Chapter 8
Josh pulled into her driveway at eight in the morning and sat for a moment, thinking about the night before. He’d thought his heart would stop when Audrey called him in a panicked voice. It may have been over the line, but he’d offered to stay with her last night in case that guy came back. She refused, of course, but he knew how independent she was. At least he’d been able to stay long enough for an officer to arrive and check the perimeter. There wasn’t much they could do with Audrey’s vague description of a hairy, man-like figure. Josh hadn’t wanted to hurt her feelings, and the sight of her fear-stricken face only made him want to hold her and keep her safe.
He couldn’t seem to stop thinking about her. In all the confusion, he hadn’t gotten a chance to ask what she meant by her comment about him being an expert when it came to Sasquatch sounds. What had she been saying? But then again, he should have seen it coming. Josh had been so careful not to offend her that Audrey may well think he was a believer as well. He certainly had nodded politely along with many an odd conversation with his customers over the years. Though this had to be the first one to take the Sasquatch legend so seriously. However, she had doubted what she saw last night, especially when the officer questioned her.
He couldn’t stop thinking about her, about the way it felt to hold her in his arms, about how beautiful she was…
Josh shook his head. She was still a customer and he needed to remember that. He went to the door and knocked. Toby started howling and soon the door opened. It was clear Audrey hadn’t slept well, and she looked it with bloodshot eyes and her hair askew…but she was still so beautiful without any makeup on he struggled to speak. It was like there was a tiny marching band in his chest.
“Hey, come on in,” she said, hobbling back to the couch.
He left the door open for extra light and rubbed Toby’s ears. “How are you feeling?”
“Better, just sore. I’ll be fine. I’m going to be doing some phone sessions this morning, so I’ll be around if you need me.”
Josh nodded. “We should be able to finish up in the next few days. I have my guy Randy coming in about an hour to help out.”
“Sounds great.” Audrey leaned back against a couch pillow on one side, then rested her feet on the cushions. “Are you still going to Rob and Allie’s barbeque tonight?”
“Yes. I didn’t know if you’d be up for it.”
“You can’t keep me away from Rob’s cooking. Especially when I don’t have a kitchen to use right now.” She looked down then back up at him. “I actually didn’t know if you’d be up for it. Allie will probably try to set you up again.”
Josh chuckled. “I’m not worried.” And he realized he wasn’t just being polite. Being set up with Audrey sounded more exciting than anything else…he was more and more tempted to break his resolve to stay away from relationships for a while. “Was everything okay after I left last night?”
“Yes, all fine. I’m sorry, I meant to call Rob last night but I hit your number by mistake.”
“Don’t worry about it, you can call me anytime.” He hesitated, wondering if he’d gone too far in telling her that.
Her cheeks flushed and she rubbed the back of her neck. “I really appreciate you coming over.”
He nodded and glanced at the room on the other side of the foyer. “I should get to work.”
Josh spent the day wiring Audrey’s house, and catching snippets of her phone therapy sessions. He then drove to Rob’s house, parked in the street behind her car, and grinned like a teenager with a crush. It seemed everything about her made him smile. She was so calm and understanding with her clients. He didn’t even know what their problems were, but Audrey was certainly the soothing voice and welcoming ear on the other end. He actually wished he had more to do closer to where she was so he could hear more of what she had to say. Josh raked a hand through his short hair. He was in serious danger of losing his heart to this girl…in a way that had never happened with anyone else.
***
Audrey sat in one of the patio chairs on Rob and Allie’s large wooden deck facing their large back yard. All their pets were running around and Toby, already worn out, was fast asleep on the grass.
Yesterday, she’d been offered the chance to run an anger management group, and she decided the extra money would help pay off the bedroom set she wanted to order. She tried to focus on that instead of whatever or whoever might be lurking outside her house at night. There was no way it was a Sasquatch. That was ridiculous. She was now rested after an afternoon nap and the only medication she had was Motrin. Daylight always made things clearer. Maybe she’d had a medication/lack-of-sleep hallucination.
“So how are things going at your house?” Allie sat in the chair next to Audrey and raised her eyebrows.
“The work’s almost done. Should have power back in a few days.”
“How are things with Josh? I heard he came to the rescue last night.”
Audrey’s stomach twisted. She wanted to sound nonchalant to keep Allie from drawing more conclusions. “Josh and I have become friends, Allie. That’s all, so please don’t make him feel uncomfortable when he arrives.”
“Of course I won’t. But how are things, really? You can be friends, but how do you feel about having a handsome, single man hanging around your house all day?”
“He’s working. Not hanging around.”
“You aren’t very good at hiding your feelings, Audrey.”
Audrey clenched her teeth. And you’re not very good at minding your own business. “You may be right. But that isn’t the worst thing in the world. It isn’t healthy to bury your emotions. They’ll just come out in unexpected ways.”
“So what kind of emotions are you having?” Rob asked, walking over to sit across from them.
“Friendly ones. Josh is my electrician. The man I need to get my lights back on, and just because we decided to be friends because we both know you, Rob, doesn’t mean anything else is or should be going on.”
“It was so kind of him to take you to the ER the other night.” Allie waggled her eyebrows then got up to check on the other guests who were standing around and chatting. The smell of grilled burgers was making Audrey hungry, and the fall colors in the trees all around the back fence was a beautiful sight she could sit and stare at all day. But she couldn’t get Josh out of her mind, and it wasn’t Allie’s fault. Allie did have Audrey wondering if she should call Josh and tell him to suddenly catch a cold. It was clear Allie wasn’t going to let this go. But before Audrey knew it, Allie’s voice rang out, “Audrey, Josh is here!”
Audrey envisioned herself melting and slipping right through the wooden boards in the deck.
“There’s a seat right over there, Josh,” Allie said, with a hand on his arm and her other hand pointing at the seat beside Audrey. “So get comfortable. The burgers will be ready soon.”
Audrey rubbed her forehead as Josh sat down beside her. “I’m sorry about my family.” She leaned her chin on her hand, elbow on her knee, and turned toward him.
Josh leaned forward and brought his face in line with hers. “Just be glad my mother isn’t here,” he whispered and winked.
Her face warmed, and her heart did a cartwheel. He smelled so good and his eyes were captivating. She realized she was staring and sat up and leaned back in her chair.
***
Josh didn’t know most of the people there but was perfectly happy to sit by Audrey. The way she blushed when he winked at her was so cute he couldn’t take his eyes off her. When she sat back he realized he might be making her uncomfortable and sat up himself.
Several of the guests moved along to the grass, some to chat with Rob and Allie by the grill and others settling at two long folding tables.
“So did you bring Sadie and Marty?” Audrey lifted her wrapped foot to rest on the chair across from them.
“Ah, no, I was in a bit of a hurry when I got home. They were both snoring anyway, so I didn’t bother them.”
“Toby seems to take a nap when he gets in the mood no matter where he is. He’s sawing Zs down there in the middle of the yard, even with all these dogs running around. He’s such a funny dog.”
“You should come with us to the dog park again sometime. Our dogs seem to be good friends.”
When she didn’t say anything for a moment and looked away, he inwardly cringed. Was he coming on too strong? What was he doing anyway?
“Well, the wiring is going really well. I actually think we can finish up tomorrow if I’m able to have two of my guys for a half-day.”
“Excellent, I can’t wait to have power back on. Especially since I have furniture coming.”
“About time, huh?”
“Yes, I’m going to be leading an anger management group on Monday nights beginning next week, so I thought I’d splurge.”
“That must be an interesting job, surrounded by angry people.”
“It’s not so bad. I’ve done one before. How’s business in the world of electricity?”
“Picking up, actually. On the way to getting rid of some debt my grandmother left behind.”
“What did she leave behind?”
“Medical bills, mostly. My parents didn’t have the money.”
“That’s wonderful you took that on.”
He had so many regrets over not doing more. “I did what I could for her.”
Audrey paused, possibly sensing his sadness at the memory. “What made you decide to become an electrician?”
One side of Josh’s mouth curved upward. “I’ve always liked to play with electricity.”
Carly would have scoffed at that, but Audrey smiled. “I always liked science, and those experiments where you put the wires together to turn on the light bulb.”
He grinned inside and out. Audrey seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say, and she didn’t have any issues with the fact he was an electrician while she had what some would call a more professional career. He wanted to spend more time with her. Wanted to keep talking to her.
Allie walked over to them holding two plates with fixed hamburgers on them. She handed a plate to each of them. “Didn’t want you to have to walk on that ankle, Audrey.”
“Thanks, Allie.” Audrey took her plate and glanced sideways at him.
“You two are adorable together.” Allie grinned and then returned to her other guests.
Josh watched Audrey blush, and his heart skipped. She certainly was adorable. He wanted to reach out and take her hand, she was sitting so near and was very obviously uncomfortable. “You want to just tell everyone we went out already?”
“My family needs me to get married so they can move on with their lives, for some reason.”
“I’m surprised you’re not married, actually.”
“Really? After hearing about my doomsday-hoarder ex?”
“Yeah, why didn’t that work out?” He had the urge to tell her he was only joking, but she smiled.
“Allie’s sister is getting married next week and she’s invited me. She’ll probably invite you too, if I know her.” Audrey studied his face for a moment. “Do you like going to weddings?”
“I can’t say that I particularly do.”
Audrey turned away to watch the other guests for a moment. “Is it because of how you feel about marriage?”
Josh hesitated, wondering if she were asking out of curiosity, as a counselor, or if she was interested in taking their relationship in that direction.
“Oh, sorry,” she said quickly, “that’s a little personal. I’m, uh, used to asking people all sorts of questions.”
“Ah…well, I don’t have any ill feelings toward marriage. My parents have been married for a hundred years at least.” Josh shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t know if any of the men I know are excited about weddings unless it’s their own.”
Audrey smiled and nodded. “I suppose I could say the same thing for myself.”
“So maybe I’ll see you at Allie’s sister’s wedding?”
“We’ll see how far I can milk this sprained ankle.” They both laughed, and Josh spotted Allie watching them. He couldn’t bring himself to care Allie was trying to set them up. He realized he was falling crazy hard for Audrey Foster.