Ari immediately dropped his rake and ran over to get his lemonade. He drank deeply, then used his arm to wipe his mouth. Kelly handed him a napkin, but they all knew it was too late.
“How are things going?” she asked Ari.
“Good. We’re going to start with the bricks tomorrow.” He spoke happily and pointed to the stack waiting nearby.
She looked at Jace and he thought he saw something in her eyes, a small glint of attraction. He wanted to kiss her again. But restraint was a lesson he’d learned from a lifetime at the Kendall.
“Can we be friends again?” Jace asked, hoping Ari didn’t understand.
She nodded. “I really wasn’t holding anything back about Sheldon. I was trying to find the information for you.”
“I know that now. I was just thrown off by the—” He stopped and shook his head.
The silence stretched between them. Then Kelly looked at the supplies. “Do you know how to lay brick?” she asked, the tension between them eased.
“Fine time to ask,” he laughed, drinking his lemonade. “I do know how to lay brick. From the jobs I’ve done, it was necessary to learn many trades in order to complete a project.”
Kelly would understand that, Jace thought. She’d already learned more than she ever thought she’d have to when she sat on that fence looking at the Kendall.
“I can’t see what it’s going to be. Except from your drawing,” she said, surveying the expanse of yard they had cleared, “it’s much larger than I thought.”
Jace removed the gloves he’d been wearing and dropped them on the table next to the lemonade.
“Come with me,” he said, offering his hand.
Kelly hesitated but then placed her hand in his larger one, Jace’s fingers closed around hers. He felt the warmth of her fingers. Jace escorted her to the edge of the excavation.
“This is where the bricks will begin,” he told her. “The inside will be tiled.” He made a circle with his free hand. The other one still held on to hers.
Kelly didn’t mind him holding her hand. She liked it. It made her feel a variety of emotions she couldn’t identify. She’d had boyfriends in her past, but none of them made her as breathless as the tiniest touches from this man at her side.
“The tile will go all the way to the circle Ari has cut out.”
Hearing his name, Ari immediately looked up and smiled at her. “Great job, Ari,” she said. “Well, so far it seems like everything is coming together.”
“When it’s done, and you look out that window—” he glanced at her office “—you’ll have a beautiful scene below you.”
“I’m expecting nothing less.”
“Are we making too much noise for you to work?” Jace asked.
“I worked in a bull pen with people talking and shouting all the time. A few conversations and a hammer swinging now and then barely distract me.”
Jace smiled, but said nothing.
“I’d better get back. More lemonade before I go?” she asked.
Ari held up his empty glass. Kelly filled it and refilled both hers and Jace’s. All three of them drank.
“You’re doing a wonderful thing,” Jace said. His eyes were directly on her.
* * *
USUALLY KELLY DROVE the long driveway to visit the mailbox on the rural road. Sometimes she walked. Today was one of those days. Only riding a horse would be better than walking. She liked the return journey better, to come upon the Kendall in the stark sunlight, see the place as it was meant to be seen, grand, majestic and beautiful. She knew she was the only one who saw it that way anymore. It was the kind of vision that only a person who’d put her blood and sweat into it could feel.
Opening the mailbox, she grabbed the contents and shut the door. Rifling through the items, she found the usual magazines, advertisements for limited free gym memberships, bills and flyers inviting her to a complimentary dinner to discuss her retirement portfolio. She grinned at the thought. Right now she had barely enough money to buy lunch. Her retirement was hopefully far in the future and she’d have time to build up to it.
The last letter stopped her in her tracks. It was a plain white, business-size envelope, handwritten and addressed to the owner of the Kendall. Her name was not there. The return address was from Sheldon Kendall in Meadesville, North Carolina.
Kelly moved to lean against the five-bar fence. She stared at the envelope. It was addressed to her—she was the owner. But she knew whatever was inside wasn’t for her. It was for Jace. Should she open the letter? Should she let Jace know that Sheldon was in North Carolina? Turning the envelope over, she stared at the blank backside for a long time. Whatever she decided to do, it would change her and her relationship with Jace. Not that they had a relationship, but Kelly had come to believe in him.