Page 9 of Mending Fences
CHAPTER FIVE
A midnight-blue American-made pickup—not what Mandy expected. She let the blinds drop and turned to face Candace. “I thought you had an appointment.”
“I do. Watching you go out with Daniel.” Candace twirled the end of the hot-pink scarf tied around her head.
“You better make yourself scarce. He’s coming up the walkway.”
He’d changed into jeans and a T-shirt with the logo of an area restaurant. She went to open the door and stepped out to keep him from seeing Candace.
At the truck, Daniel held open the door. Mandy studied the high seat. If she didn’t have the boot and crutches, it wouldn’t be a problem.
“Let me help.” He gathered the crutches and leaned them against the side of his truck. “It will be easier if you face me.”
Mandy was still puzzling over his words when he placed his hands on her waist and lifted her into the cab. He stepped back, but the warmth remained where his hands had been. She managed to mutter a thank-you as he handed her the crutches before closing the door.
Without another word, he got in and started the truck. Still feeling his hands about her, Mandy struggled to come up with a topic of conversation.Do all women feel like this when you pay attention to them? Hardly seemed like an appropriate topic. Her “Nice day” was met by a “yup,” reminding her more of the stoic little boy of twenty years ago. He’d started talking after she’d taught him to catch frogs.
Daniel navigated out of her neighborhood and to the county road leading toward the mansion. If one of them didn’t start talking soon, the drive would be unbearable. Mandy searched for a topic of conversation. It had been nearly twenty years since they’d spent the summer searching for tadpoles in his creek and eating popsicles stolen from his freezer. Back then he’d been the boy on the other side of the fence. Now he was one of the most sought-after men in the country, and she was still the kid from the tiny house.
Daniel didn’t seem inclined to speak either. At least he wasn’t holding a gun on her.
At the gate he hopped out, unlocked it, and drove through. Then he went and locked the gate again. “Where do you need to go to get your photo?”
“Anyplace where the old walnut tree isn’t in the way. I need the architecture from the east wing. The gingerbread work is hard to duplicate in my mind.”
The road curved around the tree.
“Right here would be perfect.”
Daniel stopped the truck. She started to open her door, but he laid his hand on her arm. “Wait for me to come around. I’d hate for you to put those crutches in some gopher hole.”
She studied him. Without the anger, he reminded her of the shy eight-year-old who’d escorted her on a tour of the mansion. She tried not to read anything into the hands on her waist and removed her hand from his shoulder as soon as her toes touched the ground.
He carried her bag while she found the right spot. Mandy exchanged her crutches for the bag.
“That camera isn’t as nice as the one you had the other day.”
She raised the camera. “This is my camera. The broken one belongs to the university. I borrowed the camera for the telephoto lens—now I’m out $60,000.”
“You mean six, don’t you? I thought I heard wrong at the store.”
Mandy took a shot. “Nope, sixty. Six-zero, zero, zero, zero. Which, for a third-year high school teacher, is twice my salary. If the university insurance doesn’t come through, I may never get the diploma. Ironically, with the degree, my pay would go up $10k.” She snapped two more photos.
He gave a low whistle.
She took a few hops, mindful of not putting her weight on the booted food, then a couple more, raised her camera, and took a few shots before taking a few more jumps and repeating the process. Daniel offered a steadying hand on her elbow whenever she stopped. They had moved nearly the length of a football field before she put the camera back in her bag. “I have what I need now. Thank you.”
“Do you need to go inside?” Daniel exchanged the bag for her crutches.
She shook her head. “No, I’m only fixing up the outside of the buildings. Besides, I like the memories I have of that summer. I’m sure the inside has deteriorated as much as the outside, and I don’t want to remember that.”
Daniel stiffened. “That was the worst summer of my life. I’d like to forget what the inside of the house looks like.” He grabbed her bag and headed back to the truck, leaving her to navigate the gopher holes and ant hills herself.
She watched his retreating form. What had happened to her Danny? She was sure she had seen the polite boy only minutes ago. They had had so much fun that summer. How could it be the worst ever?
Being around Mandy brought back too many memories too fast. He shouldn’t have left her there, but crying in front of her wasn’t an option and he feared he might. He opened the cab door and looked back. Mandy had barely covered ten feet. Driving on the weedy lawn wouldn’t hurt, he started the truck and drove to her side.
He might not be the most perceptive of men, but when he lifted Mandy onto the truck seat, he was fairly sure she was confused and in pain. He shouldn’t have walked off without a word. But the thoughts of his mother had been overwhelming.
