Who's Taming Who? Read online

  Lanie had known it was too good to last. “What do you mean about Frank?” Lanie asked her daughter, puzzled. “I’ve never spoken to you about him, and as far as I know you’ve never met him except at Kate’s wedding. Frank’s just a friend but he’s definitely not my boyfriend. I don’t know where you got that idea but you can forget it.”

  “I’m not stupid Mommy, I know you got all those notes from him,” Cassie told her, sounding surprisingly worldly for a nine-year-old girl. “And all of those gifts. There was fancy perfume and bracelets and earrings and lacy panties and pearls and”

  “I know what my secret admirer sent me, Cassie.” Lanie stopped the recitation firmly.

  “But Mommy! He must be really neat if he sent you all those things. Aunt Tina agrees with me that he’s really hot, and a sure-enough handsome hunk and she even said that if I’m lucky he’ll be my new daddy,” Cassie protested.

  “Aunt Tina talks too much for her own good.” Lanie muttered under her breath, “A sure-enough handsome hunk, indeed! Where would you even hear a phrase like that? It sounds like something your Grandma would say.” Lanie shot her sister a narrow-eyed look as she continued talking to Cassie. “Do you even know what hot means? Frank is a nice man and he is very handsome, too. But that’s all. I don’t even know when I’ll see him again. We had a fight just before I got home. It was a very bad argument. Of course, there is still a very real chance we might make up and I would start to see him again.” She paused. “However, sweetie, if things ever start to look like there’s even a remote chance that he would be your new father, I’ll make sure you two spend some time together and get to know each other a lot better. You’ll have a say in it before he becomes your daddy, but that’s a long way off, okay?”

  “Okay,” Cassie persisted, “but I’d like a real Daddy.”

  After Cassie ran outside to play, Tina cornered Lanie. “What happened between you and Frank anyway? Anything good?”

  “We had fun and there is an attraction there, but that’s all it is.” Lanie paused. “Just before I came home we had a fight.”

  “Before the fight, was there any good stuff?” Tina persisted.

  “Not the kind you’re thinking of,” Lanie said firmly, “but we did get to know each other more. We relaxed and had fun together. We talked a lot. But so far there’s only been a few kisses between us. Great kisses. Spectacular kisses, but that’s all that happened. And then we argued.”

  “What happened?” Tina asked with concern.

  “He was provoking me but I really picked the fight, I don’t even know why.” Lanie admitted, “Maybe I panicked. My feelings for him scare me. It’s been so long since I felt like this.”

  “But it’s worth it, isn’t it?” Tina prodded. “The chance you have to take to be happy.”

  “Yes. It is.” Lanie smiled softly. “You want to know something weird? In the middle of our fight, when he was furious with me, he said he wanted to treat me like a woman he treasured. In the middle of the fight,” she shook her head and smiled gently, “now that’s what I call fighting dirty.”

  “Maybe that’s how you should treat him,” Tina suggested. “Like a man you treasure. It seems to me more relationships would survive if both parties followed that rule.”

  “I’ll think it over,” Lanie said softly.

  Over the next few weeks there were no more secret admirer notes. In fact there were no phone calls, not even a single word from Frank of any kind. Nothing at all. Lanie knew it was irrational, given their angry parting, but she had never felt so abandoned or so irritated in her life. She felt like she’d been cast aside like a pair of torn pantyhose. She wanted to hear from him. She wanted to apologize. She wanted revenge. Heck, she wanted him!

  She was working at her drafting board in her stark, white office one day trying to design the layout for an extensive garden when she finally heard from him. The company receptionist, an older woman named Mary, took a message from Frank asking Lanie to contact him at her earliest convenience. Mary hand delivered the message to Lanie.

  “Is this business or is it personal, Lanie?” Mary asked, unrepentantly curious. “I hope it’s personal. He sounds very handsome to me. You need a personal life.”

  “What I need,” Lanie returned quietly, looking at the gray haired woman with a mixture of humor and exasperation, “is a receptionist who’ll get the man on the line for me, please. It doesn’t matter if it’s business or personal if I can’t talk to him, does it? And besides, how can a man sound handsome?”

  “He just did.” Returning to her desk in a mild huff, Mary dialed the number on the note, worked her way through a receptionist at Frank’s office and finally reached Frank.

  “I have a call for you from Ms. McPherson, please hold.” She buzzed Lanie and said stiffly, “I have your call on line three.”

  “Hi Lanie. How’s it going?” Frank sounded disgustingly cheerful. “Are you still mad at me?”

  “Always.” Lanie tried to sound stern. “What’s up?” She heard a snicker from the receiver and she was instantly glad he couldn’t see her sudden blush. “I mean, what do you want?”

  “That question is almost as bad. I want world peace, lots of money, your company’s services to landscape my new house, and about a century in bed with you. Not necessarily in that order,” Frank told her.

  “I can’t create world peace but I would if I could. You can get your own darn money, and how much is lots anyway? However, I can have someone from my firm do the landscaping at your new home. That’s no problem. By the way, what new house? And finally, dream on buddy, you haven’t got a prayer of getting anywhere near a bed with me in this century or any other,” Lanie replied firmly. “For any amount of time.”

  “I want you, not just somebody from your firm,” Frank said decisively. “I want your services.”

  “For your landscaping job?” she asked suspiciously.

  “Of course.” He paused. “For a start.”

  “Okay. Give me your address and I’ll go by and look over the property, then I’ll meet with you and we can discuss what you have in mind,” Lanie suggested. “For me.”

  She was slightly rattled at the thought of seeing him again. The advice from Kate had been swirling around in her brain. “I mean we can discuss your preferences,” she paused when he laughed softly, “about what landscaping ideas you have.”

  “Better yet, I’ll pick you up and we can discuss my ideas and yours while you look at the property,” Frank suggested.

  “Okay,” Lanie agreed quickly without any argument.

  “Lanie? You’re being suspiciously agreeable all of a sudden,” Frank observed.

  “Don’t worry about it.” She laughed softly, “It’s a phase. I can guarantee you it won’t last.”

  She was curiously content when she hung up the phone. In fact she was so happy, she made a special effort to soothe Mary’s ruffled feathers.

  About an hour later Frank picked her up at her office. As she left with him she noticed Mary making a circle with her thumb and forefinger in a gesture meaning okay, as she nodded at Frank.

  Together they drove to his new house just outside the edge of town. The air was electric between them. It was filled with a combination of nervous energy and sexual tension. Even though they just had a good conversation over the phone, the last time they had actually seen each other they had fought and fought hard. Some of the tension was still there, almost like a static barrier in the air between them, keeping them apart. The barrier broke when Lanie groaned as she saw Frank’s new house.

  It was, to put it mildly, a fixer-upper. The house needed external repairs and paint. It was two stories, large and rambling. Several of the windows needed to be replaced. The screen door was off its hinges. The front porch sagged.

  To top it all off, the house was covered with chipped and flaky dull, gray paint. The large, surrounding yard was a mess, all the land was either bare dirt or completely overgrown with weeds. Frank told her the whole property was
just over three acres in total.

  “What do you think of it?” Frank asked excitedly.

  “You’ve already bought this?” Lanie requested cautiously.

  “Yes. Isn’t it neat?” Frank had all the enthusiasm of a first time homeowner.

  “No Frank, it isn’t neat, it’s a mess,” Lanie told him honestly. “It’s going to be a lot of time and work to fix it up, not to mention a huge expense. That is, if it’s even structurally sound.”

  “It is. I had an inspection. I’m not a total fool,” he told her. “And the inside of the house isn’t nearly as bad as the outside. The inside is livable right now, except that I have some remodeling I want to do before I move in.”

  “Thank goodness for small favors.” Lanie began to sketch the yard and the exterior of the house, walking around and occasionally measuring distances. “Frank? What kind of ideas do you have for this place?”

  “I want a large front lawn with a good sprinkler system. I also want a flowerbed and some shrubs around the house. Along the property line I want a few trees, maybe some fruit trees. Eventually I’m going to put a pool in the backyard and a play area, so I’ll want a good, high sturdy fence around each of those.” He was talking off the top of his head and she knew it, but the feelings behind his half-formed ideas were real. “I might even put a barn in the back and a corral for a few horses.”

  “I have enough for now to draw up a few ideas. I’ll formulate them and then give you a few suggestions for your choices of grass, shrubs, flowers, and trees.”

  “Lanie, while you’re here would you like to see my house? The inside, I mean,” Frank asked, almost pleading. “Please?”

  “I’d love to.” She couldn’t help smiling at his eagerness.

  Just like Frank had said, the house was in better shape inside than outside. The kitchen and dining room were both large, open areas. However the appliances did need to be replaced. There was a separate laundry room off the kitchen, and a large pantry. All these rooms needed was paint and having the floors refurbished. A small, formal sitting room, an entryway, a living room, a family room, and a tiny bathroom completed the downstairs. Upstairs, there were four large bedrooms and another bathroom.

  “I thought I’d make two of the bedrooms into one really nice master bedroom with it’s own bath, sitting room, and a walk-in closet,” Frank told her. “Then I’d polish the hardwood floors and paint the two smaller bedrooms and paint and retile the other bathroom.”

  “And downstairs?” Lanie asked, interested almost against her will.

  “Downstairs I want to modernize the kitchen and dining areas, and then just open up all the rest of the area for a wide open living space.” He grinned. “Except for the bathroom, of course. The whole house needs to be painted inside, and the hardwood floors needs sanding.”

  “It sounds like a great home for a family,” Lanie said as they walked downstairs. “But it sounds a bit too much for a single guy like you.”

  “Haven’t you heard?” Frank was only partly teasing her. “I’ll be a family man real soon. I’m planning on getting married within the next year.”

  “Don’t bet on it.”

  “I already did. Lanie?” Frank asked. “Want to explore the basement with me? I haven’t been down there yet.”

  “Okay.” She grinned.

  Frank open the door. “After you.”

  “No, after you.” She laughed. “I don’t trust those stairs.”

  She followed him down the creaky stairs, dodging cobwebs. Frank found a light switch. Once lit, the basement was dusty with a few abandoned belongings and lots of cobwebs. They just reached the bottom of the steps when they heard the door slam above them. Suddenly, they wanted to get out of there. They climbed the stairs but soon learned they couldn’t open the door.

  “No one knows where we are.” Frank tried to break down the door but it was surprisingly solid.

  “Mary knows where I am. Tina will come find me if I don’t pick up Cassie.” Lanie looked around and found some old camping gear. “Let’s relax and wait to be rescued.”

  She handed him an old air mattress. “Here, put that hot air of yours to some good use.”

  She shook an old sleeping bag, then laid it over the stair rail and beat it with an abandoned golf club. It raised a cloud of musty dust. She carried it over to where Frank had the mattress, near a window that was too small and too high for them to use to get out. However he had managed to open it and let in some fresh air. She put the sleeping bag on the mattress and they both laid down. They talked for a short time, then began moving closer to each other. They began kissing, first soft and tender but soon sizzling, hard kisses, devouring each other. Frank started to pull Lanie’s tank top over her head when Lanie’s cell phone rang.

  “You had a cell phone on you the whole time?” Frank raised himself up on one elbow. “I thought we were trapped.”

  “Shh!” Lanie answered her cell. “Hello Tina.”

  She sat up, alert. “How bad?”

  She gave the address and directions. “Tina, we’re trapped in the basement. Open the door in the kitchen but don’t come down the stairs.”

  Lanie’s voice was calm but Frank knew something had upset her. “What’s up?

  “Cassie fell off a swing and cut her forehead. It’s not bad but she may need stitches, and she’s a little groggy. “Lanie started to stand. “Tina’s coming to get me and we’re taking her to a doctor.”

  “We have a few minutes then, so try to relax.” Frank gently pulled her back down to the mattress.

  He enfolded her in his arms, offering comfort. She did relax, knowing Tina would have called an ambulance if Cassie were really hurt. She snuggled closer to Frank and her comfort increased. She lifted her face to Frank. It was all the invitation he needed. He kissed her, teasing and coaxing a sweet response from her. His lips were marvelous, firm and soft. His tongue danced in her mouth. His hands roamed gently over the curves of her body. It went on and on until they heard Tina clearing her throat.

  “Sorry to interrupt, guys, but I have Cassie in the car and I really think she should go to the E.R. sometime soon.” She stood at the top of the stairs.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Hi Tina, I’m ready to go,” Lanie told Tina as she broke away from Frank. “Is Cassie out in the car?”

  “Yes, she is,” Tina said.

  “How is she?” Lanie asked.

  “She seems a bit groggy,” Tina told her.

  Lanie started up the stairs.

  “Hey wait!” Frank said as he recovered from his romantic fog. “I’m coming, too.”

  Lanie looked back over her shoulder. “You don’t have to, you hardly even know Cassie.”

  Frank met her gaze squarely and replied, “That’s right. I don’t even know Cassie very well yet but I’m still coming along. I don’t even know your sister Tina at all yet, but I soon will.”

  “I can take a hint. Tina this is Frank, Frank this is Tina.” She gestured as she made the sparse introductions.

  “Pleased to meet you, Tina.” Frank offered his hand. “I think we’re going to get to know each other real well.”

  “I think we are too. You look just like I pictured you from Lanie’s description,” Tina told him.

  “That’s funny,” Frank was pleased, “I thought she’d describe me as a clumsy jerk.”

  “I do seem to recall those words being mentioned once or twice but there were other words mentioned along with them.” Tina laughed.

  “What other words?” Frank prodded gently, curious.

  “Words like tall, blonde and gorgeous,” Tina grinned, “along with a great smile and a good sense of humor.”

  “Tina!” Lanie was spurred into instant action to shut her sister up. “Shut up you traitor. We have to leave, now!”

  Frank followed the sisters to the nearest hospital in his own car. Lanie had already carried Cassie into the busy waiting room by the time he got his car parked in the crowded hospital parking lot. H
e joined them in the emergency waiting room. Cassie was drowsy and a little fussy. She had a bandage loosely covering a long, slashing cut across her cheek, and a badly scraped elbow.

  Lanie had gently put the injured little girl in a waiting room chair near the reception desk. Frank walked over to stand beside the little girl who could be his future daughter. He just wanted to stand close to her. He wasn’t going to disturb her since she seemed sleepy and there would be plenty of time to really get to know her later.

  Cassie wasn’t as drowsy as she looked however. She wasn’t too drowsy to say, “Hi, Frank, I remember you. We met at that funny wedding. Do you remember me? I’m Cassie.”

  Frank knelt down to look at the little girl eye to eye. “Yes, of course I remember you from the wedding. I’m very glad to see you again, Cassie. I’m sorry you hurt your head.”

  “Are you my Mommy’s boyfriend?” she asked. “Whenever I ask her that she gets a real funny look on her face and she never, ever answers me. Will you tell me?”

  “Yes Cassie, I’ll answer you. I sure am your Mommy’s boyfriend,” he told her. “She just hasn’t admitted it yet, not even to herself.”

  “Why?” Cassie’s little face looked puzzled.

  “Because she’s afraid of being hurt.” Frank told the girl gently, “It’s like if you had a very best friend and she decided she liked someone else and stopped talking to you. That would hurt you, wouldn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Cassie nodded.

  “But I’ll never do that to your mother, I promise.” Frank smiled at the little girl. “I hope I’ll be your friend always, too.”

  “Good.” Her little voice trailed off. “We can be friends. I like you.”

  Frank was genuinely touched by the childish statement and by the open honesty of the little girl. Tina and Frank watched over the drowsy child while Lanie checked in with the E.R. receptionist, showing her proof of insurance and filling out the endless hospital forms.