Dream

Chapter 6

           

Lucy had the windows open and the warm breeze cooled her heated skin while the gentle night sounds soothed her. It was after dark and she was still steadily working on the last details of the woodwork in the study. If Thomas knew that she was working by herself in the house this late he would kill her. She had locked all the doors behind her and, unless a person was skilled in wall climbing, she was safe even with the windows open on the second story.

It was hot and since she was by herself she had lost her ballcap and dropped the top of her overalls so that the air could cool her core better. She would be happy when Thomas finally got the HVAC installed. She was kneeling in front of one of the glass fronted cabinets that covered one entire wall of the study, applying a final coat of stain, and she didn't hear the footsteps until they were in the room. Pausing, she took stock of her situation, trying not to panic. Whomever it was most likely had a key and hadn't yet bothered her. It was probably Thomas, and he would probably be angry.

Slowly, she eased herself out of the tight space, setting her brush to the side, before turning to look behind her.

It wasn't Thomas, it was Zebadiah Abbott, and he towered over her holding a very large box. He didn't look angry, he didn't really look as if he felt anything as his cold eyes took in her appearance, lingering on her silver hair.

She cleared her throat as she stood, not sure what she should say, or if she should say anything at all. In her experience it was always best to let the other person speak first.

"Isn't it a little late for you to still be working?" he asked as he set the box down. "I didn't approve overtime pay?"

"I don't get paid by the hour, I get paid by the job." She stood as still as a statue, watching him warily.

"Still, I can't imagine that it's safe for anyone to be working on a job site by themselves? I'll have to discuss this with Thomas." She noticed that his hand was clenching and unclenching, as if he was trying to expend his energy in that one movement as opposed to expressing it through a look or his voice.

"Thomas would agree with you, which is why he doesn't know I'm here."

He waited still not saying a word, and Lucy's usually strong resistance to pressure failed.

"I lost two days this week due to personal reasons, and sometimes it's easier to do the staining when the others aren't here. There is less dust in the air."

"But you have the windows open? And you still have plenty of time until this job is finished before you need to start pulling all-nighters." It was easy to tell that he would win this argument by simple logic.

"You're upset because I'm here." She nodded. She got it, she had wanted to be alone which is exactly why she was there as well. The only difference was that it was his house not hers and he had a right to be there

"No, I'm upset because it's not safe for you to be here on your own? Do you do this kind of thing regularly?"

She bit back a bitter smile. "I'm almost always on my own. The doors were locked so I'm as safe as I would be in my own house?"

"You live alone?" He was using logic again.

"No." She shook her head. Realizing that she wasn't going to win the argument, she looked down at her supplies. "Can I have half an hour to finish up here. Thomas mentioned that you wanted to start moving your things into this space, and I wanted to have it done sooner rather than later. If I can finish this up this evening, it will be all yours." She should have led with that and the thought must have shown on her face because she swore she saw a glimmer of amusement in his eyes, but it was gone so quickly she very well could have imagined it.