Rebecca groaned. “But I patched it only last month.”
“Well, it didn’t hold. There’s water streaming from the kitchen ceiling and filling up buckets. I don’t how in tarnation I’m supposed to cook pies when I got water coming in through the roof. Hell’s bells, I finally got Mac down for his nap and now this.”
“I’ll take a look at it.” Rebecca retrieved her damp shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“I don’t like you climbing that ladder. You’re gonna break your neck if you ain’t careful.”
“I haven’t yet,” she said grimly.
Rebecca clutched her shawl and hurried through the pelting rain around the side of the house. She yanked the ladder from under the back porch and dragged it toward the leaky spot in the roof. Summoning all her strength, she tugged on the ladder, straining against its weight and her clothes growing heavier with rainwater. Halfway up, the ladder slipped from her grip and fell crashing down into the mud.
She muttered a curse. If there was money to spare she’d gladly hire someone in town to replace the shingles, but with finances strained she’d hoped to make her roof last until spring. She had to make do.
“I can do this. I can do this.”
She braced her mud-caked feet apart then gripped the rungs again and started to pull. Her heart slammed in her chest and her arms burned, but this time she managed to hoist the ladder inch by painful inch up into place, scraping a black gash across the house in the process. Soaked to the bone, she leaned her head against the wood rung to catch her breath.
Recovering, Rebecca retrieved a hammer and nails from the toolbox she kept on the back porch and tucked them in her apron pocket. She looked up the ladder toward the roof. Rain struck her face. Lord, but she hated heights.
She drew in a deep breath and climbed the first rung, and then the second. The ladder shifted in the soft ground and her breath caught in her throat as she waited for it to settle. After tense seconds, she climbed two more rungs. Her foot caught in her muddy hem, forcing her to stop and untangle it.
As she reached for the fifth rung strong hands grabbed her around the waist and plucked her off the ladder as if she weighed little more than a feather.
Rebecca shrieked. Her heart hammered in her chest when her feet touched solid ground. The strong hands whirled her around.
“What are you doing?” Cole’s expression was murderous, as he stared down at her, rain dripping from the brim of his black hat.
Anger overruled fear and guilt. “You scared me half to death!”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
Her dress weighed down with water, clung to her skin. Her teeth chattered. “I’m fixing the roof.”
“Isn’t there anyone else who can do that for you?”
“What do you think?” she said tartly.
His face darkened even more. “Give me the hammer.”
“Absolutely not, you are a boarder in my house.”
“Damn it woman, give me the hammer.”
The order was sharp, brooking no argument. She reached in her pocket and pulled out the hammer and nails. “You don’t have to do this.”
Rough fingers brushed hers as he grabbed the tools from her. For an instant, her icy skin burned. His gaze touched hers and held it a beat longer, before he nodded toward the door. “Go inside.”
“I don’t want your help.” But too tired to argue, she took shelter under the cover of the back porch and watched him expertly scale the ladder. He quickly spotted the loose shingles, righted them and pounded them into place. He accomplished in minutes what would have taken her hours.
A gentle ache settled in her heart. She supposed it was because she’d been alone and struggled for so long, but she couldn’t help but wonder if this was the way life was meant to be—a man and a woman working together as partners. Sweet, shimmering emotions swirled inside her as she stared at his broad, powerful shoulders. Foolish to wonder what it felt like to be held in those arms, but here she was standing entertaining romantic thoughts about the one man who could ruin her life.
Cole shinnied down the ladder, then hurried under the cover of the porch. Water dripped from the brim of his hat; his jacket and pants would take hours to dry.
“The patch job will hold for now. When it stops raining, I’ll have another look at it. In the meantime, stay off the ladder.”
The harsh tone in his voice triggered her defenses. “Thank you,” she said bristling.
“You could have fallen and broken your neck.”
“Well, so could you!” she retorted.
His lips curled into a bitter smile. “That would suit you just fine, wouldn’t it?”
A chill snaked down her spine. As much as she wanted him gone from her life, she’d never will him any harm. “That’s not true!”
He snatched his hat off and slapped it against his thigh. “Isn’t it?”
She planted her hands on her hips. “You’re pushy and overbearing but that doesn’t mean I want anything bad to happen to you.”
“Liar.”
The ground seemed to roll underneath her feet. “What?”
“You said you didn’t know Lily very well.”
She fumbled to react to the sudden shift in conversation. “I—I only knew her briefly.”
He leaned forward until his face was only inches from hers. “Then why leave flowers on her grave?”
She retreated until her back pressed against the door. He advanced. His warm breath brushed her cheek. Her lips trembled as she stared into his green eyes.
“It’s right next to Pa’s.” The excuse sounded lame even to her ears.
“How’d she end up in the town cemetery? Where’d she get that fancy headstone? I can’t think of anybody in this town that would have bothered to see a hurdy-gurdy girl buried proper.”
All she could do was stare into his angry face afraid to speak even the smallest lie for fear her house of cards would tumble. Cole’s gaze bore into hers and she sensed he could almost peek into her mind and read her thoughts.
Then unexpectedly the anger drained from Cole’s face and he laid his hands on her shoulders making her jump. The touch of his warm flesh against her skin sent shivers through her body. “We all got things in our past we’d soon forget, Rebecca. I got ’em and I know you do, too. I can see you’re storing something inside you and it is eating away at you. Tell me what you know about Lily and my son and I’ll forgive whatever lies you’ve told. I just want to know something ab
out my boy.”
The quiet desperation in his voice did nothing to allay her panic. You can’t have him! She nearly screamed the words.
Her fear so great, she couldn’t bear being so near him. She moved to leave, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her against his chest.
His eyes searched hers. “You can trust me with the truth.”
Trust me. How many times had Curtis said that to her as he bilked more and more money out of this town?
“I can’t,” she said miserably.
“I’m a man of my word.”
“No.”
Frustration furrowed his brow. “What aren’t you telling me about my boy!” he rasped.
“He’s gone,” she cried. How much longer could she keep lying? “Please just leave.”
He snarled, not listening to her. “I’m not leaving this town until you tell me everything you know.”
Hot tears streamed down her face. “I can’t help you. Please just leave us be.”
He released her and stepped back. “Never.”
The back door slammed open. Bess stood there with a fresh bucket of water, her damp hair plastered against her forehead. She glanced at Rebecca and Cole and frowned, then without a word tossed the water over the rail. “The leaking has stopped for now. You two best get inside before you catch your death.”
A humorless smiled touched Cole’s lips. He took Rebecca by the arm. “Bess is right, you’re as cold as ice and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
He guided her into the warm kitchen, took her wet shawl from her shivering shoulders and hung it on a peg by the door. “Bess, Rebecca needs hot tea. She’s drenched.”
“I’ll take care of her.”
Rebecca shook her head. “Bess, I’m fine. A change of clothes is all I need.”
Bess snorted. “You’re bluer than a winter sky. If you don’t wrestle that chill from your bones you’re sure to catch a cold.” Knowing eyes narrowed as they focused on Cole. “And you ain’t much better. Both of you look like drowned rats. Get your clothes off Cole and I’ll wash ’em for you.”
He shrugged off his range coat. “Not at Mrs. Taylor’s prices.”
“No charge,” Bess said. “It’s the least I can do seeing as you fixed the roof. I gotta say I was relieved to see you scampering up that ladder instead of Rebecca. She ain’t got a talent for fixing shingles.”