CHAPTER 4
“GET AWAY FROM the damn window,” Zack growled.
Josh, still holding aside the café drape on the small window over the kitchen sink, peered over his shoulder at Zack. “Who is she?”
“Nobody. Just a neighbor.”
“She’s Wynn.” Dani, perched in royal splendor on Mick’s thigh, showed none of her father’s reservation. “She’s our new neighbor.”
Josh lifted a brow. “Is that right?”
“She had breakfast with us.” Dani smiled after that statement.
Mick shared a look with Josh. “Breakfast, huh?”
Zack threw ice into three glasses. “Quit jumping to conclusions. She woke me up this morning, that’s all.”
Josh dropped the curtain and turned. “Long, tall and sexy got you out of bed, and you say that’s all?”
Mick choked on a laugh.
Zack, after casting a quick glance at his daughter, scowled. Luckily Dani was busy singing and drawing Mick a picture, which Mick pretended to attend to when actually Zack knew he was soaking up every word. “It’s not like that!” He caught himself, shocked at his own vehemence, and explained more calmly, “She and her brother were making a racket moving in. When she realized she’d awakened us, she brought over coffee and some muffins.”
“Nice neighbor,” Josh muttered, and turned back to the window.
“She had pizza with us, too, and I drawed her a picture.”
“Drew her a picture,” Zack automatically corrected, and realized his daughter had been all ears after all. When she looked up at him, he thought to add, “A beautiful picture, honey.”
She held up her newest endeavor. “This one is, too.”
Mick leaned back to see it, pretending to dump Dani, which made her squeal. “It’s incredibly beautiful,” he confirmed. He hugged her close and kissed her cheek.
Zack shook his head. His daughter had more than her fair share of male role models. Now she needed a female role model—preferably one who wasn’t loud and pushy and too damn big.
Josh said, “Damn, does she never stop working?”
“Not that I’ve noticed.” Unable to keep himself from it, Zack went to the window and peeked out. “What’s she doing?”
“Hanging a clothesline. Hell, the moon is out. She’s working from the porch light.”
Dani said quite seriously, “You cuss too much. Hell and damn are bad words.”
Wincing, Josh muttered, “Sorry.”
Zack had long ago explained to Dani that while grown men might say certain words now and then, she was still a little girl and was strictly forbidden to do the same. He forgot his daughter’s bossiness as he watched Wynn go about her business. “What in the world is she hanging up?”
Josh narrowed his eyes. “Looks like her laundry. Like—” he smiled “—her underwear.”
Mick came out of his chair in a rush and crowded into the window. Being that he still held Dani, it was a tight fit. He snorted. “You’re both lechers. You should give the woman some privacy.”
None of them moved.
Dani said, “We saw her butt today.”
Both Josh and Mick turned to stare at him. Zack frowned, ready to explain, then he saw Wynn toss a nightgown over the line and clip it into place with a clothespin. It wasn’t a sexy nightgown, but rather what appeared to be yards and yards of material. Course, for a woman her size, it’d take a lot of cloth to cover her.
For some stupid reason that thought made him smile.
Moonlight played over her flyaway hair and the slant of the porch light made exaggerated shadows on her body. Why was she hanging her laundry at night? For that matter, why hadn’t she worn down yet? She’d been working all day, non-stop, and it was too damn distracting. The woman must have inexhaustible energy, and that thought did more than make him smile. It made him wonder how she might put all that energy to use.
Through the open window, they all heard her begin to whistle.
“This is pathetic,” Mick groused. “You’ve got me here playing peeping Tom when I’d really rather be playing cards.”
Josh explained, “That’s because you’re blissfully married and therefore immune to fantasies.”
Zack glared at him. “Don’t tell me you’re interested in her?”
And before Josh could answer, Dani braced herself between Mick and Josh, leaned forward toward the screen, and yelled through the window, “Hello Wynn! We’s peeping Toms!”
They all three ducked so fast, their heads smacked together.
Mick, on the floor with his back against the sink cabinet, flipped Dani upside down while laughing and said, “I ought to hang you by your toes for that!” He tickled her belly and they both laughed.
Josh looked at Zack and said, “Do you think she heard?”
“That one? She hears everything.” Then to his daughter, “Sweetheart, you don’t tell people when you’re looking at them.”
“Why not?”
Josh crept up the edge of the sink and peeked out. With a resigned expression he completely straightened and called out, “It’s a little late to be doing laundry.”
Realizing Wynn must have been looking toward the window, Zack stood, too. He heard her soft laugh, then, “My new washer and dryer won’t arrive for a few more days. I needed clean stuff for tomorrow.”
To Zack’s disgruntlement, Josh smiled, walked to the kitchen door, and continued right on outside and around to Wynn’s house. He should put up a damn privacy fence.
Dani pulled away from Mick and followed. Mick shrugged at Zack, hauled himself to his feet, and followed suit.
Groaning, forced into the situation he’d wanted most to avoid, Zack went along.
When Wynn saw them all approaching, she dropped an item of clothing back into her basket and walked to meet them halfway. Though the night had grown considerably cooler, she was still in the halter and shorts and Zack wanted to strip off his shirt and cover her with it. But it was too late. Josh had already seen her, and was already in charm mode.
Wynn held out her hand when he reached her. “Hello. Wynn Lane.”
Josh took her hand, but not in a handshake. He held her fingers carefully, as if she were fragile. “Josh Marshall,” he murmured, and his tone alone gave away his thoughts on seduction. “Nice to meet you.”
Zack wanted to kick him.
Wynn tried to tug her hand free, but Josh wasn’t being reasonable about it. She snuck a glance at Zack and then back to Josh. “You’re the fireman, right?”
He looked briefly surprised, and Zack explained, “Dani told her all about both of you.”
To Mick she said, “My brother is a big fan of your wife’s work.”
Mick reached out, took Josh’s wrist and pried their hands apart, then indulged his own handshake. At least his was entirely casual and quick. “Mick Dawson. Nice to meet you, Wynn.”
She looked at Zack. “I hope I wasn’t disturbing you again?”
“We were peekin’ at you,” Dani informed her.
Wynn just laughed and petted her hand over Dani’s hair in a show of affection that Zack felt clean down to his gut. “Well,” she said with a wide smile, “I imagine anyone doing laundry by moonlight is sure to draw attention.” And to Zack, “The thing is, I’m still too keyed up from moving in to relax, and I actually brought laundry with me from my apartment, so I figured I might as well get it done. Stuff dried on the line always smells so good, don’t you think?”
Zack thought she smelled good. Working all day had intensified her natural scent, making it more potent, more intoxicating.
He snorted at his own ridiculous fancy and told her, “There’s a Laundromat a couple of miles away, next door to the grocery.”
“You could use our washer and dryer,” Dani offered.
Feeling his smile freeze, Zack said, “Or you could use our washer and dryer.”
Wynn was already shaking her head. “No, I don’t mind using the line.”
Josh stepped in front of Zack. “I’m not that far away. Feel free to use mine until yours arrive.”
Zack considered strangling him. It wasn’t that he cared personally, because he didn’t, but it’d be almost as awkward for Josh to get involved with her as it would be for Zack. Josh wasn’t ready to settle down, and in fact, since Mick’s wedding, he’d been overindulging in a big way. Zack did not want him overindulging with his neighbor.
Mick said, “If you’re about done, we were just getting some drinks. You could join us.”
She took a step back. “Oh no, but thanks anyway.”
“Join us, join us!” Dani sang, bouncing up and down in renewed energy.
“You,” Zack told his daughter, “are about to go to bed.”
Before Dani could summon up a temper about that, Wynn said, “Actually, so am I.”
All three men stared at her.
She cleared her throat. “That is, I need to get showered and…” She looked from one fascinated male gaze to the other and coughed. “I’m a mess. I’ve been working all day.”
In a feminine gesture that took him by surprise, considering he hadn’t seen much in the way of femininity from her, Wynn attempted to smooth her hair.
Josh tipped his head. “You look fine.”
His voice was low and appreciative and again Zack wanted to strangle him.
“Her hair is soft,” Dani informed Josh in a loud whisper, then poked him in the thigh.
“Is that right?” Showing none of the reserve Zack had exhibited, Josh reached out and fingered a bouncing curl at her temple before gently tucking it behind her ear. “You’re right, Dani. It’s very soft.”
Wynn twittered and took another step away. “I’ve got to finish up here. But it was nice meeting you both. Dani, sweet dreams!”
Josh murmured low and suggestively, “You, too.”
She gave another ridiculous, girlish twitter and turned to hurry away. Josh stood there, hands on his hips, watching her go with his gaze southerly enough to singe her backside, until Zack elbowed him. Hard.
They all trooped back into the kitchen, Josh rubbing his ribs as if he’d been mortally wounded. Dani now had her head on Mick’s shoulder and she yawned. They were all three aware of how quickly Dani would collapse into a sound slumber, and they shared smiles.
Zack scooped his daughter into his arms. “Time for you to hit the sack, sweetie.” Once Dani started fading, she went fast. She’d run right up until she ran out of gas.
She blinked sleepy eyes at Josh and Mick. “G’night.”
Josh bent and kissed her nose. “Night princess.”
Mick tickled her toes. “Good night, honey.”
As Zack turned to leave the kitchen, he saw Mick sit at the table, and Josh go back to the open window. He grumbled under his breath as he hauled his small bundle upstairs. He was just lowering Dani to her mattress when she said in a low, drowsy voice, “Josh likes her.”
Pausing, Zack said, “You think so?”
Dani nodded. “I like her, too. Don’t you?”
“She’s fine.” Zack pulled the sheet up to Dani’s chin, smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead. That didn’t suffice, so he kissed her again, then cuddled her close, squeezing her until she gave a protesting squeak. “I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too, Daddy.”
“Do you need to potty?”
“Nope.” She rolled to her side, cushioned her cheek on one tiny fist, and let out a long deep breath.
With a last peck to her brow, Zack stood. Dani was already snoring softly. For a long minute, he just looked down at her. She was by far the most precious thing in the world to him. It seemed every time he looked at her it struck him anew how much he loved her. That she was his, a part of him, was beyond remarkable.
Josh was still at the damn window when Zack reentered the kitchen. “You look like a lovesick pup.”
Mick choked on a laugh. “As compared to you, who’s playing the part of the snarling junkyard dog?”
At Mick’s taunting words, Zack paused, but only for a second. He knew his friends, and if they had half an inkling of how Wynn affected him, he’d never hear the end of it. Casually, a man without a care, he took his own peek out the window. Wynn was nowhere to be seen, thank God. Out of sight, out of mind.
He grunted, then dropped into his seat, sprawling out and rubbing the back of his neck.
“No comment, huh?” Mick asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ignorance was a lame defense, but he was too tired to think of much else at the moment.
Mick leaned forward over the table and whispered, “Possessiveness.”
Josh turned. “She went in just a few seconds ago.” He took his own seat. “Did you see the legs on that woman?”
“Since they’re a mile long,” Mick said, “they’d be a little hard to miss.”
Josh lifted a brow. “She’s put together right, I’ll say that for her.”
“You didn’t have to put up with her first thing this morning.” Wishing he could bite off his tongue, Zack took a long cooling drink of his cola.
Saluting him with his glass, Josh said, “She can get me up anytime.”
“Ha ha.” Mick shook his head at the double entendre, but amusement shone clear on his face as he looked between the two of them. “You have a one-track mind, Josh.”
“And it’s definitely on track right now.”
Zack growled before he caught himself. “I hate to curtail whatever fantasy you’re indulging, but she’s off limits.”
Josh hesitated with his drink almost to his mouth. “Says who?”
“Says me. I have to live by her. I’ll be damned if you’re going to date her, dump her, then leave her to me to deal with.” Zack shook his head in adamant finality. “No way, so forget it.”
Mick nudged Josh with his foot. “Besides, he’s got his own plans.”
Zack did bite his tongue this time. The more he said, the more they’d read into it, so denials would do him no good.
Eyeing Zack, Josh asked, “Is that right?”
“No, it is not right.” He hoped like hell he sounded more definite than he felt. “Now can we talk about something else?”
“Because I can back off if you’re making a personal claim.”
Through his teeth, Zack said, “I’m not making a personal claim, but you will back off.”
Josh stared at him a moment, then chuckled and switched his gaze to Mick. “I think you’re right.”
“Are we going to play cards or sit here mooning over women?” Zack barked.
“All right, all right,” Josh soothed. “Don’t get all fired up. We don’t have to moon.”
“Speak for yourself,” Mick grumbled. “I’m mooning. I’d much rather be home with Delilah right now.”
Josh shook his head in pity. Even Zack managed a credible chuckle. “You’re still a newlywed, so you’re allowed.”
“And,” Josh added, “Delilah is enough to make anyone moon.”
Predictably, Mick bristled. Why in hell Josh continued to make those types of comments, Zack couldn’t figure out. He knew there was a time when Josh had fancied himself taken with Delilah, too, but since she’d married Mick—an event Josh had supported whole-heartedly—Josh had roamed from woman to woman with a near insatiable appetite.
Mick half came out of his chair. “I wish you wouldn’t speak so intimately about my wife.”
Josh looked supremely unaffected by Mick’s ire. “I was only agreeing with you.”
“You—”
“Sheesh, men in love are so touchy,” Josh complained. “First Zack breathing fire on me, and now you. A single man can’t make a legitimate observation any more.”
“Zack isn’t married, I am.”
“Zack wants to be married,” Josh pointed out. “It’s almost the same thing.” Then he redirected his comments to Zack. “Is that it with Wynn? You considering her suitable wifely material?”
“No.”
“Did you really see her backside?”
“No.”
Josh grinned. “I’ll take that first ‘no’ at face value. No way in hell am I accepting the second without some kind of explanation.”
If he knew it wouldn’t wake Dani, Zack would consider knocking Josh off his chair. Resigned, he gave up with a sigh. “She was bent over…” He faltered, unsure how to explain.
Josh protested his hesitation by saying, “I’m all ears.”
“Actually,” Mick admitted, “so am I.”
“She had on short shorts—”
“I noticed that.”
“So did I.”
“Do you two want to hear this or not?” Zack glared at them both, waiting, but they now held themselves silent. “She was bent way over trying to drag a box into the backyard and her shorts rode up. That’s all there is to it. I didn’t see her whole behind.” But he’d seen enough to know her backside was as delectable as her legs.
“A half moon, huh?” Josh made a tsking sound. “And here I missed it.”
Zack gave up and explained in full the extent of his association with Ms. Wynn Lane. He told them about her family who’d soon be moving in, her brother who was built like a chimney, and her penchant for being outspoken and brazen and pushy.
“She is not,” Zack reiterated, “wife material.”
Josh had listened quietly, but now he waved away Zack’s disclaimer. “Why do you want to get married anyway? I mean, just because Mick here found the perfect woman—”
Mick growled.
“—and he’s blissfully happy, doesn’t mean we all need to stick our necks into the noose. I know a lot more divorced couples than I do happily married ones.”
Now that the cannon had been redirected, Zack relaxed and began shuffling the cards. “Dani asked me about feminine napkins the other day.”
Both Mick and Josh froze, then gave near identical groans of emotional pain. “Commercials?” Josh asked.
“Yeah. She was watching cartoons when bam, there was a commercial for napkins. Can you believe it? She wanted to know what they were for and why women who used them got to go horseback riding and climbing and stuff.”
Chuckling, Mick shook his head. “I can just imagine this conversation.”
“Whatd’cha tell her?” Josh asked with interest.
“I fumbled my way through it.” Actually, he’d made a total mess of things, but Zack wasn’t about to admit that. “She wasn’t ready to hear about the whole reproductive cycle thing—”
“Neither am I,” Josh joked.
“—so I just told her women used them like they used perfume and makeup and panty hose.”
Mick snickered. “Let me guess. She wants some.”
“Yup. So you see, this is why I need a wife. I foresee stuff like this coming up all the damn time. I mean, what the hell will I know about fashion trends for teenage girls, or buying training bras?”
Josh considered that a moment, then said, “I could handle it if you want help. I wouldn’t mind.”
“Oh God, that’s all I need! I can see the headlines now, Womanizer Extraordinaire Attempts Parenting 101.”
“A female is a female is a female.”
Mick tapped his fingers on the table. “Delilah would have something to say about that sentiment.”
Josh grinned. “I know. She loves to give me hell.”
“Girls start this puberty stuff earlier than guys, as early as eleven or twelve,” Zack pointed out. He was amused despite himself, at the picture of Josh sorting through adolescent underwear. It was a far cry from lingerie, which admittedly, Josh knew a lot about. He bought enough of it for his girlfriends.
“I could handle it.” Josh looked thoughtful, then grinned. “Hell, it might even be fun. I do enjoy shopping you know.”
Zack did know. Every Christmas and every birthday, Josh took Dani shopping. They’d make a whole day of it, and Josh would spoil her with gifts and a movie and the amusement park. It was surprising, given Josh presented the world with only his preference for bachelor-hood, yet Zack trusted him completely with his daughter.
In many ways, both Josh and Mick were pseudo-daddies, picking up the slack whenever Zack ran short on time. And they did a great job. They’d helped him get through the loss of his wife, and helped even more in the transition from grief to thankfulness, because despite losing his wife, he still had Dani, and that was a lot, more than he’d ever asked of life.
Zack had inadvertently wandered down a maudlin path, so he changed the subject while dealing out the cards. “Mick, did Josh tell you his station is making a charity calendar?”
“What’s this?” Mick asked.
Josh picked up his hand, rearranged the cards a few times, then said, “Some pushy promotions broad is organizing the whole thing. She wants a bunch of the men to pose in some cheesy way to go on the calendar, then they’ll sell it and the proceeds will benefit the burn center.”
“Pushy promotions broad,” Mick repeated slowly, as if savoring the words. “Does this mean she had the audacity to exclude you from modeling?”
“I never gave her the chance. Anyone who was interested was supposed to call her to set up an appointment.” He peered over his cards at Mick and Zack. “To get ogled, no doubt. Can you believe that?”
Frowning, Zack asked, “Have you met her?”
“I don’t need to. I heard all about her from a friend at a different station. She a rich daddy’s girl who plays at this charity stuff out of boredom.”
Mick and Zack shared a look. Mick laid his cards facedown and crossed his arms on the table. “Since when do you care about a woman’s character?”
“Yeah,” Zack said. “I thought it was the size of her bra cups that attracted you.”
Josh suddenly looked harassed and annoyed, not that Zack minded after what he’d just been through. About time someone else took a turn on the hot seat.
“She’s supposedly really beautiful, okay? And I’ve had it with women like that. I want someone more like Delilah.”
Mick choked and his face turned red.
“Oh for God’s sake.” Josh quickly got out of Mick’s reach and explained, “I wasn’t—not for a second—saying Delilah’s not beautiful! She is. Flat-out gorgeous.”
Mick stood, looking far from placated.
“But she doesn’t go in for all the props. When was the last time Del painted her nails or colored her hair? Never, right? She’s genuine. Well that’s the type of woman I want.” He waved a hand toward the window. “Wynn what’s-her-name would do, too. I want a natural woman, not a glamour doll who thinks she can crook her little finger and a guy will come running.”
Mick subsided, but he looked far from appeased.
Zack shook his head. “Mick, you’re going to have to get a handle on these jealous tendencies of yours. You know Josh won’t poach.”
“As if it’d do him any good to try!”
Zack sighed, but it turned into a laugh. “I wasn’t suggesting it would. And seeing as you know that, why do you let his every comment rile you? You know he doesn’t mean anything by it. It’s just how he is.”
Mick grumbled, “That wasn’t your sentiment when he was trying to seduce Wynn.”
It was Josh’s turn to choke. “I wasn’t trying to seduce the woman! Hell, all I did was hold her hand.”
“You’re both nuts,” Zack concluded out loud. “Let’s forget Wynn and the calendar and women in general. Mick, you can go on pining for your wife since I know you can’t help it.” He grinned. “Now, let’s play cards.”
Three hours later Zack was ready to call it a night. His neck was still stiff and his mind refused to pay attention to his hand, so he’d lost more than he’d won. Mick, too, was yawning, and mumbling that Delilah had likely finished writing for the night. Josh, the only one to look fresh, decided to call a woman from Zack’s house and made plans to visit her that night.
Mick and Zack both shook their heads.
The night was cool and crisp and black as pitch when Zack waved goodbye from the doorway. He stood there until the headlights had disappeared out of the driveway, then he locked the door and tidied the kitchen.
On his way through the house, he picked up toys and drawings and a lone frilly sock peeking out from beneath a chair. He checked all the locks and headed upstairs.
Dani slept peacefully, her small body barely visible beneath the sheet. Zack smiled and pulled her door closed.
On his way to his own room he stripped off his shirt and stretched his aching arm and shoulder muscles. He kicked his shoes into the closet, then sat on the edge of the bed to remove his socks. After he turned out the light, he went to the window, breathing in the night air as he unzipped his slacks.
And from there, in a shaft of moonlight, reclining in the damn hammock like a sexual offering, he saw Wynn. For a single heartbeat lust raged through him, making his blood churn and his imagination grind.
Then a clearer picture formed; she looked to be sound asleep, which nearly made his mind explode with incredulity. She was a single woman, alone, in a new neighborhood, and she was stupid enough to pass out asleep outside, unprotected.
Jaw locked, Zack left his room with a stomping stride and iron determination. He’d known the moment he saw her that she was going to be nothing but trouble, both to his sanity and his libido.