The Other Side - J. D. Robb [118]
“I don’t know.” Christina began tapping a finger on her arm.
“And if nothing else, we might learn a bit about the man and determine just what it is that attracts the lad to him.”
Christina gave that some thought before nodding. “All right. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. Would you like me to invite him?”
The housekeeper brightened. “It would certainly mean more coming from you.”
Christina picked up her tea and sipped. “I’ll take care of it.”
A short time later she stepped into the work area and watched for several minutes as Jake held a level to a strip of wood and made some markings on the wall.
When he turned and saw her, he paused. “Sorry. I didn’t hear you come in. Do you need something?”
From his position on the floor, Tyler looked up, glancing from Christina to Jake. The mere fact that he seemed to be following their conversation had Christina’s heart rate climbing. He almost never paid any attention to the words being spoken by the people around him.
She saw Bonnie, seated silently in the corner of the room, smiling broadly.
“I came to invite you to dinner.”
Jake seemed about to refuse but he caught sight of Tyler, staring at him with such eagerness, and he found himself nodding against his will. “I guess I could.”
“I’ll tell Mrs. Mellon. Dinner will be at six. I’ll come and fetch you if you lose track of time.”
Jake watched her walk away before returning to his work. While he measured and marked and prepared to set the cabinets in place, he found himself wondering what had just happened.
He couldn’t imagine making small talk over a meal with strangers for an hour or more. The thought of smiling, nodding, answering questions about life in general, or worse, about himself, had him mentally cursing his momentary lapse.
If he chased after her right now, he could excuse himself before he was committed to this. An appointment he’d forgotten. Or even an emergency that had just come up. There must be something he could say to get himself off the hook.
He looked at the boy, who had picked up one of the wooden medallions and was turning it over and over in his hands. For one brief instant they made eye contact, and the boy’s lips curved into a half smile.
Jake felt a quick tug on his heart. Damn. The kid had him. Those sad eyes. That sweet smile.
He was trapped. He would just have to get through this.
“So, Mr. Ridgeway . . . ”
“Jake.”
The housekeeper smiled. “So, Jake, how did you happen to become a carpenter and cabinetmaker?”
The woman was as transparent as the glass that overlooked the gardens. She was bound and determined to engage him in conversation. Thinking about glass had him noticing the way the sunlight streaming in turned the ends of Christina’s hair to gold, surrounding her like a halo. He found himself itching to reach out and touch a strand, to see if it was as silky as it looked.
She could have been a model for one of those California beach commercials. All flawless tawny skin and a lush body that she tried to camouflage in a simple knee-skimming dress of pale yellow silk. She could wear an old paper bag, and she’d still look gorgeous.
What the hell was the matter with him? It was barely a year since he’d lost Lily and their child, and he was thinking about things he had no right to.
He closed his hand into a fist in his lap, grateful that they were eating in the kitchen. In his faded jeans and work shirt he’d have been completely out of place in the formal dining room he could see just beyond the doorway. If he found it odd that the lady of the house was eating in the kitchen with her staff, he didn’t bother to dwell on it. She seemed as comfortable here as she did in that big office. And from the looks of it, she didn’t consider them staff at all, but more like family. These two older women, he noted, were very protective of Christina Crenshaw and her little brother.
“It was a natural progression from architect to builder to carpenter. They’re all related fields, and I’ve always loved working with wood. I enjoy making something with my own hands.