"Yeah. I'm helping a friend with something.” He wanted to go over Cyndi's plans with her. With everything that had happened last night, they'd never had a chance to talk about the changes she wanted to make in the house.
Burke's lips thinned and Patrick swore. “Damn it. You're spending the afternoon with her, aren't you?"
His patience was hanging by a thread, but Shamus hung onto it. Barely. “Yes, I'm spending the afternoon with Cyndi. She wants to talk about some renovations on the house."
"The mansion not good enough for her?” Burke's lip curled slightly.
"Not for a B & B, it's not,” Shamus retorted. Immediately, he regretted his outburst. This was Cyndi's business and she might not want anyone to know what she was thinking about doing yet.
"What does she know about the hotel business?” The skepticism was evident in Patrick's voice.
Shamus had had enough. “What the hell do you know about her?” Planting his hand on the table, he leaned forward. “She's worked in the business for more than a decade, so she knows what she's doing."
He started to slide out of his seat, but Burke's voice stopped him cold. “You don't really know anything about that woman."
A knot grew in the pit of his stomach as he stared at his brother and brother-in-law. “No, you're the ones that don't know her at all. You knew who she was, and even then you have no idea of who she truly was and what her life was like."
"She spinning you some sob story?"
His head jerked around to his brother. “No, she's not. In fact, she's done nothing but warn me away."
"She's not trying hard enough.” Burke tapped his fingers on the table. “I don't want B & O doing business with her."
Shamus froze. Slowly, he turned to face his brother-in-law and business partner. “What did you say?"
"You heard me,” Burke all but growled.
"I run the construction end of the business. If I want to take this job, I'll take it."
"I will not do business with that woman after what she did to Dani. I'm shocked you'd even consider it."
Shamus flicked aside the guilt that Burke tried to heap on him. He didn't feel the least bit disloyal. If anything, he felt as if his family was betraying him, condemning him, and Cyndi, without a trial. “I will do this job if I want to."
"You're just being stubborn,” Burke shot back.
Maybe he was, but that didn't change how he felt. Shamus slowly pushed himself to his feet. “Well then, maybe I'll do it on my own time."
"Shamus,” Patrick reached out to him, but Shamus shook off his brother's hand. He hated being at odds with his family, but he didn't know what to do about it. They'd all dug in their heels on this issue, and there didn't seem to be any way to resolve it at the moment.
His eyes never left Burke as a deep calm settled over him. “If that's how you feel, I'll leave B & O out of it and do it on my own. I've got plenty of vacation time coming to me.” Reaching into his pocket, he hauled out his keys. He quickly removed the keys for the company truck and the houses they were currently working on, laying them on the table in front of Burke. “I suggest you talk to Joe Banks. He'll bring you up to speed on all the projects we have going at the moment. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm on vacation."
Burke stared at Shamus. “Shamus,” he began, softening his tone. “Don't do this.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “I don't want to see you hurt."
"I'm a big boy, Burke. I can handle myself."
"Can you?” He shook his head and sighed heavily. “Can't you see that she's driving a wedge between all of us?"
"She doesn't need to. You're doing a fine job all on your own.” He turned away, heartsick at the turn of events.
"She can't be trusted."
Shamus shook his head, not bothering to face his brother-in-law. “It's not her you don't trust. It's me.” And that was what hurt him the most. He could feel the eyes of everyone in the diner on him as he strode to the counter. He dropped a ten-dollar bill on the counter in front of Shannon, ignoring the pleading look in her eyes as he turned and walked away.
Chapter Twelve
Cyndi listened to the sound of the front door closing before she rolled out of bed. It had been cowardly to pretend to be asleep, but she hadn't wanted to face Shamus. Not yet.
She'd bared her soul to him last night. Told him things she'd never told to another soul, except her Aunt Verna, who'd guessed most of it anyway. She felt raw and exposed this morning and needed time to regroup before she talked to Shamus again. She'd almost lost her resolve when he'd bent down and kissed her before he left.
Sighing, she grabbed the comforter, wrapping it around herself as she padded to the window. Tugging back the edge of the curtain, she peeked out and watched Shamus climb into his truck and drive away.
Her body ached in unfamiliar ways because of last night's activities. A smile curved her lips upward. And what a night it had been. Shamus had woken her several times and he'd had no problem using all the condoms he'd brought with him.
The smile disappeared as she turned away from the window and padded to the bathroom. She hoped Shamus knew what he was doing. Most folks in this town weren't going to think too highly of him for getting involved with her, his family included. The last thing she wanted to do was cause trouble for him, but there seemed to be no way to avoid it.
She dropped the comforter and turned on water in the shower, adjusting the temperature before stepping under the hot spray. Raising her face, she let the water cascade over her, wiping the remnants of sleep away.
There was also the undisputable fact that Shamus was nine years younger than she was. She chewed on her bottom lip as she picked up her sponge, squirted on some of her body wash and began to scrub. Shamus was young and virile. He'd want a family and those years were almost behind Cyndi. She and her ex had never had kids. It wasn't something she'd dwelled on over the years. It was just the way things had turned out.
Swearing under her breath, she grabbed her shampoo, squeezed a dollop into her hands, and began working it into her hair. Her relationship with Shamus could be no more than a pleasant affair. There would come a time when he'd want a younger woman to start a family with. She couldn't fool herself about that. Stepping back under the spray, she rinsed the soap from her hair and body. When she was clean from head to foot, she flicked off the taps and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a fluffy, white towel.
As she toweled off, she decided to enjoy the affair with Shamus for as long as it lasted. She glanced at the mirror and studied the woman reflected back at her. The fact of the matter was that she cared for Shamus more than she'd ever cared for any man. In a short time, he'd come to mean the world to her. She stopped short of saying she loved him—even though she was afraid that it was too late. She had to protect her heart somehow, because it was going to break when he finally left.
Which could be sooner, rather than later, if his family had any say over it. Maybe she should end things.
She shook her head as she tucked the towel around her and reached for her hair dryer. That hadn't worked out so well last night. She just couldn't lie to him and he was too stubborn to leave. So be it. They'd deal with the fallout of their relationship as it happened. She wasn't naive enough to think the fact that his truck had been parked in front of her house all last night wouldn't be all over town before supper. That was the way of small towns.
Grabbing her brush, she made quick work of her hair. She didn't bother with makeup as she was going to be doing a lot of dirty work today. She had to finalize her plans for the house before Shamus got here. She planned on spending the afternoon up in the attic seeing what she might sell or salvage.