CHAPTER 4

	Sandy stepped out of the grocery store into the bright afternoon sun, and smiled.
It was just a week after Ty McKinley had ridden into her life and already her house was
showing great improvement.  Returning from work each day that past week had filled her
with anticipation to see what he had accomplished while she had been out.  She had
gotten used to having him around the  house too.  Seeing him sitting across the table as
they ate the meals she cooked; hearing the sound of his hammer as he worked while
she went about her own chores; even hearing him humming to himself as he climbed
the stairs at night after she had gone to her bed and he was going to his, which they had
set up in the room at the other end of the hall -- the only other room without water stains
on the ceiling.
	In that one short week, he had almost completely finished the restoration of her
front porch, perfected with the final coat of fresh paint that he had applied the day
before.  She had been in awe of the results, and he had grinned from ear to ear at her
reaction as she had stood in her driveway eyeing the front of her house.  The only thing
left to be done to the porch after that was to install eaves troughs and replace the
shingles on the roof, a job that would have to wait until the entire house was re-roofed. 
	Sandy winced at that thought, as she stowed her groceries in the back seat of
her car.  The roof was still a major concern, but the funds to do the complete job just
weren’t there.  Had she been needing only new shingles, she could have swung it, but in
Ty’s estimation, at least a third of the roofing boards actually needed to be replaced, and
probably more once he actually got the shingles off and checked things out better.  Not
only  was it a major expense she hadn’t banked on, it would require more than just Ty
McKinley to accomplish it.  Manpower would cost money.
	She glanced up at the sky, a habit she had unconsciously developed over the
past week, and sighed.  Blue with a few wisps of clouds.  There had been no more than
a passing shower in the last week, and she counted her blessings for that.  Another
storm like the downpour that had occurred the night Ty had appeared at her door and
she’d be up to her knees in pails and buckets again.  At least the two bedrooms they
were actually using had not, as of yet, sprung any leaks.  So far there was no fear of
waking up soaking wet, but she had no idea how long she could count on this good
fortune.
	As she prepared to get into her car, the sound of laughter drifted down the street
toward her.  With only a casual interest, she let her eyes follow the direction of the
sound.  Across the street, about four stores down, a small crowd had gathered.   She
didn’t need to look very hard to see the cause of it.  The center of attention was Ty
McKinley himself, straddling his shiny black motorcycle which he had parked at the curb. 
Once again he was dressed in his black jeans and black T-shirt, contrasting his darkly
tanned and muscular arms which were bare since his leather jacket was draped casually
across the seat behind him.  Sandy smiled, thinking she could pause as she drove by
and ask him what time he would be back for supper, but then she noticed who was in
the group gathered around him.   Heading up his little fan club, with a giddy laughter that
reverberated through the whole street, was Karen Smithers.  Her baby was no where to
be seen. 
	Sandy stood mesmerized for a few seconds as she watched the other girl.  Even
from this distance, she could practically see her drooling over him, and judging from his
smile, he was enjoying every minute of her attentions.  The group engaged in an
animated conversation that had them all laughing at one point, but Karen never took her
eyes off Ty’s face, and rested her small hand on his muscular upper arms without any
care for who was gathered around her.  
	An invitation had obviously been given, and Sandy shook herself out of her
trance when Ty moved.  She watched his fluid movements as he effortlessly reached
around to pick up his jacket and slide if over his arms, straightening it into place. Then
he turned once more to pick up the spare helmet that was always fastened to the back
of his bike.  As he handed it to Karen, Sandy opened her car door, and her movements
must have caught his attention, for he paused slightly and his eyes moved her way. 
Karen wasn’t about to relinquish his full attention for long, however, and gladly took the
helmet he offered her.  Ty gave Sandy a bright smile, an lifted his hand in a casual
salute, then turned back to his captive audience.
	She climbed into her car just as Karen climbed onto the back of the bike and
immediately wrapped her arms around Ty in more of a possessive manner than a
safety-conscious one, Sandy noted.  As Ty fastened his own helmet, Sandy turned her
key and pulled her car away from the curb.  He was just pulling his bike out onto the
street as she drove past, and though the visor on his helmet hid his face, Karen’s visor
was up, and her bright smile was the last thing Sandy saw as she drove on.
	Sandy was furious with herself, and it showed as she brusquely put the canned
goods she had bought, into the cupboards in her kitchen.  Ty McKinley was just a
construction worker, she reminded herself. Despite the fact that she wasn’t paying him
cash, and that his work earned him only room and board, he was nothing more than the
man who could fix just about anything she needed fixing around the house.  He meant
nothing  more to her than that!  If he wanted to frolic with the likes of Karen Smithers,
who was Sandy Johnson to object?  It wasn’t like he owed her any of his time off the job,
and it wasn’t like he was obligated to spend all his waking hours working on her house
either.  Everyone was entitled to a personal life.
	A can of vegetables made an exceptionally loud thud as she tossed it into an
empty spot on the shelf in her pantry, and she grumbled to herself.  Why then, she
scolded herself, was the fact that Ty had ridden off into the sun with Karen Smithers
pasted to his back causing her so much distress?  Why had she glanced in her rear
view mirror the instant she had passed them, and watched them until they disappeared
with a smooth curve around the next corner? Why, in fact, was she now stomping
around her kitchen as if something of her own had just been taken from her?  He was a
single man, and despite the fact that Karen had an eight month old baby she was
apparently a single woman, though Sandy had heard that the father of her baby was
only away on a work contract.  They were both adults, and how they chose to conduct
themselves in their free time was none of her business!  It didn’t matter to her what he
did.
	Like hell it doesn’t matter!  The voice in her head nagged at her, and she
slammed another can onto the pantry shelf to silence it.
	“Just you shut up!” she spoke to herself out loud, her voice powerful and angry,
and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.  
	The sound of the doorbell ringing made her jump,  and she shot a startled glance
through the kitchen doorway to where she could see her front door. Through the screen
door she could see a man she had never seen before standing there peering inside.
	“Can I help you?” she asked, with a strained smile on her face as she walked
toward the door, concerned that he may have heard her outburst.  He smiled at her
through the screen.
	“Good evening.  My name’s Cole.  I’m looking for a Mr. Ty McKinley?” he said
hopefully, though still maintaining his killer smile.
	“He’s not here,” she said, her tone sounding a little flat.
	The man raised a brow. “Oh? Has he moved on then?”
	Flustered, realizing the meaning he had taken from her words, she hastily
continued. “No, no!  He’s just not here right now.  He’s — out.”
	“Oh,” the man said again, nodding in understanding.  “When are you expecting
him back?”
	“I have no idea,”  Sandy replied, then winced at the tartness that had crept into
her voice.
	“Of course.  But he is working for you?”  The man Cole was looking at her with
one brow raised, almost as if he wasn’t quite sure his information was correct.
	She squinted at him with her head to the side just slightly.  “Yes, he is.  Is there
something I can do for you Mr. Cole?” she asked, the politeness in her voice a little more
prim than she had intended.
	“It’s just —” he paused, eyed her for a moment, then apparently changed his
mind about what he was going to say, and smiled at her.  “Oh never mind.  I was just
wanting to talk to him about his work.  But since he is working for you, I can talk to you
too, of course. “
	“Work?” she was still confused, and it showed.
	“Ahh — yes.  Some time ago Ty and I had been in discussions about him
working for me.  At the time, I had some concerns about his workmanship. He contacted
me a couple of days ago and told me he was on a job out this way, and I thought that
since I was on the way through this area anyway, I would drop by and have a look at his
work first hand to dispel any of my doubts.”
	Sandy stood there silently, trying to digest what this man was trying to say to her. 
“I see,” she said slowly.  “You’re wanting to hire him?  And you have doubts about his
skill?” The frown on her face was more obvious than she had intended it, and she was
certain she saw laughter in the eyes of her visitor.  Defiantly she straightened her back
and crossed her arms in front of her, awaiting his reply.
	“Perhaps,” the man said. “Eventually.  Please have no fear, I’m not out here to
lure him away from a job he’s already on.  I am considering taking him on in the future —
if his work is up to par. That’s why I’m here. I was hoping he could show me some of the
things he had done. Of course, you being the homeowner, your reference would be an
asset as well.”
	Sandy seemed slightly more relaxed, and smiled tentatively at the stranger as
she opened the screen door and stepped outside. “Oh of course. Please forgive me. I
can show you.”
	He glanced back into the house behind her. “I’m not taking you from anything I
hope? I do apologize if I’m interrupting?”
	She looked puzzled. “No, I wasn’t doing anything at all.”	
	“Oh,” he glanced inside once more.  “It’s just I thought I heard you talking to
someone, that’s all. I’m sorry.”
	Sandy blushed and cleared her throat.  “Yes, well -- there’s nobody there. Don’t
worry about it.  Now, this is Ty’s work right here.  The entire porch has basically been
re-done.  The screen door was in shambles before, and he replaced the floor boards,
and the railing.” She waved her hand around the porch, pointing out the things Ty had
either fixed or replaced, and the man seemed suitably impressed.
	“How long did you say he’s been working for you?” Cole asked, as he looked up
at the ceiling board above his head.
	“A week.”
	“By himself or have you others to  help as well?”
	“No, just Ty.”
	“Impressive!” Cole looked around the porch again, nodding, resting his hand on
the wood and leaning in to make a closer inspection. Then he turned and appeared to
study her for a moment, until Sandy shuffled her feet uncomfortably and moved down
the steps onto the front walkway. 
	“So, you have a house you’d like him to restore too, Mr. Cole?”  she asked, trying
to sound only casually interested.
	“Something like that,” the man said, offering little more information than that as
he followed her down off the porch. “So, you would recommend him as a good worker
then?”
	“Oh yes, I would definitely say so,” she nodded, eyeing her porch with an
appreciative smile tugging up the corners of her mouth.
	“Reliable? Punctual?” Cole’s eyes narrowed as he asked the question.
	She shrugged. “Well, he does excellent work, and he’s usually on the job before I
even get out of bed in the mornings, and sometimes he works well into the evenings.  I
more or less let him set his own hours, this is no punch-clock job, Mr. Cole.  He works
when he works, and he gets the jobs done —as you can clearly see.“
	The man smiled at her, and she thought for a moment he was going to laugh, but
instead, he appeared to think better of it and simply offered her his hand, shook it, and
prepared to leave.
	“Thank you very much, Mrs....”  he raised his eyebrow questioningly.
	“Johnson.  Miss Sandy Johnson,” she said as she shook his hand, and he
nodded.
	“Ah yes, of course,”  he smiled at her. “Thank you very much, Miss Johnson.
You’ve been very helpful.  No need to bother Ty that I’ve been around checking up on
him, I’ve seen what I came to see.” He glanced back at the porch once again, and for
some reason Sandy found herself hoping he liked what he saw.  It was suddenly
important to her that this man liked Ty’s work. 
	He lifted a hand in a wave and walked down the driveway to where he had
parked his car on the side of the street.  Sandy wrapped her arms around herself as she
watched him drive away, then looked back at her porch before slowly mounting the front
steps and leaning against the railing.  She really did hope Mr. Cole thought Ty was worth
hiring.  After all, once he was finished with her house, he would have to work
somewhere.  It would be perfect to have a job already lined up, wouldn’t it? 
	She frowned, and sighed heavily. After he was finished with her house, Ty
McKinley would be gone out of her life for good. Not that it mattered, she quickly
reminded herself. There was no mistaking the fact that the man had an effect on her. 
He was pleasant,  always polite and often flattering, and he was definitely appealing to
the eye, not even she would deny that, but that was all, she reminded herself.  There
was nothing more than a physical appreciation, and that was just fine with her.  There
was especially nothing romantic between them, and she should be thankful for that! 
She had lost her heart before, to a man with an address and a stable job, she definitely
wasn’t going to lose it again to a wanderer!
	She continued to remind herself of this fact throughout the evening, during which,
after having cooked a meal and eaten it -- alone-- she cleaned up the kitchen.  Resisting
the urge to throw them out completely,  she put the left overs that would have been Ty’s
portion into containers in her fridge; washed the dishes, and put away his unused ones. 
She then wandered around the house taking stock of what jobs had already been
completed, and which still needed attention.  She even stood for a while on her newly
restored porch, admiring the view, and watching the sun sink slowly behind the
silhouette of the town, until that nagging little voice inside her head taunted her with the
idea that she might actually be waiting for Ty to come home.  With a grumble, she went
back inside and curled up on the couch with a book.  There was absolutely no reason
why he shouldn’t go anywhere he wanted, with anyone he chose, and spend as much
time as he felt like, she reminded herself.
	
	Saturday dawned bright, with  the sun shining through Sandy’s east side
bedroom window and the birds singing gaily from their perches on the trees outside. 
She took a slow deep breath, breathing in the fresh air, and smiled even before she
opened her eyes.  It wasn’t raining. That in itself was cause for celebration these days! 
Until she managed to save up enough money to pay for the roof so Ty could fix it, a
clear blue sky in the morning would be something to look forward to every day.
	At the thought of Ty, her eyes sprung open, and she listened intently for familiar
sounds. On other mornings she had heard him already moving around outside, his
hammer or saw already at work. This morning, the house was silent.  With a frown, she
threw back the blankets and hopped out of bed. Grabbing her robe on the way, she
opened her bedroom door and peered down the hall. His door was shut and all was
silent.  Still belting her robe, she went to the top of the stairs and listened again, before
heading down to the first floor.  Her feet took her directly to the front window, to peer out
at the driveway. 
	The motorcycle was parked, on its now familiar leeward lean, exactly where it
was always parked.  Sandy sighed and pulled her belt tight, then glanced nervously
toward the stairs to make certain he hadn’t been standing there watching her. The last
thing she needed was Ty McKinley thinking she was keeping tabs on him! She was just
concerned, that was all, because the repairs to her house depended on him.
	Sandy had read until well after dark the night before, but Ty still hadn’t been
home when she had gone to bed.  She hadn’t heard his bike pull into the drive either,
nor his footsteps on the stairs when he had come to bed.  She had half expected not to
see the bike in the drive in the morning at all, believing he had probably spent the night
at Karen’s.  
	Still barefoot, she padded quietly into the kitchen and set to work making the
morning coffee.  Once the pot was on and the water was dripping, she went back
upstairs to shower. With a frowned glance towards Ty’s still closed bedroom door, she
emerged from the bathroom some time later, then turned to head in the opposite
direction towards her own bedroom.  As she pivoted, however, still not quite looking
where she was going, she was stopped with a thud, and found herself pressed right up
against Ty’s bare chest.
	“Oh!” she gasped, and backed up quickly, nearly loosing her balance.  In a chain
reaction motion, Ty reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders to keep her from
falling, and for a few seconds they stood there motionless while she got her head
together -- which wasn’t happening very quickly, considering she was still only inches
away from his chiseled, tanned chest. 
	He was dressed in shorts, and his T-shirt was draped casually over one bare
shoulder.  His skin glistened, and she could not mistake the pure masculine scent of
him.   She had known from the looks of his arms that he was muscular, but seeing him
shirtless left no doubt. She swallowed hard, and cleared her throat, then blushed
profusely when she realized that her robe had fallen open ever so slightly, to reveal the
soft inner curves of her breasts.  Her eyes darted to his face, and there was no
mistaking that he had not only noticed, but his appreciation of what he had seen showed
clearly in the smile on his face. 
	Quickly she tugged at the offending garment and belted her robe tighter, and
tried to back away. “Excuse me,” she said hastily. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
	His grin widened. “No apology needed,” he assured her, in no hurry to take his
eyes off where the robe now effectively covered her chest.  Sandy clutched at the
garment, pulling the neckline closed even more, and stepped aside. 
	“I’ll be on my way then.  I just had a shower, I -- umm -- I have to go get dressed
now.”  She winced at the absurdity of her explanation.  It was obvious by her wet hair
that she had just had a shower, and by her attire that she needed to get dressed. Why
had she felt the need to explain it to him, to fill in this awkward silence with words?
	He nodded and moved to let her pass, but he didn’t take his eyes off her, and
there was something in his gaze that disturbed her. “Sure thing,” he said, still smiling. “I
was just out for a morning jog.  I could smell the coffee when I came in.  A shower
sounds like an excellent idea.  I think I’ll just have a quick one myself, then I’ll be down.”
	“Right,” she said, with a curt nod to punctuate her strained tone, then more
hastily than she needed to, she made a quick retreat.   Once inside her room, she
leaned against the door, closed her eyes, and stayed there until she heard the sound of
the water running for his shower.