you ready for this?”
“What if I said I wasn’t?” She glanced at him as she gathered Lucy’s and her overnight bags.
He grimaced. “I don’t know what I’d do.”
She grinned, looking at the kids. “I’m going to be fine. We’ll all be fine.”
“Here, let me get those for you.” He reached for the bags.
“Thanks.” His hands brushed hers and she quickly pulled away. The physical contact had intensified her growing nervous tension.
They walked side by side to the house. Happy laughter from the kids filled the air. Ross moved ahead of her and hurried up the steps. Tucking Lucy’s bag under his arm as he reached the door, he opened it and held it. She strode by him, making sure they didn’t touch. If they had, would he have felt the same electric reaction she had when their hands had met?
The room Sally entered was dim and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. Only a few feet inside the door, she looked around the large open space. The high ceiling was supported by dark beams. The walls were a cream color complemented by a gleaming warm wooden floor. It was furnished with a brown leather sofa and two armchairs along with an old chest she assumed he used as a coffee table. A TV hung over the mantel of a stone fireplace.
In the back of the house was the kitchen. A large bar separated it from the living area. A table for four sat to one side. Windows filled the corner, giving a beautiful view of the barn, trees and the fields beyond. Everything was neat, but masculine.
This was a man’s abode. Ross’s. Sally shivered. She had truly entered the lion’s den.
Ross set the bags down beside a door to a small hallway and walked farther into the house. “Come on in. Let me show you around. As you can see, this is the kitchen.” He pointed toward the hallway. “Over there are two bedrooms. Jared and Olivia are in them. Olivia has the one with the twin beds so there’s an extra bed for Lucy. On the other side of the house is my room. The sheets on the bed are clean. Ready for you.”
Her breath caught. Her eyes widened. Finally she blinked. “I, uh, think I’ll just sleep on the sofa. That way I’ll be closer to the kids in case one calls out.” Spending the night in Ross’s bed would be far too…personal? Uncomfortable? Nerve shaking? Lonely? Whatever the word was, she wouldn’t be doing it.
“I want you to be comfortable. I think you’d be happier in a bed. It’s the only one I have that’s available.” He shrugged. “But all that’s up to you.” She made no comment and he continued, “You can find all kinds of movies and games in the cabinet beside the fireplace. The kids know where everything is.”
She nodded.
“I’ve already ordered pizza for dinner tonight. It should be delivered at six. Right, here’s the tip.” He tapped some bills on top of the counter. “My number is on this pad if you have any questions, anytime.”
Sally moved closer to look.
“There should be plenty of sandwich fixings in the refrigerator. I also have peanut butter and jelly. Chips. And drinks.”
Her smile widened as she softly laughed.
His look turned serious. “What’s so funny?”
“You are.”
“How’s that?” He watched her too close for comfort as if he didn’t want to miss any change in her expression.
“Firehouse Captain turned Mr. Mom.”
He chuckled. One that started low and rough then slowly rolled up his throat and bubbled out. “I do sound a bit that way, don’t I?”
“You do, but it’s nice to know there’re supplies, I’ll give you that. Thanks for taking the time and thought to make it as easy as possible for me.”
“You’re welcome.” He picked keys up off the counter. “I’d better get going.”
She followed him out onto the porch.
“Oh, I forgot. Could you see that the horses are fed tonight and in the morning? Jared knows what to do.” He moved to the porch railing and called, “Jared and Olivia.”
Both children stopped playing and looked at him. “I don’t want you giving Sally any trouble. If she needs help, you do so. No argument about bedtime either.”
“Yes, sir,” they called in harmony.
He smiled and nodded. “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Uncle Ross.” Olivia waved.
“Yeah, bye,” Jared said as an afterthought as he ran for a ball.
Ross turned to her. “I really appreciate this.”
“You’ve already said that.”
“I know, but I do.” He walked to her, stopping just out of reach. His gaze met hers. A spot of heat flushed through her middle that had everything to do with his attention. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow around one.” He went down the steps.
“Okay.”
He hadn’t made it to his truck before he said, “Call if you have any questions.”
“I will.” Sally wrapped her arm around the post he had stood beside earlier and leaned her cheek against it. She watched him leave. Ross put his hand out the window and waved. She stayed there until he was out of sight.
What would it be like to have someone who wasn’t eager to leave her? That she could say bye to who would look forward to returning to her. At one time she’d believed she had that. Instead Wade had acted as if coming home to her was a chore. Why had he married her if he hadn’t really wanted her? In less than a year he had been off with someone else.
She wanted a man who desired her. That she was enough for. Maybe one day she would try again, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. She had plans, dreams. That was what she should be thinking about. She was better off without the obstacle of a man in her life for the time being.
Yet here she was seeing to Ross’s niece and nephew. At his house. When he’d driven away, it had seemed as if they were husband and wife and she were seeing him off to work. But that wasn’t reality. She was the babysitter and nothing more. And she didn’t want anything but that.
Lucy interrupted her troubling thoughts with, “Aunt Sally, we’re hungry.”
“Well, it’s about lunchtime. Come on in.”
The kids stomped up to the porch.
“Let’s go see what we can find in the kitchen.”
After lunch they returned to playing. The pizza Ross had promised arrived just as he’d said it would and they ate it picnic style under one of the oak trees.
The sun was low as they finished then went to feed the horses. Jared took the lead. First, he turned on the hose to add water to the trough. Sally grinned at his puff of importance as he went into the
