Page 48 of Silent Threat
He did, and Annie checked him out through the window, recognized him.Kelly’s producer.
Limp with relief, Annie leaned the two-by-four against the wall out of sight and wiped her sweaty palms on her pants before opening the door.
“Sorry if I scared you.” He was only an inch or two taller than Annie, blond hair long enough to curl on his collar, green-eyed, handsome in a hot-artist kind of way.
During the TV shoot, Annie had been too nervous to truly notice him, but now she noted his sexy, shy smile. The guy was seriously good-looking. If he ever wanted to give up life behind the cameras, he could go in front of them.
Yet she felt none of the awareness that she did every time she was around Cole. She shoved that thought aside. So not going there. Ever.
David said, “I knocked earlier.”
“The washing machine is going. I didn’t hear you.”
“I went around to see how bad the damage was. I’m sorry.”
She waited for him to get to the reason for his visit.
He did, after a sincerely apologetic smile. “I came by to see if I could help with anything.”
Nice of him.
Before she could say so, another pickup pulled up behind his. This one was white, with Ed’s construction company’s red-house logo on the side. Two twentysomething guys, all steel-toed boots and tool belts, got out, introducing themselves as Bobby and Billy. They didn’t look bad either in their manly blue overalls. Apparently, Hurricane Rupert was raining hunks.
“Brought plywood,” Billy said. “We’re gonna replace the tarp. Plywood’s more secure.”
“I can help,” David volunteered.
Annie thanked them all and left the men to their work. She stole one last glance at them through the window as she headed to make herself a cup of tea.Could probably sell tickets.
Annie decided to stay. She could catch up on paperwork another time.
While the dream team worked, she played with her animals. She hadn’t spent enough time with them in the past couple of days. Before Bobby and Billy left, they promised that a small cleanup crew would come the following day to deal with her kitchen.
David lingered. “I have to go pick up Tyler from his friend’s house. Single dad,” he added. “And I’m sorry I can’t come tomorrow. I have to work at the station.”
“That’s OK. I didn’t expect you today. Ed’s guys will take care of it.”
“I was involved. I feel responsible.” He looked at his feet, then looked up at Annie. “So does Kelly come over often?”
Annie did an admirable job biting back a smile. But she was screamingAha!inside. Kelly had a secret admirer.
“Not that much.” Her heart nearly broke at David’s crestfallen expression, so she added, “Kelly works a lot. And she’s an exercise nut. She’s at the gym every night.”
David cheered up. He was a smart guy. He was probably heading to the gym next. “Anyway”—he pulled a business card from his pocket—“here is my number. Call me if you need an extra pair of hands.”
The way he’d had the card ready, Annie thought he’d meant to give it to her regardless of how the Kelly thing panned out. David was pretty nice. She could only hope Kelly had the sense to see that, if they managed to run into each other. Time for one of the Murray women to break the curse and fall for one of the good guys.
After David left, Annie ambled back into the kitchen, taking the two-by-four with her.
Oh God, the kitchen.
She itched to have her kitchen back.
What if Ed’s guys couldn’t make it tomorrow? He’d said they were super busy. Shedidhave the dumpster. She had time. She was on a break from work. Keeping busy was better than obsessing over her problems. Especially when the mess in her kitchen was a problem she could fix, or at least start fixing.
Annie grabbed a bucket and shovel from the garage and began clearing out the rubble. And then she sent a silent request to the universe to let her have a quiet evening, preferably without Joey popping in.
The man checked Annie’s office, but she wasn’t there. She wasn’t in her room either. He even loped around the walking trail—in vain.
