Missy Tippens - The Guy Next Door

As he spread mulch around the fragrant plants his mother had tended as if they were her children, Luke imagined her there beside him. The sweet smell always reminded him of her. The previous week, he’d walked into the office and thought, for a split second, his mom was there. But a vase of freshly cut flowers from Roger’s wife’s garden had been the trigger.

Joan had been strong and solid, a homemaker who made her family feel loved and cared for, even as she reached out to love others. She’d been the glue that held their family together when he and his dad butted heads through his high school and early college years.

Before Joan died, she told Luke and Burt they needed to be patient with each other, needed to be more supportive. Fortunately, for the most part, he and Burt had made peace. His mother would want that, would expect it.

Luke wanted to join his dad in honoring her memory. Together they would figure out a way.

Tires on the pavement of the driveway next door drew his attention. Darcy returning from her second job?

No. Noreen’s small sedan. She climbed out of the vehicle, smiling as she headed his way.

With her long, light blond hair, no gray in sight, and the stylish way she dressed, Noreen had always looked younger than other mothers. Though now, a few slight wrinkles around her light blue eyes hinted at her age.

“Good to have you home,” she said as she hugged him. “Burt has looked forward to your visit.”

The perfume she wore smelled familiar, as if it was the same perfume his mom, her best friend, had always worn. His throat constricted, forcing him to cough to clear it. “Thanks for all you’ve done to help him the past few months.”

“I know what a struggle it is to lose a spouse. I simply pushed him to get out of the house and back to the office.”

“Whatever you’ve done has worked. He’s in a better place.”

She started to say something, but then folded her hands together, pressing them in front of her lips as if stopping herself.

“What is it?”

Shaking her head, she smiled. “Nothing at all. Have you seen Darcy yet?”

“Ran into her as I was arriving this afternoon.”

Noreen’s eyebrows drew together, and she let out a small humph. “It’s a wonder she was home at all. She’s working herself to death to pay off her student loans by a self-­imposed deadline. She has no social life.”

“I happened to catch her between the lab job and mall job.”

Noreen let out a deep sigh. “I told her she is welcome to continue living with me as long as she likes. No need to push herself so.”

He couldn’t help but grin. “She always was a little headstrong.”

“Just like her dad,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

Another vehicle pulled into the driveway. Darcy’s SUV. His stomach lurched in anticipation as if he were sixteen instead of twenty-six.

“There she is now,” Noreen said. “She works till eight again tomorrow night. Then Saturday, after working all day at the hospital, she’ll do the late shift at the mall.”

“Late shift?”

“The store closes at ten on weekends, which puts her home after eleven, making for a sixteen-hour day. Added to that, she takes the cash to the night deposit by herself.”

By herself with all that money? “Can’t she get a security escort?”

“She claims she’s perfectly safe.”

Darcy joined them by the roses. “From the frown on Mom’s face, I’d say she’s complaining about my arriving home late.”

How could Darcy be so careless? From the time she first moved into a dorm, hadn’t he always warned her to be cautious? “She’s just worried about you.”

Darcy slumped as if exhausted. “I don’t need a lecture right now.”

“Luke, maybe you can talk some sense into her.” Noreen rubbed her temples and then headed to the O’Malley house.

Luke turned to Darcy. “Long day, huh?”

“I’m fine. It was a slow evening.”

Gently lifting her chin, he examined her face. The shadows pooling under eyes had nothing to do with the fading daylight or harsh outdoor spotlight his dad had turned on. “You look worn out.”

“Gee, thanks.” She pushed his hand away. “You certainly know how to make a girl feel good.”

If he told her how beautiful he thought she was at the moment, she would think he’d gone off his rocker. She would not be comfortable if she found out that just this afternoon he’d seen her through new eyes.

The eyes of a man suddenly aware his best friend was a gorgeous, appealing woman.

Disdain for the out-of-character thoughts sent him grasping for a comeback, something funny, a brotherly dig. As a breeze lifted her long hair, blowing the ends across his arm, all clever thoughts fled.

“Hey, best friends look out for each other, don’t they?” he choked out, pulling the best friend card. “Maybe you need an intervention.”

“What I need is to have my priorities, my work, respected. You should empathize.”

Yeah, he did. But it didn’t mean he’d quit worrying about her welfare.

He would head over to the mall late Saturday. Maybe ask her for input on how they could honor his mother. Then he would insist on escorting her to the bank.

It was the least he could do for a friend.

Chapter Two

The next afternoon after a day of work at the lab, Darcy sat across from Grace Hunt, her co-chair for the church’s upcoming missions committee auction. She and Grace, who happened to be Luke’s grandmother, were working to raise money for the Food4Kids project.

The slamming of a car door outside jerked Darcy’s mind away from their discussion.

Grace smoothed her fingers over short, perfectly styled salt-and-pepper hair. “I wonder if that’s my grandson arriving at long last?” she said as if ready to shame Luke for waiting twenty-four hours to show up. “Had to invite him to dinner to make sure he’d come see me.”

Of course they both knew Luke loved spending time with Grace, and that he could do no wrong in his grandmother’s eyes.

Darcy laughed from across the well-worn, scarred oak table. “I imagine it’s him. I think we’ve covered everything we need to do today.”

“We have a good lineup of donors for this year’s auction.” With her tasteful makeup and up-to-date clothes, Grace looked fifty instead of nearly seventy. The energy and excitement she exuded belied her age, as well.

Darcy pushed away the last bite of the sweet, gooey pecan pie Grace had served. The sounds of birds chirping and a dog barking drifted through the back screen door, tempting Darcy to relax awhile.

She couldn’t. The mall job waited. “I should go.”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Grace said. “Food4Kids got an anonymous donation today that will cover the budget for the month of May, enabling us to finish out the school year.”

“Oh?” Darcy fiddled with the pie plate, staring at it as if it were the most interesting thing ever. “That’s great news.”

Grace tilted her head toward Darcy, her speculative gaze making Darcy shift in her chair.

“Funny how the donor knew exactly how much we need right when we needed it,” Grace said. “Didn’t you tell me your new coworker at the hospital—Lois?—has a son who is part of the program and a recipient of the meals? I imagine you’d want to make sure he doesn’t go hungry.”

Steeling herself, Darcy braved looking at the oh-so-perceptive woman. “If this year’s auction is successful, maybe we won’t run out of money next year.”

“You sure are generous, especially considering you’re working so hard to pay off your college loans.”

Darcy’s faced burned. She let out a long sigh. “Lois just graduated and is trying to get back on her feet after a divorce. She’s adamant about refusing charity, especially from townspeople she knows. So please keep this anonymous, okay?”

Grace made a zipping motion over her lips, but then her grin unzipped them. She patted Darcy’s hand. “By the way, I have a plan.” She glanced toward the living room to make sure Luke wasn’t there.

Apparently that hadn’t been his car door they’d heard outside.

Darcy closed the notebook where she’d jotted a list of their project ideas. “Tell me.”

Grace clasped her hands in front of her chest, looking more like an excited teenager than a grandmother. “It’ll be the perfect way to get through to Luke,” she whispered. “My grandson needs a push to get him to move home to Appleton.”

No amount of pushing would change Luke’s mind now that he’d bought the office building. Apparently, Grace had no idea what Luke planned.

“And that push involves the auction?”

A flash of sadness in Grace’s eyes knocked her excitement down a notch. “Since Joan founded the Food4Kids ministry, his helping with the auction would be a connection to his mother.”

“Of course.”

“I’m simply going to suggest Luke work for a good cause, a cause that meant a lot to Joan.”

Darcy herself had experienced moments of sadness at the loss of their committee leader. “You know, I hadn’t anticipated how difficult this year’s auction would be without her. Are you doing okay?”

Her friend sat straighter, pulling together the edges of her ivory cotton cardigan, taking a deep breath. “I’m fine. And hopeful. I truly think if Luke gets involved in the community, he’ll realize this is where he belongs.”

Which is exactly what Darcy had hoped, too—before Luke decided to stay in Nashville after law school. “Sure can’t hurt to try.” She scooted her folder labeled Missions Auction across the table. “He’s welcome to take my place on the committee since I don’t have a spare minute in my day.”

Grace slid the folder back to Darcy. “No, dear. You’re part of the plan, too. A reminder that he has friends here.”

“Seriously, I don’t mind turning over my duties to him. I’ve been working fifty to sixty hours a week.”

“Working too many hours if you ask me,” a deep voice said.

Luke filled the doorway leading to the kitchen, and at the sight of him, her heart gave a stutter.

Heart stutters were not allowed. She raised her chin and gave him a defiant look. “Butting into my business again?”

Grace hopped up and greeted him with a tight hug. “That was you we heard out front!”

“I got caught up talking to your neighbors.”

“I’ve missed you, son. ’Bout time you came home.”

“Thanks, Granny. I’ve missed you, too.” Over the top of Grace’s head he gave Darcy a pointed look. “See, Darcy. That’s how you greet a man.”

Darcy couldn’t help laughing. “Hey, I greeted you like that yesterday, before you started handing out unsolicited advice about my work schedule.”

“Come join us.” Grace led Luke to the chair beside her. “I was talking to Darcy about her second job.”

Grace sat and grasped Darcy’s hand, her grip firm and strong. “Your mother told me you’re worried about finances. Darcy, honey, you need to find a good man to take care of you. You shouldn’t have to shoulder that burden alone.”

Darcy almost laughed out loud. Then she remembered Grace had grown up in a different time, had married her husband at eighteen. “I appreciate the thought, but I haven’t met my knight in shining armor and can’t wait around until I do. I have bills to pay.”

“Goodness, dear. How do you think you’ll meet the man God intends for you if you’re working all the time?” Grace asked.

A problem Darcy had bemoaned for months as her only life outside of work had been fulfilling church obligations.