CHAPTER 12

	Somewhere in the distance Sandy could hear bells.  She sighed and rolled over
in bed, snuggling against Ty, her arm across his chest.  The scent of him brought a
smile to her face as she lay dreamily thinking back over their earlier lovemaking.  They
had fallen asleep in each others arms afterwards and now she sighed as she lay there
half awake beside him.  The bells rang again, followed by the sound of a voice calling
her name, and Sandy’s eyes shot open.
	“Mikki!” she gasped, tossing the blankets off.  She shook Ty then jumped out of
bed, grabbing her clothes from the floor.  “Ty, wake up!  My sister is here!”
	Ty groaned and rolled onto his back, resting with his arm across his forehead. 
“Were we expecting her?”
	“No!  Sandy exclaimed, glancing at her watch.  It was two o’clock in the afternoon
and she felt like a schoolgirl who had just been caught.  She shot a pleading glance
toward the man in her bed.  “Ty, please. Get up and get dressed!  She can’t find us
here.”
	Ty sat up and reached for his jeans. “Don’t worry Sandy, I’ll take care of it.  You
just go let her in.”   Sandy raced out of the room and ran down the stairs to the door,
reaching it just as the doorbell rang again.  She paused to catch her breath, then
opened the door.
	“Sandy?” Mikki said, looking at her questioningly. “Are you OK? You’re all out of
breath.”
	Sandy took a deep breath and smiled at her little sister as she pulled her in to
give her a big hug.  “I ran for the door.  I was in the basement going through boxes and
didn’t hear you right away.  What are you doing here? This is a surprise.”
	Mikki shrugged and grinned.  “I was bored so I decided to take a drive and visit
my big sister for the weekend.” 
	“Oh!” Sandy said, her mind reeling as she quickly went over sleeping
arrangements.  “Oh, sure.  I’m so glad to see you!”
	Mikki turned slightly towards the door and pointed over her shoulder. “By the
way, what’s with the motorcycle in the driveway?”
	“Oh that,” Sandy said, a little hastily.  “That’s Ty’s”
	“Ty?” Mikki raised her eyebrow and craned her neck to look behind her sister into
the room,  “Who is Ty?”
	“Handyman,”  Sandy said with a bright smile. “Didn’t you notice the porch?”
	“Yeah,” Mikki nodded. “I did notice a big change out there. I thought you had
been busy.”
	“Oh, not me! Ty did that.”
	Mikki raised her brow again.  “Right. The handyman,” she nodded, and looked at
her sister.  “Well, where is this Handyman Ty?”
	“Oh, he’s...” Sandy paused, not quite sure what to say, but just at that moment
she heard the sound of a ladder being dragged across the floor upstairs.  “It sounds like
he’s upstairs.   I wasn’t sure where he had got to while I was in the basement.  Shall we
go see what he is up to?”
	“Oh yes, why don’t we.”  Mikki smiled, and followed her sister up the stairs, her
curiosity piqued, wondering just what kind of handyman rode a bike like the one parked
in Sandy’s driveway.  Her question was answered when they entered the middle
bedroom, where a dark haired, muscular man was rolling paint on the ceiling.
	“There was a lot of water damage in these bedrooms on this side of the house
before we fixed the roof,” Sandy was saying.  “We had a big work crew one weekend
and they completed the whole roof in just two days. Once Ty is finished in here, no one
will ever know there was a leak.”
	Ty continued to paint, concentrating on his work, while the women talked.  It
wasn’t until he needed to apply more paint to his roller that he paused to talk to them. 
	“The plaster was dry in here so I wanted to get at least one coat of paint on this
room today, and maybe even manage to get one of the other two rooms started.  Oh,
and I fixed that problem with the toilet by the way.”
	“Oh good!” Sandy smiled at him, noticing he had changed from the jeans he had
taken from her room, into a dirty, work worn pair that must have been in his bedroom. It
seemed he thought of everything.  She found herself wondering if he had honed the skill
of covering his tracks at the same time as he had practiced sneaking into the house in
the middle of the night when he was a teenager.  She remembered that he had told her
he had driven his mother crazy when he’d been younger.
	“Ty McKinley,” he was saying, offering his hand to Mikki, and Sandy blushed.
	“I’m sorry.  This is my sister, Mikki.  She came to surprise me for the weekend.”
She shot a glance toward Ty, but he merely nodded as if casually acknowledging the
introduction.
	“Mikki,” he said, nodding and flashing her a killer smile.  “Nice to meet you.  I
hope paint fumes don’t bother you if you’re planning to stay the night.”  Then he set
down his roller and went to open the window, and Mikki looked at her sister with a raised
brow.  Sandy pretended to ignore it.
	“So what do you want to do for the rest of the afternoon?” she quizzed her sister,
turning to lead her out of the room.  “I can sort those boxes in the basement any time. 
How ‘bout we hit the flea market?”
	Mikki shrugged, glancing back into the room as Ty picked up his roller and
returned to work, paying no more attention to them.  “Sure, why not,” then she glanced
at her sister.  “I’m not intruding or anything am I?  I mean, did Ty say there are two other
rooms  that need painting too?  If you have no room for me...”
	“Nonsense!  Of course there is room for you.  Ty is using the guest room while
he is in town, but I have a double bed — it will be just like old times.”
	Mikki smiled. “Great then, let’s hit the market.”
	That afternoon they wandered through the aisles of the Silverside Flea Market,
which drew visitors from miles around, and talked and talked.  Mikki had just  bought
herself some books when they rounded the end of one table and Sandy caught sight of
Serena.  Seconds later, the other woman saw her.
	“Sandy, hi!” Serena waved animatedly, and waddled over to join them.  
	“How’s the baby liking the place?” Sandy asked, once she had introduced her
friend to Mikki.   Serena wrinkled up her nose.  
	“I don’t think it likes it too much.”  Serena placed her hands on her back and
arched.  “My back is killing me and my feet — look at them!” The women all looked down
at Serena’s feet, which were quite swollen, and Sandy winced. “Bob will kill me when he
hears I came over here, but I wanted to look for some baby things. Oh, look what I
found!”	Serena opened her tote bag and pulled out a beautiful old baby quilt to show
them. “Have you ever seen anything like it?”  Serena continued to talk, falling into step
beside them, and joined them for lunch at the canteen before she bade them farewell
and went home for a nap.
	When they finally left the market themselves and headed back to Sandy’s, Ty’s
bike was gone when they got there.  The two girls made themselves dinner, then settled
in to the living room to watch a movie they had picked up on their way home.
	When Ty finally returned later that evening, he offered a casual greeting and
announced he was retiring for the night.  Mikki watched the exchange with interest, then
cornered her sister as soon as he was out of sight.
	“Doesn’t it feel a little strange, having him staying in the house?”
	Sandy shrugged.  “No, not really.  He was willing to work for less if he could get
room and board, so it works out for both of us.  He does excellent work.”
	“I’m sure he does,” Mikki acknowledged.  “But, what do you know about this
guy?”
	“I know he’s a good worker,” Sandy said flatly.
	“Yeah, but...” Mikki started.
	“Mikki, you’re acting like the big sister,” she winked at her.  “Don’t worry about
me, everything is fine.  I had really wanted to fix this place up myself but I realized I just
wasn’t going to be able to do it.  Offering room and board really reduced the cost for
me.”
	Mikki chuckled.  “I’ve got to hand it to you, Sandy, you’ve really pulled yourself
together after that stunt Jonathan pulled on your wedding day.  I was worried about you
for a while then.  I’m so happy to see you like this.”
	“Jonathan is in the past.  I don’t even think about him any more,” she answered
her sister.  Of course, that was a lie, for she had been thinking a lot about Jonathan
lately, but only to remind herself how lucky she was not to be married to him.
	Mikki grinned.  “Oh Sandy, I’m so glad to hear that.”
	
	Sandy heard the bike as she lay half awake early the next morning, and opened
her eyes to stare at he ceiling.  Seconds later she turned her head quickly to the side. 
The bed, where Mikki had slept the night before, was empty.  A moment of panic
washed over her as she found herself wondering if Mikki had been on the motorcycle
with Ty, then she rebuffed herself for her stupid bout of adolescent jealousy.  She had
never been jealous of Mikki for anything in her life, why should she start now?
	Because you’re in love, she reminded herself.
	Just then Mikki sauntered into the bedroom with a piece of toast in her hand.
“Oh, you’re awake,” Mikki commented casually.  Sandy responded by throwing back the
covers and getting out of bed.  Mikki looked at her sister with a playful grin. “I had coffee
with your handyman this morning.”
	“You did?” Sandy asked, trying to sound only half interested as she dug through
her drawers with her back to her sister.
	“Mm hmm,” Mikki said, as she took a bite of toast and sat down on the edge of
the bed.  “He seems quite nice.  Very polite.”
	“A complete gentleman,” Sandy agreed, as she pulled a T-shirt over her head. 
“And a hard worker.”
	“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” her sister took a bite of her toast. ”He just left, by the way.”	
	“Yes, I know,” Sandy said, then catching her sister’s questioning expression she
added.  “I’m not deaf you know, I heard the bike.”
	“Of course,” Mikki nodded, popping the last bite of toast in her mouth. “He said to
tell you he’s going to spend the day with Carl and Daisy so he won’t be hanging around
the house getting in our way while we visit.”
	“OK,” Sandy said, casually.  With her back turned she allowed herself a little
smile, as she thought of how Mikki must think Daisy was a girl, just as she had thought,
though she most likely  thought Carl and Daisy were a couple.  A reasonable
assumption, Sandy thought, as she suppressed a giggle.
	“So when do you think you’ll have to head back?” she asked her sister.
	“Why? Are you trying to get rid of me?” Mikki asked, and Sandy was sure she
heard a hint of laughter in her voice.
	“Of course not! Why would I do that?”
	Mikki shrugged. “I don’t know, you tell me,” she said, then she bent over and
reached under the bed. “Would it have something to do with why this is under your
bed?”  she asked, as she held up a man’s work sock.
	Sandy stared at it and felt herself blush. “Oh!” was all she managed to say.
	“What’s going on here, Sandy?” Mikki questioned, and Sandy could see the glint
in her sister’s eyes.  She had already decided she knew what was going on.
	“Nothing!” Sandy blurted out too quickly.  “Nothing is going on at all.”
	Mikki twirled the sock in her hand, much like a stripper might twirl an article of
clothing before tossing it into the crowd.  “Sure, Sis,” she said with a grin.  “I wonder what
else is under there.”  She started to bend over again and Sandy panicked.
	“Alright, alright,” Sandy interrupted her. She had no idea if there was anything
else under the bed or not, but it would be less embarrassing to confess than to have her
little sister — God forbid! — find a pair of Ty’s underwear or something.
	“So — there is more to Handyman Ty than you let on, huh?”
	Sandy nodded.  “We’re both consenting adults, Mikki,” she reminded her sister.
	Mikki studied her. “True.  But I just don’t want to see you get hurt again, Sandy. 
Jonathan was...”
	“Jonathan was a long time ago and a completely different situation.”
	Mikki laughed.  “Well, yeah.  You were engaged to Jonathan!  This guy Ty is just
— what? — a transient?”
	“Mikki!” Sandy exclaimed.
	Her sister shrugged.  “Well, he doesn’t have local plates on his bike, Sandy, in
case you hadn’t noticed.”
	“Of course I noticed!” Sandy quipped.  “Look, Mikki, I know what I’m doing.  Don’t
worry about me, OK.”
	Mikki studied the sock for a moment, then sighed.  “You’re in love with him aren’t
you?” she said, more a statement than a question, and Sandy sighed and simply
nodded.  “And what about him?”  Mikki probed further.
	Sandy turned to look out the window.  “Mikki, please, can we not discuss this.”
	“Just be careful, Sandy.  I’m only concerned because, well, to be honest, I never
saw a look like that in your eyes over Jonathan, not once.  I’m afraid that this time when
you fall, you’ll hit bottom a lot harder.”
	Sandy laughed.  “I’ll be OK, Mikki, believe me.  This time I know where the
bottom is.  Now can we please get out of this bedroom and do something interesting
with our day before you have to leave?”
	Mikki studied her for a moment, then shrugged and tossed the sock at her.   “OK,
but I have a head start — I’ve already eaten!”  and with that she was gone.

	Ty pulled his bike into the driveway and heaved a sigh of relief. Mikki’s car was
gone.  Not that he disliked the girl, Sandy’s sister was cute, and seemed like a real nice
girl.  As he had stood at the top of the stairs the night before listening to them talking and
laughing together, he had been happy to hear Sandy having such a good time.  So why
had he resented the other girl’s presence?
	Because you had to sleep in your own bed last night — alone he told himself,
then quickly retorted So what!  It wasn’t like he had never done that before!  Back home
he had a bed of his own, and he slept in it — alone — lots of times.  And when this whole
thing was over, he would do it again.  Sure, he liked company of the female kind.  He
was, afterall, a warm blooded single male, as Sandy had pointed out, but he didn’t sleep
with every woman he went out with — far from it — contrary to brother Cole’s impression
of him.
	The thought of going back home was getting less and less appealing, however. 
When he had first arrived, it had been pretty much the only thing on his mind — get this
bet out of the way and get back to civilization.  Lately, however, he found himself thinking
about staying more than leaving, and he hadn’t allowed himself to think about the
reason why.  But as he had lain there alone the night before, listening to Sandy and
Mikki coming up the stairs, he had known why without even thinking about it.  Back
home, there was no Sandy!
	“Sandy?” he called, as he entered the house,  When there was no reply it
occurred to him that the two girls might actually be out together in Mikki’s car.  He took
the steps two at a time and called her name again as he headed for the bedroom.
	“In here,” she called, just as he reached the doorway.  He stood for a moment
and watched her as she stood brushing her hair.  Their eyes met in the mirror as he
approached and slipped his arms around her from behind.
	“You two have a good time today?” he asked, and when she nodded, he kissed
the top of her head.  “I thought it would be easier on you if I made myself scarce.”
	She smiled playfully. “Thanks. But she found us out anyway.”  At the confused
look on his face, she laughed and picked up his sock that she had left on her dresser
earlier.  “She found this on the floor sticking out from under my bed.”
	“Oops,” Ty said, looking sheepish.  “Sorry about that.”
	Sandy smiled and turned around in his arms, lacing her fingers behind his neck. 
“I’m not worried about it anymore. We’re both adults, Ty.”
	“Thank goodness for that!” he said, as he lowered his lips to kiss her.
	His kiss was passionate and hungered, but as she pressed herself closer to him,
she felt a reserve within him, and eventually he pulled his lips away and rested his chin
on the top of her head.  He stared up at the ceiling above him and took a deep breath. 
There was something he just could not get off his mind.  The words played themselves
over and over in his mine, and he just had to know the truth.  One thing he had always
made certain of — he never slept with a married woman!
	“Sandy,” he said softly, and when she murmured her reply and snuggled herself
closer, he forced himself to continue.  “Who is Jonathan?”
	He felt her tense in his arms before she spoke. “Jonathan?” She asked shakily.
	“Yeah, Jonathan,” he persisted, sensing from her tenseness that the name did
not belong to some passing acquaintance.
	“He’s — nobody — really,” Sandy said, fumbling for her words uncomfortably.
	When she offered no more information than that he pressed her further.  “I
overheard you and Mikki talking last night.  She mentioned Jonathan and — your
wedding day.”  He paused, and noticed that she seemed to shake, and closed her eyes
but said nothing.  He had to find out, he had to ask her! 
	 “Sandy — are you married?”
	She shook her head, but remained silent for some time.  She had been thinking
about Jonathan lately, but so far she had never had to explain all the sordid details to
anyone.  Afterall, everyone at home knew all the sordid details, and here in Silverside,
she had never intended that part of her past to even resurface. Somehow speaking it all
out loud made her feel vulnerable, but she felt Ty deserved to know.  With a deep
breath, she began to speak slowly.
	“No, Ty, I’m not married.” She felt him relax, and this helped her to go on.  “But I
almost was.   I had made all the arrangements, had the rehearsal — I was at the church
— white dress and everything.” 
	“What happened?” he asked, cautiously, sensing the pain in her voice.
	She sighed. “He didn’t show up,” she said flatly, with a shrug. “He ran off after the
rehearsal the night before and married Maggie Pruitt instead. He left me standing in a
church full of people, and called me two weeks later to let me know he had done it
because he didn’t love me.”
	“Bastard!” Ty swore under his breath.  He placed his fingers under her chin and
lifted her head, searching her face.  “That must have been hell.”
	She chuckled. “It was no picnic, that’s for sure. The worst part was having to face
all those people every day when I walked down the street. I was the talk of the town, and
it just didn’t ever seem to stop.  It happened two years ago, and people still whisper
behind my back.  I just couldn’t stand that, I couldn’t stay there.”
	“So you moved here.”  He nodded, as everything seemed to fall into place.  A
new town, a new home, new job — a whole new start to get away from the pain of the
past.
	She nodded.  “I came here and bought this house.  It was to be my freedom.  I
wanted to start all over brand new, to erase that whole part of my past.”
	“That explains this place — why you wanted to do everything yourself.”  With his
knowledge of her past came an overwhelming desire to protect her, which startled him. 
He wanted to pull her close and hold her and tell her she never had to worry about
anything ever again, and that scared him even more!  If it scared him that much, he
reasoned, it would probably scare the heck out of her.  So, instead, he pulled her against
him, kissed her hair, and said nothing for a long long time.