“Yes?”
“This could go on a long time. Until I run out of electrical ideas. Or money,” he added thoughtfully. Before she could answer, he had closed the door quietly in her face.
She stared blankly at that door for a long moment, then started to laugh. He was challenging her! He had just subtly let her know that he was going to keep calling her until she agreed to go out with him. He hadn’t given up on her!
Oh, Lord, she shouldn’t be feeling this giddy sense of relief. She shouldn’t be fighting the urge to dance back to the truck or to burst into song.
“Autumn, you are such a fool,” she groaned, tugging down the bill of her cap as she settled behind the wheel of the truck.
“THIS IS RIDICULOUS,” Autumn muttered some five hours later, after she’d changed the channel on the television set for the fourth time in a half hour. Nothing on the small screen interested her, and neither did the thick mystery novel she’d purchased only the day before. She was trying not to think about Jeff Bradford, but her progress so far was lousy.
With a gusty sigh she snapped off the television and roamed into the kitchen of her duplex apartment, remembering that she hadn’t yet gotten around to eating dinner. She burrowed in the cabinets and refrigerator, but nothing looked overly appealing. She finally settled on a sandwich made from the remains of the frozen turkey breast and a handful of frosted animal cookies.
Having finished the sandwich without enthusiasm, she carried the cookies into the modern burgundy-and-dark-green living room, where she dropped onto the boldly flowered chintz sofa and finally allowed herself to think about Jeff.
She curled her bare feet under her and munched on a pink lion, deep in thought until a gentle whine turned her attention to the floor beside her. “Sorry, Babs, did you want a cookie?” she asked the poodle, who was looking hopefully up at her. The dog yipped a reply.
“Elephant or rhinoceros?” Autumn inquired.
Babs yipped again.
“Elephant it is.” Autumn tossed the cookie to the dog, smiling a little as Babs caught it deftly and began to eat with delicate nibbles.
Her gaze on her pet’s amusing greed, Autumn finally gave in to the need to think seriously about the subject preying so heavily on her mind. E. Jefferson Bradford. She’d never reacted to any man this way. He had only to look at her, much less give her one of those smiles of his, to turn her to Jell-O, a new experience for Autumn Reed.
Her cookie eaten, Babs hopped into Autumn’s lap and, standing on her hind legs, planted a wet kiss on Autumn’s chin. Autumn hugged the squirming little body and chuckled. “So what do you think I should do about him, Babs?” she asked whimsically.
Babs wiggled and made a playful growling sound low in her throat.
“Go out with him, huh? Sounds easy enough, but I have a feeling that I’d be getting into something I don’t know how to handle. For one thing, what could we talk about?”
Autumn cocked an eyebrow at the dog. “That’s all very well for you to say,” she muttered as if Babs had actually made a suggestion. “But if we spend an evening not talking, I’ll be in even worse trouble.”
The dog barked sharply. Autumn sighed. “He’s turning me into a basket case. I’m actually sitting here having a conversation with a dog.”
Babs looked hurt.
“Oh, sorry, Babs. I didn’t mean anything personal.”
Babs jumped down to the floor, stopping by the telephone table to scratch her ear on her way to the doggie door in the kitchen that gave her access to the small, fenced backyard of Autumn’s half of the duplex. Taking that as a hint, Autumn sighed and walked slowly to the telephone. “You’re right, Babs. I can’t go on like this. It’s time to take action.”
Jeff’s number was listed in the telephone book. Autumn hung up twice before she could make herself dial it. It wasn’t that she’d never called a man for a date, but she had never called Dr. E. Jefferson Bradford. What was it about him that was so different from other men?
Finally she dialed the number and waited for the ring. She told herself that he probably wasn’t home. After all, it was Friday night. And if he was out, fine. It wasn’t meant to be.
“Hello?”
Well, hell, he was home. “Um, Jeff?”
“Autumn?”
She supposed she should be flattered that he immediately recognized her voice. “Yes. I hope I’m not disturbing you.” Dumb thing to say, she told herself immediately. He’ll think I’m asking if he’s alone. She continued quickly. “I was just wondering…do you really want new lighting outside your house?”
3
JEFF PAUSED FOR A MOMENT, then chuckled. “Well, I have to admit it was a spur-of-the-moment suggestion on my part, but I suppose I could think of something else for you to do if you’d rather.”
“Look, why don’t we just forget the games,” Autumn told him impatiently. “We both know you’re only doing the lights so you can ask me out again, right?”