Something Old - Dianne L. Christner [31]
When they entered the house, she heard loud ripping and pounding noises. She stepped onto the plastic flooring protection and started toward the kitchen. “Let’s go see what’s going on.”
Lil stopped and bent to reposition some tape and a portion of the plastic. “I think he’s tearing out the plaster and replacing it with drywall. Go on, I’ll be there in a minute.”
With a shrug, Katy stepped into the country-style kitchen onto more plastic flooring, and saw the backside of a man whose physique made her heart trip before her mind understood the reason. The air between them crackled. The worker must have felt it, too, for he froze, then turned.
His mouth curled into a lopsided grin. “Hey, Katy. You’ve got a great little place here.”
Confused, horrified, and standing in disbelief, she opened her mouth and closed it again. But she could not deny the truth for more than a few seconds. With it came a sudden fury, and she marched forward to throw him out on his ear, or at least demand to know why he was invading her privacy.
“What—” She stopped. He was the contractor Lil had hired. She fought for control, not wanting to humiliate herself any further. She wouldn’t show him she still cared about him. “I think so.” She took a deep breath and coughed, and in the process, accidentally sucked plaster and drywall dust into her throat. She fought the tickle, then got saliva down the wrong track and choked uncontrollably.
Jake moved quickly. He cradled his arm around her and led her to the water pump. Her coughing caused her eyes to water so that she could hardly see, but she soon caught on that the water was frozen. Blindly, she fanned her face and struggled to breathe, coughing and gasping. He left her but quickly returned with a cup of water from his personal water jug. She took a sip, and he lightly rapped her back. When at last she could breathe again, she wheezed, “Stop, please.”
“I should have warned you about the dust. Lethal stuff.”
“Yeah, lethal,” she croaked. Then grudgingly added, “Thanks.”
He nodded, and her vision returned enough for her to catch a rare moment when Jake looked uncertain, even vulnerable. But that wouldn’t stop her from demanding that Lil fire him. His lips moved as if to speak. Fearing what he might say, certain it would be something personal, she blurted out, “I wish you hadn’t come back.”
He quickly recovered from her insult. “I wish I’d never left.”
Katy rolled her gaze heavenward.
“I couldn’t forget you,” he added.
She felt uncomfortable in his presence and wanted nothing more than to run. But before she did, she needed to fix something that had plagued her ever since the incident. This time she didn’t want to have those nagging regrets. She took another deep breath, careful not to inhale drywall dust. “You remember the night I told you to stay away?”
His eyes softened regrettably. “Yes, I remember. Even though I was drunk. And I want to apologize for that night.”
The memories of the incident flooded over Katy, hardening her heart. But she forced herself to continue. “I’ve felt guilty, thinking my words kept you away from the church.”
“I understood it was personal.” He grinned, sheepishly. “I didn’t think you had the authority of the elders behind you.”
She felt her face heat, glad the elders hadn’t witnessed that incident, even though she wasn’t the one at fault. “As long as you understand that I don’t want you to go to hell, I just…don’t want you.”
His brows lowered, creating a dark hood over his eyes as though to shield himself from her cruel remark. A heavy silence loomed between them. Then his mouth quirked to the side, and he grinned. Before, his smile had always charmed her whenever he needed forgiveness. But then his misdeeds were