Page 14 of Mending Fences
He walked in and turned around twice. “This looks almost like your attic room at Grandma Mae’s. Even the pictures on the walls.”
“Uncle George let me keep whatever I wanted from the house other than the silverware and silver tea set his now-ex-wife wanted. The rest of the things I liked are in storage. Mandy turned down the next hall. “Come on, the only thing left is the basement and for you to sign the laundry room.”
She stood at the top of the stairs, the thought of going up and down them with the crutches paralyzing her. “Turn right when you go down.”
“Aren’t you coming?”
“If I go down, I must come back up, and I’m not good with my crutches.”
Daniel turned his back to her. “Piggyback?
She hesitated.
“Come on. I won’t drop you.”
Halfway down the stairs, Mandy knew she’d made a big mistake. The tingling of her nerves had nothing to do with the fear of being dropped. Her dreams and fears were colliding. She’d never denied she was attracted to Daniel Crawford, but so were half the women with Internet access.
Vintage movie posters decorated the large multipurpose room, which housed a ping-pong table, treadmill, and exercise bike. Instead of setting her down, he walked around the perimeter, stopping to study the posters. He paused and turned slowly around. “This room doesn’t have any windows.”
“The basement doesn’t have any. Candace thought about putting some in, but it was too expensive in the end.”
The next door was labeled “Tornado shelter.”
“Really?”
“It isn’t decorated. You know, most of the houses around here have basements. Candace made hers more official. She grew up farther south, where tornadoes are an annual occurrence.” Mandy wasn’t fond of the little room. Fortunately she’d only had to use it twice. “On to the laundry room.”
They entered the brightly painted blue-and-white room. Cupboards and counters lined one wall, and the other wall had a large washer and dryer, wash sink, and clothes hanger. The back wall was painted black and decorated with graffiti.
“The back wall is a chalkboard. Everyone who completes a tour must add something to the wall and sign it. There are chalk pens in the basket.”
Daniel set Mandy down on top of the counter and turned to face her, trapping her. Her heart sped up. If this were any other guy, she would be in full defensive mode. She pointed to the basket. “There are colored chalks too.”
He stepped back slowly, stretching some invisible band contacting them until it released her. He rummaged through the basket and selected a white and a blue marker.
She couldn’t see around him to see what he had drawn. “What did you write?”
He shook his head. “You’ll have to wait until you can walk to find out.” Ignoring her protests, he picked her up and carried her back upstairs.
It shouldn’t feel this good to be in his arms. It was exhilarating and relaxing all at once. Mandy tried to stifle a yawn—as well as her attraction to him.
“That is my cue to go. Thanks for the fun evening.” He set her down at the top of the stairs, holding her until she had her balance. Then he stepped away and handed her the crutches.
“Good night, Amanda.” He gave her arm a little squeeze and left.
She watched the reflection of the headlights as he maneuvered the truck out of the driveway. And another point for the friend zone. Nothing wrong with that. They had been friends. Why should that change now? The pain meds must be playing with her mind, filling it with impossibilities.
