Читать книгу Blessings of The Heart - Valerie Hansen - Страница 12

D eep in thought and barely watching where she was going, Bree almost crashed into Mitch at the base of the stairway. “Oh! You startled me!”

“I didn’t mean to,” Mitch said. He grinned amiably and propped one shoulder against the archway leading into the kitchen. “I heard the buzzer on the dryer. Nobody seemed to be around so I fished my clothes out, got dressed and came looking for the boys.”

“They’re upstairs, asleep.”

“Which is where you’d be, too, if we hadn’t showed up. I really am sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Bree said.

The only clear thought she could muster was that it should be illegal for any man to look as casually appealing as Mitch Fowler did at that moment. His dark hair was tousled. His jeans were snug from the clothes dryer. And his clean short-sleeve pajama top left altogether too much arm muscle showing.

“I still feel responsible. At least let me clean up the mess we made by the front door.”

“That’s not necessary. I already soaked up the water. I have a woman who comes in twice a week to clean. She’ll polish all the floors when she comes on Thursday. Nobody but me will see them till then.”

“You live here all alone?” He was frowning. “In this great big house?”

“Yes.”

Bree hurried past him into the kitchen, knowing without a doubt that he’d follow. She opened the refrigerator to check her food supplies, using the door as a convenient physical barrier between them. “Do you think you’ll be staying for breakfast?”

“I hadn’t thought about it. Are we invited?”

“If you like pancakes, you are,” she said, leaning in. “I usually eat an omelette, but I seem to be a bit short of eggs.”

“You’re sure we won’t be a bother?”

Bree had been bending to peer behind a carton of milk and hadn’t heard him clearly when he’d spoken. The low rumble of his voice had, however, sent a shiver zinging up her spine. She straightened abruptly to ask, “What?” and found him standing close behind her. Very close.

Acting on instinct, she held her breath to listen for his answer. If her pulse hadn’t been hammering in her head like the percussion section of an overzealous high school band, she might have been able to hear what he was saying. Not that her befuddled brain could have translated his words into relevant concepts.

Her senses were bombarded by his clean, masculine scent, his overpowering presence and his exhilarating voice. Plus, his warm breath was tickling the tiny hairs behind her ear. Considering all that, Brianne figured she was lucky to remain standing, let alone hope to make sense of anything he said.

Awed by her reaction to his innocent nearness, she wanted to climb into the refrigerator and pull the door shut behind her. Instead, she sidled away and rounded the center island workstation to put something more solid between her and the attractive man.

Mitch paused and watched her, his stance wide, his arms folded across his broad chest. “I’m not dangerous, you know.”

“Of course you’re not! Whatever gave you the idea that I thought so?”

“You did. The way you’re acting. I had no idea you were here all alone. And I didn’t cook up some nefarious plan to steal the silver or kidnap the rich heiress, if that’s what you’re thinking. Believe me, I’d much rather be back home in my cabin, sleeping peacefully and listening to the rain drumming on the tin roof.”

“I—I’m sure you would.”

“Then if you’ll just tell me where my boys are, I’ll go and join them.”

He sounded put out. Brianne did her best to keep her voice pleasant. “First door on the right, top of the stairs. There are two double beds in that room. I hope it’s okay. Ryan picked it out.”

“It’ll be fine.”

“The boys are sharing. If you need more room, the sofa makes into another bed, and there’s extra linen on the shelves in the walk-in closet. Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks.” Mitch started to leave, then paused. “Forget about breakfast. We’ll be out of your hair first thing in the morning.”

“There’s no need to rush off.”

“Thanks, but now that I think about it, I want to see how badly the cabin is damaged and dig my car out so I can go to town for more supplies. The earlier I get started, the better. That is, providing the rain has stopped by then.”

“Wait a minute. What about the boys? You don’t intend to drag them around in the woods with you like you did tonight, do you? I can watch them for you.” Bree couldn’t believe the idiotic offer she’d just blurted out!

“They’re not babies.”

Oh, well, in for a penny, in for a pound. “They’re still way too young to be traipsing up and down hills with you like they’re on some lost safari.”

“Good point.” Mitch considered alternatives for a moment while he searched for truth in Brianne’s beautiful blue eyes. Maybe she hadn’t been trying to get rid of him the way he’d thought. She was right about some things, like the boys’ physical limitations.

“Okay,” he said, “I might have breakfast here, then go out alone, if you wouldn’t mind keeping the kids for a couple of hours.”

“Of course not,” she said, amazed that she honestly meant it. “They were wonderful tonight.”

Mitch snorted a wry chuckle. “Are we talking about the same two—an eight-year-old with a giant chip on his shoulder and a six-year-old with a teddy-bear fixation?”

“Sounds like the ones I met. What I don’t understand is how you could let their mother just take them away from you the way she did.”

“It’s a long story.”

“I have all night.”

He decided it wouldn’t hurt to at least try to explain. “When I met Liz I thought she was the most amazing woman I’d ever known, always fun to be with, always exciting. I didn’t realize she was also unstable and flighty. Unfortunately, once she got it into her head that she’d be happier away from me, she was almost impossible to locate. She was too unpredictable.”

Even from halfway across the room, Bree could see the muscles of his jaw clenching. Perhaps she shouldn’t have probed so deeply but she was interested in learning more about the children’s lives. “That’s it?”

“Pretty much.”

“What about school? Didn’t Ryan go to school?”

“Not often. He’ll have some catching up to do this year but he’s smart. He can do it. Bud was too young until recently, so he didn’t miss as much.”

“How about getting them a tutor?”

“Why? Were you planning on funding a private recovery effort?” There was a stubborn edge to his voice when he added, “I assure you, Ms. Bailey, I can take care of my family without anybody else’s help.”

If he had been the only one involved, Bree wouldn’t have considered speaking her mind. It would have been easier to simply give up and walk away. It would also have been wrong. Like it or not, she found herself in a position to aid those poor little boys, and she intended to take every advantage of it. If that included alienating their hardheaded father for their sakes, so be it.

She boldly rounded the end of the workstation island and approached him. “It’s not what you think that matters, Mr. Fowler. What’s important is what’s best for your sons. Don’t let your pride keep you from accepting whatever assistance comes your way.”

Mitch made a rumbling sound low in his throat and shook his head. “Since you seem to have all the answers, suppose you tell me how to get those three years of my boys’ lives back.”

“Believe me, if I had the ability to fix the past, your children aren’t the only ones I’d help.”

“You think I need fixing, too, I suppose?”

“Actually, you may,” Bree said with the lift of an eyebrow and a wry smile, “but I happened to be referring to myself just now.”

“Oh?”

“Never mind. It’s not important.”

Heading for the doorway, she’d planned to walk out past him. If the overhead lights hadn’t flickered at that moment she would have kept going. Instead, she hesitated and sucked in a quick breath. “What was that?”

“The storm is probably causing power problems,” Mitch said calmly. “It’s not unusual up here in the hills.”

Losing her electricity and having to grope around in a pitch-dark house alone didn’t frighten her one bit. Having to do it with Mitch Fowler underfoot, however, was a decidedly unsettling thought!

“Everything is unusual here,” she said. “For such beautiful country, the Ozark Mountains certainly have a lot of drawbacks.”

“That’s a matter of opinion. If you had a gas generator for backup, like I do, you wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not you lost power.”

Bree huffed in mock disgust. “I don’t suppose you brought your generator with you.”

“It’s much too heavy to carry,” Mitch said as if explaining to a simpleton. “Don’t you have a flashlight?”

“Yes! I know there’s one around here somewhere. Let me see…” Turning in a slow circle, Brianne frowned. “I think I may have put it in the pantry.”

“Then I suggest you go get it.” He looked at the lights as they flickered repeatedly. “Soon.”

Bree had traveled less than three paces when the lights flashed one more time. Then everything went black.

“Don’t move,” Mitch warned. “Let your eyes adjust to the darkness first.”

“I know that.” Tension was making her sound waspish.

“Excuse me. I was just trying to help.”

“I know that, too,” Bree said. “You stay put. I’m used to this place. I can find my way around.”

“Make use of the lightning. You’ll be able to see a little better when it flashes. It’ll help you get your bearings.”

“Is that more of your homesteading wisdom?”

Mitch chuckled softly. “No. Just plain male logic. Something women don’t understand.”

She was glad he couldn’t see the exasperated face she was making at him. “Next, you’ll be telling me that female logic is an oxymoron.”

“Isn’t it?”

If Mitch hadn’t known he was in the company of a well-bred, refined lady he’d have sworn he heard her give him a raspberry!

The sky outside the kitchen windows was alive. Clouds glowed a misty gray, dimming and brightening unevenly as if lit from behind by some monstrous, out-of-control searchlight.