call, could it?
On the other hand, as an official now, her address was had become public record, so finding her wouldn’t be hard if someone wanted to rant about something. Lovely idea.
But she shook herself, telling herself not to be ridiculous, and went to answer it.
She should have guessed. Blaine Harrigan stood there, wearing a light jacket now and holding a potted red gerbera daisy. “To brighten a windowsill,” he said with a smile. “I take it your new boss is happily sleeping?”
Just seeing him drew a bright smile from her and a rush of warmth. Man, she didn’t even know this guy. It was too soon to be happy to see him, wasn’t it?
Heck, she didn’t care. It was nice to see him, to feel as if she might have made her first friend here. She stepped back, inviting him in. “Thank you for the daisy. I just love it. What a kind thought.” She looked at the bright flower with a sudden feeling of comfort, as if she weren’t a total stranger here anymore. “I was thinking about making some tea. Would you like some?”
“I never turn down a cuppa,” he answered. He handed her the flower, and she motioned him to follow her to the small kitchen and dining area. She placed the daisy on the sill over the sink then turned to find him standing in the doorway, evidently awaiting an invitation to sit or go.
“Have a seat,” she said, pointing to the ridiculously small table with two chairs. This place had come partially furnished, a relief to her because she hadn’t wanted to ship her things from Iowa. None of it had been worth shipping. Her life revolved around her work, and decorating had mostly involved plastic storage containers and repurposed boxes. Hey, it had served her needs.
But now...well, what was here could do with a few additions for the baby.
“So you’re enjoying a little peace and quiet,” he said as she filled the kettle and put it on the gas stove.
“Until around eleven,” she agreed. “I’m sorry you caught me in such a mess earlier. I’m new at this, but I’m not stupid. I don’t know why I didn’t think of burping Daphne. I do it all the time!”
He laughed quietly. “No excuses needed. You’re tired, probably overwhelmed. I mean, a new job and a new baby all at once? And more to come, I believe. I’ll bet the little one starts creeping and crawling soon.”
“She’s already trying,” Diane admitted. “When I put her down on a blanket. But I’ve only had four days with her. A lot to learn.” She hesitated. “You said you were from Ireland, right?”
He nodded.
“Then my tea is probably going to appall you.”
He leaned forward a little on his chair. “Tea bags? I’ve learned to admire their advantages. Easy and quick, especially for a single guy who only wants one cup. Now, if I really want to brew a pot, I can do it, but usually I’m on the run.”
“I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I make a pot with tea bags.”
“I’ll show you when we have some time. Anyway, I’m going to buzz into yer meetin’ with the commissioners tomorrow.”
“The culvert?” she asked, turning to pull out two mugs and a box of tea bags and put them on the table.
“It has to be replaced quickly. The road is sinking, the concrete is cracking and the steel drainage pipe is buckling. Me and Doug from the road department closed off the road today. I don’t want some poor rancher to start driving over it and find his bonnet—sorry, hood—six feet in the ground.”
Diane nodded. “Not good. Do you like milk and sugar?”
“I’ll go for straight. Thanks. Yeah, the budget has been way too tight for too long. Been patching and mending as best we can, but there’s only so long we can push things off.”
“I know. Infrastructure is one of my pet peeves. Nothing works if you haven’t got it.”
“Ah, some common sense!”
She couldn’t repress a giggle at that. She wasn’t totally unfamiliar with the difficulties he mentioned. No place ran like a smoothly oiled machine, no budget was ever sufficient and personalities always got in the way. “Did you expect something else from an urban planner?”
His grin broadened. “I’ve known all types in my life.”
She was still smiling as she poured boiling water into the mugs over the waiting tea bags. Soon the rich aroma of black tea began to waft through the kitchen. “So why did you leave Ireland?” she asked. “I’ve always wanted to go there.”
“Now that’s a story,” he answered. Once again his deep voice took on the rhythms of the American West, leaving behind the hints of Galway. And they were just hints, poking out from time to time. He’d clearly been in the States for a while. “Like many places in the world, Ireland was booming just before the economic crash. Unlike many places in the world, we didn’t recover quickly. We had too much boom. We were bringing in workers from all over the world, building fast, growing, and then...” He shrugged.
“Whatever. Life was getting harder, finding work was getting harder and I had a bit of the wanderlust in me. I hopped through a few jobs, then stopped here.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “Because I like it. It’s different. Galway’s beautiful with mountains and plenty of seashore, and the town itself has a lot of charm in parts. But I have to say, I wasn’t prepared for the sheer size of your country. I was astonished and spellbound. And then I saw the mountains here. They dwarf anything I’d ever known before, plus there’s a whole lot of wide-open space, space almost beyond imagining. It would be hard to tear me away.”
She nodded and set her tea bag on the saucer in the middle of the table. Lifting her cup, she closed her eyes for a few seconds just to inhale the fragrant steam. The questions buzzing her head were dangerous, so she diverted. She didn’t dare ask about people she would be working with. “All tea comes from a single Asian plant, from Yunnan in China. It grows elsewhere now, and there are probably varieties, but most of the flavor we love has to do with how the tea is aged.” She opened her eyes.
“Where did that come from?” he asked.
“Trying to avoid asking you about the members of the commissions and boards I’m going to be dealing with.”
He cracked a laugh, a deep sound that rumbled as if it rose from the depths. “I shouldn’t say much. A bunch of eejits, but not always. They’re politicians. You can count on them to look out for themselves. Take the culvert I told you about. That’s going to need to be replaced as swiftly as possible. I’ll have to let them know what I’m going to do, even though I believe I have the money in the roads budget. They like to be informed. Oh, keep that in mind, Diane. They want to know everything. Some of them will raise Cain because there are probably ten things that they might consider more important. Finally they’ll settle down and give me the go-ahead simply because they don’t want a dozen of the largest ranchers around here to be having to detour by miles all winter. But the argument will reassure them that they’re the ones in control.”
She understood him perfectly. That was a game she’d played before. She also knew how to win...usually.
“But
