Night Whispers - Leslie Kelly [4]
“IT’S ABOUT TIME YOU SHOWED UP, Fred,” Kelsey said, not turning around to greet her upstairs neighbor. She felt too warm and lethargic to even open her eyes. She’d been working all morning, wanting everything perfect before Mitch returned home the next day. She suspected he wouldn’t be too happy about the work she’d done, but it was too late to worry about it now.
The warmth of the sun felt relaxing, not vicious as it could be in mid-July, but hazy and soothing, the way only an Indian summer sun in the mid-Atlantic states can feel. A light breeze blew across her body, and where the ice had touched her skin, it brought delicious coolness. She could lounge like this all day. But it appeared Fred had finally come to help out.
“I’d just about finished without you—you said you’d be down by ten. Are you still going to help me get this place cleaned up?”
Kelsey sat up and stretched a little. Arching her back, she moved her head from side to side to work the kinks out of her neck. If she didn’t get back to work now she might never be able to. Her shoulders already felt achy.
“I’m going to pay for this tonight,” she said, not even turning to face him. “My arms are killing me from lugging the wheelbarrow around.”
Fred didn’t say anything, which wasn’t surprising. The man was incredibly shy. Until his girlfriend, Celia, had become friendly with Kelsey, he hadn’t spoken much more than a half-dozen words to her. After that, he’d come out of his shell and the three of them had become the best of friends.
“Let me,” he murmured very quietly. She didn’t know what he meant until he moved behind her chair and put his hands on her shoulders. Kelsey scooted forward on the lounge chair, dropping her chin to her chest so he could rub the back of her neck. He worked expertly on her tight muscles, and she instantly felt better. Kelsey was a little surprised. His hands felt rougher and stronger than she’d expect from someone who spent ten hours a day in a lab. He also pressed and stroked with complete confidence, not typical for a guy who seemed so shy around women.
“Wow,” she said with a lazy drawl, “I think you have a future as a masseur.”
He still didn’t say anything. She didn’t mind. Fred was sturdy and dependable, a little too serious, but a great neighbor. He minded his own business and yet always let her know she could call on him if needed. She hoped Mitch’s return tomorrow wouldn’t upset the peaceful balance they’d created in the brownstone.
Mitch didn’t know what crazy impulse made him reach out to massage Kelsey’s shoulders. He’d been about to confront her when his hands had moved with a mind of their own. And once he’d started, he’d been no more able to stop than a flower could resist turning up to the sun. So he kept touching her, kneading her flesh, rubbing the golden skin, which felt smoother than the silks he’d touched in China. He had an overwhelming urge to kiss the base of her neck, and only her next question stopped him.
“So what time do you think Mitch will be home tomorrow?”
What was he doing? This was Kelsey! He’d known that, consciously, from the moment she started speaking. He recognized the slight Virginia drawl and the deep voice she’d inherited from her mother. When she was little, Kelsey used to get mad when her family teased her that she sounded like a boy. But she had most definitely grown into it. She sounded the way Mitch thought velvet soaked in whiskey would sound, if it could make noise.
“His high holiness isn’t going to be pleased about the yard.”
Kelsey had started calling him “his high holiness” the very first summer he’d come to stay with her family, since she’d had to share her room with the baby so Mitch could bunk with Nathan. She’d put peanut butter between his toes the very first night! He shook off the seductive spell he’d been under. This was Kelsey. This was no temptress. He stood up and backed a step away from the chair.
“Do you think we should kowtow when he gets back? I bet he loved being in China where everyone bowed to him.”
He didn’t question