Page 23 of Hold a Candle

She swallowed over the lump in her throat, washing down the rest of the cracker she’d been chewing on. Twisting the cracker sleeve closed again, she broke their staring contest as she put the crackers away. “I-I’m sorry, Jamie, ye are right. I guess I’m a little more snarly than usual tonight.” Now was not the right time or place to challenge his words, and he certainly didn’t deserve her temper after all he’d done to help her.

Jamie’s invisible hackles laid down and he finally smiled that delicious killer smile. “Why don’t ye lay yer seat back and close yer eyes, lass? Relax until we get home. I’ll fix ye a sandwich or something and ye can try to get some rest.”

Pauley nodded and followed his directions as he pulled back onto the road. With the soft sounds of a popular artist whose name she couldn’t remember crooning in her ear, and the warmth flowing from the heater, she drifted into a fitful doze.

***

JAMIE GLANCED OCCASIONALLYat Pauley as he carefully made his way down through the hills and winding roads. She dozed lightly, as if the slightest bounce in the road would startle her awake. The lass defied being categorized with her mercurial nature. Every attribute she’d shown him had an opposite side. It was as if there was another Pauley inside the hard-bitten,determined-to-rise-in-the-ranksdetective that was begging for attention and needed to be released.

In some ways, she reminded him of Rhonda. He supposed he had a type just like everyone else seemed to, so that shouldn’t surprise him. It was that same mercurial nature that had attracted him to his first wife. Rhonda had been driven, successful in her father’s company, independent, and passionate. They had butted heads at times, almost as if she were purposely goading him.

If he couldn’t get to the bottom of what was bothering her, then he’d put her over his lap until she relented and apologized. Sometimes she would tell him what was bothering her and sometimes she wouldn’t. But she was always sweetly submissive and sorry afterwards. And her passionate nature certainly went into overdrive after getting her bottom warmed. He really enjoyed that.

Jamie was a very private person. Even though he didn’t have many close friends, his wife was a subject he would never have been comfortable discussing with another man. Sometimes he envied the closeness of Darro and Angus. They squabbled like a father and son, but the evidence of deep respect was clear in the bonds they shared regarding Neamh and family. Not having a son was one thing he regretted, but it wasn’t meant to be. Rhonda had barely survived Lucerne’s difficult birth, and he wouldn’t risk her life to produce another child. He sighed silently as he navigated the streets of Inverness.

Every time Luca looked at him, he saw suspicion and doubt. Natalie had made it plain that he would be poaching on her father’s territory if he was interested in her mother. He hadn’t met Pauley’s oldest son yet, but would he feel the same? Trying to blend families was difficult at the best of times, but with full grown children, it could be even more difficult.

Peter was also a surprise. He didn’t know what attributes the man had in the past that had won Pauley’s heart the first time, but there wasn’t much he could see that would attract a lass like her. To be fair, though, life had a way of changing people. And some people were never meant to be together from the start.

The only thing he was certain of was that a woman like Pauley didn’t come along every day. He’d never again expected to meet someone who fired his libido with an instant attraction. She was like a flickering flame in the midst of a woodpile that refused to burn out no matter how hard it was to catch the stubborn logs with no tinder available. He wanted to be the tinder in her life, the help she needed to keep fighting for the things she believed in, and the protective shield that believed in her capabilities. Then he snorted at himself at the idealistic lines that just ran through his head.

Jamie’s mother, God rest her soul, had been the dreamy, poetic, reading type who loved descriptive prose. She’d loved reading to her kids. He supposed there was a part of her inside him too, not just his practical, down to earth, farmer father.

As he pulled into the driveway of the detached garage that he’d built next to his two-story home, he hit the door opener on his sun visor.

“I guess we’re here?”

He looked over at Pauley and noted the shadows beneath her eyes and the fatigue around her mouth. “Aye, lass.”

She yawned and nodded. “I’m ready for that sandwich ye promised,” she replied, her stomach growling in the stillness of the garage as she opened the car door.

Jamie was already around the front of the car when she stepped out and he frowned. “I was coming to get the door for ye.”

Her lips quirked. “Do men still do that these days?”

He came to stop in front of her. “This man does,” he growled. Then he took her forearm, turned her around, and landed a quick spank on her jean clad backside. “Ye’d best remember that.”

She yelped and glared at him, but Jamie was an old hand at the staring contest. He folded his arms and stared right back without blinking. As usual, his opponent gave in first. With a huff, Pauley turned away without an argument, which surprised him. The pout that dropped her bottom lip had to be completely foreign to her, and he wondered if she was even aware of it? He found it adorable.

“I’ll get yer bag,” he said, opening the back door and taking out her pack. Then he followed her around to the side door that led to the covered walkway between the house and the garage. He was pleased when she actually stopped there.

“Does that include building doors too?” she mocked, glancing up at him.

He chuckled with satisfaction. “Not always, but since this is my house, ye might want me to show ye where to go the first time around.”

He grabbed the doorknob, flicked the switch for the outer light, and ushered her through to the concrete sidewalk and up the steps of the side door into the house.

***

PAULEY LOOKED CURIOUSLYaround as she proceeded Jamie through the kitchen doorway and into the house. She wanted to rub her right butt cheek but refused to give him the satisfaction. It smarted and tingled though, and lord save her, she savored that like a drink of water from an oasis.

The two-story older home was a simple layout with a large kitchen which was separate from the dining room, a style dating back to the earlier eras of the 19thcentury architecture. It was surprisingly similar to hers as far as what she could see from the front when they’d pulled in.

Most likely it would be two bedrooms upstairs with a bath. Downstairs there would be a living room, a bedroom that could be turned to a family room or study, a formal dining room, a guest bath, and then a laundry room and deck off the dining area. And probably a basement or partial basement, since the front and back doors had steps leading up to them.

She noticed the kitchen appeared fairly up-to-date with mini blinds on the window to her left where the round table sat, serviceable oak cabinets, and a doorway on the other side of the room with a set of French windows just beyond the formal table in the dining room. The floor was variegated cream tile, the counter tops were seafoam green marble, a popular decorating color during the 80’s, and the appliances were white. She wondered if the rest of the house would be in similar colors?

Jamie stepped in behind her. “Do ye want to see yer room or eat first?” he asked, setting her bag on the floor.

---