He grumbled all the way down to the kitchen, grabbed his red enamel stockpot, and carried it upstairs. In position to catch the water, he winced when he heard the first few drops hitting the bottom of the empty pan. A few minutes later, the sound changed, as the drops hit water.

Raking a hand through his hair, he sat down on the edge of his bed and wondered why he thought buying a hundred-year-old home would be a good idea. His parents had warned him it would take a lot of maintenance to keep things running, but he ignored their advice, thinking he could handle it all.

"Guess I was wrong about that." Wondering if he'd been wrong about Meg too, he sent her another message, even though she hadn't answered the last one. Changed my mind, he typed, rain sucks, roof's leaking.

He tossed a towel on the wet spot on his bed and climbed back in. Keeping his phone at hand, he laid back down and closed his eyes, ignoring the steady sound of rainwater dripping into the pot.

His phone beeped; he looked at the screen and laughed out loud. Get a damn bucket; I'll check it out in the morning.

No soft words from his Meg... his... He let that thought roll around in his brain for a while and decided he liked the way it sounded. His self-deprecating laugh sounded more like a snort.

Sometime around two o'clock the rain stopped and so did the leak. With a sigh of relief, Dan drifted off to sleep.

Meg wondered what Dan wanted from her... well, other than to hold her and listen to the rain. She smiled. The thought was really romantic, and she couldn't remember the last time someone had tried to romance her.

He was kind, sexy as hell, and willing to help someone he didn't really know just because Meg had asked him... that and he was car crazy. She would be ten times a fool if she didn't practice a little patience and stick around to find out if she could fan the flames of what they'd started until it flared bright and burned steadily.

Rolling out of bed, she knew it would be a busy day. It had rained heavily during the night, so she might have a few other calls this morning to do minor roof repairs. She really didn't like getting up on anyone's roof, but as long as she was careful and didn't move too quickly, she could usually get the job done without getting dizzy. For more than a patch job, her dad usually farmed the work out to a roofer he knew over in Newark.

"Best to just get a move on and go see what I'm getting into." Before she left her apartment, she checked in with Grace. "Hey, I got a call this morning. Dan's roof leaked last night."

"Why didn't he call the shop?"

"He's got my number," Meg told her. "I guess he figured he'd go right to the source."

"Alright," Grace said, "but that's going to completely mess up the schedule for the day."

"I'll just work overtime," Meg answered. "I've done it before. Don't worry, Gracie. I'll get it all done."

Dan was waiting for her when she arrived. His eyes looked bleary from lack of sleep. But was it from the leak or from lying awake thinking about her? With the number of calls she had to make today, now wasn't the time to ask. Shoving those thoughts aside, she focused on the work at hand and asked, "Where's the leak?"

He stepped back and to let her in. "Upstairs," he said. "Over my bed."

She chuckled softly as she walked through the kitchen to the second floor.

He was right behind her and grabbed a hold of her elbow, stopping her. "You think that's funny?"

She looked over her shoulder at him and was sorry that she'd put that hesitant uncertainty in his gray eyes. "No, sorry. I was just thinking that that explains your last message."

He let go of her elbow and slid his hand to the small of her back. The heat of his wide-palmed hand seeped in through her chambray work shirt. Pinpricks of awareness sprinted from that spot straight to her lady parts-saying, "Pay attention! The man with the magic hands is back!"

When she stumbled over her own feet, he steadied her against his rock-hard chest. Helpless to resist, she sighed and curled against him. His arms wrapped around her and his chin rested on the top of her head.

"I'm so damn glad to see you, Meg."

She cleared her throat. "I didn't sleep much last night," she confessed. "It was the little things I kept remembering that had me tossing and turning."

He buried his face in her hair and asked, "Like what?"

She loved the way his voice rumbled around in his broad chest, the vibrations as tempting as his hot breath on the side of her neck. "Your talented mouth and lethal lips. The calluses on your hands and the way you kept sweeping them along my sides and up to cup my breasts."

Good Lord, she was getting turned on remembering every touch, every taste. His arms tightened around her and he pressed his lips against the underside of her jaw. "Dan, wait!" she urged.

He groaned and molded his mouth to hers and her protests died as his tongue traced the line of her lips and dipped inside to tangle with hers.

His hands were hot, urgent.

Hers were desperate to touch, to take. "I can't," she moaned.

He lifted his lips but didn't back away. Poised to kiss her again, his lips a breath away from hers, he asked, "Why? Because I was stupid and afraid?"

She gave in to need and cupped the side of his face in her hand. "No. It's not that. Grace has me working overtime what with the rain last night."

The desire lingering in his dark gray eyes flared to life. "Then you still want me?"

"Oh yeah," she said, grabbing him by the face and kissing him like it was their last moment on Earth. When she came up for air, she asked, "Does that answer your question?"

He laughed and hugged her tight. "Yes, ma'am. I'd better let you go now, or neither one of us will be going anywhere today."

"Why can't I resist you?" She really wanted to know. He was good-looking, but it was what was inside of Dan that pulled at her.

"Must be my charm," he said with a straight face.

Their laughter diffused the sexual tension surrounding them. "I'd better take a look at that leak." He nodded, and she added, "And you keep your hands to yourself."

He grinned. "Yes, ma'am."

When she looked up at his ceiling, she knew that it wasn't going to be as simple as looking for a hole right above the spot where it had dripped all night.

"So do you think it's a cracked shingle or something?"

"Could be," she said, considering. "I'll know for sure once I get up on your roof."

He bristled. "You're not climbing up there," he said. "I've got to go to work; you'll be all alone here."

She turned around and looked up into his frowning face. Was he worried about her doing her job? "I've done a number of jobs where the homeowner wasn't there."

"I sure as heck didn't picture you up on my roof today while I'm at school."

"But that's where the leak is," she said slowly.

"You're afraid of heights, Meg."

Oh, she thought, that was at the heart of his worry. "It's an occupational hazard in the home repair business. About one-third of our calls involve patching leaky roofs. You get used to it."

"What about what the sheriff said the other day at Edie and Bill's wedding?"

She shrugged. "I used to be terrified of heights."

"Meg," he said, reaching for her hand.

She let him envelope her hand in his much larger one. A sigh escaped before she could think to hold it in. His hand was strong, his grip firm... a workingman's hand. "What?"

"Don't go up on my roof when I'm not here, OK?"

"I've already adjusted my schedule and made you my first stop today." She squeezed his hand and slipped hers free. "I can't make Gracie go through the list and rearrange everything again. People are counting on me."

"Then let me call in and tell them I'm going to be late for my first period class."

"Dan, don't be stubborn. I go up on roofs all of the time; it's my job." She waited for him to argue.

He stared down at her, fire banked in his stormy eyes. She didn't want to know exactly what he was thinking; it would distract her when she was up on his roof. "Be careful," he warned.

"Always am." She touched his arm briefly before easing past him and heading downstairs. She had climbed onto the peak and was inspecting the ridge for damage when she heard him backing out of the driveway.

Relieved that he'd left her to do her job, she got down to business tracking the possible locations where the damaged shingle could be. Close inspection proved her first theory that it was near the peak of the roof. "Roofing tar will take care of it on the outside."

Half an hour later she'd finished up and was about to climb down when she heard a car door close. She looked down and sighed as her father got out of his truck. How long had he been here? Dan must have been really worried and called the shop. Pop knew she didn't like heights, but hadn't shadowed her on roofing jobs in a long time.

She made her way down the extension ladder, bucket of tar in one hand and mason's trowel in the other.

"Megan," her father called out. "Take your time."

"I always do, Pop." When she got to the ground, she set the tar down, grabbed a hold of the rope, and unhooked the ladder mechanism. When it was closed, she carted it over to her grandfather's pickup and slid it onto the rack. "How long have you been here?"

He grinned. "Awhile. Nice young man, Dan Eagan." He was watching her like a hawk, and she his prey. "He's going to be stopping by Saturday afternoon to help me work on the Model A, after he helps Miss Trudi at the garden center." He waited a moment before asking, "Did you know that he has four of his team meeting him there to help out?"

She smiled. "No, he didn't mention it, but I'm not surprised."

"He's got a good heart, Meggie."

She agreed. "It's hard not to notice. He's been open and friendly to everyone I've introduced him to."

"Is that all you've noticed?"

She laughed. "Nice try, Pop, but I'm pleading the fifth." She fetched the tar and stowed it along with her toolbox. "I've got to leave Dan a note telling him to let the ceiling dry out for a few days, then I'll take another look at it and see what's to be done. I know I don't have to tell you that you have to be careful with plaster."

He followed her into the house. "He seemed concerned about you being up on his roof." His gaze met hers and he asked, "Is there more here than meets the eye?"

She shook her head. "I've got a long list of calls today. Can we talk later?" She'd scribbled the note and was halfway out the door before her father followed.

"Meg, it's a simple question."

"Pop-" she began and then paused, deciding to give him as honest an answer as she could. "He has my head in a spin and my heart beating double-time."

"Really?" he said. "Then I'll have to make sure I keep an eagle eye on him tomorrow." He opened the driver's side door for her and said, "I told him I wanted to start working on the engine-"

"Checking to see what can be salvaged beneath the hood?"

Her father nodded, watching her intently.

She reached for the door and closed it. Rolling down the window, she smiled up at her father. "Pop, you're so easy to read, but give it up because you know that no matter how I feel about him, if you didn't like him and the way he was salivating over the Model A, you wouldn't have invited him to come over and play under the hood."

He lifted his eyes heavenward. "If only women were are easy to figure out. You surely try my patience, Meggie."

"I'm not trying to. It's just that I'm afraid to hope for too much, too fast. I don't want to jinx things. I really like him."

"Don't wait too long to do something about it." Her father's eyes got that faraway look in them again. When he realized that he'd checked out for a moment, he shrugged and said, "Life's too short."

When she remained silent, he added, "Check in with Grace. I think she's had a cancellation today, something about somebody having the stomach flu."

"No problem," Meg said. "See you later."

He nodded and stepped back.

Meg put the truck in gear and started to roll forward. She put it in neutral, stepped on the brake, and leaned out the window. "Thanks for hanging around while I was on the roof, Pop."

His smile lit his entire face and suddenly Meg's day seemed brighter. Backing out of Dan's driveway she knew she had a long day ahead of her, but if she didn't dawdle between jobs, she just might be able to meet Honey B. and hang around while she met date number two.

She'd found and repaired the leaky pipe in Mrs. Hawkins's basement and had tackled the next two jobs on her agenda before she let herself take a lunch break. She checked her messages and felt all warm and gooey inside. There were three from Dan and every one of them was more insistent than the last that she check in with him. She must have forgotten and left her phone on vibrate again, or else she would have known she had a few calls and checked them sooner.

"He cares," she said, as she shot off a text to him, telling him that she was fine. She remembered to thank him for calling her father and asking him to hang around while she was on Dan's roof.

He answered right away. She laughed when she read his text: I was about to call the sheriff to have him check up on you.

She texted back. What about my dad?

Your dad said you were fine when you left my house.

Finishing up her ham and swiss on rye, she drank the rest of the coffee in her thermos and sent one more text; she had to keep to her time schedule. Got a full schedule. You don't have to worry about me, but I'm glad you do.

His answer was short and sweet. I care, Meg. See you later.

Five hours later, she had a knot between her shoulder blades and her hands ached, but she'd made it to all of her appointments; the one cancellation had rescheduled for Monday.

She was stowing her tools when her sister walked in. "Hey, Caitlin, how was your day?"

Her sister smiled. "Arms are sore from working overhead for the last few hours, but the new ceiling looks great. Just needs to be sanded." She was watching Meg closely when she asked, "So what's this I hear from Pop that Dan was worried about you being on his roof?"

Meg shook her head. "Why is it that the men in our lives worry about us being up on the roof but get insulted when we worry about them being up there?"

Caitlin's eyes gleamed with amusement. "Men think they are the only ones who can fix things-and climb up on the roof. I think it's kind of nice that Dan was worried."

Meg wiped her hands on the rag in her back pocket and finished putting away the extra supplies she'd used that day. "I'm not used to it, but yeah," she said, looking over her shoulder at her sister. "It is nice."

"Meg-"