She should stop him. She had to stop him. But how could she? It was that spot.
“Lucy,” he whispered.
“Huh?”
“I’m cold. Real cold. Could we go?”
Suddenly, she was grounded again. Yes. Go. That’s what she had to do. Him too.
“Yes.” She pulled away. “I should go. Goodbye.” And she began to back away.
He followed. “I mean to go with you.”
“You can’t.”
“I have to. I walked here.”
She looked around. “You walked? From where?”
“Your house.” It wasn’t that far to her house. She might have walked here herself if it hadn’t been so cold and she hadn’t been running late. “I have to go there with you. Eller’s there, and I brought you some really great souvenirs. Plus, I have some other plans.”
He moved toward her again.
This time she kept her wits about her. Her good sense told her to make him walk, but that would have crossed the line to mean.
She clicked the locks on her car. “Get in. But you are only going to get your dog and your car.”
Brantley slid into the passenger side of Lucy’s Christmas ball blue SUV. He’d been bored in San Francisco and done a little research on this vehicle and he didn’t like what he’d found. Not only did it ride like a log wagon, it had an abysmal safety rating.
“This car is begging to roll over. Didn’t you see the safety rating on the Internet before you bought it?”
She frowned at him. “I did not consult the Internet. Or you.”
“Oh, Lucy, that is apparent. I would have advised against it. What you’ve got yourself here is a killing machine. It’s not safe. Nowhere close.”
“Really?” she said with no interest. “I think it’s perfect. It’s just big enough that I can deliver lamps and small pieces for furniture. And it was the right price and a snappy color.”
Brantley slapped his forehead. “Oh, that makes sense. It’s more important to have a snappy color than to live through a wreck.”
“Somehow I think I will be able to keep it between the lines of the wild streets of Merritt. If you are truly concerned for your safety, I can let you out.” She slowed down.
“Oh, no. No, ma’am. If you are going down in a fiery blaze, I am going with you. We’ll just leave Eller an orphan. They’ll probably put her down too since there won’t be anyone to take care of her. I don’t think Tiptoe holds with burying dogs in his cemetery, but maybe since this will be so tragic, they’ll bury us all together. Probably have to. Won’t be enough of you and me left to tell who’s who.”
Lucy gave him a sidelong look but didn’t say anything. Had he gone too far, joking about being killed in a wreck? He didn’t understand himself why he said such things, why he danced around a line that might make someone think he was in mental distress. He would never say such a thing to someone with his history.
“Poor us. Poor Eller.” On the way to her house, Lucy had to turn down the street where Big Mama lived—where he lived now, come to think of it. The moment had passed. Either she wasn’t going to call him on it, or she hadn’t made the connection, after all. Either way, he needed to stop it, needed to remember that he was, for the time being, around people who knew his history. “Speaking of Eller,” Lucy said. “I am really surprised that you are willing to have her live in that carriage house so close to your grandmother’s cat—you know, that monster. That animal is practically a lioness with a hurt paw and cubs, but more aggressive.”
Uh-oh. She’d met Princess. “Yeah. Well. See, Princess used to be that way. Big Mama had her on some kind of cat food that she was allergic to. Made her mean. She killed a whole pack of wild German shepherds last summer. But they got that food situation straightened out and she’s like a different cat. I didn’t know all that, of course.”
Lucy almost laughed. He could tell by the way she bit her lip and dropped her eyes. “Have you been home?” she asked. He’d dodged the Princess bullet, at least for now. “To the carriage house?”
“No, Lucy. I came straight to you. I didn’t even change out of my meet-and-greet clothes.”
“For the most part the carriage house is done. It would be completely, except Miss Caroline decided she wanted new cabinetry in the kitchen and bathroom. The bathroom is done, but the kitchen is not. It will be in a few days.”
“No problem. I do more bathing than cooking. In fact, I do no cooking, while I am totally committed to hygiene. I just need a place to keep my beer cold.”
“You’ve got a brand new Sub-Zero for that.”
“Pretty fancy.”
“Wait until you see the cabinets. Will Garrett is doing them.”
That name rang a bell. “Who is that? Do I know him?”
“You have not provided me with a spread sheet of who you do and do not know, Brantley. So I cannot answer that question.”
“Ah, my Lucy is feisty tonight.”
She ignored that. “If you don’t know Will, you should. He’s a master craftsman. Builds amazing furniture. I’ve used him a few times. I’d use him more but I don’t have that many clients who can—or are willing to—afford him.”
“Hey. I do know who that is. He’s younger than I am, but I remember him from school.” If he recalled correctly, Will had been a poor kid. Some said he was from the wrong side of the tracks, though Brantley had never figured out, or cared, just where those tracks were. Well, good on Will. “What’s he doing hanging around Merritt where people don’t appreciate his work?”
“I don’t have that particular information,” Lucy said. “I guess he likes it here. Many do.” She gave him a pointed look. “I know Will does lots of high end custom work. He ships stuff all over the world.”
Lucy sure did know a lot about this Will Garrett. Brantley didn’t like that. If he remembered right, he’d been a good looking kid. “Where does he live?”
“How should I know?” She turned into her driveway. “But there are some issues with some of the woodwork in the Brantley Building. I don’t know much about what the budget will be yet . . .” She let her voice trail off.
Happier that she didn’t know where Mr. Master Craftsman lived, Brantley said, “Sounds good. Big Mama wants it done right. It’s going to cost. I’d be shocked if she didn’t know how much right down to the penny.”
Lucy cut the motor, opened her door, and met his eyes. “Understand this. I am letting you in to get Eller. Regardless of the impression I gave you in Tolly’s driveway, I am not going to have sex with you.”
“Understood,” Brantley said cheerfully. And he did. He didn’t expect to have sex, though he certainly was open to it. His goals for tonight were to make her laugh and to get just a little friendlier. You had to do these things in stages. He opened his door. “I’m right behind you. I just need to get something from my car.”
Lucy had no more than turned on the lights, than Brantley was behind her. Eller ran into the room and, upon seeing Brantley, put on a show worthy of a game show contestant who’d just won the car.
Brantley knelt to pet her. “How’s my girl? Huh? Who’s a good girl? Has Lucy been good to you?”
The dog reared up on her hind legs and began to awkwardly dance around.
“Hey!” Brantley patted her head. “When did you learn that?”
“She wants a treat,” Lucy said. “They’re on the side table.”
“Oh?” He reached for the pouch. “I don’t recall bringing these.” Light dawned on his face, as he gave Eller her reward for dancing. “Lucy Mead! You’ve been buying my dog treats and teaching her tricks. And you pretended not to like her. You love my dog. That must mean you love me too.”