like fun.”
“How’s your wife coping with small-town life?” she asked, needing to remind herself that that he was a married man and then maybe that thousand-watt smile of his wouldn’t have so much power over her.
“Actually, I lost my wife almost two years ago. Being a single parent was part of my reason for changing careers and deciding to move here. My wife’s mother lives here and I thought my daughter could use the support of a loving grandmother.”
“I’m so sorry,” Brittany said, knowing the simple words weren’t adequate for the depth of loss he’d suffered. Her heart went out to him. He had not only lost the woman he loved, but apparently had made the choice to leave his career behind and move because in his mind it was the best thing he could do for his daughter.
Someplace in the back of her mind she realized this meant that Alex was a single man. Not that it mattered to her. No matter how hot he was, she just wasn’t ready for a man in her life.
All she wanted from Alex was a deck where she could have her friends and family over for barbecues and good times. Beyond that she knew what she needed most was time to heal, and that was something she had to do all alone.
“It’s all right,” he replied. “Time passes and life goes on. My main goal is just to make sure that Emily is okay. Emily is my six-year-old daughter.”
Now she understood why he didn’t work weekends and worked relatively short days. “You mentioned that your wife’s mother lives here. Would I have known your wife?”
He shook his head. “Linda never lived here in Black Rock. Her parents, Rose and Harry, moved here after Linda and I got married.”
“Rose Tyler,” Brittany said.
“That’s right.”
Brittany smiled. “She’s a nice lady. She does a lot of charity work here in town.”
“She’s the greatest,” he agreed. “And best of all she’s a babysitter who never complains about long hours.”
“What about your parents?” she asked.
“They live a wonderful life in Italy. They weren’t exactly what you’d call doting parents and so I knew not to turn to them when Linda died.”
At that moment the conversation was cut short as the truck from the lumberyard arrived. Brittany stood to the side and watched as it was unloaded. The truth of the matter was she watched Alex as he helped Ed Burton from the lumberyard unload. She watched in fascination as his T-shirt stretched taut across his back with each load he lifted.
She’d found the tidbit of information about his parents intriguing but told herself she didn’t want to know more intimate details of his life.
Even if she were ready for a man in her life and even though she found Alex incredibly sexy, she still wouldn’t want to have any relationship with him.
Brittany wasn’t sure she wanted children of her own. There was no way she’d want to take on somebody else’s. She still needed to work on herself and wouldn’t have the time or energy to deal with a grieving child.
No, she would be happy to admire Alex’s taut body over the next couple of days but there wouldn’t be anything more between them, not that he’d made any sign that he was even remotely interested in her.
Within twenty minutes everything was off the truck and stacked neatly on one side of the yard and Ed Burton drove away. Brittany was surprised when Buck Harmon and another young man appeared in the backyard.
“There you are,” Alex said with a smile to the two young men.
“Sorry we’re late. Gary had to stuff his face with a sandwich before we left his house,” Buck said. He raised a hand to Brittany in greeting.
“These are my helpers,” Alex said. “I’m assuming you know Buck and Gary.”
“I know Buck,” she replied. And what she knew of him she didn’t like. At twenty-four years old Buck had a reputation for trouble. He worked odd jobs, drank more than he should and could be a hothead. More than once as a deputy she’d had to give him a stern warning about some infraction or another. “But I don’t believe I’ve met Gary before,” she added.
“Gary Cox.” He strode over to her and held out his hand. The freckles on his face danced as he offered her a friendly smile and shook her hand with an adult firmness. His coppery hair gleamed in the sunlight as he stepped back from her. “I’m Buck’s friend and I’ve been helping Alex on some of his jobs.”
He looked like an odd companion for Buck. Gary gave the impression of being a puppy dog, eager to please and slightly goofy. “Nice to meet you, Gary,” she said.
“Now that the introductions are out of the way, it’s time to get to work,” Alex said.
“And I’ll just get out of your way,” Brittany replied. She went back inside the house but stood at the back window and watched as Alex and the younger men got to work.
She wondered if Alex knew that Buck wasn’t the most trustworthy person in town. Buck had had more than his share of run-ins with all of the Graysons. If she got a chance she’d mention her concerns about him to Alex, but in the meantime she watched as the work began on the dream that had helped keep her sane through her months of captivity.
Watching Alex work should become a national pastime, she thought as she watched him pick up a hole digger and hand it to Buck.
She turned away, deciding she needed to stop watching Alex and find something more constructive to do. She’d been meaning to clean out her closet since moving back into the house. She’d lost about fifteen pounds while being held by The Professional and intended to donate a lot of the clothes that were now too big for her to charity.
She kept her mind blank as she worked, knowing that if she gave it free rein it always went back to the filthy cell where she’d been held, counting the days, the very minutes to death.
It was just after three when she heard a knock on her back door and hurried to answer. Once again a rivulet of warmth wiggled through her as she saw Alex.
“We’re knocking off for the day,” he said when she opened the door. “We’ve got the posts up but they need to set. Since tomorrow is Saturday we’ll give them the weekend and we’ll be here bright and early on Monday morning.”
“Sounds good,” she replied. “Then I’ll see you on Monday.”
“Have a good weekend,” he said and then he was gone.
She hadn’t realized how much the sound of the male voices coming from the backyard throughout the afternoon had comforted her.
Now she found the silence slightly oppressive. She moved the box of oversize clothing she’d packed next to the front door and then called a local charity for a pickup the next day.
Sitting down on the sofa, she punched the remote control to turn on the television, just wanting the noise to fill the emptiness of the otherwise silent house.
For almost three months she’d been alone in the shed, with
