A Little Surprise For The Boss

“Sure. That stuff doesn’t bother me.”

“But what would you do with it at the end of the summer?” Terri put in. “You can’t just walk away from an animal and leave it here. You’d have to take it home with you. Would your mother let you keep it?”

“If I ask her and she says yes, can I have one?”

“Ask her first. Then we’ll talk about it.” Buck cast Terri a grateful glance. He ran Bucket List with an iron hand, but his daughter could talk him into anything—whether it was a good idea or not.

What the little girl really wanted was his time. But it was easier for him to flash his credit card and get her whatever caught her eye. By now Terri knew the pattern. Now that she had arrived for the summer, Buck would welcome Quinn with open arms—he did love his child. But as business issues pulled him away, she’d be shunted off to riding and swimming lessons, turned over to Terri, or left to read books or play video games on her own. Maybe this summer, Terri could help her find some friends her own age in the area.

The subject of the iguana was tabled when the pizza and drinks arrived. Terri tried to ignore the way Jennifer’s hip brushed Buck’s shoulder as she set their order on the table. Was the woman angling for a big tip or something else? But what did it matter to her? Why should she even care?

They were all hungry. Conversation dwindled as they wolfed down the pizza. Buck had just paid the bill when Terri glanced at her watch. It was almost eight o’clock. The aides at Canyon Shadows usually came in around eight thirty to shower the residents and get them ready for bed by nine. With the facility at the far end of town from the restaurant, she would barely have time to make the promised visit to her grandmother.

She stood up, brushing the crumbs off her lap. “I’ve got to get going, or I won’t make it.”

Buck rose. “We’re ready to go, too. We’ll walk you out.”

They trailed outside. At this hour the summer twilight was still fading. Mourning doves called from the old cottonwoods that overhung the parking lot.

“Thanks. See you tomorrow.” Terri strode ahead to her Jeep, then halted with a groan. She wasn’t going anywhere. The Jeep’s rear tire was flat to the rim.

Three (#ulink_8af1c870-6231-55f1-89a4-e9201c3a9556)

Terri was staring at her Jeep when Buck caught up with her. “Too bad,” he said. “I told you those old tires of yours needed replacing.”

“Well, I can’t do much about that now, can I?” Terri shook her head. Even if she left her vehicle and walked to Canyon Shadows, there was no way she’d get there in time to visit her grandmother. “Go on and take Quinn home. I know how to change a tire.”

“Well, you’re not doing it tonight. I’ve got people for that job.” He whipped out his cell and, before Terri could stop him, typed out a text message before he pocketed the phone again. “Quinn and I will take you to see your grandma. I remember Harriet from the old days. She was quite the spunky little lady. I’d enjoy visiting her, too.”

If Buck hadn’t seen Harriet since the old days, he was in for a shock, Terri thought. Her grandmother was a different person now. “Thanks, I’d appreciate that,” she said. “But you won’t need to come inside. Just let me off and go. When I’m through visiting, I can walk back here and change the tire.”

“You heard me—the tire will be taken care of. It’s arranged. Come on.” He guided her toward the Hummer with a light hand on the small of her back. The warm pressure of his palm triggered a tingle of memory that raced like flame along a fuse through her body. The feeling was sweet torture. If only she could forget what had happened between them, or at least dismiss it—as, it seemed, Buck had. But Quinn was with them now, Terri reminded herself. She wouldn’t know for sure whether he was going to bring up what had happened between them until she was alone with him.

He opened the passenger door for her and helped Quinn into the backseat. The drive to Canyon Shadows took only a few minutes. “You don’t have to stay—I really don’t mind walking back to Giovanni’s,” Terri said as the Hummer pulled into the parking lot.

“Will you stop arguing with me, Terri?” Buck’s voice carried a hint of reined impatience. “I told you, I’d be glad to come in and say hello to your grandmother. And Quinn won’t mind coming in, either.”

“I know that,” Terri said. “It’s just that my grandma has changed a lot since you knew her. She’s ninety-one and not doing very well. She has her good days and bad. I’ve learned not to expect too much, but I worry that seeing her might upset Quinn.”

He stopped the vehicle and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Let me be the judge of that, Terri,” he said.

* * *

Buck had never been beyond the front doorway of Canyon Shadows. The rambling two-story stuccoed building was decent for a nursing home, with manicured grounds and a covered walkway leading to the front doors. Bouquets of silk roses and framed landscape prints cheered the lobby, but an air of gloom still hung over the place. Maybe that was inevitable when nobody who lived here wanted to be here.

He let Terri lead the way as they signed in at the front desk and continued on to the elevator and up to the second floor. In all the busy years she’d worked for him, he could barely recall asking her how her grandmother was doing. What had brought on this sudden interest in her life outside work?

But he knew the answer to that question, and it didn’t make him feel proud of himself.

Eleven years ago, in an army medical tent, he’d knelt next to Steve’s bed and promised his dying friend that he’d look after his kid sister. Buck had viewed giving Terri a job as the first step in keeping that promise. But over the years, as the pressures of building his business had closed in, she’d proven so capable and so willing that the focus had shifted. Instead of what he could do for her, it had become what she could do for him.

But that had never included her sharing his bed.

After finding her earring in his rug, his first thought had been how to avoid losing her help. But as the afternoon had worn on, his musings had deepened. He’d taken a long look at himself in the mirror and seen a first-class jerk looking back at him.

Steve, if he’d been here, would have punched him black and blue.

Somehow, he had to do a better job of keeping his promise. And he absolutely had to forget about taking her to bed again. As wonderful as it had been, he knew that a romantic relationship with Terri could never work. She was the kind of woman who would demand full honesty from her lover...and that was something he couldn’t offer. Not with the secret he’d kept from her all this time.

If she knew the truth about what happened with Steve, she’d never let him touch her again—not even as a friend.

Her friendship was something he had to keep, not just for Steve’s sake but for his own, too. She meant far too much to him for him to be willing to let her slip away. So that meant finding a way to make amends, to show her how much she meant to him—in a purely platonic way. But with a strong, independent woman like Terri, knowing where to start with winning her over wouldn’t be easy—especially after what had happened this morning.

“Come on, Daddy!” Quinn tugged at him, and he realized he’d fallen behind. Terri had already opened a door partway down the long corridor and stepped into the room. Still holding Quinn’s hand, he reached the doorway and paused on the threshold.

In the light of a single table lamp, the woman in the worn leather recliner looked as if a strong breath could blow out her life like a candle flame. Her face was as wrinkled as a walnut, her hair like white spider webbing on her ancient head. He would never have recognized feisty Harriet Cooper, Steve and Terri’s maternal grandmother, who’d raised them after their parents died. Remorse crept over him. How many times in the old days had he been in her home and eaten at her table? And now—damn it all, he’d barely been aware that she was here. He certainly hadn’t taken the time to visit.

“Hello, Grandma.” Terri knelt next to the chair, the lamplight falling on her face. “I came by this morning but you were asleep,” she said.

The old woman huffed, refusing to look at her.

“I’m sorry,” Terri said. “I came as soon as I could.”

“Sorry, are you?” Harriet snapped in a papery voice that sounded so different from the warm, maternal tones he remembered. “Then take me home. They steal things here. My wedding ring—”

Terri took one bony hand and lifted it to the light. “Look, Grandma. Your ring is right here on your finger. Nobody stole it.”

“Liar! That old thing isn’t my ring!” The old woman snatched her hand away. “Where’s Steve? He never lied to me! I want him to come and take me home!”

Still standing in the doorway, Buck felt the painful tightening in his gut. It hurt for him to watch this. But how much worse would it be for Terri, dealing with this poor woman every day?

And why couldn’t Steve have been here? Why had Steve been the one to die, when it should have been him?

“Look, Grandma.” Terri drew her attention toward the doorway. “You’ve got visitors.”

“Oh?” Harriet perked up. “Who is it? Is it Steve?”

“No, it’s Steve’s friend Buck. And he brought his little girl. Her name’s Quinn.” She beckoned them over.

Quinn gripped her father’s hand. Maybe Terri had been right about this experience being too much for her. But it was too late to back out now.

“Hello, Mrs. Cooper.” He offered her his free hand.

Her dim eyes brightened. “Steve! It’s really you! Did you come to take me home?”

Buck steeled his emotions. “I’m Buck, Mrs. Cooper. I used to come to your house with Steve.”

Her grip on his hand was surprisingly strong. “You were always my favorite, Steve. More than your sister. Why’d you stay away such a long time?”