The previous night's snow storm had blown in and passed on through in only a few hours, but it left serious trouble behind. The roads were horrible, and the minute they were plowed they were covered again. The wind had picked up and the snow was drifting all over the place. For some reason, February was the worst month of the year for snow.
Currently, Victoria Kennedy was coaxing her sports car through the drifts, over the ice, and trying to keep it on the road. Not an easy task. She was on her way home from work, and once there, she was off for two weeks. Victoria had some vacation time and she was overdue for one.
Valentine's day was the following week, and she had recently broken up with her boyfriend, though he hadn't been around for long. He wasn't really even her type. But she was just tired of being lonely. Well, it was back to alone because she had gotten rid of him.
"Valentine's is another word for 'sucker'." She spoke aloud.
In real time, she was only about four minutes away from home, but in bad road time, it was more like ten. The end was near though; she was in the home stretch. Victoria had recently bought an old house, and it needed some serious work. Her goal in life was to get a lot of house things accomplished while she was off. That would make her feel better.
Maybe she could get her cranky neighbor to lighten up some also. The man that lived next door was pretty gruff. He wasn't much older than Victoria's twenty-nine years, but he seemed older because of the cranky factor. His name was Andrew Hathaway, and he was pretty attractive...and she bet he would be even more so if he would turn that frown upside down.
The rest of the drive passed in a blur, and the next thing Victoria knew, she was turning into her driveway. She parked in the circle by the porch and shut off her car. A flash of something dark moving along her house caused her to freeze. What had that been? A dog? Some other animal? No, it was too big...
Victoria squinted, staring into the inky blackness that was pointedly darker than the blinding white snow. She wasn't seeing anything else. Cautiously, she opened her car door and stepped into the snow. It muffled her footsteps as she approached the porch, leaving her car door hanging open.
A figure stepped around the side of the house and she screamed. She heard something hit the wood slats that sounded like ice pellets, and she turned and ran to her door, frantically fighting with the lock.
"Would you calm down, dammit!"
Strong hands grasped her arms and she screamed again.
"For God's sake woman, stop that racket!"
Something in the voice gave her pause. Victoria whirled around and stared, wide-eyed, at her Mr. Cranky Pants Andrew.
"You couldn't have identified yourself?" Now she was mad...but mostly because she'd pretty much made an ass of herself.
"I didn't figure you'd think I was a serial killer. I'm sorry." Andrew turned and stooped down to pick something up. It was a little plastic bucket.
"What are you doing with that?" Now Victoria sounded like the cranky party.
"I shoveled your porch, and just went to get some salt. It should help tomorrow. I was getting ready to do your sidewalk."
"Oh, thank you, Andrew. I appreciate that, but you don't have to.."
"It's no problem. Just don't scream next time, all right?" He was back to gruff.
"You took me off guard, that's all. I didn't expect...no one has ever..."
He shifted uncomfortably. "No big deal."
The pause was awkward, and finally Victoria turned and unlocked her front door. Andrew spun at the same time and took the porch steps two at a time, heading to her car. He slammed the door shut, then retrieved his shovel. Back to work he went.
"Wow." Victoria spoke to herself once the door was closed. "What's with that guy?"
She made her way through the house, leaving a trail of lights on as she headed for the bedroom. First order of business was to get these damn clothes off, and into something comfortable. Black yoga pants and a gray tank top were whisked from the drawer, and she pulled an old button down sweater off the hook on the back of the door. Comfort level- now at one hundred percent.
Victoria left several lights on, but went back downstairs. She wanted some coffee, even though it was six o'clock in the evening. She had a lot of work to accomplish, and planned to get started tonight. She glanced out the window, and Andrew was still out there, painstakingly shoveling the walk and a path to her car. She decided to offer him some coffee.
She set the pot to brew, which only took a few minutes. She turned on the electric heater that lived in the drafty old kitchen, and shivered. Her first order of business should be insulating this place. The windows practically whistled. One step at a time, she told herself. Victoria made her way to the front of the house, sliding her feet into her slippers that she kept by the door.
Andrew was sprinkling salt, and once finished, he glanced up at the house and saw her peeking. Victoria felt herself flush, getting caught looking at him. She had a good reason though, right? And surely if he was kind enough to shovel for her, meant that he must be a nice guy, right? Without giving herself time to think about what she was starting, Victoria threw open the door.
Andrew's eyes widened in surprise. He was on his way to tell her he was finished and leaving. But she opened the door with such invitation in her eyes...he mentally shook himself. Just because she was cute didn't mean she thought he was. And he wasn't interested anyway. So. There.
"Just wanted to tell you I was done."
"Please, come in for some coffee. I feel bad you've been out there freezing." And I think you're cute in a mean way and I want to get to know you. That part she didn't add aloud.
"That's not necessary. I was just helping out."
"Please?" Victoria didn't know what made her say that, when she had entire sentences planned for when he declined.
"All right." He gave a brief nod of his head.
Victory for Victoria! She smiled and turned, leading him to the kitchen.
"Cream, sugar, artificial sweetener?"
"Black."
"Easy man."
"In some cases."
Hmm. Victoria didn't get much of a chance to think about that answer.
"So what in God's name prompted you to buy this place? It's falling down around you."
That was friendly... Victoria rolled her eyes at the kitchen cupboard.
"This house used to be in my family. It was sold when my great-great aunt passed away. I always loved it; in fact, we used to spend summers here when I was very young. I wanted it. I bought it, even if it is a beast. The previous owners didn't keep up on much."
"They were old and unable. I wondered what made them keep it as long as they did."
Victoria handed him his cup, then took her own and sat at the table, gesturing for him to do the same.
"What prompted you to come over and shovel?"
Andrew grimaced. "I used to do it for them. Force of habit I guess. Plus I knew you were alone, so I didn't figure you'd think it was priority."
"It wouldn't have been. Thank you."
He grunted, and Victoria chose to hear 'you're welcome' in that guttural sound.
"I'm off for the next two weeks, so I plan to get quite a bit accomplished. I'm mostly unpacked, other than some storage stuff that needs to go to the attic, but I hate those stairs."
"I helped the old owners quite a bit, with remodeling stuff. They wouldn't fix a leaky spot in the roof, but damn if that old lady didn't want a spa for a bathroom."
"You did the bathroom?" Victoria's brows lifted in surprise.
"Yeah." Andrew swigged his coffee.
"It's gorgeous. I think its my favorite room in the house." Victoria could swear he blushed a little.
"Well, if you need any help, let me know."
"Would you mind coming over and making a list of things that need attention? I can see obvious stuff, but there might be something wrong with the foundation or something stupid that I'm not going to see. That way I can figure out what I can do, or what I need to hire out."
"I'm a contractor. I could do all the work for you."
"You'll have to give me a bid of course. Then we'll see." Victoria's tone was light...she thought she might be flirting.
Andrew's eyes narrowed slightly, trying to judge if she was serious or not.
"Believe me lady, you want what I can offer."
Victoria blushed, getting beat at her own game. "Then I guess I'll count you in."
A frisson of tension wound its way through the room, crackling between them. He was better looking up close than he had been from a distance, and then in the dark. His hair was a medium brown, in need of a cut. His eyes were also brown, but they were shades darker than his hair. Angular bone structure made him look like a warrior. His jaw was strong, and his chin was just daring her to defy him- or kiss him, she wasn't sure which. He was of medium build, but at least a head taller than her, and from what she could make out, he was well muscled, but not that fake kind that came from a gym. The real man kind that said he worked for a living.
Andrew took the time to examine her also, seeing what he could of her body through her clothes. Curves. A dangerous road full of them. She was a little on the heavy side, but damn if she didn't dip and swell in all the right places. Freckles dusted her face, which was at odds with her almost black hair. It curled and tumbled in a thick mane that reached her bra strap. Her eyes were a peculiar shade of brown- almost coppery. All in all, Andrew figured he'd enjoy his time spent with his new neighbor. Probably enjoy it a little too much, and not get enough work done for staring at her.
"Thanks, Miss..."
"Oh, please. Call me Victoria. May I call you Andrew?"
"'Course. Well, thank you for the coffee. I'll come over in the morning and we'll get started."
Victoria's eyes almost glazed over...she'd rather get started tonight and finish in the morning, but that was neither here nor there.
