More Than a Touch (Snowberry Creek #2) (21 page)

Finally, she forced herself to concentrate on what to order, knowing the waiter would be back soon. She’d tell him what she wanted. He’d bring it. They’d all eat, and then they’d all go their separate ways. Step by step, she would get through this. Trying to sound more normal than she felt, she announced to no one in particular, “The halibut looks good.”

There, one item off her list and closer to escaping this hyperawareness of the man sitting next to her.

•   •   •

Zoe clearly wasn’t happy about their seating arrangement, but Leif hadn’t lied. Well, not exactly. If she’d scooted to the middle of the booth, he would’ve followed right after her and not said a word about his leg. They’d agreed to stay away from each other, but it wasn’t as if he’d planned this. Did she think he was any happier about this situation than she was? For her sake, he hoped that none of the others picked up on the thick layer of tension thrumming between the two of them. If Callie suspected, she hid it well.

Brandi had blindsided all of them with her suggestion that they share a table. At least right now most of her focus was on Austin. The poor guy probably didn’t know what had hit him. Spiky white hair tipped in green wasn’t Leif’s taste as far as hair colors went, but he had to guess Austin had a different opinion on the subject since the kid kept sneaking peeks at Brandi and smiling. Good for him.

Zoe had finally laid her menu down. He leaned in closer than necessary to ask, “Want to split an appetizer? Callie says the crab cakes are great.”

She swallowed hard and nodded. “Sure, why not?”

While everyone else was still studying the menus, he squeezed her hand and said, “I’m sorry. I know this is awkward, but we can handle it.”

His mood improved considerably when she squeezed his hand in return. “Yeah, we can. Just wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon.”

Despite their agreement that right now he needed her medical expertise more than he needed her as a romantic partner, that didn’t mean he didn’t want more of what they’d shared last night. It took a helluva lot of effort just to look away from her. When he did, Callie was watching them, her expression worried as her gaze bounced back and forth between him and Zoe. So much for nobody noticing. When she realized he was aware of her scrutiny, she arched an eyebrow as if asking if he was all right.

He shrugged his shoulders and forced himself to relax against the back of the booth. In a town the size of Snowberry Creek, he and Zoe were bound to run into each other sooner or later. At least this way, they had the cushion of the others to help smooth over the initial awkwardness.

“Okay, so what’s everyone having? Zoe and I are going to split an order of crab cakes, but I’d be glad to order more if anyone else is interested.” On impulse, he announced, “Dinner’s my treat, so order whatever you want.”

•   •   •

As the food courses came and went, conversation became easier. Austin and Brandi discovered they knew some of the same people. Callie and Zoe talked about getting together at Something’s Brewing. And then Austin got into a good-natured argument with all three women over the chances of the Seahawks to go all the way. Leif had no particular attachment to any of the local teams, but he added his own opinion to the mix just because.

When the waiter cleared away the last of the dinner plates, he asked about dessert. Predictably, all three women hemmed and hawed over whether they could risk the calories. Leif looked at Austin and rolled his eyes.

“I don’t know about you, Austin, but I’m not leaving until I’ve had a huge helping of strawberry shortcake.”

The kid’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”

“We’ll have two orders of the shortcake.” Then Leif gave the women a hard look before adding, “And to be clear about it, we won’t be sharing. Order your own or go without.”

Callie looked at Brandi and then Zoe. “Either of you want to split an order?”

Brandi immediately accepted the offer. “I’d love to.”

Zoe sighed dramatically. “Fine, I’ll have the bread pudding, even if I’ll hate myself in the morning.”

The idea of two different desserts brought back memories of the night he and Zoe first met. A lot had happened since then, but he couldn’t resist reminding her of when they’d shared dessert. When the waiter was gone, Leif gave her a nudge with his shoulder. “I love bread pudding, too. Want to go halvsies on both?”

Zoe’s mouth quirked up in a teasing smile. “But with one condition. This time, the last bites are mine.”

He would’ve agreed to almost anything to see the shadows in her eyes disappear for even a few minutes. “It’s a deal.”

The waiter came back all too soon with their orders. It wouldn’t be long before they ran out of excuses to linger in the restaurant. He and Zoe took turns taking bites from each other’s plate, their time together disappearing along with the strawberry shortcake and bread pudding. When the bill came, Leif handed over his credit card despite the protests from both Callie and Zoe that they would pay their fair share.

He smiled at the waiter. “Ignore them.”

After signing off on the bill, Leif twisted in the seat so that he could push up out of the booth without putting all his weight on his sore leg. He was uncomfortably aware of Zoe watching his every move, but he managed to stand up and walk without a problem. Out in the parking lot, Austin walked Brandi over to her car while Callie stopped to talk to Zoe. “I’ll give you a call about meeting Bridey at her coffee shop. Maybe I can get Melanie Wolfe to join us while she’s town to help with her father’s estate.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

After the two women exchanged a quick hug, Callie walked away, leaving Leif alone with Zoe. He tugged her around the corner and out of sight of the others. There should be something he could say, but damned if he could think of a single thing that made sense. He settled for, “I guess I’ll see you around.”

She flinched as if his words hurt her, but what did she expect? They’d both agreed that seeing each other outside of her office was a bad idea. “My next appointment is two weeks out.”

Zoe nodded. “I know.”

And speaking of bad ideas, sometimes you just had to throw the dice and live with the consequences. He gathered her into his arms and kissed her quickly, keeping it short and sweet. As they broke apart, caught between hunger and regret, he brushed a lock of hair back from her face. “Take care, Zoe.”

“You, too, Leif.”

As she walked away, he had to wonder how a simple kiss could taste so damn sad.

C
hapter 22

A
fter a surprisingly good night’s sleep, Leif spent most of the morning lounging on the couch and reading the Sunday paper. After an early lunch, his downtime came to an end. He and Mitch had both gotten a call from the mayor’s office inviting them to be part of a work crew assigned to spruce up an elderly woman’s yard. It didn’t promise to be much fun, but it was better than hanging around the house and moping over Zoe.

He had been spending more time out of his boot lately, but he’d need it to get through the afternoon. After buckling it on, he grabbed his ball cap and sunglasses and headed outside to wait for Mitch. Austin was hanging out with Mooch on the front porch.

“I’ll be back for dinner. I put out steaks to thaw, and the makings for a salad are in the fridge. I’ll call you before I head back so you can get the coals started.”

He half expected the kid to protest Leif’s assumption that he would wait around for a call from him. But to his surprise Austin just said, “Okay.”

When the roar of an engine signaled Mitch’s arrival, Leif started down the steps. “Thanks for taking care of Mooch for me. I hate leaving him locked in the house all day.”

“No problem. It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

Okay, it was nice to know the kid hadn’t lost
all
of his attitude. Leif gave him back a little of his own. “Well, if you’re that bored, you could always strip more of the wallpaper on the third floor. I just thought you might like an afternoon off.”

Austin followed Leif down to the driveway. “Maybe Mooch and I will take a walk into town and grab some ice cream.” He shuffled his feet and stared at the ground. “You know, with Brandi.”

Good for him. “Have fun. Tell her hi for me.”

Mitch pulled up in his convertible with the top down. He didn’t look happy. “You could have warned me that your driveway was one gigantic rut!”

“Sorry,” Leif said, even if he wasn’t. “I thought I’d drive, assuming you wouldn’t want a pile of dirty yard tools in the backseat of your car.”

“Thanks for that.”

“And you’re welcome to stay for dinner when we get back. We’re going to grill steaks. My man Austin here will have the grill all heated up and the beer chilled.”

Mitch waved at the kid as the two of them climbed into the cab of the truck. “Sounds like a deal. Let’s go pull these weeds I’ve been hearing so much about so we can move on to the good stuff.”

It didn’t take long to find the house where they were going to be working. He and Mitch grabbed the tools out of the truck and joined the cluster of people gathered in the front yard. It was a relief to see Gage was there. As soon as the police chief spotted them, he smiled and waved them over to where he was standing with a woman Leif hadn’t seen before.

“Glad you could make it.” Turning to his companion, he said, “Mayor McKay, you probably know Mitch Calder, and this is Leif Brevik. He’s here in Snowberry Creek helping Callie Redding restore the old Lang place.”

The mayor smiled at each of them in turn. “Nice to meet you, Leif. And Mitch, it’s been a while. I’d love for you to meet my son if you have the time.”

Mitch shook her hand. “Coach asked me to stop by and help out at practice this next week. I’ve sure heard great things about your son and how well the team is doing this year.”

His comments clearly pleased her. “I’ll tell Colby you’ll be by. He’ll be excited.”

She looked around. “Looks like everyone is here, so we should get started.”

Within minutes, the mayor had everyone organized and working. Leif and Mitch were assigned to prune a row of bushes, a job Leif could do without a lot of bending or lifting. He dropped a handful of cuttings into the five-gallon bucket they’d been given. “That woman would’ve made a great drill sergeant.”

Mitch laughed. “Yeah, although I was thinking offensive line coach.”

About thirty minutes in, a woman with white hair and a sweet smile slowly made her way across the yard to where they stood. She had a pair of heavily loaded plastic bags tied to the front of her walker.

“You boys are so nice to be here helping today. You looked like you could use a cold drink.” As she held out a bottle of water to each of them, she stared hard at Leif. “I know Mitch here. I had him in my English class back when I was teaching, but I don’t think you and I have met. I’m Maggie Shaw.”

“No, ma’am, we haven’t. I’ve only been in Snowberry Creek for a few weeks. I’m staying at Spence Lang’s house.” Leif twisted the top off his bottle. “Thank you for this.”

“I heard about Spence. He was always a bit wild, but a good boy at heart. I always enjoyed having him in my class.” She glanced down at Leif’s left leg. “I’m guessing you got that while serving with him.”

It still felt odd to meet all these people who’d known Spence as a kid. “Yeah, I did. We were deployed three times together.”

“Thank you for your service to our country, Leif. I bet your folks are proud of you.” She lifted up the second bag. “I may not be as good at gardening as I used to be, but there’s nothing wrong with my ability to bake. Help yourself.”

Leif peeked into the bag and grinned. “Brownies! My favorite.”

She beamed with pleasure. “Take two, then. I have plenty more in the house.”

Mitch shouldered him aside and cranked up his grin a notch. “Ms. Shaw, it’s a pleasure to see you again. You’re looking good.”

She rolled her faded blue eyes. “Mitch, I didn’t fall for your charm back then, and it won’t work now. However, since you’re being kind enough to help me out, you can have two as well.”

Mitch laughed and leaned in close enough to kiss the elderly woman on the cheek. “You always were my favorite teacher, maybe because you didn’t put up with any of my sh— uh, my antics.”

Maggie chuckled. “Good catch, Mitch. Well, I’d better keep moving. Let me know if you need anything else, gentlemen.”

Leif went back to pruning but kept an eye on her progress as she moved from one volunteer to the next. Mitch glanced in her direction. “She’s something, isn’t she? I was serious about what I said. No one got away with anything in her class, but she was fair and really taught us a lot. Thanks to her, I still cringe when I hear someone confuse ‘less’ and ‘fewer’ when they’re talking.”

He smiled and went back to work. “If we had to spend our afternoon sweating in the sun, I’m glad it’s to help her out.”

Leif agreed. Gage had said they only had to show up once to make up for the night they’d gotten into that bar fight, but it was nice to be doing something worthwhile. Part of the reason he’d joined the army was his need to serve. Trimming bushes might not be the same as patrolling the streets of Afghanistan, but it was still satisfying.

Mitch picked up their full bucket. “I’ll go dump this, but you keep working. If we don’t look like we’re doing our fair share, Ms. Shaw won’t come by with another bag of those brownies you like so much.”

“Yeah, bite me, Calder.”

But just in case Mitch was right, Leif kicked it into high gear.

•   •   •

It was a long five hours, but the volunteer crew had made quite a difference in the yard. Maggie made a point of thanking everyone and even hugged Mitch when she got to him. She moved on to the mayor.

“Rosalyn, thank you again for setting this up. I can’t believe how nice everything looks out here, and they even finished all the work inside, too. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help next time you set up a work party like this.”

“I will, Ms. Shaw. I’m just glad we could help.”

Leif nodded at both women as he carried his tools back to the truck. Mitch had stopped to talk to the father of an old friend, so Leif leaned against the side of the truck and waited. The rest of the volunteers waved as they drove away, even calling him by name. His list of connections here in Snowberry Creek was growing by leaps and bounds.

He’d just turned to wave back at Mr. Reed when he realized Maggie was making her way to where he stood. He stepped forward to save her having to come that far. “Was there something you needed, Ms. Shaw?”

She shook her head and held out a bag. “I bundled up a few more of the brownies for you, Leif. “

He accepted the gift with a smile. “I’d say you shouldn’t have, but I try not to lie.”

She laughed. “Enjoy those and stop by anytime. I’d love to make my special chicken potpie for you sometime.”

“I’d enjoy that, although I don’t know how long I’ll be here in Snowberry Creek. The army might have plans for me.”

“Well, if you do get a chance, just give me a call. I put my number in the bag. If you don’t, stay safe, soldier.”

That was easier said than done, but he settled for saying, “I’ll do my best, ma’am.”

“ And when it comes time to put down some roots, you won’t find a better place to live than right here in Snowberry Creek.”

“You know, I think you might just be right about that.”

“Good. Now go enjoy the rest of your day. I’m sure you have better things to do with your time than standing around gabbing with me.”

Leif winked at her. “That’s not true. There’s nothing better than hanging around with an attractive, intelligent woman.”

She laughed. “You’re as bad as that rascal Mitch.”

The football player had just walked up beside her. “Did I hear my name being bandied about?”

Maggie turned her smile in his direction. “Yes, you did. It was nice to see you, Mitch. I’ve been following your career. Even had you on my fantasy team. Now take your friend here and go do something fun.”

“Will do. And you take care, Ms. Shaw.”

“I always do, Mitch. I always do.”

Leif and Mitch got into the truck, but he waited until she safely reached her front door before starting the engine. “Nice lady, but I’m ready for those steaks.”

He flipped open his phone and hit Austin’s number on speed dial. “Hey, kid, we’re on the way. Get those coals burning because we’re coming home hungry.”

•   •   •

Zoe traced the name on the patient file for her next appointment with her fingertip: Leif Brevik. Her heart lurched in her chest, aching to see him and hating the thought of it in equal measure.

It had been a long two weeks. Except for that chance meeting at the restaurant, they hadn’t spoken since That Night. For her, the words were even capitalized in her mind because those precious few hours with Leif in her bed carried so much weight that the words should as well.

What about Leif? Had he emerged unchanged by the experience? It sure appeared so. The few times she’d dared to check on him as he and Mitch Calder had worked out under Isaac’s careful eye, Leif had been laughing and joking around with the other two men. If he’d been aware of her watching him, he’d given no sign of it.

Any second now Brandi would announce his arrival. That had her up and moving toward the door, stopping to check her appearance in the small mirror on the wall. The best she could say was that she looked neat and professional. In other words, plain. Maybe she should’ve left her hair down. When her hand strayed toward the clip, she jerked it back down to her side. This was ridiculous.

Leif didn’t care about how she wore her hair. Her looks didn’t matter to him now; only her training and skills did. She ran her hands across her hair, making sure it was all tidy. Good enough.

“A bit of lipstick would give you some color. I could loan you mine if you left yours at home.”

Great. Brandi had caught her primping. Zoe flinched and turned her back on the woman in the mirror. “No thanks, Brandi. I’m pretty sure black lipstick isn’t my color.”

Her assistant laughed. “True enough, but I happen to have this other one with me.”

She tossed the tube toward Zoe, giving her no choice but to catch it. Not that she was interested in putting any on. Still, her curiosity demanded she at least check out the color. One look and the battle was lost. It was the perfect shade for Zoe’s coloring, not to mention how well it went with the blouse she had on.

She gave Brandi a suspicious look. “You went out at lunch and bought this for me, didn’t you?”

Brandi didn’t bother to deny it. Instead, she shot Zoe an impish grin. “It’s no biggie. They were having a two-for-one sale.” She giggled. “You should have seen the look on the lady’s face when I bought that one and then a tube of green for myself. I told her I had multiple personality disorder and my other half was boring and conservative.”

Feeling vaguely insulted, Zoe was tempted to lob the lipstick back at her younger friend. On the other hand, insulting or not, there was a grain of truth in Brandi’s assessment. Other than those few fleeting moments with Leif, Zoe’s life
was
boring and had been for way too long. Outside of work and household chores, there wasn’t much else in it.

She turned back to the mirror and put the lipstick to use. Well, what do you know? The little bit of color did do wonders for her looks and her mood. “There. Are you happy?”

“Happi
er
, but that lipstick is just a start. For sure your blouse is a definite improvement over your usual office attire. Progress is being made, but we have a long way to go, lady.”

Brandi stepped out of the room and pointed down the hall with a great flourish. “Next up, I suggest you try out that lipstick on the handsome guy down the hall in room three. Go get him, tiger.”