Hearts Under Construction. Diann Hunt

now he was patronizing her. “You don’t have to rattle off my attributes, Mr. Preston. I’m not someone who has to be praised to be happy.” Her breath came in short gasps, but she continued. “I’m not mad. There is no problem.” She kept her gaze fixed on the road, her voice even and calm. Though she didn’t look at him, she could sense he was smiling at her. A taunting smile. Mocking her. Okay, she might have to hurt him.

      “Suit yourself.” He settled into his seat. “I just didn’t want you to feel threatened, that’s all.”

      “Why would I feel threatened?” Now, he was making her really mad.

      “Because I’m your boss.”

      He was gloating, pure and simple. “Why would that make me feel threatened?”

      He shrugged. “I think you feel threatened because you don’t like change.”

      She gasped and turned to him. “Look, Cole, you know nothing about me, so please don’t try to analyze me!”

      She pulled onto the side of the road at the job site, slammed into park with more force than she’d intended, and jumped out of the car. Cole followed suit. She knew she would regret her anger later, but for now it simmered like a sauna bath.

      Instead of taking the usual care when walking at a construction site, she plunged the heels of her shoes into the muddy ground. When she lifted her left leg, her shoe stayed put. She teetered and swayed like a Hawaiian dashboard doll. Desperate to maintain her dignity, she jerked on her foot and fell into the waiting arms of Cole Preston.

      The construction workers whistled and cawed from the house. Ellie wanted to curl up and roll away.

      Cole whispered into her ear, “What shall we do for an encore?”

      She turned a disgusted face at him and yanked herself free from his arms. “You are the most egotistical man I have ever met!”

      He laughed out loud and bowed as she made her way past him.

      Her only solace came from flicking specks of dirt from her shoes across his pant legs as she went.

      Ellie took a sip from her teacup. “Thanks, Mom. This hits the spot.”

      “Your headache is better, then?”

      Her mother’s worried gaze met Ellie’s. “I’m much better.” Ellie could see her mom visibly relax. “What would I do without you?”

      Her mom waved her hand. “You’d be just fine. The Lord would give you someone in my place.”

      “No one could ever take your place, Mom.”

      Her mother fidgeted with her teacup and glanced around the room. “Ellie, don’t you think your couch would be more functional if you placed it against that wall? Then you could see out the patio while—”

      “Oh, here we go. I’ve told you, Mom, I’ve got enough battle scars from my childhood. Remember? From when I bumped into furniture that you kept switching around the room?”

      Her mother’s mouth formed into a pout and she hung her head.

      Ellie laughed, causing her mother to brighten.

      “Don’t you get bored with it the same way all the time?”

      Ellie shook her head. “I like to keep things the way they are. Why fix something that’s not broken?”

      Her mother remained silent, giving in on the issue as if it were the first time, though they had had the discussion many times before. “Ellie, your headaches usually come on because of stress. Anything you want to talk about?”

      Ellie put her cup on the coffee table, straightened her pillow and leaned against the back of the sofa. “It’s Cole Preston. I try, Mom, I really do, but I just don’t like the man.”

      “What is it you don’t like about him?”

      “Everything. He’s pushy. He’s demanding. Always trying something new.”

      “Ah.”

      “Ah, what?” Ellie couldn’t hide the edginess in her voice.

      “Well, honey, it’s just that you’ve never adjusted well to change.”

      “Mom, please, I’m not a child anymore. I can adapt.”

      Her mother raised an eyebrow.

      “I can,” she repeated, defensively. They sat a moment in silence. She hated it when her mother was right. “Okay, so I don’t like change,” she admitted with some reluctance. Ellie sighed and adjusted her blankets. She looked at her mother. “I’m still struggling with this whole partnership thing.”

      “Really?”

      “Well, it’s just not fair.” Oh, she could kick herself for sounding so childish. Her mother stared, saying nothing. Ellie felt like a bug under a microscope. With everything in her, she tried not to squirm. She knew she was wrong. She had to let her bitterness go, but could she? Sighing, she leaned back into her pillow.

      “I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Ellie. As you get used to his ways, you’ll get along fine.” Her mother smiled.

      Ever the optimist, Ellie thought. “Is Dad coming for dinner?”

      Her mother came over and fluffed the blanket around her. “Yes. In another hour or so.”

      “The vegetable soup smells so good.”

      “You’d get a decent meal once in a while if you could get away from work long enough to come to our house. I had an awful time finding enough food in your cupboards to come up with dinner.” Her mother finished the last tuck on the blanket and stood up. “By the way, why do you have so much cabbage in your refrigerator?”

      Thoughts of the new soup diet came to her. She’d only been on it for two days and already the thought of cabbage made her want to pulverize the pale green heads when she passed them in the produce section of her grocery store. She never told her mother when she went on diets. Her mother always complained about today’s women being too thin. According to her mother, unless a woman carried an extra twenty pounds, she looked sickly.

      Ellie loved her mother.

      “I heard cabbage is good for you.”

      Her mother eyed Ellie warily. Nothing gets past Mom. Ellie closed her eyes in hopes of stopping further discussion about the cabbage.

      “Sounds like you’ve got a few things to pray about.” Her mother rubbed a warm cloth against Ellie’s forehead.

      Ellie smiled. Her mother’s answer to everything: “Pray about it.” Ellie knew she was right, but something stopped her when she tried to pray about Cole. She dismissed the thought that her attitude was wrong when she approached the matter with the Lord.

      Her mother said something else, but the words were lost in a hazy dreamworld. A world of stability where things didn’t change, where she felt safe.

      A world without Cole Preston.

      Chapter Three

      The next week passed in a blur. Chaos in the office kept Jax and Cole busy. Ellie worked hard to avoid them both. She was tired by the time Friday arrived, and felt relieved when five o’clock rolled around. With a glance at the clock, she grabbed her purse and walked from the office toward her car. The afternoon’s winds had swept the sky clean as evening settled upon the city. Ellie pulled in a deep breath. The air smelled sweet with summer. Though she felt tired from a full day’s work, stepping outside had revived her spirits.

      Jax walked up beside her. “So, will you go with us tomorrow?”

      She frowned.

      “Come on, Ellie. It will be fun.” He lifted puppy-dog eyes to her, which always made her give in.

      “Isn’t