Page 6 of Loving Jake

She stared back at him, her eyes sparkling in the brightly lit kitchen. “You can park in the garage, if you’d like? I only have the one car, so there’s always an extra space. It’s probably safer, anyway. I’d hate for some thieves to think the house’s contents are as nice as the Ferrari sitting in the driveway,” she added with a hint of laughter in her voice.

A smirk creased the corner of his mouth. “California is one of those places where you can rent about anything you want on a whim, if you have the money.” He surprised himself with his inexplicable need to explain that the two-hundred and fifty-thousand-dollar car parked in front of her house was a frivolous impulse while he was in California and not an example of his current values.

“Except apartments,” she responded coyly, her full, generous lips twitching in amusement. Her dark eyes continuedto sparkle as she looked up at him, and once again, he noticed that she really had grown up into a remarkably attractive woman, inside and out.

“Except apartments,” he returned, joining in on her amusement with a deep chuckle of his own. God, she was beautiful when she laughed. Hell, when wasn’t she beautiful? His eyes roamed, for the last time he promised himself, over her long legs and slightly rounded hips snugly covered in a pair of shorts that should be sold with a label that read ‘illegal if worn in public.’

He coughed and shook away a piece of hair that fell into his face. The breeze that recently ruffled the kitchen curtains must have suddenly stopped, because his internal body temperature skyrocketed, and his skin was sticky. He took a large gulp of air and admitted to himself that the temperature of the kitchen had nothing to do with the reason his jeans suddenly fit tighter, particularly in one noticeable area. “I better get going. I want to see my grandfather this afternoon.” He shifted back and forth by pressing his heels into the floor. He was eager to put some space between Kimberly’s scantily clad body, and his overly aroused one, in order to hide his reaction to her.

“Ah, okay.”

He didn’t miss the curiosity peppering her simple reply, but there was no way he planned to explain his sudden need to leave, not a chance. Discreetly as possible under the circumstances, he pulled at his jeans to loosen the fabric.

They walked together to the front of the house, and Jake opened the front door.

“I’ll see you Saturday.” He stepped out into the bright sunlight and placed his sunglasses over his eyes. He flashed her a smile and then proceeded down the stairs and toward his car.

“See you Saturday,”Kimberly murmured as she watched Jake make his way to the flashy red sports car. As soon as she was positive that he had driven away and didn’t appear to be coming back, she decided that she didn’t have the luxury to dwell on his hasty departure. With a grimace on her lips, she raced up the stairs to the second floor, Daisy following close on her heels.

“Two days! How will I ever get this room ready in two days?” She moved a large cardboard box filled with pictures from the seat of a folding chair and slumped down in defeat. Her guestroom was a disaster, having been used as her junk room until now. Never needing it for anything other than storage, she had left it last on her list to remodel, never having found the time to do it.

“Why I ever thought I would have room in a three-bedroom house is beyond me.” Kimberly occupied one bedroom herself and had turned another into a home office. She had allowed the third bedroom to morph into a convenient storage room, and now she regretted it.

She moaned out loud, her eyes roaming over the dozens of photographs she had taken over the last few years, proudly framed, but never hung. Her eyes wavered briefly on the many cardboard boxes scattered all over the room, containing everything from high school yearbooks to childhood dolls. She refused to dwell on the many pieces of fitness equipment set up in the room, purchased as various New Year’s resolutions yet never used.

Somewhere under all the clutter was a double bed that would need to have the linen changed and the quilt aired out. Forcing herself to look at the room’s brightly papered walls almost caused her to cry. Large yellow daffodils stared back at her distressed expression. She cringed as she realized that thewallpaper must have been put up in the seventies, definitely one of the country’s gaudier eras.

“Well, Daisy,” she directed at the large, panting dog at her feet, “so much for our walk in the park this afternoon. It looks as if I’m off to the hardware store for some supplies.” The shaggy dog merely gave her a blank stare before returning to rest her head on her huge, outstretched paws. She gave out a low growl and closed her eyes.

“Sure, take a nap, why don’t you? Meanwhile, I have to empty out this room, tear off all the wallpaper, and then paint it when I’m done.” She let out a long sigh and then allowed a grin to spread slowly across her lips. “But you know what, Daisy? It’s going to be worth it.” She glanced at the St. Bernard, now snoring loudly, and shook her head. She had spent nearly twenty years in love with Jake Taylor without ever doing anything about it, and the last week feeling sorry for herself because he knew of her feelings but never returned them. What made matters worse, he had always been nice to her. If he had been a jerk, she might have given up on him long ago. She leaned back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling. Maybe Carly was right. Maybe the timing had never been right for the two of them and now was her chance?

Jake would be living under her roof, possibly for several weeks, and she could finally go after her dreams. Her decision to rent a room to him might have been a split second one, but it was a good one. She had caught him checking her out more than once today, and he had been interested, if only in her body, and for now that was better than nothing. This was the chance for him to see her as something other than George Urbane’s little sister, and she was going to make sure he did. Jake Taylor was going to realize that he loved her as much as she loved him. She didn’t have the details worked out yet, but she would. This washer chance with him, and she planned to take full advantage of it.

She stood up and then retreated to her bedroom to change into clothing suitable for the hardware store. “Carly,” she giggled to herself, “this idea of yours better work. Not that I will give you credit, little sister, if it does.”

THREE

Kimberly yawned for the fourth time in a matter of minutes, desperate to wipe away the fatigue from her eyes. Although one of her favorite songs blared from the speakers in her bedroom across the hallway, the loud, pounding music was not doing a good job of keeping her energized. She was exhausted. She had spent the past twelve hours scrubbing off layers of wallpaper and then patching the drywall that had come off with it.

Despite all her efforts of the last two days, she had a long way to go if she planned to have Jake’s room ready by morning. She needed to finish painting the room and then give the walls time to dry. Jake expected to move in the following day, and it was bad enough she would have to explain the pungent smell of paint throughout the house.

She opened the second can of paint and poured some of it into a pan. She had just placed the roller brush into the paint when she heard the doorbell ring. “Now who could that be?” She grumbled with a glance at the old clock radio sitting in the middle of the floor. “At eight o’clock on a Friday night? Really?”

Kimberly walked down the stairs, wiping her hands on the front of her denim overalls as she did. She glanced through thewindow at the side of the front door and had to do a double take. “Jake?” A bolt of panic ran through her at full force.

She inhaled a deep breath and opened the door. “What are you doing here?” She ran a shaky hand over her wild black curls, pulled together with a band at the back of her head.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” He stuck a hand into his front pocket and stared back at her, golden speckles highlighting the dark orbs of his eyes. “I went to visit my grandfather and, well, I drove by and saw the lights on. I thought you might want to go out and grab something to eat?”

“Ah, gee, I would love to, but not tonight, Jake. I, ah, am sort of busy, thanks anyway.” She glanced back at him with a look that, she hoped, would convince him to leave. She brushed a piece of wandering hair that had escaped from her ponytail and slid to the side of her cheek, and he continued to watch her. She stiffened her spine as she held the door open only wide enough for her to stand between it and the door frame. Why wouldn’t he take the hint she gave him and leave? Not only did she need to finish painting the bedroom, she looked as if she hadn’t bathed in a week, which wasn’t the truth, although the timing of her last shower was foggy to her sleep-deprived mind. Seeing him in a pair of low riding jeans and neatly pressed Lacrosse shirt that matched the color of his eyes made her glance at her own pair of grungy overalls, splattered with God only knew what. She glanced up and found him staring at the top of her head.

“What’s in your hair, Kimberly? Is that paste?” He stretched his hand through the narrow door opening and pulled a thick clump of grayish muck off of a long black lock.

“I give up. Just come in.” She opened the door wide enough for him to enter through it. Unable to stop herself, she released an exaggerated sigh before ushering him into the foyer. She wanted to comment on his ungracious assumption that she wasalone this evening, but she was too tired to bother, and besides, her disheveled appearance had to make that obvious to him.

“What in the world are you doing?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes. She grimaced as he cocked a dark eyebrow in her direction after openly assessing her appearance.

“Well, if you must know, I’ve been painting your damn bedroom,” she answered more harshly than she intended. Embarrassment, combined with her present exhaustion, had her at her wits' end.

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