Scars

She quickly finished in the bathroom then went to the kitchen and turned on the coffee pot. She'd gotten it ready the night before and hoped Shane liked his strong, too. Weak coffee tasted awful to her, and even though she didn't care for tea in the morning, she'd rather drink tea than watery java.

"Coffee?" she said when Shane walked in wearing a tee-shirt.

"Yes, please," he said. He took a sip then said, "Oh, that's perfect!"

"Thank you," she said cheerfully. "I can make us some breakfast if you'd like."

"Seriously? I'm starting to feel like I'm taking advantage of your being here."

"Well...take away. When I woke up and realized I was someplace warm, all I could think of was how thankful I was not be in my house. So take advantage all you like."

"Yeah, it wouldn't be a lot of fun waking up in your house this morning. You'd have icicles hanging from your nose like a... Never mind," he said.

It was too late. Shandy had already pictured walrus-like 'tusks' of frozen snot growing out of her nose. She laughed so hard she made a snorting noise which made her laugh even more.

"Sorry, Shane. I just can't tell you how nice it's been being around someone who's well...really nice."

He just smiled at her then said, "It's been kinda...nice...having someone so willing to help out around here, too."

He kind of tilted his head then said, "The fact that she's easy on the eyes is well, extra nice."

"Thank you, and since you brought it up, how much work do you have to do to get a body like that?" she said kind of nodding at his abs.

"Lately it's been hard to find the time, but mostly its watching my diet and about a zillion crunches. Or would that be a...go-zillion?"

He got another laugh from his pretty guest before telling her, "I'm gonna try and get started on your furnace today. But I need to stop by the hospital first and check in on Dad."

"Shane? Would you let come with you this time? Please? I'd really like to meet your father and thank him personally."

"Of course. I'm sure he'd like to meet you, as well."

"I should probably go over to my house and get some other clothes, too. I washed my things yesterday, but wearing the same stuff day after day gets old real fast."

"Well, you look great just the same," he told her honestly.

"And there you go again," she said with a bright smile.

"Uh-oh. What'd I do this time?" he said looking down to make sure his body was completely covered.

"No, not that! You made me feel good again. That's...well, that's several times now in 24 hours, and I am not used to that."

Shane smile back and said, "Don't get me started again, okay? I still can't believe your husband doesn't think he's the luckiest guy on earth. I know if I had a wife as beautiful and as caring as you, I'd never..."

He stopped then said, "See, you let me get started again."

"Oh, so it's my fault, huh?" she said pretending to be offended.

"Well, you could have stopped me, you know," he told her.

"And how am I supposed to do that? Grab a sock and stuff it in your mouth?" she said still teasing.

"Well, that would be one way," he said. "It wouldn't be the method I'd prefer, but..."

The way he smiled at her this time told her what he was thinking but would never say; that she could have shut him up by kissing him.

She wanted to say something sarcastic like, "Yeah, like that's ever gonna happen", but after the way he'd treated her and after seeing how...yummy...he looked...

"I saw some eggs in the fridge. How would you like yours?" she said having quickly recovered.

"Scrambled? Oh, and just one yolk, please? Gotta watch my girlish figure, you know."

"Coming right up," she told him with another very nice smile after a mild chuckle.

She had no idea why she said it, but she did say it.

"There's nothing girlish about your figure, Shane. It is definitely a very male physique."

He didn't say anything back, but he did return her smile. They did however, talk quite a bit during breakfast and on the way to the hospital. It was mostly just chit chat as they talked about this, that, and the other just getting acquainted.

Once they got inside Shane asked where his father was, and the nurse at the front desk told him the room number. He walked in with Shandy to his side and saw his dad watching Fox News and griping loudly about something.

"Must be the president," Shane said before his dad knew he was there.

"Nah. It's that dumbass, Chuck Schumer," he said. "Same thing, though. They're all a bunch of..."

He looked over and immediately stopped talking. He did his best to sit up as he smiled a weak smile and said, "Hello there. Now just who might this pretty lady be?"

"Oh. Sorry. Dad? This is Shandy Taylor, our 3am emergency. Shandy, my father, Newt Kirby."

She went right over and ignored his handshake and hugged him without asking if it was okay. Judging by the way he hugged her back she assumed it was just fine.

"I cannot thank you enough for letting me stay with you, sir," she told him.

"Sir? Don't call me 'sir'," he said in his typically gruff fashion. "I was an enlisted man in the Army, and I still work for a living."

"Old Army joke," Shane said when Shandy look confused.

"How you feelin', Dad?" Shane asked.

"I'm in damn hospital, Shane. How do you think I feel?"

He smiled at Shandy then said to his son while looking at her, "Although I do suddenly feel a whole lot better for some reason."

Shandy laughed then said, "Well, thank you, handsome!"

"Hah! That'd be my son, but thank you for making an old man feel good," he told her.

"Old? You're not old. You're...distinguished!" she said sweetly.

"Distinguished, huh? Okay, let's run with that," Newt said still trying to smile.

"What'd the doc say, Dad?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, they have an O.R. available so they'll be doing the biopsy this morning sometime."

"Okay. Then I'm staying here with you," Shane said.

"Don't be ridiculous! You need to get to work. We gotta be behind already after yesterday. Shane, you can't take another half day off to sit around here and watch the nurses watch me."

"I can stay," Shandy said.

"I can't ask you to do that," Shane said.

"You didn't ask. I want to," she told him.

"You heard the lady, Shane. She wants to," he said sporting a smile that almost looked genuine. "So you go on and go to work and I'll get better acquainted with our beautiful, young guest."

"Okay, but watch out for my dad," he said to Shandy while looking at his father.

"Okay. Forewarned is fair warned," she said smiling at Newt. "But he looks pretty harmless to me."

"He only looks harmless, and looks can be deceiving," Shane said smiling at his dad before saying to him, "Okay. I'll head in to work and check back later this morning. Or I will if Shandy has a cell phone."

She gave him her number then said quietly, "Don't worry about your dad, okay? This isn't my first rodeo."

"Oh, right," Shane said fully understanding her meaning.

"Okay. Well, I'm outta here. Dad? Take care and behave yourself."

He waved dismissively at his son but smiled.

"And Shandy? Watch yourself."

She laughed then said, "Bye, Shane. Have a good day."

After putting out fires at the office and getting his guys on the road, Shane grabbed the one spare employee left and headed over to Shandy's.

"We gotta remove an old oil furnace, then get someone to install a tank, then put the new unit in place. Oh, we gotta redo all the ducting, too."

"Is she gettin' the special?" he asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Just thinking out loud, that's all. That's gonna run around five grand or so by the time we pull out all the old air ducts and run new ones."

"Yeah. It sure is," Shane said knowing she couldn't even pay for the unit itself. "Let me worry about that, okay?"

"You're the boss," the older man said.

It was well after noon by the time they had the old unit out and everything cleaned up. Any spills had to be reported and Shane was thankful there were none as it could be days until the EPA rep cleared them to continue. By the end of the day they had the old duct work out and the new lines all run as well as the gas line.

"Now we gotta get a gas tank put in then we can bring the new unit over, and get it up and running," Shane said just before they left. "Oh, let me make a call before we lock up."

He'd already called to have the gas tank put in early that morning and although burying them was the preferred option, the ground was frozen so hard the only choice was setting it up on the ground. They worked with Kirby & Son all the time and promised Shane they'd have the tank in the next day.

Shandy answered the phone immediately and gave him the update on his dad.

"The biopsy results will be available tomorrow morning. Otherwise your father was a perfect gentleman all day."

"Don't tell him that!" Shane heard his father holler out.

Shane chuckled then told her, "We got a lot done at your place today. Before I leave, is there anything I can get for you? I know you wanted to pick up some stuff, but you volunteered for babysitting duty so..."

"She's on speakerphone so I heard that, too!" his dad said loudly.

"Sounds like someone's lungs are working just fine," he said just as loudly.

Shandy laughed then gave him a list of things which included a nightie.

"If that's too embarrassing you don't have to bring it," she told him.

"Embarrassing? Nah, I carry women's lingerie around with me all the time," he told her.

"Well, as long as you're not wearing it all the time..." she teased.

"I'll be there as soon as I take care of some paperwork at the office, okay?"

"Take your time. I've learned how to play cribbage today, and I'm about to win a game so no hurry," she said happily.

His employee was cleaning up while Shane rummaged around her bedroom looking for the few things Shandy wanted.

He felt more than a little embarrassed picking up a pair of her panties and even more foolish picking up a bra. He was no expert, but he'd never seen a bra like that before. It had some kind of slots in it that looked like something could be put in them. He'd definitely noticed that Shandy didn't need any 'help' in that area, but then he wondered if the look was the result of some kind of 'help' but into the slots in her bra.

He dismissed the thought until he found a box in the back of a drawer that had two breast forms in it. He poked them and they jiggled like jelly. The box said they were made of silicon and the mystery deepened. Maybe she was flat chested and couldn't afford a boob job. Whatever the reason, none of it was his business so he grabbed a couple of other things and put them in a small gym bag he found laying around then went out to the truck to head back to the office.

It took Shane a couple of hours, but he got to the hospital around seven o'clock.

"They're keeping me one more night," his dad told him. "Just because of the pneumonia scare. That don't make no sense to me. Hell, I've barely coughed all day."

Shane knew that was because of the steroids he'd been given, not because he was any better.

"You kids go on. I'll be fine. You should take this beautiful girl out for dinner on the way home. She hasn't eaten a thing all day. Hell, I'd ask her if I could get outta here."

"And I'd accept," she told him. "I enjoyed spending the day with you, Newt."

"Yeah, I kinda liked having you here myself, Miss Shandy," he told her. "If my son was a few years older, I'd tell him he should drag his feet on the repair job and keep you around as long as possible."

"Dad? Seriously?" Shane said.

"What? She's gorgeous! You can't tell me you didn't notice."

He looked at Shandy who was smiling happily and said, "Oh, yeah. I definitely noticed. But there's not a lot I can do about the age thing."

"Well, she's a real doll. I can tell you that," his dad said.

"Ahh! That just earned you another hug, mister!" she said before hugging him goodbye.

She stood up after the hug and said, "Your dad tries to be this tough guy, but I'm on to him. He's nothing but big ol' sweet teddy bear."

Newt did his hand wave then again, and Shane thought he might have even blushed a little, but he wasn't about to mention it.

He looked at Shandy, smiled, then told her, "Don't be a stranger, okay? Shane'll have you up and running in another day or so, but you know where we live now, right?"

"I sure do, and I may just surprise you one of these days with a home cooked meal."

"Anything'd be better than what this one makes," Newt said nodding at his son.

"Um, not anything," she said. "If you don't believe me, stop by the diner where I work and have lunch sometime. Well, if you wanna end up back in here, that is."

They said their goodbyes and Shane told him he'd be back in the morning to take his dad home if nothing changed.

On the way home Shane said, "I need to take a shower, but I'd love to buy you dinner."

"Oh, no. You don't have to do that, Shane. We can stop and buy a few things and I can make us something."

"We do need some groceries, but we can stop on the way back. I'd just like to take you out. To eat, that is. And if you don't mind."

"Oh. I see. As in...a date kind of dinner?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, kind of. I know you're still technically married and all, but..."

"I'm only married on paper, Shane, and that's going to change as soon as the waiting period is over. So...if you really would like to take me to dinner, then, yes, I accept."

"Even though I'm a...what did my dad say? A 'few years younger' than you?" he said smiling at her.

"I'd say it's more than a few, but if you don't mind being seen with a woman my age, I suppose I could tough it out and risk being seen with a guy as young as you," she said very sweetly.

"I'm willing to risk it. After all, danger is my middle name," he said very seriously.

"Are you sure the name isn't Bond, James Bond?" she asked trying not to laugh at his nonsense.

Shane laughed then told her, "My middle name is Rodney, okay? And just so you know, I don't tell anyone that. Or...not just anyone, that is."

"Oh, I see," she said with a smile.

"Rodney isn't so bad, is it? My middle name is Louise so you won't get any sympathy out of me," she announced.

"Shandy Louise. That sounds rather pretty to me," he told her quietly. "Which fits for someone as pretty as you."

He saw the way she looked when he said that and wondered if came across as silly or if it struck a chord of some kind because she looked away the same way she had a couple of times before when he'd said something nice to her.

Shane pulled into the driveway and this time Shandy didn't even move. She just smiled and waited for her door to be opened.

When he finished showering and getting dressed, Shane walked into the living room to ask Shandy if she was ready to go, but when he saw her he just stood there and looked at her. She'd changed clothes, done her makeup, and brushed her hair, and Shane was speechless.

"It's too cold to wear a dress. I hope this looks okay," she said clearly hoping to get his approval.

"It's...very okay," he told her. "You look...incredible."

"So...you don't mind?" she asked.

"Mind? Why would I mind? You look...amazing."

Shandy was wearing a very light-pink colored sweater he'd brought back for her with the same pair of jeans, but what looked so amazing was the way she looked having done her makeup and used a curling iron on her hair. She was very pretty without makeup and her hair hanging down straight, but she was simply beautiful with those small changes.

"It's just not very fancy, you know," she said apologetically.

"Wow. Then never look fancy because you look just...did I say 'wow' already?"

"And once again you've made me feel good," she said her eyes sparkling with happiness. "Maybe I should take your dad's advice and get you to slow down on my new furnace."

"Um...that could be arranged," Shane said still admiring the amazing transformation.

During dinner, Shandy said, "I so hate to ask, but what do you think my final bill is going to be for everything? Total, out-the-door cost?"

Without thinking, Shane said, "Um...$2,500 plus tax," knowing it would be just north of $5,000.

"Wow. That's a lot of money," she said. "Oh, sorry. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer. I'm having such a nice time, Shane. I just wanted to ask so I could try and quit worrying about how I'm going to pay for it. Looks like that's not gonna happen, though."

"Don't you go back to work tomorrow?" he said hoping to get her mind off of her financial situation.

"Right. Yeah, please don't remind me. Hey! You don't need a bookkeeper or anything at the office, do you?" she said with that amazing smile.

"Hmmm. You know what? I've been buggin' my dad to hire one more guy, but we really could use someone—part-time, at least, in the office. Let me check," he told her.

"Oh, no. I was totally kidding. I wasn't trying to..."

"Maybe this is my version of dragging my feet on your furnace," he told her smiling his best smile at her.

Shandy had looked at him differently since seeing him in the buff, but that was purely physical. It was the kind of lust that came from being lonely and well, very horny, for much too long. But Shane was so unbelievably nice, and she could tell it wasn't just to her. He was just a genuinely good guy, and the more time she spent with him the more she found herself wishing she were ten years younger. Or maybe even just five.

"May I ask you a personal question?" she said as curiosity got the best of her.

"Sure. Ask me anything," he told her.

"I was wondering just how many years a 'few years older' might be where you and I are concerned."

"Are you sure you want to know?" Shane said in a way that was playful.

Shandy made a face then said, "Um...yes?"

"I'm 22," he told her as he watched her reaction.

When she didn't reply he said, "I guess that's a...few too many."

"Oh, no. I was...I was just thinking, that's all. No, it's not a big deal," she said but in a way that wasn't very convincing.

"I know better than to ask your age, but for what it's worth, it doesn't matter to me," he told her.

"How can it not matter, Shane?" she asked feeling like the wind had just been let out of her sails. "I'm...I'm a lot older than you."

"So now that you know my age, are you suddenly embarrassed to be out in public with me?" he asked trying to understand.

"Me? Oh, heavens, no. But if I told you my age, you'd want to take me home immediately...to my home."

"I see," he said now that he understood. "So you know how I feel and what I want then. Is that what you're saying?"

He was only teasing, but Shandy knew he was also making a point.

"What? No. Of course I don't. But you're not only a very nice-looking guy, you're funny and kind and caring and I'm just...old. I guess I let the way you make me feel cloud my judgment so I could pretend you might think I was..."

"Was what? Beautiful? Thoughtful? Someone knows what I'm going through because she's also lost her mother to cancer? Someone who...takes my breath away every time I see her?"

Shandy looked away again and this time Shane felt certain he'd pushed too hard.

"Shane? I have a confession," she finally said.

"A confession?" he asked.

"Yes. It's...well, I'm so embarrassed, but this has been bothering me all day."

"What? Did you eat the last Twinkie in the pantry or something?" he teased.

"No! Be serious! I feel terrible about this," she said.

"Okay. Sorry. I just can't imagine what could be such a big deal."

She glanced at him then looked away again before saying, "Um, well, you said 'take my breath away' and well, I...I accidentally saw you. You know, after you showered. No. That's not true. It wasn't accidental. I saw you peek out of the bathroom and I could have not looked, but I did. And I...I saw you, you know..."