The laugh coughed out of her at that and she shook her head before stepping forward into him and reached up to
take off her hat before wrapping her arms around his wide shoulders. Raising her face she kissed him properly. The
way he deserved to be kissed. The conversation up on the roof was still lingering with her.
"I love you." She murmured as she drew back enough to look up at him. Her lazy smile spread a bit. "And she won't be
coming over with cookies for me to intercept. You're mowing. She'll bring sweet tea and she'll find you."
"Well a man can hope, can't he?" He said with a grin, warmed in a way that had little to do with the heat from her as he
held her close, her hat held in her hand behind his neck, his turned around. "Luckily I got a gallon or so made in
there, maybe you can beat her to the punch?"
It wasn't like Hector had given Paige any encouragement whatsoever. In fact, his lack thereof in that area seemed to
only egg her on. And though he liked the girl in a neighborly way (the kind you wave to when getting your paper or
mail), he wouldn't mind chasing her off his scent once and for all.
Cassie talked about 'women' plural, but it was only Paige that he could think of that was so unashamedly blatant about
the whole thing.
Andi chuckled, resting contently against Hector and in no hurry to move.
"I think I can figure out when she'd find you most vulnerable and manage it." She agreed. More than anything, she felt
a bit sorry for the younger girl. She had her heart so obviously set on Hector and Andi of all people, could hardly
blame her for that. It might have been a bit more threatening if Hector hadn't been so - Hector. Faithful and true and
entirely focused on the woman he was holding now. How could Andi feel fear over Paige when, if Hector had wanted
the girl, he could have had her years ago? That thought, it didn't mean Andi thought Paige was entirely without being
able to cause harm if she thought she'd been driven to desperate measures. But, seeing the way Hector was looking
at her now, Andi couldn't help but feel sorry for Paige. Until Paige wasn't really a thought anymore.
"I must love you." She sighed softly looking into his dark eyes. "Who else would I fend off college kids armed with
nothing but cold tea for?"
"Hopefully no one." He said with a wink. "Cause that might keep you busy, and this is a vacation, remember?" But in a
purely way that only men could appreciate, Andi squaring off against Paige would be an interesting sight. Now guys
like Swanson would want to know if there was Jell-O or mud in that scenario. Hector was fine with just watching as is.
Entertainment never hurt, and since he hoped she knew Paige wasn't even a real threat, it might help her relieve
some stress he was sure was just building up under the surface.
So Paige would be doing a humanitarian duty without even knowing it! Who knew?
"Mm, yes, vacation." She murmured with a smile. "Only one college kid per house. At least I can say the one assigned
to our house has good taste. In men if not in cookies." She flicked Hector a wink. "At least that's what I've heard. About
the cookies I mean."
"Ooh, blow to the ego. You just love taking me down a notch, don't you?" He said with a chuckle. "Well, I guess
someone has to do it, right? Or damn, I'd just be insufferable. Ask Jo." He kissed her once more then put her hat back
on her head. "Let me get started, the sooner I finish, the sooner I can grab a shower."
He went back to the shed and pulled out the lawn mower, and the gas can, and filled it up.
Andi let herself take a minute to just watch him go, silly smile she wasn't aware of on her lips. He was a wonderful man
to simply watch. Of course, to keep from sounding shallow, he was also a wonderful man inside where it counted the
most to her. Dark and lost and vulnerable and hurt. And steady and sure and solid and true. Laughing and gentle and
kind and sweet. And stubborn and clever and innovative. Casual and wound. And - all that said - she was still glad she
could admit that he was also very, very nice to watch.
She hadn't been lying. Heaven suddenly wasn't heaven unless he was going to be there. And just this short life with
him would never be enough.
With a pleased sigh and an unconscious shake of her head, she turned around and went up the steps to the back
porch and the house. Slipping off her slip ons - and she was really going to have to buy another pair of sneakers at
some point - and padding barefoot through the kitchen to look in the refrigerator and see what she could invent for
lunch. The sound of the lawnmower starting up drifted through the kitchen window and Andi's lips curved softly. She
thought Hector was probably safe as long as he was mowing the lawn. It would be rude, not to mention inconvenient,
interrupting him in the middle of it and then they'd still have to talk over the sound of the mower. As soon as he shut it
off however...
With a chuckle, Andi took tomatoes, green apples, and some lettuce out of the icebox. Thinking, at the rate they were
going, she was going to have to hit Jolanda up for more bread soon. She glanced out the window as Hector started
past and went back to her work. He probably didn't realize it but, in cranking the lawn mower, he'd just announced to
the rest of the women on the block that he was home and active. Andi suspected though Paige was the quickest and
most determined of the lot, she wouldn't be their only female visitor by the end of the day.
Hector grabbed his discman. Not only would it block out the noise of the mower, but it would also help him ignore
anyone else that came up to him. Andi, he was sure, had no qualms about interrupting him if she either wanted to or
needed to.
He got the back part done quickly enough, mostly because he had to avoid the still marshy parts from the last storm
and started on the front part, edging the driveway, the porch...stopping by the porch to strip his shirt off before it got
too drenched in sweat and draping it over the railing.
He had been honest. Yard work, as physically exerting as it was, was mentally relaxing. He didn't have to think, or
automatically weigh the options of life and death, just push the mower, bring it back, push it again, try to keep the lines
straight. That was it. And it was refreshing.
Andi finished making the chicken salad, though she'd cheated and bought precooked chicken strips at the market last
night. She hadn't been sure how long they'd be away and she hadn't wanted to carry around a slowly thawing bird
while they were. But this worked and she was pleased with the results. Though she was really going to have to put
together a meal plan or something and go shopping again. She'd bought on instinct and lightly previously and she
wasn't sure how long what she'd invested in was going to manage to fit together into sane meals. She glanced up at
the cabinets as she put everything in covered dishes and put it back in the icebox. His grandmother had spent a great
deal of time in the kitchen he'd said. Surely she'd had recipes for some things. Maybe they were still about, no reason
they shouldn't be. Or Andi could decide to be brave and call Cassie and ask for some. She rubbed a finger over the
tip of her nose and decided - later - she'd do her exploring in that area later.
The sound of the mower had moved to the front now and Andi collected a couple glasses of ice and filled them with
tea. She was willing to try it again. Still - highly suspicious of it but she hadn't died, or worse, lost her accent and gone
drawling yet. Comfortable she padded barefoot out onto the front porch. Saw Hector - thank You God for such a
wonderful looking man, she thought with a grin. He looked good with his clothes on. But he looked really good with
them off too, she thought and then had to laugh at herself. Realizing she sounded like Suz and that couldn't be a
good thing. Content, she settled down on one of the wicker chairs and set both glasses down on the table next to it,
propping her feet up on the railing and enjoying the show. It almost did make her wish Suz was here. Or better yet -
Molly.
He was about halfway done with the front when Andi glanced over to see a woman with short brown hair and athletic
legs coming down the sidewalk toward the house. With some kind of covered dish in her hands. Walking at just the
right speed that she'd show up pretty close to when Hector was close to finishing. Andi's lips started to twitch. Of
course, she realized, she could easily be reading things into everything. To hear Cassie tell it, the entire
neighborhood was made up of nothing but single women. But still...
The woman saw he was still mowing and Andi didn't fail to catch the way she slowed down to take a nice long look and
then glanced at the porch. Probably thinking she might wait for him there. Andi waved at her cheerfully and then, while
the other woman was still adjusting to the unexpected arrival, gestured her over. Well, she had been wanting someone
to gloat with. Though this wasn't exactly what she'd been thinking...
Curious as well as cautious, the other woman cut across the lawn Hector had already mowed, casting a glance at his
back as he worked on the other side and came up the stairs, squinting a bit in the change from daylight to shade.
"Hello?" The brunette offered.
Sheila sighed. She was hoping she'd recognize this woman as a family member or something....but she wasn't
watching Hector like a family member would anymore than she was.
But she was going to be polite, just like her momma raised her. Hector had yet to settle down in anything resembling a
semi permanent arrangement, and there was no reason to think he'd start now with some woman w ho was not from
the neighborhood. She knew, she knew everyone in the neighborhood, she'd grown up here.
And this woman was definitely a stranger. What was Hector thinking?
But she smiled as she scaled the short stairs with her casserole dish of potato salad in her hands, she knew how
much Hector loved potato salad (though even she would admit that her object of affection wasn't all that particular of
what he ate....all that military food had spoiled his stomach for appreciation of home cooking).
"Well, hi there." She said as she got to the top step. The woman was tall, and thin. Too thin, skin stretched across
bones tightly as she stood there like a reed.
Ever since her divorce had come through five years ago, after a disastrously short marriage, she'd realized where she
made her mistake. When she was twenty, she married a boy when she should have been looking for a man. Someone
comfortable in his own skin (good looking didn't hurt) who was strong (muscles were always an advantage) and wasn't
overly needy.
Poor Paige she was sure she could blow out of the water. But what she didn't like was variables. And this woman was
a variable.
"I'm Sheila. I live down the street." She said in a nice friendly manner, letting her accent sugar the words.
"Pleasure to meet you." Andi had stood up to shake her hand and now settled back down in the chair again, popping
her feet up on the railing. "I'm Andi." She supplied. Gestured to one of the empty chairs. "Will you join me?"
If the woman was competition, and from the light in her eyes, she wanted to be, Andi was going to make it a point to
find out about her. Besides, on an entirely civil level, the woman had brought food.
Sheila set her potato salad down on the railing and settled down in the old, comfortable chair. Fancy accent. What
was it with men and fancy accents? Seriously, they went stupid over the silliest things. Since the strange woman wasn't
furthering the conversation, Sheila figured it was her round. She started with the obvious.
"So, you're not from around here, are you?"
The edges of Andi's lips curved and her eyes shifted from the man in the front yard to the woman next to her.
"Oh no." She agreed pleasantly. "Not at all. I've never even been to the Americas. I'm glad I got see here first though.
This is a lovely place. You must feel blessed. Have you lived in this area all your life?"
"Born and bred." Sheila answered. Not missing the fact that the other woman hadn't mentioned where she *was* from.
England from the sounds of it. It was like listening to the BBC on the public TV station. She gave an attractive smile.
"Glad you're enjoyin' your stay." Her accent always went just a bit thicker when she was making a point. "Are you
visitin' Hector?"
Andi, who'd been watching both Hector and the sidewalk in both directions from her vantage point, turned her head to
look at the woman next to her and for a moment the look in her eyes was so knowing and laughing, that, for a moment,
Sheila thought she was just going to come right out and say it. But instead Andi just smiled with a content happiness
and looked back at Hector.
"I'm visiting with Hector." She answered.
Sheila's smile became thin and stretched, but she managed to keep it. Barely. But she had been raised 'right' so she'd
give it a go. Besides, it wouldn't do any good to go on the attack.
Because, if she was picking up the vibe right, this stranger was the one sleeping next to him, not her. So far. But
things could change so quickly, especially in Hector's life. He'd never been one for lasting commitment; he didn't even
have a pet!
He was obviously waiting for that woman who could complete the whole package that was him, and there wasn't any
way he would have gone around the world to find it when really, it was right there at home. With no strange customs.
And the accent had to get irritating after a while...right?
"He always did love this house." Sheila said companionably as she sat in the old comfy chair, crossing her legs as she
leaned back and settled in. "Was no surprise his grandparents left it to him. He likes this area. It’s a nice small town,
good people...."
Andi watched Sheila settle in and absently wished she had legs like that. Oh, her own got her around nicely enough
and that was what really mattered but sometimes it would be nice to have legs that looked really smashing.
"It is nice." She agreed. Glancing back at Hector. Because - the whole picture in front of her was nice. Handsome man,
green growing things, clear sky and sun... "We went to the grocers and the bakery yesterday. And I've met Mrs.
Johnson and Paige already."
"Met Paige." Sheila repeated. Because - well...