Hearts of Gold

It was one of the hottest days of the year so far. The air seemed completely unwilling to move. Even the box fans that were placed strategically, didn’t help. The air conditioners were on order, and weren’t due to be installed until the following week. It was with a supreme effort that the sisters tried to muster enough energy to do anything.

Veronica was poised on a ladder in the dining room. She was trying hard to ignore the bead of sweat that was dripping down her chin. Her head was tilted slightly to one side as she stretched toward the farthest corner of the ceiling with the long handled paint roller.

Veronica was dressed in an old pair of loose fitting black short shorts that had stains all over them and one of her ex-boy friend’s old tee shirts that she had knotted and tied just above the waist. Had she been asked about how she looked, she probably would have said, "Resale shop, throw aways."

The night before, the sisters had drawn cards to see who would paint the ceilings in each room. Veronica had unluckily drawn the high card in the contest to see who would be stuck painting the dining room ceiling. Her sisters had elected to do the wall papering in the kitchen today. She grumbled when she thought about how they had more windows in the kitchen.

Veronica moaned when a large glob of paint hit the bill of her Atlanta Braves baseball cap and slowly slid down to splatter the tip of her nose. She mumbled to herself, "Damn, these ceilings are a pain in the neck to paint."

Veronica had been at it for three hours now and was only half finished with the large room. Her neck, arms, and shoulders were quivering in their effort to maintain the angle at which she was working. The roller was dipped into the paint and she stretched, pushing it once more across the ceiling. Her gazed narrowed as she tried desperately not to get paint on the molding. Her concentration was so intent that she wasn’t aware of what was going on around her.

The two carpenters who were working in the living room across the hall were watching her. Both men thought she was as sexy as hell, standing on the ladder. Her tanned legs, though paint streaked were a captivating sight.

Veronica was concentrating on painting so she wasn’t aware of the lascivious looks she was getting from one of the carpenters from the living room. Nor was she aware when his partner slipped out for a smoke, intentionally leaving them alone.

Veronica realized she wasn’t alone the moment she felt a hand slide up the inside of her thigh. She gasped in outrage when she looked down at the short, barrel chested man. Walter Bigalow stood on the bottom rung of the ladder with a grin on his face like a Cheshire cat. He was stroking the inside of her leg with one hand while he rubbed his crotch with the other. Veronica screamed in outrage and brought the handle of the paint roller down on his head with force.

Walter grabbed his head and whined, "Sh--, darlin’! You know you want a little of what I got. I can tell you’re just dying’ to let me in your pants."

She hit him again, this time with all the force she could muster. It threw paint from the ladder to the far side of the room. She didn’t notice the paint splatter, nor at that moment did she care, she was too intent on killing him. She jumped down from the ladder and advanced on him with murder in her eyes.

With threat in her voice she said, "Oh, you think so, do you. You slimy bastard?"

Clay’s hand was poised to knock when the door was flung open with enough force to propel him backwards. Walter Bigalow ran through the doorway as if the demons of hell were after him. Clay stumbled out of the way, almost falling over the railing before righting his balance. What the hell’s going on here, Clay thought? He was forced to duck his head when carpenters tools sailed through the air, precariously close to where he was standing. Walter fell down half of the stairs and scrambled around the yard on his hands and knees as his flying tools sailed past his head one by one. Clay braced his hands on the railing as he watched the paint splattered man scrambling around the yard. After his initial police reaction of caution and surprise, laughter lit Clay’s eyes as he watched Walter.

A stomping sound coming from Clay’s left drew his attention back to the doorway. Veronica came out of the house running. When she stopped at the top of the stairs she glared angrily down at the paint splattered man. In her hands she held a beat up old wooden baseball bat. Clay thought, ‘Lord, she is as angry as the first time I saw her.’ Her face was strained and red as a beet and her breath gasped as she clenched the bat in indecision.

Lauren and Jane came to stand beside her as Veronica took her stand at the top of the stairs. A smile teased the corner of Clay’s lips as he turned to watch her and her sisters. This lady was definitely a force to be reckoned with when she was angry. She stood slapping the wooden bat against her open palm as she scowled at the man on the ground.

Veronica was so angry she could hardly speak. Her voice, when she found it, held anger and indignation, "Get the hell off my property and don’t ever come back. You are the worst excuse for a man I’ve ever seen. There is nothing you have, and I do mean nothing, that I would ever be interested in. You can believe me when I say that your boss will hear about what you tried today. And I will make certain that you never try anything like that again on any other unsuspecting woman. Now get your tools and get out of here before I use this bat to pound those pieces you are so proud of."

It wasn’t until after the carpenters had driven away that Veronica noticed a patrol car parked in front of the house. She glanced around looking for him. Clay was leaning against the porch railing watching her. Her anger was still close to the surface when she turned on him. Jane and Lauren stood in the doorway watching as the two faced off like opponents in a boxing match. For a long moment they stood just looking at each other. The sheriff’s eyes quickly looked her over from head to foot before stating, "Woman, you know, you are a definite menace to society."

Clay shook his head with disgust when he saw the angry flush touch her cheeks once more.

Lauren and Jane saw the sheriff’s first words caused Veronica’s jaw to tighten. Lauren was amazed at the affect these two had on each other. They stood verbally sparing like two kids.