“It needs to be centered under the window.”
“Then why didn’t you say something?”
He put his hands on her waist or what had once been her waist. Her breath caught. Ryan gently directed her out of the way, then quickly put space between them. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
Ryan acted as if he’d been too personal with her. “It’s okay,” she said.
“Stand over there, out of the way, and tell me when I have it where you want it.”
“You do know I’m just pregnant, not an invalid.”
He gave her a pointed look. “I’m well aware of that but some things you shouldn’t be doing, whether you’re pregnant or not. This is one of them. Now, tell me where you want it.”
Shifting the desk an inch, he looked at her for confirmation. It still wasn’t where she wanted it. “Move it to the right just a little.”
Had he muttered “Women” under his breath?
“That’s it. Perfect. Thank you.”
He stood and rubbed his lower back.
She stepped closer. “Did you hurt yourself?”
He grinned. “No. I was just afraid that you might ask me to move something else.”
“Hey, you’re the one who volunteered.”
“That I did. I might ought to think about it before I do that again.” He continued stretching.
“Might ought to?” She liked his accent.
“Ought to. Texas. Southern. Ought to go. Ought to get.”
Phoebe laughed. “I’ll have to remember that. Use it sometime.”
“I think you ought not make fun of me.”
“And I think you ought not be so sensitive.”
They both laughed.
It was the first real laugh she’d shared with someone in a long time. It felt good.
“Well, I guess I had better go. It’s getting late.”
“I really appreciate all your work today. The baby’s room looks wonderful. I can hardly wait to go to some garage sales and look for a chest of drawers.”
“And how do you plan to get something like that home?”
“I’ll worry about that if I find one. Some people are willing to deliver if I ask.”
“I don’t have any mothers due for a couple of weeks so why don’t I go with you on Saturday?”
She like the idea but didn’t want to take advantage of him. “I hate to take up another one of your weekends.”
“I’d like to go. I’ve got a buddy who has a truck and lets me borrow it sometimes.”
The truck was a plus and it would be nice to have company. “I won’t turn that down.”
“Great. I’ll be here early Saturday to pick you up.”
Ryan headed out the front door. “See you then.”
“Bye.” Phoebe watched from the veranda as Ryan drove away. She could get used to having him around. Seeing him on Saturday gave her something to look forward to. Of course she appreciated his help but more than that she liked him. There was an easy way about him that made life seem like fun. She was far too attracted to him already. Joshua had been right about him. Maybe she had found someone she could depend on.
Warmth lingered where Ryan had touched her. A ripple of awareness had gone up her spine. What was she thinking? Joshua had been dead for less than a year and she had a baby on the way, and here she was mooning over Ryan.
Still, Saturday couldn’t come soon enough.
CHAPTER FOUR
RYAN PULLED THE truck to the curb in front of Phoebe’s house just as the sun became warm.
What was he doing? The question kept rotating through his mind like a revolving door. He was too interested in Phoebe. But it was hard not to be. Those large, vulnerable eyes drew him in. Still, he admired the way she had stood up to him when he’d stepped over the line to bossing her around. The brief moments he’d touched her waist had told him that he could want more than just to help her. That wasn’t going to happen. Still, he’d looked forward to spending the day with her.
Phoebe met him halfway up the walk. She wore jeans and a simple white shirt. Her eyes sparkled and for a woman of her size she walked with a peppy step. A smile covered her face. She reminded him of springtime. A fresh start.
If he’d seen any woman look more alluring, he couldn’t remember when. “Mornin’.”
“Hi. You ready to go? We need to get going. You know the early bird gets the worm.” She carried a newspaper and passed him on the way to the truck, leaving the smell of flowers swirling in the air. He was tempted to breathe deeply. Let his mind commit it to memory.
“Uh … yeah. I’m ready.” Ryan wasn’t able to keep the astonishment out of his voice. He hurried to join her. Phoebe was a woman on a mission.
She had climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door before he reached the truck. He took his place behind the wheel. “So where’s the fire?”
“What?” She looked up from the open paper.
“What’s the hurry?”
“I think they have just what I need at a sale and I don’t want it to get bought up before we get there.”
“Why didn’t you call me? I could have come earlier.”
“I didn’t know for sure until I phoned a few minutes ago. They wouldn’t promise to hold it for me so we’ve got to go.”
Ryan grinned as he pulled away from the curb. There was nothing like a woman looking for a deal. “So where are we headed?”
“South. It’s about forty minutes away.” Phoebe gave him directions.
“South it is.”
They traveled in silence until they were out of the city and he was driving along a two-lane highway.
“Do you have an address for the place we’re going?”
Phoebe read it to him out of the paper.
“I have no idea where that is.” Ryan kept his eyes on the road as a delivery truck whizzed by them.
“It’s another half hour down this road, then we have to turn off.”
“Have you always redone furniture?” It was ironic that she enjoyed something that was so similar to his passion.
“I’ve been doing it for a few years. I found I needed to fill the time when Joshua was away.”
“You were lonely, weren’t you?”
Phoebe didn’t immediately answer. “It wasn’t so hard at first. But it got more so as time went on.”
Her melancholy tone implied that something more than loneliness had pushed her toward finding a hobby.
“Joshua didn’t care for my painting taking up my time when he was home so I always put things away then.”
He remembered what she’d said before about putting away her painted furniture because Joshua hadn’t like it. That had surprised him. It didn’t sound like the Joshua he’d known. Maybe he had changed since they’d known each other in the service. Ryan needed to find a safer subject. “Looks like it’s going to be a pretty day.”
“Yes, it does. I’m glad. I don’t want anything I buy to get wet.”
“I brought a covering in case we need it.”
She gave him a
smile of admiration.
The feeling of being a conquering hero went through him. What was happening to him? He smiled back. “Glad I could be of help.”
“You’re going to need to take a left turn in a couple of miles.”
“You know this area well.”
“This isn’t the first time I’ve been down this way to garage sales.”
They lapsed into silence until Phoebe began giving him directions regularly. They turned off the main road onto a dirt road that led up to a farmhouse with a steep metal roof and a porch circling it on three sides. A large barn with its doors opened wide stood off to the side. Two other cars were parked nearby.
“They keep the stuff they’re selling in the barn,” Phoebe said, with the door already open.
She hurried to the barn and Ryan joined her halfway there. They entered the dim interior. In an unused stall tables had been set up that contained all types of bottles, kitchen utensils, purses and other small items. On the other side were the larger items. Phoebe headed to them. She studied a cabinet that came up to his chest. It was much too high for her to make good use of it.
Phoebe pulled the drawers out and pushed them back in. “Would you mind tipping it forward so I can look at the back’s construction?”
He had to give her credit for being knowledgeable and thorough. Ryan did as she requested.
She knocked against the wood and made a sound in her throat. Her hair curtained her face so he couldn’t see what she was thinking. Running a hand over the edge and back again, she made another sound. Whether it was positive or negative he couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter. He was enthralled just watching her.
“You can let it down now.”
Ryan lowered it to the ground.
She stepped back and studied it. “I think it’ll do.”
“May I make a suggestion?”
She looked at him as if she’d almost forgotten he was there. He didn’t like that idea. That he could that easily disappear from her thoughts. Raising her chin and cocking her head, she gave him a questioning look. “Yes?”
“I think this chest is too tall for you. You can’t even see over it.”