Chapter 9

	“I’m sure Mikki wouldn’t mind taking care of that, would you, Sweetheart?” 
	She was greeted with the words when she had finally managed to catch up with
Reese and stepped in the front door of his mother’s house.  It had taken her a few
seconds to still her trembling legs to be able to walk, but she couldn’t believe he’d gotten
there so much ahead of her that they had already managed to start a conversation.
One, in fact, that she seemed to play a major part in.  She shot him a questioning
glance, and found him giving her his now familiar pleading look as he met her at the
door.
	“Patrick wanted to put on some food for us. Do you think you could find your way
around my mother’s kitchen well enough to throw something together?” He leaned
towards her, under the pretense of giving her a hug, and whispered in her ear.  “I have a
feeling he hasn’t had a real good meal since Mom’s been ill.”	
	Mikki glanced over his shoulder and saw the hopeful look on Patrick’s face.  She
might have been able to turn Reese down, but her heart went out to the older man.  “I
think I should be able to.” she said, cheerily, and the smile of gratitude that the men
gave her would have melted her, had she been butter.  Reese hugged her tightly for a
split second, and planted a quick, firm kiss on her lips.
	“Thanks, Sweetheart.” he said.  The endearment caught her be surprise, until
she remembered they were putting on a show for Patrick’s benefit. She painted a sweet
smile on her face and tried to calm her nerves.
	“Well then, can you show me the way?”
	Reese guided her to the kitchen, but instead of depositing her there and leaving,
he began to rummage through the refrigerator.  “Patrick likes you.” he said casually,
smiling as if it mattered.  Mikki glanced back through the door and smiled too.
	“He seems like a real nice man.” she said, as she took the vegetables and meat
Reese was handing to her.
	“Mom and Dad were very close, and she gave a lot of her time and love to look
after him when his health was so bad for so long. Patrick’s been wonderful to her.  It’s
been nice to see her find someone special again. So many people never find that even
once.  She’s been blessed to find it twice.”
	Mikki smiled at him as he stood at the counter beside her. While she prepared
the meat he began to wash and cut the vegetables.  He spoke so lovingly of his mother,
and of both her husbands.
	“You get along well then.” She said, more a statement than a question, and he
nodded.
	“We’re a family.” He agreed, as he filled the vegetable pot with water and set it on
the stove, and returned to the refrigerator to hunt out ingredients for salad. 
	“You two Love Birds work well together.” Patrick’s voice broke into their
conversation some time later.  They looked at each other in surprise, then laughed. 
Neither had noticed that they had been working side by side as easily as if they did it
every day, and the meal was pretty much ready to serve.  Reese winked at her, then
leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose.
	“It doesn’t even seem like work when I’m around her.” he said, the look in his
eyes daring her to respond. Instead, she grabbed a dish towel and flicked it at him,
giggling.
	“Reese!”
	“What?!” he pretended to be shocked, lifting his hands in defense. “It’s the truth.”
	His eyes twinkled playfully, and she felt herself blushing.  A quick glance at
Patrick, and she saw that man was enjoying their playful exchange.  She turned away,
as if to ignore Reese, but he immediately tackled her from behind.
	“Reese! I need to get the table set.” she objected, and he swung her around in
his arms so quickly that she felt dizzy. After a quick, teasing kiss on the lips, he let her
go, and she stumbled backwards against the counter, off balance. 
	“OK, Hon.” he said, the laughter still in his eyes. “We’ll finish this later.”  He
winked at her, then ducked and side-stepped the towel that she aimed at him again, 
darting out of the room with a  laugh.
	Mikki was grateful that the dinner table conversation centered around sports and
family gossip, instead of her and Reese. It gave her the opportunity to sit quietly and
enjoy watching the men interact. An outsider may never have guessed that Patrick was
not Reese’s natural father, or that Lucas was not his real brother, and she smiled to
herself as she watched them.  
	At last, Patrick pushed his plate away and leaned back, rubbing his stomach.
“Delicious, Mikki.” he complimented, then glanced at Reese and winked. “Don’t let this
one get away, Boy.”  They all laughed, and Mikki took this as her cue to clear off the
table, and leave them to their visiting.
	“So, you’re really getting married?”
	Mikki spun around, startled by Lucas’ voice.  He sauntered into the kitchen with
some dishes in his hands, a wry grin on his face, his expression almost daring her for
the truth.  Mikki thought about the woman in the hospital bed, and the man still at the
table with Reese, and squared her shoulders.
	“You have a problem with that?” she challenged.
	Lucas chuckled and held up his now empty hands in defense.  “Noooooo.” he
said, stretching out the word.  “It’s just that at first I wondered if it was true, or if it was
just some game Reese was playing.”
	“Why would Reese do that?” she countered, cautiously, hoping her nervousness
didn’t give her away.
	Lucas grinned at her.  “I have no idea.” he shrugged, his eyes glinting playfully. 
“You tell me.”
	She stared at him indignantly.  Suddenly she felt the overwhelming urge to
defend Reese, for his mother’s sake, despite the fact that their engagement was a
complete farce. “Lucas Ryan, believe me, although this wasn’t exactly the way we had
intended to announce it, Reese and I are engaged to be married, and I do not
appreciate anyone questioning our motives.”
	Lucas raised his hands again and laughed at her.  “Whoa!  You don’t have to
convince me!  I mean, I had wondered when he brought you into the hospital room to
meet Emily.  You two seemed a little strained then, but any doubts I might have had
went right out the window when I saw the way you two kissed each other out at the truck
when we got here.”
	Mikki blushed and turned away, nervously shuffling the dishes on the counter. 
That kiss!  It still made her legs weak to think about it, still made her lips burn with desire.
	“I see.”  she said shakily, as she turned on the tap to fill the sink.  “I’m sorry,
Lucas.  I probably came on a little to strong here.”
	Lucas leaned his back against the counter beside her.  “Look, Mikki,” he said, his
voice more tender now. “I’m sorry if I upset you.  I just wanted to know.” He shrugged.
“Maybe I just wanted to make absolutely sure that there was no chance for me.”
	She looked at him, surprised, and noticed his sheepish look.  
	“Don’t look so surprised!” he chuckled. “You’re a very beautiful woman.  If you
weren’t already devotedly engaged to my step-brother, I would be making a move on
you right now.”
	She grinned and blushed. “Lucas, don’t be silly.”
	“Not silly at all, I speak the absolute truth.  However, I can tell by watching the two
of you together, that you are hopelessly in love with each other. I’ve seen Reese with
lots of women before, but I’ve never seen him look at one of them the way he looks at
you, so I graciously concede defeat.”
	“Lucas!” Mikki giggled.
	He leaned towards her and planted a brotherly kiss on her forehead.  “Don’t
worry, that’s the closest I’ll get.  Unless, of course, the two of you break up.  Then...”
	“Lucas Ryan, go join the men for coffee!” she interrupted him, shooting a
laughing glance his way and he smiled and prepared to leave the room.  At the door, he
hesitated, glancing back at her.
	“Reese is a damn lucky man.” he said, but before she could speak he was gone. 
	
	Mikki stepped quietly out the patio door at the back of the house, leaving the men
alone with their coffee and conversation, which had turned to the health of the woman
who connected their lives.  She felt she should leave them alone for that, since she
wasn’t really a part of any of their lives.  Besides, she needed fresh air to clear her head,
she thought, as she closed the sliding door quietly behind her.  It had been like a
whirlwind had ripped her out of reality the past few days and the playfulness of the past
few hours had confused her even more, not to mention Lucas’ comments.
	Life had been going along just fine until Reese Kincaide had walked into it.  After
she had first seen him at the school, she’d found herself dreaming about him constantly.
Safe thoughts, she’d told herself as she had allowed herself her daydreams. Afterall, she
had known she would never see the man again.  But then she had opened her door and
there he had stood, poised on the edge of her life ready to walk in and wreak havoc. 
And walk in he had, with her holding the door wide open for him without the slightest
objection!
	Fool! she chastised herself.  She should have just let him leave. She should
never have called him back. She had been safe, she had known exactly who she was
and what she wanted out of life, and she’d let him walk in and turn everything upside
down!  After vowing to herself that she would never let a man twist her heart like that,
she had suddenly found herself sending her heart running from exactly that.
	Running scared, she told herself. Scared that if he didn’t like her for herself, on
his own without Joey’s meddling, he would soon tire of her and leave her standing there
watching his back as he walked right back out of her life the way he’d walked in? Scared
to admit that she couldn’t get a man to be interested in her on her own?
	Mikki sighed. She supposed she should stop running some day, and face life like
an adult. Sandy had, afterall, and it had been her sister’s losses and heartbreaks that
had made her set up these barriers around her heart in the first place.
	Sweet Sandy,  a year older, and the best sister a girl could ever wish to have. 
Mikki had wanted to be just like her.  At least, until the day Sandra Johnson’s
husband-to-be had left her standing at the altar!
	Couldn’t go through with it he had said later, when he’d managed to drum up the
courage to offer an explanation. It had never been real. Sandy’s heart had been broken
by a man whose excuse was that he had  dated her to please his Grandmother, and
realized too late that he had let things go too far.  Too late? Hadn’t he realized what all
the preparations had been about, for God’s sake?  Hall reservations, invitation lists,
choosing decorations -- tuxedo fittings even! Surly he’d known what was happening?
	It had taken Sandy a year or two, a new job and a new home, to return to the
light-hearted, happy-go-lucky person Mikki had grown up with. Then, when her life
seemed to be getting back on track, she had realized that the man she’d hired to
renovate her house, the man who’d become a dear and close friend to her, was also the
man she wanted to marry. The fact that he felt the same way, was evident by the fact
that Reese had just driven Mikki to Sandy’s wedding shower. The couple seemed
happier together than Mikki ever thought two people could be. So why then, was she
letting her sister’s tragedy taint her life, when Sandy had obviously put the past behind
her?
	Mikki sighed and took a step forward to lean against the railing of the small
verandah on the back of Emily’s house. For the first time since she’d stepped outside,
she actually looked around, and she gasped at the beauty that filled the Ryans’ back
yard.
	Beyond the verandah, a wide, winding brick pathway wove it’s way between an
expanse of flower gardens.  On one side, the brick widened further to accommodate am
old wooden bench with wrought iron ends that was set against the fence. At either end
of the bench, clusters of earthen flower pots in various sizes and shapes, sat with
multicoloured flowers cascading over their brims like bubbles in a glass.
	Intrigued, Mikki stepped off the verandah onto the path and slowly walked along
the edge of the garden. Beautiful roses greeted her, in pinks and reds and salmon,
nestled amongst tall Delphiniums, huge orange Dahlias, and kingly Irises.  Around the
flowering plants, Juniper and ground-cover greenery filled in the spaces. In the back, a
purple-leafed shrub added colour, and a beautiful climbing Hydrangea crawled up a
trellis as a backdrop.
	In awe, Mikki walked on, and soon found herself at the end of the path, where the
yard opened into a grassy area. The entire yard was fenced with red cedar, but also
lined with trees and shrubs of all sizes. A couple of Red Japanese Maples contrasted
the green, and in the center of the yard an antique looking bird-bath was perched above
a cluster of low shrubbery.  Beyond that, a lovely rustic looking, lattice gazebo was
covered with Climbing Roses and Clematis trailing up the sides and over the top.  On
the ground, creeping out into the lawn, were clumps of Day Lilies, Hosta, and
breathtaking pure white Casablanca Lilies.
	She stepped inside the gazebo and felt like she was stepping into another world.
Dreamily she sat down on one of the benches that lined the walls, and leaned her head
back, closing her eyes to let the mingled scents of the garden waft over her.  She took a
deep breath and sighed.  This was the most beautiful back yard she had ever seen
outside of a magazine, and she’d never in her wildest dreams imagined finding herself in
a place like this.
	“You look like an angel sitting there.”
	She heard his soft voice and slowly opened her eyes, a dreamy look on her face. 
“It’s so beautiful!” she breathed.
	Reese smiled, a strange look on his face that she couldn’t decipher, and nodded.
“It certainly is.” he said, as he leaned against the opening of the gazebo, looking down at
her. For a moment, their eyes were locked, while she tried to make sense of what she
was feeling inside.  At last, he straightened, and walked towards her. She swallowed
hard as he towered above her, and her heart did acrobatics she didn’t know it was
capable of.  When he sat beside her, she found it difficult to breath.  Nervously she
turned away, admiring the flowers. 
	“I had no idea this little piece of heaven could be back here. It’s so peaceful. It’s
amazing!”
	He looked around, as if seeing it through her eyes. “I guess it is kind of
impressive.” he said casually.
	“Impressive? It’s magnificent!”
	He chuckled. “Why thank you.” he said, the laughter dancing in his eyes. She
turned to look at him, gasping as she realized the meaning of his words.
	“You did this?”
	“Yep.” he nodded simply.
	She gaped at him. All around her were the most beautiful sights, woven into the
land as an artist weaves colour on a canvas to create a work of art, and all he could say
by way of taking credit for it was yep.
	“Oh Reese, I had no idea!”
	He seemed confused, and shrugged, non-chalantly. “Well, no, you can’t see it
from the street.”
	She shot him a wide-eyed glance. “No! I meant, I had no idea you did work like
this. When I think of landscaping, I guess I always think of planting trees and laying sod,
that sort of thing.”
	He smiled at her. “Well, I do my fair share of that stuff too, you know.”  Then he
turned to look out over the yard and sighed. “But this is what I love. Taking a plain piece
of ground and molding it into something like this, that cries out the character of the
person it was created for.”
	She watched him as he described his work, as if seeing a whole new person she
didn’t know existed in him. “This must have taken you a long time to do?  I mean, it’s not
some weekend project while visiting Mom.”
	He laughed, and shook his head. “No, that’s for sure! When they moved out
here, Jake and I came out and spent a while working on it, and I’ve done touch-ups and
additions over the years since.” He ran a hand over the wood of the gazebo,
appreciatively. “I built this in the shop over the winter one year, whenever I had free time.
Jake and I  brought it out in the spring in sections and put it together.” Mikki stared at him
in awe, as he continued, pointing towards the birdbath. “That, I found at an antique barn
a couple of years ago, and the bench, that was at another place like that. I refinished the
wood and painted the iron.”
	“You’re amazing.” she said softly.
	He glanced at her and smiled. “So are you.”
	She blushed and turned away. “Don’t be silly.” She waved her hands in both
directions, encompassing the expanse of the yard. “I can’t create beauty like this out of
nothing.”
	His smile broadened. “You don’t have to, it’s already there.”
	She swung around to face him, eyes questioning, and found herself face to face
with his dark eyes, thick with some expression she didn’t dare try to understand.  As she
sat mesmerized, he reached out and brushed the back of a hand along the side of her
face.  When she didn’t move, he leaned closer, his eyes holding hers for a few slow
seconds, before they dropped to her lips.
	“Reese?” she whispered, just as his lips reached hers, her heart beating out of
control.  He kissed her soft and fleetingly, but didn’t raise his lips more than a hair’s
breadth from hers.
	“What?” he asked, and she could feel his breath on her lips, as his hand gently
slid behind her head.
	“You--you don’t have to do this. Nobody’s watching.” she said, closing her eyes,
unable to still the confusion inside her.
	“I’m not doing this for show, Mikki. Patrick’s gone back to the hospital, he’ll
probably spend the night there with Mom.   Luke has been staying with friends while he’s
been in town, and Patrick is dropping him off there on his way.” He dropped another
fleeting kiss on her lips, and although she thought she might try to speak, only a
whimper escaped her.  At that, his lips claimed her completely, in a kiss so deeply filled
with passion and longing that it took her breath away. 	
	She’d been kissed before, but never like this.  Even the first time he had kissed
her in the truck -- or the second time, when they had arrived here -- could not compare
to this!  His fingers behind her head urged her closer to him, and his lips searched hers. 
Inevitably, they found what they searched for, as she responded to his lips with her own. 
Her hands defied her better judgment and slipped around him, clutching him close.  He
groaned low and deep, under his breath, as his tongue swiped across her lips, tasting
her, then once again he consumed her.  His fingers entwined in her hair at the base of
her neck and tipped her head, his lips taking full advantage of her, and time seemed to
stand still while they kissed.
	When he lifted his head and looked down at her, she clung to him as if the
ground had opened up beneath her. Her lips tingled, eager for the touch of his, and
when he didn’t kiss her again, she slowly opened her eyes.  She was met by his dark,
penetrating gaze, and suddenly felt like all her layers had been stripped away, leaving
her emotions open for him to see. She blushed, and lowered her head, resting her
forehead against his chest, her breath catching in her throat, and felt his arms tighten
slightly around her. 
	For days she had been denying what she already knew, and now he had kissed
her like this, and the truth burned inside her like fire. She only hoped he hadn’t been able
to see it on her face, see the raw emotion emblazoned in her eyes. How could she have
let this happen? How could she have let herself fall in love with him!

	Reese held her silently, and felt her tremble. He’d wanted to kiss her like that
ever since he’d silenced her with his lips as they’d argued in the truck. All the playful
pecks he’d been giving her all day since they’d arrived had only increased his desire for
her.  He’d told himself he just wanted it to look good in front of Patrick, but in reality, he
just wanted to take any opportunity to touch her, and to kiss her.  Even now, as he felt
her shiver in his arms and knew he might have gone somewhere she wasn’t prepared to
go, he couldn’t bring himself to let go of her, to let her slip out of his grasp just yet.  He
didn’t know why she had this affect on him. He’d dated women that he’d wanted in his
arms before, but never had he felt that he needed one there like he did with Mikki.
	He knew what else he needed too, and let out a heavy sigh as he reminded
himself that he wasn’t going to go there.  If this had been any other woman he might
have scooped her up in his arms, and carried her to his bed, wasting no time on idle
conversation, but Mikki was different. Not that he didn’t want her. Oh, he wanted her all
right!  He wanted her more than he wanted his next breath, but he wasn’t about to do
something about it if she didn’t want the same thing. His mind shot back to that damned
newspaper ad his aunt had responded to. Long term relationship/marriage it had said.
Even if she hadn’t placed the ad, if this friend of hers had done so behind her back, he
knew she wasn’t the kind of woman so settle for anything less. She wouldn’t fall into bed
with any man she went out with, he was certain of that, and if he wasn’t prepared to offer
her a future then he had no right to take anything from her.
	Absently, one hand stroked her back, toying with her hair, as he rested his chin
gently against the top of her head.  He steadied his breath, feeling her relax in his arms,
and closed his eyes to savour the moment before doing what he knew he had to do. He
had to let her go. He had to open his arms and let her pull away, and he had to keep his
hands off of her from now on unless she indicated she wanted him to do otherwise.
	“I’m sorry, Mikki.” he whispered against her hair, and he heard her heave a shaky
sigh in return.  For a moment she didn’t move, then her hands began to press against
him slowly, pushing herself away from him.  He wanted to cup her chin in his thumb and
finger, and lift her eyes to his, but he knew that if he did that, he’d kiss her again, and
then he wouldn’t be able to hold back.  With a deep breath, he dropped his arms to his
sides and stared out over the yard.  She eased herself away from him, and straightened,
her eyes darting off into the distance to find some safe target to focus on.
	“I -- I think we should go back in the house.” she said.
	He sighed. Dare he go back in the house?  Alone with her, in the house where
Patrick expected them to share a bedroom because both his mother and his step-father
assumed they already did.  Even if he could convince Patrick that Mikki was old
fashioned and didn’t want to share a bedroom in his mother’s house, there wasn’t
anywhere else for him to sleep. Since Patrick and Emily had moved here as a retired
couple with no children living at home, they hadn’t felt the need for a large house.  Since
Emily loved nature, they had chosen instead, a small house that left more room for the
garden.  Aside from their own bedroom, there was only one other, which they used for
visitors, and where Patrick would expect him and Mikki to sleep.  He could hardly sleep
on the couch, in plain view.  But could he stand being so close to her again? He
remembered the touch of her body so close to his as they’d slept in the back of the
truck, and stifled a groan.  If he found himself in that situation again, he wouldn’t be
accountable for his actions.  
	He cleared his throat and stood up, knowing what he had to do. “You’re tired
Mikki, it’s been a long couple of days.  Why don’t you go get some sleep. I’m going to
drop by the hospital and see how Mom’s doing.  I’ll tell her you’re resting, she’ll
understand. When I get back, I’ll sleep on the floor. Patrick will never know we didn’t
share the bed.”
	Mikki swallowed hard.  Of course. He’d already been forced to share the
mattress with her in the back of the truck. Once was probably enough. She had no idea
why he had kissed her just now, but it was obvious he wasn’t interested in anything
more with her, or he could easily have done it in the truck on the way here.  She stood
up without looking at him and stepped purposefully out onto the grass.
	“Fine.” she said flatly.  She’d welcome sleep after the confusion of the day,
anyway, why should she refuse his generous offer.  Without looking back, she walked
straight to the house leaving him alone to curse himself in the gazebo.