

Andrea looked to her mother and then to Luca for encouragement before accepting Sheila’s hand. As she held onto it, she began to turn it over in her tiny ones, rubbing the back of it with her tiny facial features drawn together in utter concentration. “It's so soft, and pretty,” she gushed in surprise.

“It sure is,” Luca stated emphatically, taking Sheila’s unoccupied hand in his. Every available eye swung his way, but he seemingly ignored them, keeping his attention on Andrea. “Now do you understand that not only do people come in different colors, everyone has feelings just like you and me?” he asked gently. “Keep that in mind the next time you run across someone that doesn’t quite look like you.”

“I will, mister.” She looked up at her mother with pride from having learned something new. “Thank you, miss, and I hope you’re not sad anymore,” she said to Sheila.

“Thanks to you, I’m not,” Sheila responded, beaming.

Andrea returned the smile just as broadly. She took her mother’s hand, and the two of them walked away.

“That went well,” Tina chimed in from the sidelines.

“Yeah, I guess it did,” Sheila agreed. “Thanks to my landlord.” She cast him a slight smile, conveying her gratitude before dropping all pretenses of humor. “I still want to go home.” It would take more than a warm and fuzzy encounter to change her mind about hanging here all day after what she’d witnessed. The horrendous sight of those damn sheep still danced vividly in her head.

“Come now, there's no need for all that. These people aren't going to hurt you,” Luca said reassuringly as he hugged her closer. The hug felt damn good, but it still wasn't enough to persuade her.

“Yeah. And we just got here. I'm not ready to go,” Richard protested in a whiny voice. “Besides, I’m due in the horse stables later. I can’t take you home.”

Sheila'd had her fill of Richard and was about to tell him so. Luca, however, beat her to the punch.

“Okay… why did you bring her here again?” he asked curiously, obviously oblivious to the couple’s brilliant plan to desensitize her to the animal kingdom.

“We just wanted to get her past this irrational fear of animals that she has,” Tina answered, even though the shrinking of her voice implied that it no longer sounded like such a good idea to her.

“Fear of animals? So you purposely brought a woman with zoophobia to one of the largest agricultural events in the region? I'm sorry. I just don't understand why anyone would bring someone like that to the Fryeburg Fair, of all places,” Luca reprimanded, not hiding his displeasure at their antics. “You're supposed to be her friends. Even I know better than to force such a thing on a city girl like her.”

“Okay, Romeo. You were doing well up to that last comment,” Sheila said, crossing her arms under her breasts.

Luca’s gaze dropped fleetingly to Sheila’s cleavage. But he appeared not to hear her as he lifted his head again and began rotating it from Tina to Richard, as though trying to discern their way of thinking. They visibly shrank from his scrutiny, unable to meet him eye to eye. A momentary feeling of compassion went out to her friends before Sheila’s common sense swiftly laid it to rest.

“Tell you what,” Luca began again after the couple remained silent. “Why don’t I just keep her with me at the stables until you’re ready to take over? Then I’ll take her home.”

“The stables!” Sheila exclaimed, the shrill of her voice causing those milling about to stop and stare.

“Don’t worry. It’ll only be for a couple of hours, and I’ll make sure to keep you away from the horses. That is, unless you want to cozy up to Chino. I bet he'd like that.” That sly crooked smile that Sheila had grown oh so familiar with was on his handsome face. He lifted his thick dark eyebrows up and down in a suggestive manner, the action bringing forth a chuckle from her.

Sheila sat silent, weighing her options and quickly concluding that she really didn't have any. “Well… sure, I guess I’ll just hang out with horse–boy here for a while.”

“Well, that settles it,” Tina said. “I’ll check in on you later, make sure you’re still doing okay, and that this isn’t Luca’s way of avenging the many tongue–lashings that you’ve so nicely gifted him over the last few months.”

They all laughed.

“And, Sheila,” Tina continued after sobering, “we're sorry. I should have thought this through a little better.”

Sheila shrugged, still smiling. “It's all good.”

***

Tina and Richard left to continue their perusal of the animal barns, while Sheila and Luca made their way toward a long row of RVs.

“Why are we going over there?” Sheila inquired, nodding toward the silver and white shelters as they approached them.

“To get you something more appropriate to wear. No one appreciates your good looks more than I, but this isn’t exactly the place for you to show them off. We need to change your attire.”

“Oh really, this isn’t appropriate?” she said jokingly, hoping that her teasing masked the overwhelming gaiety that swept over her from his compliment.

“Ayuh.”

“Stop that!” she scolded, evoking a chuckle from him.

They stepped up into a small, silver motor home where Luca quickly retrieved a pair of well–worn overalls, a blue fleece jacket, and a pair of rubber boots for her to put on. After making sure Sheila was warm enough inside the small shelter, Luca went outside, granting her privacy so that she could change. With her task completed, she opened the door and stepped from the shelter, snickering at the too–big items on her person.

“This is kinda cool. Rarely do I come across a man with clothes and feet much bigger than mine.” She stood in front of him, kicking her feet up and waving the excess material hanging over her hands back and forth like flaccid wings.

“I’d say that sucks for you,” Luca replied with a lascivious look on his face.

“Are you talking dirty to me, horse–boy?” she asked, catching the innuendo and, for once, deciding to flirt back.

“If you keep calling me ‘horse–boy’, I’m gonna start to assume you wanna ride me.” His blue eyes sparkled with mischief. What started as a smirk broadened, causing that solo dimple in his left cheek to show.

“Sorry, bud. Where I come from, a man has to earn such a privilege with a girl like me.” She purposely increased the intensity of her southern accent, thus fortifying the suggestiveness of her statement. “But who's to say I don't enjoy a good ride every now and then?” Lowering her eyes, Sheila slowly scanned him from his well–worn work boots to his gorgeous blue eyes. The intense reddening of his tan cheeks was a good indication she had succeeded in hitting her mark.

Luca's Adam's apple bobbed wildly before he began to speak. “Perhaps we should get going,” he said, his voice suddenly husky. “We don’t want to keep my four–legged friends waiting.” When he wouldn't look at her, Sheila knew she had won this round.

They walked toward the stables with Sheila carefully steering the conversation in a safe direction. She kind of felt guilty for embarrassing him. After all, he had come to her rescue and was even willing to babysit her for the rest of the day. Yes, he had spent a good part of the year rescuing her from Chino, but the actions of today instilled new faith in his level of maturity. And this new mature Luca was the bomb.

On the other hand, this newfound power she had exhilarated her. She'd never possessed the wiles to make a man blush or stun one into silence. Bringing them to their knees was easy; just rip the tape off their legs in the morning after their sleep study. But making one uncomfortable with the act of flirting? That was something else entirely. Oddly enough, this newfound weakness of his only made him more attractive.

Chapter 7

“Come on… lift it higher,” Sheila ordered breathlessly.

“I'm try–ing,” Luca grunted out. “Errrr,” he growled ferociously.

“Oh yes, that's it, that's it! Hold it riiiight there.”

“I can't. I'm not going to last much longer.” With a loud roar, Luca let his heavy leg fall to the mat. He rolled over on his back, eying his pretty tormentor accusingly. “How–the–hell…do you make–this–shit look… sooo dammn eassyy?” he stated breathlessly.

Sheila threw her head back and let out that wonderful laugh he'd come to love so much.

Love?
Slow down, bud!
he thought nervously
. Now she's got me calling myself that.

“I thought you were in great shape, Mr. Man. Was all that stuff about coaching basketball at the youth center just more of your jive–talk?” she asked, rolling her neck side to side, taunting him.

Luca's mouth went so dry his tongue felt swollen. The way she moved her head side to side like that did something to him, and for the umpteenth time that morning, he couldn't pull his eyes away from her. Ever since they had spent the day together at the fair, he found himself wanting to be around her more and more and had started purposely running into her at the pond. Serenity be damned. She kept him quite entertained with stories of her childhood and the crazy antics of her and her older brother. Touching his pop, Nathan’s, expensive liquor would have meant certain death in his household, let alone using his Cuvée Léonie cognac to make Molotov cocktails. A woman who knew her way around explosives might come in handy some time.