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but that ship has sailed. I won’t ask him when I have no interest in getting involved with him again. It wouldn’t be fair to either one of us.”
    On impulse, she added, “Of course, I could always ask Grandpa Cyrus to come with me.”
    Another long silence followed before her mother finally responded. “Come on, Natalie. We both know he wouldn’t enjoy himself.”
    That was true enough. Her suggestion had been more along the lines of a bluff than a real threat. Her mother’s relationship with her father was often a bit problematic these days. Natalie waited to see what more her mother had to say. For now, the heavy silence was back again. Interesting how her mother could convey such disappointment without saying a word. Finally, she said, “I really hate how running the foundation eats up so much of your time. At your age, you should be out having fun.”
    Natalie did have fun, just not the kind her mother would understand. Like when an attractive man gave her lessons in cutting out damaged drywall. Maybe she should admit that she was already seeing someone else, but it was too soon for that. No use in getting her mother’s hopes up—or her own—until she saw how the date went with Tino.
    “Thanks for worrying about me, Mom. Tell Dad hi for me, and I’ll see you both at the gallery.”
    In an attempt to end the call on a happier note, she added, “I’m really looking forward to viewing these paintings you’re so excited about.”
    “You’ll love them. The colors are so vibrant. It’s as if she’s captured the movement of the flowers in the breeze. The first time I saw her work, it stole my breath away.”
    Her enthusiasm rang true. One thing Natalie and her mother had in common was that they never went for half measures. If her mother truly loved a painting, she did everything she could do to help the artist succeed.
    “Well, my dinner is ready, so I need to go. I’ll see you Friday. And it sounds like I should bring my checkbook.”
    Her mom laughed. “You do that, Nat. I promise you won’t regret it.”
    After hanging up, Natalie put the phone on mute. It was unlikely anyone else would call at this hour, but she didn’t want to take any chances. Right now, all she wanted to do was add more hot water to the tub, take her time eating her makeshift dinner, and think about Tino Gianelli’s brown eyes and wicked smile.
    A nice ending to a long day.

Chapter 3
    The sun was barely up on Monday morning, and Tino was not particularly happy about already being on the clock. At least Jack had already done a coffee run before picking him up in their father’s old truck. Their next stop was the building supply store to get the last few things they needed for the new job.
    They rode in silence, giving Tino a chance to savor the coffee’s rich taste while he waited for the caffeine to kick in. He appreciated the fact that Jack was a man of few words, especially at this hour of the morning. Besides, they’d just had dinner together the evening before. There hadn’t been time for anything new to come up in the interim.
    But evidently he was wrong about that. They hadn’t gone more than three blocks before Jack gave him a sideways glance, the kind that suggested he had something to say but wasn’t sure he should. It was too much to hope that he would listen to what his conscience was telling him.
    “So, Mom said you had a good time helping out at the community center on Saturday.”
    Well, crap. Where was he going to go with this? “It was okay.”
    “Are you going to keep helping them out?”
    Rather than answer the question directly, Tino countered with one of his own. “Did Mom put you up to this?”
    Jack’s noncommittal grunt was answer enough. Damn it, couldn’t she just let it drop? He’d get his act together in due time. “I’ll tell you what I told her. I didn’t commit to going back next Saturday, because I knew you might need my help to finish up this job on time.”
    Another grunt.