The Other Twin. Nan Dixon

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ few times. It was straight and fine and would feel like silk in his fingers. Not that he would ever touch Cheryl’s hair.

      “Abby told me the work wouldn’t start until tomorrow. It’s almost ten o’clock.” She hesitated before stepping inside. “Did you kick something?”

      He swallowed. “The post.”

      Her brown eyes grew as large as dinner plates. She stepped back. Yeah. Be afraid.

      “What is that?” She moved into the room, pointing at the orange tape.

      “A fucking mess.”

      Her shoulders straightened. “I know you’re supervising this project. I’d appreciate you warning the crew that a six-year-old boy lives here. I don’t want him learning words like that.”

      “Sure.” He ran a hand through his hair, pushing off his cap. The same kid who called him butthead.

      It landed at Cheryl’s feet. She picked it up, batted it against her leg to dust off the dirt and then handed it to him. “What are the orange tags supposed to be?”

      He jammed his cap back on his head. “I was marking off the kitchen. We’re pouring footings tomorrow.”

      Now he’d have to ask one of the crew to help. Apparently, he couldn’t measure and mark. The other option was to have his twin help. Perfect Daniel would give him the look. The one that said Nathan was an idiot. Besides, he’d lied and told Pop and Daniel he could do this.

      Cheryl stared at the mess on the floor, frowned and then moved to the plans he hadn’t rolled up. She carried them to where he’d been measuring. “This is close.”

      “Does it look like a rectangle to you?”

      Her head snapped up at the snarl in his voice. Her brown eyes flashed. “Do you want help or not?”

      She was willing to help him? Relief ran through him like a warm shower, easing the strain in his shoulders. “Yeah, I do.” Then he remembered her son. What the hell was his name? “What about your...kid?”

      “Josh sleeps like a rock.” She turned. Clipped to her back pocket was some sort of monitor. “If he wakes, I’ll hear him.”

      His eyes lingered on her lovely rounded butt. He wouldn’t mind wrapping his hands around those cheeks.

      Too bad she had the kid. Josh. Josh always glared at him. Kids were a deal breaker.

      “Let’s start over,” she said. “What’s the scale?”

      He knew this. “It’s...” The words slipped away. His fingers formed fists.

      She stared at the drawings. “Is it an eighth of an inch equals a foot?”

      He nodded, afraid the words would tangle. The story of his life. His fingers flexed against his thighs.

      “Wait. They already have the feet marked here. That’s what this means, right?”

      She moved close, showing him the blueprint. She smelled like—apples. His mouth watered. When her head turned, her hair brushed against his arm, a silky, soft brush.

      He’d known it would be.

      She shook the blueprint. Using her thumb, she pointed to a number. “Is that the measurement from one wall to another?”

      “Yes.” He choked out the word, hoping he’d answered correctly. Sometimes, as much as he concentrated, everything came out twisted.

      “Let’s see where you went wrong.” She set down the plans. “Can you hold the other end of the tape measure?”

      He headed to the wall to be a friggin’ anchor.

      “This one’s right.” She tapped the first piece of tape he’d placed.

      They slid along the wall.

      “This one needs to be here.” She moved the orange tape. And kept checking and rechecking each measurement. He’d gotten half of them right. What had taken him thirty minutes took her five.

      “That looks right, doesn’t it?” She held the blueprint and compared it with the tape they’d run and anchored.

      He stood behind her, inhaling another whiff of apples. “Yeah.”

      He could see the space now. There were the doors into the kitchen and more doors into Abby’s large storage area.

      Cheryl helped him mark off the walk-in freezer, too.

      “Now I can finish running the tape for the footings.” Relief eased out of him like a curl of wood from a plane. “Thank you.”

      “You’re welcome.” She dusted off her hands. “Anything else you want to get done tonight?”

      “I’ll mark the wall and doors.” That way, if the crew moved the tape when they did demolition, he’d know where everything was supposed to go. He’d developed tricks over the years to convince people that he was in control.

      “Then I’ll head home.”

      “Thank you.” Too bad Cheryl had a kid. Otherwise he would ask her out.

      She moved to the door, stopped and turned back. “Do you...have trouble reading?”

      Reality slapped him in the face. “I can read,” he growled. Sometimes.

      “I could help.” She gave him a small smile. “At the army school, I worked with kids who had trouble reading.”

      His face heated with shame. Kids. She’d helped kids. “I don’t need help.”

      She jerked back a step at the snap in his voice. The woman was scared of her shadow. “It’s just...”

      “Thanks for the help.” He pulled the flask out of his pocket. He wouldn’t admit his flaws.

      Her face paled and she crept backward again. “I’d appreciate if you didn’t drink in front of my son.”

      “I’ll bet you would.” He took a big swig. Not wanting her to see she’d hurt him.

      She dashed outside. Her footsteps pounded the stairs to the carriage house apartment.

      He twirled the cap back on. He’d been a jerk. But he didn’t need any help from a do-gooder like Cheryl Henshaw. His flaws couldn’t be fixed.

      * * *

      THUMP!

      Cheryl jolted out of a deep sleep.

      Josh? Had he fallen out of bed?

      She raced into his bedroom. When she didn’t find him on the floor, she scrambled up the ladder. He was still asleep, his hand tucked under his pillow.

      She rubbed her forehead as she headed back to bed. Maybe she’d been dreaming.

СКАЧАТЬ