Lear Family 1 - Material Girl by Julia London

Author:Julia London
Language: fr
Format: mobi
Tags: Contemporary
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2010-09-02T22:00:00+00:00

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Chapter Seventeen

Jake had not known until today that one could catch up to four episodes a day of Wheel of Fortune on cable TV. This information, courtesy Elmer Stanton, who had brought a little portable TV and set it up so he'd have something to do while Zaney was working. Shortly thereafter, Jake could hear Zaney shouting out the wrong answers (Can't take it with y'all! CAN'T TAKE IT WITH Y'ALL!). He had finally convinced them to turn the damn thing off, but it was too late—he figured they had lost at least an hour to Vanna. Since Robin wasn't due back until tomorrow, Jake decided to work late and catch up.

A demolition crew had come in and taken out the two walls upstairs, another crew had stripped the paint and wallpaper in the house. There were two old fixtures in the upper master suite that needed to be disconnected, and the wiring was so old and corroded that he had to carefully peel them apart before pulling it all out.

Which was exactly what he was doing when he heard the kitchen door open and shut. He thought it was Zaney, but then he heard the unmistakable click of heels and his

heart did a funny little flip in spite of his disappointment. He had known what she was from the beginning, and still he had allowed himself to get caught up, to hope she was different.

Jake quickly wiped his hands on his workpants, then shoved one through his hair for want of a comb. The heels were on the stairs now, and he walked out of the master bedroom just as Robin reached the top landing. The sight of her stopped him—she looked absolutely gorgeous, more so than when she had left yesterday.

"So you're still here," she said, ruining the effect.

"I didn't think you'd be back until tomorrow. I was trying to catch up on some work."

She took a measured step toward him, seemed not to know what to do with her hands, finally letting them settle on her waist.

"How was Minot?" he asked.

"Cold and windy."

"So… did you acquire anything? Like a packing supply company?"

Robin laughed, shook her head. "No. But I said the Pledge of Allegiance." She took another careful step forward. "And I ate a cheeseburger. With fries."

"Wow. Better call Ripley's. Pretty soon we'll have to tether your legs and arms so you won't float away before the parade."

She laughed lightly, her teeth snow white in the early evening light. "So what about you? Did you renovate anything?"

"You mean, did I manage to accomplish anything between your grandpa's jokes and Zaney's new addiction to Wheel of Fortune?"

"Oh no," Robin groaned.

"I'm really glad you're back," he blurted, surprising himself with the admission.

"Yeah, I know—I'll call Grandma tomorrow. I bet she doesn't know he's over here."

She missed his point completely—the woman had a real knack for doing that. They stood awkwardly; there was so

much Jake wanted to say about yesterday, so much he didn't know how to say. Deep conversations about his feelings were not exactly his forte.

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