A/N: Sorry for the extreme delay but real life sometimes just happens...
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On Sunday morning Barbara sat on a blanket on her sofa, fully dressed in the dirty clothes from the other day, a mug of strong coffee in her hands. Her feet in heavy boots were propped up on the coffee table, and she was watching the morning show when her mobile rang. It was shortly before 8:30 and the weather forecast just had told her that it would rain on Monday.
"Ah, brilliant..." she sarcastically murmured when she accepted the call. "Havers."
"Morning Barb."
Barbara looked at the clock inserted at the top right of the TV screen. "Winnie! Where are you? It's about time!"
"I, umm... I'm not coming today." Winston told her that he unsuspectedly had no time today because something private had come up. Barbara could swear he was suppressing a laugh and the sounds in the background were that of another person and maybe also the rustling of a duvet. He surely was with Joanna at the moment. Barbara grinned and graciously dismissed him.
"I understand, Winnie. I understand very much. Don't bother, we'll handle it without you."
"Oh, I'm very sure of that." He secretly snickered again, of that Barbara was very sure of and she blushed at the thoughts his insinuation made come up in her mind. "See you later, Barbie!"
"Winston, I told you not to- Winnie?" He had disconnected. The last thing she had heard was the beginning of laughter. It deeply amused her. "Ah, cheeky sod..."
When Barbara arrived a little later than the day before Lynley of course wondered where the Constable was.
"He's got 'something private coming up'." she explained winking.
"Meaning?" The confused expression on his face was priceless.
Barbara rolled her eyes. "He's with his new girlfriend and has skipped out on us. He's definitely got better things to do today than... rooting around." Her unconcealed naughty chuckle made him finally understand.
"Ah, okay." Tommy shrugged with a grin. "Well... more lemonade for us."
She nodded and looked away. Sharing the lemonade was her smallest problem. With his arm around her shoulder Lynley gently ushered her across the black foil carpet through the living room. His proximity and the privacy Nkata's absence offered them in general Barbara suddenly felt fear rising that the work in his garden would become a huge challenge for her self-control.
And the temperature this morning already was as hot as yesterday. Although three quarters of the area were almost cleared there still was a lot of work to do, not to mention these few problematically huge roots. Remembering her disturbing dreams last night about her boss undressing in the sun almost completely Barbara knew she would be entirely done this evening - physically and mentally.
Right under the veranda a saw-horse stood next to a chopping block with a small axe. A few bigger roots already were cut into shorter pieces.
"I was in the mood to have a few workouts yesterday evening." Lynley explained seeing Barbara's quizzical expression. To her great relief he had let go of her shoulder before they descended the stairs. "When I got up today I almost couldn't move my arms."
"Yep. I also have horribly sore muscles."
With the back of his hand Lynley caressed her upper arm. Barbara almost jerked but as quick as his hand was there as quick he had withdrawn it. "And unfortunately I've ruined my old saw with all the sand at the wood. And it's still too wet anyway."
"Oh, no..." she mock pitied him but he only laughed.
"Ah, well, I'll have to buy a new one, I guess."
"Won't be a problem, Sir. I bet they already know you at the DIY store."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, Sir." she snorted a laugh and tugged at the neon-yellow sleeve of his new T-shirt. She accidentally touched his skin with her fingers and the contact was surprisingly thrilling. For a second their eyes met but she quickly looked away and to the remaining part of the garden with roots. Her neck was flushed but still she smiled one of the cutest shy smiles he ever had seen.
She will never understand how beautiful she is, he thought. Then he shook his head in slight disbelief but with a grin. "Shall we start? Or do you need another coffee first?"
"Most certainly coffee." she laughed.
After Barbara, watching with delight how he put the heavy saw-horse to the side, had strengthened herself with a mug of her beloved black brew they finally started. They dug into the ground and they pulled at roots together. Accidental contacts happened frequently and, although she thought it would eventually lessen during the morning, every time they touched it was a pleasure. They were not as foolish as they had been the day before when Winston still was with them but they were working hand in hand quite well and efficiently and understood each other without many words. One could expect that for colleagues who had been working so close together for a bit more than ten years but they extraordinarily enjoyed themselves. It still was hard work in the garden.
After a bit of digging, it was shortly before lunch time, the sun was high in the sky and the temperature had gone even higher, Lynley tossed away his spade and stomped across the lawn towards the already processed pieces of root wood.
"I need a distraction." he groaned annoyed. "From these bloody small roots."
"Have you just cursed, Sir?" Pushing her sweaty hair out of her face with the back of her dirty gloved hand Barbara looked up from these roots that could not be shoveled out of the ground but were too small and separate to pull them out in one go. She was kneeling on the ground there and Lynley had been working somewhere behind her. Barbara constantly had felt observed. She knew he definitely had seen too much of her bottom side and the T-shirt had revealed too much from her naked waist while she worked on the ground. Every two minutes she had to tug it down again.
"I'm not cursing, Barbara." Lynley turned and smiled because she had left a smear of soil on her forehead. He kept it to himself though. Instead he just harrumphed. "As I said, I need a distraction. I'll go and chop a bit of wood while you take care of the little ones here."
"I'm not, Sir!" With creaking bones Barbara got up from the ground. "I'm going to get distracted by that rose."
"Well, that's fair enough."
It did not need a lot of time to fix the rose bush at the wooden grid at the wall, prune it a bit and slightly water it so Barbara soon returned to the annoying little roots. But she was not taking care of them for long. Eventually her eyes caught someone getting off of his shirt in the hot sun before he continued chopping wood. There was not a lot to be chopped but the axe was too small and too blunt for this task and so he had started to sweat harder in no time.
Barbara looked up and involuntarily licked her lips at the offered sight. Tommy's bare chest was fully covered in sweat and his muscles were temptingly moving when he raised the axe and let it fall down on the wood with force. Shocked about her physical reaction Barbara blushed and diverted her eyes to the ground and the pesty little roots near the drawn edge. Up to there the ground should be cleared from roots and if she had do it on her own it never would be finished today.
Lynley really could help her, she thought. She certainly understood that chopping the wood into pieces and stacking it neatly against the wall would provide more space on the lawn and that surely would be helpful when the other company would start building the pavilion next week. And he really was some sight to see, she admitted to herself while she watched him again. He surely had paid regular visits to the studio recently. His upper arms had just the right amount of strong tendons and slightly shaped muscles. Tommy certainly would be able to lift two big shepherd dogs, one with each arm, or-
"Sergeant Havers!"
Sergeant Havers jumped. She had been so engrossed in watching his muscles move, she had not even seen him looking at her nor had she realised that she had started to work slower.
"If you keep that low pace you'll have to keep on working throughout the entire night."
"Slavedriver!" She laughed although she blushed. Barbara dearly hoped he would not see it from the distance. Never taking her eyes from his she ripped out a fistful of roots ands threw it on the small pile in front of her. "You could help me here. How about that?"
He only grinned.
With one last [THONCK] Tommy nailed the axe into the chopping-block. It was not really deep and his annoyance about it was voiced by a disaproving grunt. Walking to the chestnut tree he grabbed his shirt from the saw-horse. There he looked at the watch he had stored on the table.
"I think it's time for a lunch break, isn't it?" His voice was muffled because he was just putting on his shirt again. Barbara loudly sighed. He obviously had heard her according to the confused look he gave her. "Hm?"
"Oh, err..." Barbara covered the sound by gesturing that it had been strenuous to get up from the ground.
"I almost thought you would not want to eat." Tommy laughed. "I've asked them to come here earlier today."
"That posh delivery service?" Barbara asked. "With the cute young delivery boy?"
He looked hurt. "Oi!"
She only commented on that with laughter. Nobody ever could compare with her boss. His pensive smile towards her though made her laughter slowly die down on her way to the chestnut tree.
The ring of his door-bell rescued her from anything. If he would have kept the silent gaze for just a little bit longer she surely would have said something stupid to overplay her embarrassment in this strange situation.
"Sit down, M'lady, I'll serve you lunch in a bit."
Barbara could not help but blush.
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