The Old Fashioned Way (A Homespun Romance) (6 page)

He wasn't sure he had said the words aloud, till Agnes said, "Yes."

The answer surprised Daniel.  For once Agnes had sounded as close mouthed as her husband, Hamish.  Maybe it was because another customer was at their table.  Daniel glanced at Abby.  She was discussing a book with someone.

Her husband's death must have been a terrible loss to her.  He'd felt like that after Eve's death.  Though he hadn't loved Eve, he'd missed her.  Blaming himself for her death hadn’t made things easier.  Daniel had felt burying his feelings was the only way to save himself pain.  Now he wasn't so sure.  Burying his feelings had resulted in this terrible emptiness that gnawed at him.

Abby turned to Mr. Williams and caught sight of Daniel. 

"Hi!"  Daniel liked the way her voice sounded when she was flustered.  Shy, breathless, excited.

"Hi," he returned.

"Daniel, this is Mr. Williams, a friend of mine.  Jack, this is Daniel.  I was telling you about him."

Mr. Williams turned to Daniel, and held his hand out.  "How do you do?"

Daniel shook hands, marveling at how soft the man's hand was.

"I won't be a minute," he heard Abby say.  "I have to fetch another box of books from the van."

"Let me get them," Daniel was on his feet.  The last load he's seen her carry had looked very heavy.

The stubbornness was back in her voice.  "I can get them."

Daniel wondered how long it had been since Abby Silver had allowed anyone to do anything for her.  No one made him as angry as she did.  Without a word he walked toward the van.

There was no reason for Daniel to carry the books for her.  True, the boxes were heavy, but Abby knew she was perfectly used to lifting heavy items. 

"That one," she said pointing to a box. 

"How many do you want?"

"All of them, but I can get the rest later."

"I may as well bring them now."  Daniel picked up the first box.  It was heavier than he'd expected.  He frowned as Abby reached for another.

"I said, I'll get them," he said curtly. 

Abby looked at him in surprise.  "I can...."

"Just let your independence take a back seat for a while, Abby." 

She looked around nervously.  No one was within earshot.  "I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression."

Daniel looked at her, not understanding what she was getting at.  All he understood was the mounting anger within him. 

"People might think...."  Her voice trailed away

He understood.  People might think he was interested in her, because he was carrying boxes for her.

"Older people tend to jump to conclusions...."

Daniel put the box down and looked around.  Abby was right.  A few people including Agnes were looking at them. 

"What might they think, Abby?" 

The silky tone he used seemed to increase her apprehension.  She backed away from him, came up short against the door of the van.

"Maybe they'll think we like each other.  Would that be so bad?"  Daniel placed his hands on her arms, felt her shrink.  "Maybe they'll think I followed you here from Los Angeles because I'm in love with you."  He brought his head closer, watched Abby's pupils dilate.  Her gaze fell to his mouth. 

"I don't care what anyone thinks."  His natural impatience brushed away all other thoughts.  He couldn't resist the urge to lean forward and brush her lips with his.  "Now, they'll have something real to talk about."

Abby didn't move till she saw Daniel deposit the first box of book by her table, and turn around. 

She couldn't face him just yet.  Slipping around the side of the van, she walked through the parked cars.  Stopping beside a motor home that hid her completely, she leaned against it.  A hand went up to her mouth.  Her heart was beating at double time.  His lips had barely brushed hers, so there wasn't any need to feel as if she were free falling over a cliff.

Why had Daniel kissed her?  The I-don't know-what-to-do-with-you look in his eyes told Abby her first instinct had been right. 

The sooner Daniel Hawthorn left Carbon Canyon the better.

Daniel had never met anyone who disturbed him so deeply.

Thought you knew women, Hawthorn? 

He'd thought so too.  Until now.  Until Abby Silver. 

Where other women created opportunities to touch and caress, she had a hard time being close to him.  Watching her put a hand up to brush a strand of hair off her face, he wondered if someone had taken the place of her late husband?  He shouldn't have kissed her like that.  He had to apologize, and then remember that he was here purely on business. 

Abby Silver was not his type.  She was too serious.  The kiss had been casual.  Her reaction had not.  Recalling the way she had blushed, the way her eyes had closed, he knew she took everything seriously.  Her work, her family, loving.

Abby Silver had home and hearth written all over her.  He had to steer clear of her.

Daniel hadn't taken anyone seriously since Eve.  His mouth tightened.  Since Eve, he had skimmed the surface of relationships, telling himself he wanted nothing more. 

Abby wished she knew what was going on in Daniel Hawthorn's mind.  His gaze bored into her back and she could sense his impatience.  He wasn't an easy man to deal with.

Abby ran a hand through her hair.  Rod had called her a country mouse who didn't want to change.  He had been right.  She was all the things Rod had said she was.  Plain, old-fashioned, boring.

Daniel had kissed her because she'd annoyed him.  Nothing else.  A man like him couldn't possibly have any other reason for what he'd done.  Turning to the next customer, Abby tried to concentrate on her work.

Agnes introduced Daniel to most of the people who came up to the table as a business expert, and a friend of Abby's.  After one lengthy conversation with a customer, Agnes turned to him and said, "Most old people suffer from terrible loneliness.  Having someone to talk to makes a big difference in their lives."

Daniel had noticed the way Abby spent every spare moment she had talking to Mr. Williams.  He wondered what they had in common.  He'd always found it hard to talk to his grandparents.  Even now it was hard to say anything besides a greeting to the people he met.  Agnes was different.  So was Sarah.  They didn't seem to notice his awkwardness around them.  As for the rest...Daniel felt they guessed how uncomfortable he was around them. 

In the van on the way back, Daniel turned to Abby.  "I'm sorry if I upset you."

"When are you leaving?" 

As Gran always said, there was no point in beating around the bush.  This afternoon had confirmed her worst fears.  Daniel Hawthorn's presence was detrimental to her peace of mind.

"When my work here is done."

"We don't need your help anymore."

Daniel couldn't hide his amazement.  "What about the business?"

"We don't need your help anymore," Abby repeated.

"You're so determined to get rid of me that you don't care if the bank forecloses?"

"There's nothing you can do to help us at this stage."

Daniel looked at the tree lined road whiz by.  "This is just because of what happened back at the library, isn't it?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Who says we're playing by your rules?"  Daniel demanded, his anger returning.  "Loosen up a bit, will you?  A small kiss isn't an attack on your virtue.  What are you so scared of anyway?  That I might want more?"

No one, not even Rod, had ever talked to her that way.

"You are in no danger from me," Daniel continued.  "I never mix business with pleasure.  A beautiful woman deserves as much attention as a business venture.  Careful evaluation of her needs, deciding the most effective mode of operation, figuring in advance how to maximize potential, can all be applied as effectively to a date as to a business project."

Abby stared at the road.  Daniel Hawthorn must find teasing her as amusing as kissing her.  The man was dangerous, and she wanted him out of her life.  Now.

The comparison she'd made the first day had been right.  Daniel Hawthorn was a whale, and she was a guppy.  Challenging him had been her biggest mistake.  She was out of her league, out of her depth, out of her mind. 

"Now we've got that settled, we can concentrate on the store."

Abby wondered what it was they had got settled.  She had never felt less settled in her entire life.

That night Agnes gave Sarah an account of the book sale, finishing with, "Things went very well.  Very well indeed.  Daniel is definitely interested in Abby, and Abby...well, she's determined not to be interested in Daniel Hawthorn, but she is.  I think it's a match made in Heaven."

In his favorite chair, Hamish rustled the newspaper impatiently and said, "Hmphf!"

The tickets arrived Friday morning.  Abby ripped opened the letter addressed to her.  Surprise held her silent as she read the accompanying note .

"Mrs. Soames, President of `Friends of the library', has sent two tickets to a play in the Old Millhouse Theater, for Saturday after next.  She says it's to thank Daniel and me for all our help with the book sale."

Abby looked at Gran in dismay. 

Sarah, busy arranging lavender sachets in a box on the counter, glanced at her, "What's wrong?  Can't you go?"

"It's not that."  Abby stared at the tickets by the cash register.  "If Daniel's leaving tonight, he won't be here for the show on Saturday."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that."  Sarah smiled at her granddaughter's expression.  "Didn't Daniel tell you?  He's going to spend a few more days here."

The cushion Abby was holding slipped from her hands.  He's not.  Her mind screamed the words over the pounding of her heart.

"He wanted to meet Mr. Hawkins, but Bill is away on vacation till Monday, so Daniel's decided to stay a little longer."

"I don't think we should take advantage of his good nature," Abby didn't like the way her voice sounded.  Soft, squeaky, excited.

Sarah frowned.  "We're not doing that.  Agnes and I feel he likes it here.  His life in Los Angeles sounds very lonely.  He doesn't need a lonely vacation as well.  He offered to pay for use of the guest house, but I wouldn't hear of it.  He's doing so much for us."

Abby knew she had to get away.  Running into Daniel every now and then wasn't doing anything for her peace of mind. 

"Lou asked me to house sit for her.  She's going to spend the weekend with Katy in Monterey.  The baby's due any day now."

Katy was Abby's best friend from high school.  She lived in Monterey and Abby often house sat for Lou, while she visited her daughter.  It was a valid excuse.

"Very well, Abby," Sarah said quietly. 

Abby felt uneasy under that piercing gaze.  Gran had always had a nose for lies.  "I'll help with the store both days, but I'll spend the nights at Lou's."

"Daniel said something about having a meeting soon.  He's going to tell us what we can do to save the store."  Picking up the basket that had held the sachets, Sarah patted her bun.  "So, you see he might be here for the play after all."

Abby didn't want to go to a show with Daniel Hawthorn.  She didn't even want to tell him about the tickets.  Since the book sale she had taken care to avoid him. 

"Would you like to go instead of me?" she asked her grandmother.  "I have things to do that night."

"That's our Bingo night."

Abby sighed.  The trio organized Bingo every other Saturday at the local high school to raise money for the library.

"I don't know what you could possibly have to do that night," Sarah stated firmly.  "All you've done on Saturday nights for the last three years is wash your hair and watch an old movie.  It will do you good to get out for a change."

Daniel walked softly out of the community room, careful to close the door into the office very gently.  Taking a sip of the coffee he'd gone into the community room for, he wondered about Abby Silver's social life.  Surely someone as warm and good looking as Abby would have a boyfriend.  Then again, maybe she hadn't got over her husband's death yet. 

She hadn't sounded happy about the fact he'd be staying on, but that was something he'd expected. 

Pulling the ledger he was examining towards him, Daniel tried to concentrate on his final summing up.

Abby looked at the tickets in her hand in dismay.  It would have been wiser not to mention them, to pretend they had never reached her.  Now that Gran knew about them she would definitely bring the matter up in front of Daniel.  Abby couldn't lie and say she had misplaced them.  This left her with only one option.  To mention them to Daniel before Gran did, and make sure he didn't want to go.  She also had to call Lou and ask her if she could spend the weekend with her.

The headache and chills came on very suddenly.  One minute Daniel was deciding he'd finished for the day, the next he was wondering what was wrong.  The dull throbbing at the back of his head had intensified and he felt strange.