Joan Johnston - Sisters Found

Her face caught fire. Because she had been imagining what that would be like.

“When was the last time you did something rash and impulsive?” he asked.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Amanda said stiffly.

Rabb dumped the broken piece of lattice in a nearby wheelbarrow and said, “I’m hungry. How about you?”

The sudden change of subject caught her off guard. “Hungry?”

“You promised me lunch. Let’s go eat,” Rabb said, grabbing her hand and heading for the kitchen door.

“What about the gazebo?” she said, glancing back at the carnage.

“It’ll wait. We have more important things to do.”

“Like what?” Amanda said.

“Eating first,” Rabb said. “Then…I haven’t made up my mind yet, but something…whimsical.”

She glanced at him sideways. “You’re making fun of me.”

“Not at all,” he countered as he opened the screen door and ushered her inside ahead of him.

She’d never realized how small her kitchen was, but there didn’t seem to be room for the two of them. She was aware of Rabb’s size, and the smell of raw male, and the fact that he was a very attractive man.

He caught her eyeing him and said, “I should get my shirt.”

She was flustered and said, “Only if you’re uncomfortable.”

“I’m fine,” he said. “But my mother wouldn’t have let any of us boys come to the table like this. I’ll be right back.”

An instant later he was out the door again, and she took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves. What was wrong with her? This was Rabb. Jake’s brother. Who couldn’t read.

He was back a second later wearing the scrap of T-shirt, but it wasn’t much of an improvement. She could still see too much of him. And liked what she saw too much.

She’d had Jake over to dinner a number of times, but he’d always sat quietly and let her put food on the table. Rabb was into everything, leaning against her as he reached up for the glasses for tea and stretching around her as he got ice cubes from the freezer. He even held her chair for her, insisting that she sit before him.

Talk about siblings who were different from one another. Jake was the strong, silent type. Rabb never stopped talking.

“I’ve been working on some new designs for the furniture I’m building,” he said. “More baroque.”

“Baroque?” she blurted. She hadn’t thought of Rabb as an artist, or as someone who understood artistic styles.

“Most of what I’ve done in the past has been plain and practical, simple lines. But I got started adding a little of this and a little of that and before I knew it, this particular bedroom suite started looking like something out of the seventeenth century.”

“Hmm,” she said, because she didn’t know what to say.

“What’s your preference, artistically speaking?” he said.

She took a bite of meat loaf and pointed, showing she couldn’t speak because her mouth was full.

“I prefer the French modes to the Italian,” he said. “The lines are—”

Amanda quickly swallowed and said, “Where did you learn all this? I mean, this all sounds pretty complicated and…sophisticated.”

Rabb shrugged. “I was never any good at reading.” He paused and said, as though he were admitting to a sexually transmitted disease, “Dyslexic.”

“Oh. I didn’t know.” Dyslexics weren’t any good at reading because the letters and numbers appeared mixed up on the page, but that didn’t keep them from being highly intelligent. Einstein had been dyslexic. She looked at Rabb with newly opened eyes.

“I always liked looking at the pictures, though,” Rabb continued with a self-deprecating grin. “You can learn a lot about art and architecture from pictures.”

“Hmm,” Amanda said, because she was feeling foolish. As a teacher, she should know better than to jump to conclusions about people. It seemed she’d misjudged Rabb. “When did you find out you were dyslexic?”

“My mom and dad were pretty insistent that we get a good education. I spent a lot of time studying but never did well on tests. Turns out they were familiar with dyslexia because one of my uncles grew up with the same problem. It helped to know why I couldn’t read well, but it was still hard not to fight back when someone called me a dummy.”

Amanda’s heart went out to Rabb. How awful for him. And she’d been as bad as everyone else. “I’m so sorry,” she said.

“I got over it,” Rabb said. He held out his hands and turned them over, as though marveling at them. “My hands have never failed me. I’ve found something I can do well, and I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction from creating unique, one-of-a-kind pieces.”

“I’ve always loved my gazebo,” she admitted in a soft voice.

“I’m glad,” Rabb said.

“I’d love to see more of your work.”

“You’re welcome to come to my workshop.”

“I’d like that,” she said. “When?”

“When can you spare the time? With the wedding coming up, you must have a lot to do over the next couple of weeks.”

Oh. The wedding. She’d completely forgotten. “I have so much to do I’m not sure how I’ll finish it all,” Amanda admitted.

“What about Jake? Is he helping?”

“He’s busy with the ranch during the day, and he’s agreed to keep your nephew and niece, which will keep him busy in the evenings.”

“I’d be glad to help—although I’m not sure what I can do,” Rabb said.

A furrow appeared in Amanda’s brow. “I have to pick flowers for the church and a design for the cake and I have some final decisions to make on my wedding dress. I’m afraid I’ve left everything to the last minute. I was busy with school until a few days ago, and now everything has to be done at once. It would help to have another opinion.”

“You’ve got it,” Rabb said.

“I wouldn’t want to take you away from your work.”

“My hours are flexible, and I was planning to take a little time off for Christmas anyhow. Where do you want to start? Flowers? Cake? Or dress?”

Amanda laughed and realized how strange it felt. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed. She felt…carefree and happy. Suddenly, activities she’d been looking at as chores seemed like they might be fun. “I don’t know. Can I call you later?”

“Sure,” Rabb said. “Meanwhile, we have things to do.”

Amanda sighed. Yes. There was always work to do. She stood and began collecting the dishes to carry to the sink.

“I’ll help you with the dishes later,” Rabb said. “I think the rest of the afternoon would be better spent taking a ride.”

“What?”

Rabb took her by the hand and was tugging her toward the door. “Come on, Amanda. I know you ride. I’ve seen you with Jake.”

“You mean go for a horseback ride? Now? This afternoon?”

“Sure. Why not?”

“What about the gazebo?” She looked around at the mess in the kitchen and said, “What about the dishes?”

“They can both wait. There’s no telling how long this beautiful weather will last. Go put on your boots. Let’s take a few hours and get away from it all.”

That sounded so wonderful. It also sounded irresponsible. “I have so much to do,” Amanda said, “I can’t possibly—”

“I won’t take no for an answer,” Rabb said. “You have two seconds to go for your boots, or I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and haul you off like you are.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Amanda said, titillated by the threat, but not quite believing it, either.

“Oh, no?” Rabb said. He reached out and tickled her ribs.

Amanda scrunched her arms down tight and tried to wriggle away. His arms came around her as his hands insinuated themselves beneath her bent arms and wormed their way up to her underarms.