Diamond (Rare Gems #2)(7)

“Send me what time they’ll be in and I’ll work them in.” She stood up, and so did he. “Diamond won’t be easy. She’s been hurt before, badly. And if you hurt her, I think you know that I’ll hurt you.”

“I do. And I have no intentions of hurting her. She just…there’s something about her that I find intriguing. But I’m not going to do anything with her or to her that she won’t consent to. I’m not that sort of person.” She nodded and moved toward the door, but stopped and turned to look at him.

“What does she smell like to you?”

He answered her without thinking about it. “Meadows in the summer and dark rich chocolate. Why?”

She smiled and left him to stand there. He had no idea why the way Diamond smelled would concern her sister, but he wasn’t used to women like these. Thad wondered why she didn’t just ask her sister what perfume she wore and not him. He sat back down and starred at the computer for ten minutes before he started to work. But by noon he had to go back to the house. His leg was killing him.





Chapter 3



Annabelle was worried about the young man. He was limping more and more as the afternoon wore on, and now he was sweating. She had called Ruby, but she was in the middle of something and said she’d call her back, but that had been over an hour ago. It was time to wake Diamond and have her look at him. But since he’d already refused to go to the doctor, she decided to play him.

“I was wondering if you could go up and see if Diamond is awake yet.” He stared at her with glassy eyes, and she knew he was running a fever too. “She should be up by now and I could use her help with the garden.”

“I can help you.” She shook her head, and he glanced at the stairs. “You think she’s awake and not coming down then?”

“I think she might be awake, yes, but I’m afraid she might be sulking.” Annabelle hoped Diamond would forgive her the lie. Diamond did not sulk, she got even. “You know she quit her job, and that man at the store upset her too.”

He nodded and moved to the stairs. She almost felt sorry for him but knew that once Diamond got a look at him she’d know what to do. Annabelle hated to wake her, but she was worried about Thad.

The phone rang just as she was putting the cake for dinner tonight on the cooling racks. Chocolate with buttercream icing was just what they needed. She answered it on the fourth ring, and was glad to hear from Emerald finally.

“The exams were a breeze. I’ll be home tonight if the rain holds off. Grandmother, I think I’m going to take the job at the grade school. I’ll be close to home and have the grade I want. Second graders are so awesome.” Emerald giggled. “That is if I passed my tests. I think I did well but you never know.”

“You did just fine. I just know it. And when you get here, we’ll have a big dinner tonight. I just baked a cake and we’ll have steaks on the grill.” Emerald moaned. “I thought you’d like that. Be safe and call me when you pull over for gas or a break. Don’t forget to walk around too.”

After Emerald assured her she’d be careful, they hung up. Annabelle was going out to the garden when she realized that she should wait to see if Diamond came down and needed her. She looked up the stairs, then at the clouds. If she waited, there would be no fresh green beans for dinner and she was looking forward to them. Annabelle decided to chance upsetting Thad for her garden. Laughing, she hoped that he’d get the care he needed and not piss off Diamond so much that she’d hurt him worse. Her granddaughters were nothing if not a little on the violent side when pissed.

Smiling, she saw Allen coming out of the shed with a basket and a hoe. The man loved gardening as much as she did and had been extremely helpful with it this year. They had already talked about doubling the size of the garden next year and opening a little stand. They had big plans for such old people, she thought.

“I was just coming to see if we were picking or not today.” She nodded at him and took the basket. “I’ve been thinking of these beans since you said last week that we could pick them about now.”

“Well, let’s see what we can get. Emerald is coming home if the rain doesn’t stop her.” She was so involved in her garden she never worried about her granddaughter or the man she’d sent up there. Annabelle knew he’d be all right.

~~~

Thad had to stop three times to catch his breath. He was sure now that it had little to do with the shape he was in and more to do with the wound. It was pulling, and he hurt. He knocked several times on the door he was told was Diamond’s and went in when no one answered. He couldn’t have been more surprised by what he saw than if someone had told him an elephant were in here.

The big bed was a four-posted canopy that looked to be made of solid oak. The lacy canopy looked like it had been handmade a long time ago. He moved into the room, stood at the foot, and looked down at the woman there.

“Christ,” he whispered when he saw her. Her back was bare all the way down to the dimple at her ass. He wanted to move the thin sheet to the side and see if there was another one to match the one he could see. Thad reached up to the wooden bar that held the canopy in place and crushed the lace in his hand when he thought about what other treasures she had beneath her.

Forgetting about his leg, he reached down with an unsteady hand to touch her. Thad needed to know if she was as silky and as smooth as she looked. Touching his finger to her spine at the nape of her neck, he ran his finger down her slowly and nearly moaned himself when she did. Just as he touched the sheet that covered her bottom, she shifted on the bed and it fell away.