Page 16 of Maizy the Bear Charmer

She slipped her phone from her pocket. “No time like the present, I guess.”

Chapter Five

Heath peeled the painter’s tape away from the kitchen cabinets, pleased with the off-white paint covering the red that had once been on the kitchen walls. Once the paint was completely dry, the new appliances stored in the garage could be installed and the new countertops put in. He couldn’t wait to get cooking.

Cody and Spencer were in the master suite and it sounded like Spencer was still busting out the wall that divided the closet in the den from the one in the master bathroom while Cody worked on the old tub. The prospect of demolition duty had put a spring in their steps as they’d carried Sawzalls and sledgehammers down the hall earlier.

Cody’s phone began to ring where it was plugged into its charger on a nearby outlet.

The caller ID read only the number so he wasn’t sure who it was. He knew who he hoped it was as he accepted the call. “Hello?”

“Cody?” The velvety, tentative-sounding voice on the line sent a thrill zipping up his spine. He tried to be silent as he jumped up in the air and did a fist pump.

“Is this Maizy?” he asked playfully, wanting to set her at ease.

“Yeah. Hi, Cody.”

“Actually, this is Heath. How was your first day of school?”

He heard her soft exhale and chuckle. “Hi, Heath. I teach kindergarten. The first week is always a big adjustment. But it was very good, thank you.”

Heath grinned, thinking that she’d make a perfect kindergarten teacher. He couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off his face. “Did they wear you out?”

“Yes.” She paused as if collecting her thoughts. “I need to ask you about something. I’ve talked to Lucy Carter.”

Heath smacked his forehead. Shit! “Did ya?”

“Is it true that you’ve bought a house and you’re fixing it up for the woman you’ve been looking for?”

“When you put it like that, it sounds kind of stalker-like, doesn’t it?”

“A tiny bit. Did you?”

“We were sure—I was sure—that we’d find her eventually,” he replied, employing her same impersonal language, hoping to set her at ease. “Ready to file a restraining order yet?”

Maizy chuckled. “No, but it feels strange to know that the three of you would make that kind of commitment. What if I’d been taken already?”

Treading carefully, he said, “It may look presumptuous on our part, but we’ve known since last fall that this was the lifestyle we wanted—to share a woman—so we considered it an investment in the future, regardless. But we believed we’d find you.”

“You’re not assuming that I’ll just jump on board with your plan, are you?”

Heath stood up straight. “No. No, baby. We don’t expect that. We just want a chance to get to know you. All we wanted was one date.”

“Just one?” She almost sounded playful.

“To start with.” He looked around the kitchen. “I’d love to cook a meal for you here but our kitchen is torn up at the moment. Could we take you to O’Reilley’s?”

“Sure. This will be a tiring week for me, so I’d rather not do it on a weeknight.”

“Understandable. We’re scheduled to work Saturday night, though. What about Saturday at lunch? Would that be okay?”

At first he’d thought that she might not like that, since they worked most weekends but she quickly said, “That sounds perfect. I had plans with Lucy and friends for Saturday night anyway.”

“Oh really? Any chance you might come out to the club?”

Maizy giggled. “We’ll be doing some shopping for her wedding and some planning for the reception but I could talk to her.”

“Great. If you let me know, I can reserve a table for you. The club is always busy Saturday nights. Do you have something to write with? Let me give you our cell phone numbers.”

“Sure. Hang on.” She rustled around for a minute and then took the numbers down.

“Did you want to talk to Cody? I know he’d like to talk to you.”

“Um, sure. If he has time.”

He unplugged the phone from the charger and headed down the hall. “For you, honey, he’ll make time.”

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