“Nah, I’m really just a computer geek and a nerd. I’ve never been popular with the women, but I really do like her.” He set a cast-iron skillet on the burner and washed his hands while it heated up.

“Leave the water running, and I’ll do mine next,” Carmen said. “My advice is to not rush her. Let her work all this business about age difference out in her mind. Meet Rebecca and maybe spend some time at Tootsie’s so y’all can get to know each other outside of this place.”

“I’m kind of thinking about buying Joanie’s house,” he blurted out, and wondered if maybe he should have kept that to himself.

“That’s a great idea. Tootsie will be ecstatic. Joanie will have it sold. And it’ll give you and Diana a lot of close time.” Carmen tossed a hand towel toward him.

He caught it in midair. “What if things don’t work out between us and it gets awkward?”

“Have faith. You’ll still be near Tootsie.” She put her hands under the water and sucked air. “Dammit! I forgot to put on work gloves, and now I have blisters.”

“The blisters will turn to calluses by the time your day rolls around again,” he offered.

She shook her head. “Nope. I can work around them for one day. They’ll remind me to work on what you said about leaving the firewood and all this anger behind.”

“Hey, I thought we were all sleeping until noon.” Tootsie yawned as she entered the room and went straight for the coffeepot.

“I’ll get some coffee going and bring you a cup.” Luke winked at Carmen. “I woke up early, so I thought I’d make myself some pancakes.”

“But it’s my day to cook, and I couldn’t . . . ,” Carmen started, then stopped and held out her hands. “Truth is, I couldn’t sleep after we got the house cleaned, and I’ve been chopping wood the past three hours.”

Tootsie took Carmen’s hands in hers. “You poor baby. I’ve got some ointment in the bathroom that’ll heal these up in a couple of days. Smokey hated wearing gloves, and I’ve seen him with blisters just like this too many times to count. Come with me. Luke, you get that coffee going. Then you can help her make something simple for breakfast. We don’t have to eat gourmet three times a day.”

“Hey, what’s going on in here?” Diana asked.

“Pancakes and sausage. Coffee will be done in a few minutes. Want to be my girlfriend one more day and start off the day with a kiss?” He couldn’t help poking fun.

“You think that’s wise?”

She looked so damn cute in her pink-and-black plaid pajama pants and pink tank top that he was afraid if he kissed her once, he’d scoop her up and take her to the motor home for more than a make-out session.

“Probably not.” He grinned. “But it would be a helluva nice way to start the day.”

Chapter Fifteen

The week went by so fast that Diana could hardly believe it was Friday when she turned in the last of her weekly work that evening. She removed the device that Luke had lent her and laid it to the side, then closed her laptop and stood up to stretch all the kinks from her body. She’d used the vanity for a desk and the bench for a chair. It worked, but it sure left more sore muscles than her desk and office chair back in Sugar Run. Either the kitchen or the dining room table would have been a better choice, but there was entirely too much noise going on in those rooms for her to ever get anything done.

She started down the stairs just as Luke came in the front door. His jeans and jacket were dusty, and a couple of burgundy-colored leaves remained tangled in his hair.

“Well, hello.” Luke looked up at her.

“What have you been doing?” He looked so sexy that she wanted to fall into his arms when she got to the bottom of the stairs.

“Couldn’t you hear the banging up on the roof? That storm knocked off some shingles and loosened several more. I’ve been up there all afternoon getting them fixed,” he answered.

“I had my earphones in. If another storm came through here, y’all would have had to come and get me, because I couldn’t hear a thing.” She went down a couple more steps.

“Never fear.” The crow’s-feet around his eyes deepened when he grinned. “I’ll be the knight in shining armor that saves the damsel in distress.” He held out his hand.

When she reached the last step, she put her hand in his. “You’ve got calluses.”

“Does that surprise you?” he asked.

“A little bit.” Even when they were making out on the church pew, she hadn’t noticed that his hands were rough. Working with computers all day should have made them soft.

“This week while you’ve been in your work cave, I’ve cut down several trees so Carmen will have something to work out her frustrations on, and I’ve done a lot of repairs around here. Got to admit, though, this is the first time I’ve had calluses since I was a teenager and helped Uncle Smokey build the wood shack just off the back porch,” he said.

“No wonder you’ve gone to the motor home right after supper.” Comparing Gerald and Luke was like comparing jalapeño peppers to grapes, but she couldn’t help it. Gerald had never been one to do much around the house except keep the lawn mowed when he was home. Other than that, he was all for paying someone to take care of it. And here was Luke, whose usual job was sitting in front of a computer all day, and yet he could repair a roof, build a shed, and cut down trees.

He dropped her hand when they’d walked across the living room. “Got to get washed up for supper.”

“Me, too,” she said. “I’ll take the kitchen sink. You can have the bathroom.”

With a brief nod, he went ahead of her. As he walked away, a streak of jealousy shot through her. Someday he was going to make someone a wonderful husband, and even though the relationship would be childless, they’d be so much in love, just like Smokey and Tootsie had been.

“Have you got all your work done for the week?” Carmen pulled off her apron and hung it on a hook beside the stove.

“Yep. Finished the last entry, so I’m free now.” Diana soaped up her hands and then rinsed them. “Need some help chopping wood?”

“You ever done that before?” Carmen asked.

“No, but I reckon you could teach me,” she said.