In the weeks that followed Zebadiah spent more time at the house, and Lucy had done her best to avoid him as much as possible. When their paths did cross they were polite to each other and not a word was mentioned about their encounter with Joel.

Zebadiah had moved completely into the study, even to the point of putting a bed at the end of the room near the balcony doors. Lucy had only needed to enter the room once or twice since her last encounter with him, but she could feel his presence even when he wasn't there, and she loved the way the restored room look lived in. It was as if it had become the heart of the house, feeding off the energy Zebadiah left behind. Everything on the job was going smoothly and progressing at a rapid pace. The house was happy and that made Lucy happy.

She had moved down to the first floor to work on the drawing room. It was a large beautiful room that was filled with amazing details. The ceiling had wood paneling as did the walls, and she had never seen carvings as ornate as those that graced the mantle and fireplace surround. The room would be just as impressive as the study when she was finished with it.

Thomas had told her that the fireplace was going to need a liner installed to make it operable, and she was pleased that Zebadiah was going to make it functional once again. It would be wonderful to have roaring fire in the room on a really cold night in the winter. She was smiling at the thought, as if she was sharing the house's joy, when she heard a noise behind her.

Turning she saw a very little girl of about four years watching her through bangs that were a little too long.

"Hello," she greeted, Lucy's smile growing at her cute little face. Her hair and eyes were dark, and she looked naturally reserved, so when she smiled back Lucy felt as if she had achieved something important. "Who are you?" Lucy asked setting her brush off to one side.

"Eden!" She watched as a woman with equally dark hair and eyes caught the little girl by the hand. "You shouldn't wander off because the house isn't safe." The woman glanced up at Lucy and gave her a vague smile. "I'm looking for my brother, Zebadiah?" she asked.

"I haven't seen him yet this morning, but if he's here he'll be in the study on the second floor," Lucy supplied as she watched Gianna Beckett join the woman and little girl.

Gianna took her time looking around the room, assessing the work, before her gaze landed on Lucy with apparent disgust. She didn't try to introduce Lucy and the woman.

"Gianna, would you stay here and keep an eye on Eden? I want to talk to Zebadiah alone." The woman didn't wait for an answer as she started up the steps in the hallway.

Eden didn't seem to be troubled by the development, and she kept her eyes glued to Lucy while Gianna looked almost afraid at the prospect of being left alone with the little girl. Amused, Lucy turned back towards her work, picking up her brush.

A few moments later Eden was standing next to her. "What are you doing?" she whispered.

"I'm dusting, would you like to try?" Lucy asked just as softly.

Eden looked over her shoulder at Gianna who was busy doing something on her phone and not paying her any attention. With a nod, the little girl knelt, taking the brush from Lucy. It looked abnormally large in her little hand. "I'm Eden. What do I do?"

"I'm Lucy, and you pretend like you're painting and get all of the dust and crumbs out of the cabinet."

Lucy watched as the young girl leaned in and gave the cabinet a few gentle swipes. "Perfect, but don't be afraid to get in those corners." She reached into her bag and took out a small dental scraper, it was perfect for the detail work, and began to work at the paint around the flower motifs on the mantle. When Eden finished the first cabinet, Lucy opened the next one and let her start again. Lucy had already cleaned them once, so it was an easy job for the little girl and there was nothing that could harm her.

"What are you doing!" Gianna suddenly shrieked at the young girl.

Eden was so content in her job that she either didn't hear Gianna or she thought she was talking to someone else, and Lucy watched as she stormed towards the little girl and pulled her out of the cabinet.

They didn't hear Zebadiah or his sister as they entered the room.

"I'm dusting!" Eden held up her brush wiping it in Gianna's face, making her even more angry.

"Stay away from her, she isn't safe!" Gianna hissed, pulling the little girl even further away from Lucy.

"You're hurting me, and I was working!" The little voice sounded so grown up that Lucy turned away as she bit back a smile. When she looked up she caught Zebadiah's cold gaze on her and her smile faded. When she glanced over at his sister she looked as amused by her daughter's explanation as Lucy had been.

"What are you working at?" The dark-haired woman asked.

"Lucy needed my help dusting the cabinet." She waved the brush again.

"I did, and you did an excellent job. Why don't you close that cabinet so that I know it's already been done," she suggested and watched the little girl do as she was asked.

"Eden, why don't you join me over here, darling," Gianna cooed.

Eden's little head tilted at the strange endearment coming from her lips, it was a dead giveaway that she had never been so sweet to the little girl before.

"I told you I'm working," she insisted once again, moving to stand beside Lucy.

"Sweetie, Lucy isn't..." Lucy waited for Gianna to finish that statement and Zebadiah did as well as Lucy noted his hand start pulsing next to his leg.

"It's fine Eden. It is just about lunch time anyway, and I never miss my lunch," Lucy looked down at her with a sweet smile and had to push away the temptation to smooth her bangs back out of her eyes.

Eden thought about it for awhile then looked up at Lucy. "Can I keep the brush?" she asked in a whisper.

"Eden," her mother warned at her rudeness.

"Of course, you can help your mother dust at home." Lucy said without a second thought about how expensive the brush was. With what Zebadiah was paying her she could afford to buy a new one. "But you take very good care of it, it's mighty expensive," she warned in a whisper.

"I will," she assured Lucy in a whisper before she danced over to her mother.

"Lucy Monroe, this is my sister Zelda Abbott, Zelda this is Lucy, she's restoring all of the wood work in the house." Zebadiah introduced them.

Zelda walked towards her and held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you Lucy. Thank you for entertaining Eden for me." Lucy took her hand, but dropped it quickly.

"I enjoyed it just as much as she did, it's always nice to make a new friend." Lucy smiled over at Eden who grinned back, happy to be called a friend.

"We won't keep you from your lunch Lucy," Zebadiah said, dismissing her.

Lucy nodded and reached down grabbing the bag which held her lunch before she walked towards them. She had to squeeze past Zebadiah to get through the doorway, and she couldn't help but breathe a little deeper as she inhaled his clean scent.

"Don't forget to show Eden the attic if you get the chance," Lucy winked at the girl. "There's plenty up there for her to investigate." When she looked up it was directly in to Zebadiah's black eyes, and for a moment everything stood still, and she swore she felt his hand caress her arm, but when she looked down both hands were firmly at his sides, and one of them continued to clench and unclench as he waited for her to leave them.

The touch had felt so real that there could have been no way she could have imagined it, but he hadn't touched her. Had he been thinking about it? Had their minds been so attuned that it was as if he had touched her without really doing so?

Shaking off the odd notion, she forced herself to say goodbye to Eden one last time before she moved out of the house and down the front steps. There was a tree near the river and she would enjoy her lunch under its shady branches.

As she settled in she had to wonder; if an imagined touch had sent such shock waves through her what would his actual touch feel like?

She was upset that he might be displeased with her interactions with Eden. In the future, perhaps she should do her best to avoid the girl. She would hate to upset Eden or get her in trouble.

She gave a sad sigh, so it went, another person who wasn't willing to give her a chance, who believed the rumors. She had hoped he would be different, that her dream would come true, but it seemed highly unlikely with the way things were going.