No Boundaries (8 page)

The rapid tapping on the front door was met with a deep moan from Zeek, who shot to her feet and lumbered through the house to inspect the potential intruder. Gwen laughed. One of the reasons she had chosen Zeek was her breed didn’t usually bark at intruders, instead preferring to sneak up on their prey. It made for a much quieter existence not to have her barking her head off at every sound. Gwen dropped her paint roller into the pan and wiped her hands across her faded jeans. The wood floors were cool beneath her bare feet and the smooth finish made her smile. Refinishing the floors had been a huge undertaking, but she couldn’t have been happier with the results. As she made her way across the foyer, Gwen glanced toward the door to see who Zeek was so eager to investigate. Her tail was wagging expectantly. An unusual occurrence when someone was at the door.

A pulse of excitement jolted her as she recognized the short dark hair and sun-kissed skin. She wasn’t expecting visitors, but she was pleased to see Andi waiting anxiously by the door. Gwen’s breath caught at the sight of Andi gazing off into the yard looking thoughtful. Gwen felt a thrill of excitement grow in her belly as she took in Andi’s long lean figure and her pensive expression. It had been three days since she had seen Andi at the diner and she wondered what had brought her by. She had convinced herself Andi had only said she would come by because she hadn’t wanted to say no after being put on the spot in front of everyone at the diner.

Andi turned to leave just as Gwen turned the latch.

“Hey,” Gwen said as she swung the door open.

“Hi. I’m sorry to stop in without notice, but I still don’t have a number for you, and I wanted to check in and see how you’re doing. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all, come on in. I’m just doing some painting today. I’m glad you stopped by.”

As Andi stepped inside, Zeek brushed past Gwen and pushed her giant head into Andi’s hand.

Gwen laughed. Trust Zeek to break up any awkwardness. “Looks like I’m not the only one glad to see you.”

Andi blushed, and Gwen couldn’t help but wonder if Andi was pleased by the comment. Could Andi feel more than she was letting on, or was she embarrassed by the overture?

Andi cleared her throat, leaned down and scratched Zeek’s head, and rubbed her floppy ears.

“Hey there, Zeek. It’s good to see you too, sweetie.” She glanced up at Gwen, melting her with a big smile. “I could get used to a greeting like this. The most I get from Goliath is a nudge toward the food bowl.”

Gwen watched the exchange and felt the heat rise in her face as she imagined Andi’s long lean fingers brushing through her hair and across her face, in a totally different greeting. She turned and made her way back through the living room that was still littered with drop cloths and paint cans. She was surprised by how happy she was to see Andi.

“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked as she led the way to the kitchen. She thought she could feel Andi’s eyes on her as she went, and she smiled to herself. She found herself taking shallow breaths, not wanting to do anything to ruin the moment.

“Sure, that would be nice,” Andi responded and followed her to the kitchen. Andi looked around and gestured to the new countertops and new tile on the floor. “The renovations seem to be going well. You’ve gotten a lot done in the last week—the house is beginning to feel loved again.”

“Thanks. The countertops were put in yesterday and the appliances arrived this morning. Good thing too, I was getting tired of living out of a cooler.”

Gwen strode over to the new refrigerator and opened the door. She’d felt like a storm was brewing inside her from the moment she had recognized Andi at her door, and she tried to hide the subtle tremor in her hand as she reached inside and pulled out two diet sodas.

“So, what brings you by?” Gwen wanted to believe Andi simply wanted to see her, but Andi’s past reluctance made her doubt that.

“Oh, I put some thought into your landscaping project and brought by some drawings. I thought we could have a look and I could explain my ideas.”

Andi pulled a folder from her bag and leafed through the contents.

“Wow, that’s great. I really can’t thank you enough for doing this.” Gwen was grateful despite the underlying disappointment that Andi wasn’t here just to see her.

Andi smiled faintly. “Well, don’t get too ahead of yourself, you haven’t even seen the drawings yet. You may hate them.”

“I doubt that. Come on then, let’s see them,” Gwen said, excitedly rubbing her palms together.

Andi laughed and pulled the drawings out of a large folder.

“Oh wow.” Gwen looked up at Andi in amazement. “How did you do all this?”

“It’s nothing. Do you really like them?”

Gwen watched a blush rise in Andi’s cheeks and heard a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “Like them? I love them. I hadn’t imagined this was possible. Will it be difficult to do? And how will I maintain it?”

Andi laughed again. “Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything, and it’ll be easier than you think to keep up with.”

“If you say so.”

Andi picked up a design and began pointing out the different uses of the natural elevation of the yard and the flow of the stone to incorporate many plants that were indigenous to the area and grew well in shallow, rocky soil. “This one is my favorite.”

Gwen marveled at the way Andi read the landscape. She seemed so connected to the plants that she wondered how Andi had learned all this. Gwen worked with trees and issues surrounding erosion and water pollution and invasive insects and disease, but this was way outside her area of expertise. She was amazed at the way Andi had read the landscape and seemed to intuitively know what she’d like in her yard. She found herself staring at Andi, mesmerized by the layers of complexity she continued to discover. And the more she learned about Andi, the more she wanted to know.

“You really did an amazing job with all this. Have you ever thought of starting another business?”

“Thanks,” Andi said, her blush deepening. “I thought about it, but I seem to have my hands full with the shop for now, and gardening is just something I do for fun.”

“Well, I think you could really make a killing just drawing up the plans. You’re really good. What do I owe you for doing this for me?”

“Oh, I couldn’t charge you. Let’s just call it a housewarming gift.”

Gwen frowned. “I can’t let you do that. You put too much into this. I need to give you something.”

Andi watched the muscles in Gwen’s arm flex as she pushed herself out of her chair. She felt a tightening in her middle, her body responding involuntarily to the movement and strength of Gwen’s body. She imagined Gwen’s arms pressed beside her head as Gwen hovered over her. Hurriedly, she looked away, trying to hide the flush of color in her cheeks as the heat surged to her face.

As soon as Gwen had opened the front door, Andi had been stunned by the sight of her in a tight-fitting sleeveless ribbed T-shirt, faded jeans, and bare feet. Now she took notice of the paint smudges that dappled Gwen’s T-shirt, and it looked like her jeans had been the first line of cleanup, as they bore the unmistakable prints of Gwen’s fingers brushed haphazardly across the worn fabric. She tensed as she ran her eyes appraisingly across the firm muscles of Gwen’s arms and fought the urge to reach out and run her fingers along the corded muscle. She tried to avert her eyes when she found she was looking at the soft swell of Gwen’s breasts. The T-shirt left nothing to the imagination. Andi felt the urge to touch and barely restrained herself. She glanced up and thought she caught a faint smile flicker across Gwen’s face. She hoped she hadn’t been discovered.

Andi tossed her bag over her shoulder. “I have to get going. Good luck with the rest of the work.”

Gwen caught Andi’s arm as she started to brush past. “Wait, don’t go yet.”

Andi froze as Gwen’s hand gently gripped her arm, and another tremor ran through her. At the jolt, Andi jumped and pulled away.

Gwen took a step back, never letting her eyes leave Andi’s.

“I need to go,” Andi gasped almost painfully. A flashback to the past, but more. She’d known if she didn’t pull away, she might not be able to keep from touching Gwen in a way that would leave no doubt of her desire. And that could never happen.

Gwen raised her hands in the universal I-won’t-touch gesture. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wanted to do something to thank you. I don’t know how I can repay you for this.” She took a step closer to Andi, who immediately stepped back.

“Andi, are you okay?”

The look on Gwen’s face was so gentle, so tender, it felt like a caress. In that moment, Andi wanted to fling her arms around Gwen, press her face against her chest and feel her strong arms wrap around her. But she would not be rescued, not now, not ever, and she knew that if she allowed herself to need that comfort from Gwen, she would be lost. In the deepest recesses of her soul, she wanted someone to rescue her, someone to love her, but that could never happen. It was too much to ask.

“I’m fine. I just need to go. I’ll be late.” Andi ducked her head and walked swiftly down the hall to the door. “I’ll let you decide what to do about the plans. I’ll be at the shop if you need anything else.” Her heart broke at the look of concern she saw on Gwen’s face. She didn’t want to once again make Gwen feel she had done something wrong. But she couldn’t tell her the truth either, that she was running because she wanted her. She had to get out of there before she did something she would regret.

She heard Gwen call out her thanks, again, as she almost ran out of the house. Then there was the knock of the screen door closing behind her and fresh warm air greeting her. Andi didn’t stop until she was at the shop, where she went straight to her office and closed the door.

Her legs shook and her palms were sweating. Every inch of her body thrummed with desire. God, what was happening to her?

*

Gwen stood shocked by Andi’s reaction, not sure what she should do next. She was confused by Andi’s sudden departure and the look of fear she’d seen in her eyes. One moment they had been having a perfectly wonderful conversation, and the next Andi looked as if Gwen were wielding an ax at her head. No matter how much Gwen thought about the interaction, she couldn’t figure out what had happened to upset Andi.

She looked at the plans Andi had drawn up for her garden. She could see how much time and care Andi had put into the project. What could have made her bolt like that? She was very hard to figure out. One minute she was kind and friendly and warm, and then suddenly she would become evasive and distant. No. It wasn’t just distance she saw in Andi, it was all-out fear. But what could Andi be so afraid of? The realization washed over Gwen like a chill breeze.

Gwen rubbed her hand across her face and let out a sigh. Well, something was up, and maybe this was just a sign that Andi was not the kind of woman she needed to be getting mixed up with. But for some reason she couldn’t leave it alone. She wanted to know what had caused the pain she had seen in Andi’s eyes. Did Andi think so little of her that she was afraid to even be close to her?

She looked back to the plans lying on the table. No, if Andi thought of her that way, she wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble for her. What then? What could have elicited such fear? To her surprise, she felt an overwhelming urge to protect Andi—to show her she was safe with her.

*

Gwen walked into the pet-supply store at ten minutes till closing, with a very excited Zeek in tow. She had been over this in her mind a hundred times and had finally decided she had to clear the air with Andi. At the very least, she needed to pay her for the plans she had drawn up for the garden. It was getting late, and she had deliberately waited so that she wouldn’t have interruptions from other patrons. When the bell rang above the door, Andi’s cool voice called from the back office.

“I’ll be right out.”

Gwen didn’t answer but stood waiting by the counter. Her palms were sweating and her heart was pounding in her chest. She caught her breath when Andi appeared moments later.

“Oh…hello.” Andi rounded the corner and stopped abruptly when she saw Gwen standing there.

“Hi.” Gwen smiled. She knew she was about to go way out on a limb and risk pushing Andi even further away, but she just couldn’t leave this alone. She needed to know Andi was okay and she needed answers. This tension between them was driving her crazy.

“What can I help you with?”

“I wanted to see if you were okay. I’m afraid I did something to upset you, and I didn’t mean to.” Gwen braced herself emotionally for Andi’s answer. She didn’t know Andi’s story, but something was wrong and Gwen wanted to know. She needed to know it wasn’t her.

“No, it isn’t that. I just…I just realized I had forgotten an appointment and needed to go, that’s all.”

Gwen was certain Andi was lying. She wasn’t really surprised, just disappointed. She decided not to push for the direct answers. Instead she would try to disarm Andi with good will. Perhaps if she didn’t push, Andi would be less inclined to shut down. “Good. Then you won’t mind taking this.” Gwen produced a small envelope and handed it to Andi.

Andi took the envelope and looked inside. She pulled out two tickets.

“Umm. What’s this?”

Gwen couldn’t seem to stand still. Nerves. “Tickets—to the local performing arts center for their upcoming production of
The Little Prince
. I thought I’d ask you to go to the play with me, as a thank-you for the garden plans you made. I figured since you wouldn’t let me pay you, this would be a good way for both of us to benefit.”

Andi looked thoughtful as she studied the tickets for a moment. “Thanks. This is very thoughtful of you, but I can’t accept.” Andi handed the envelope back to Gwen without meeting her eyes.

Gwen was determined not to give up so easily. “Come on, Andi. It’s just a play. I kind of hoped it could be a date.” There was the big question and she totally expected Andi to turn her down flat.