her nose as she continued to peer up at him. “I guess you don’t care for children any more than you care for cats, huh?”
“Not particularly. And that boy there,” he said with a jerk of his chin toward the house, “needs to have the seat of his pants warmed. He’s got a mouth on him.”
Alayna nodded her agreement, though already dreading the confrontation. “Yes. I’ll talk to Billy.”
Jack grunted, indicating his doubt on the effectiveness of having a talk with a kid like Billy.
“You haven’t changed your mind, have you?” Alayna asked uncertainly. “You’ll stay and do the remodeling?”
Jack glanced toward his truck, the temptation to climb back in it and drive away so strong he had to brace his knees to keep from giving in to it. “I gave my word,” he said, setting his jaw. “I’ll see the job done.”
Jack awakened early, as was his habit, to find the sky beyond his window washed with the pinks and lavenders signifying dawn’s arrival. The bed he slept on was an old one, but comfortable, and a definite improvement over the bedroll he’d been sleeping on for the last couple of months, spread out over the bed of his truck. He rolled to his side, tucking an arm beneath his head, and stared out the window, praying that the events of the day before had never happened, that he’d wake up any minute and realize it was all a bad dream.
But he wasn’t asleep, and this was no bad dream that he’d wake from. The view of the Pond House through the cabin’s window was proof enough of that.
The Pond House. A fitting—if simplistic—name for the house, since the structure had been built beside a pond. Yet, the name was a poetic one, too, reflective of the setting and the natural materials that had been used in its construction. White limestone, rough cedar, combined with a lot of glass to take advantage of the views. It was a beautiful place, well constructed, though still in need of repair. There was a peacefulness about the place and its setting that seemed to tug at him.
Peaceful. That word again. He frowned, thinking how the day before he’d thought the same thing about the town of Driftwood when he’d been staring at its main street through the café’s window. Now here he was planted right smack-dab in the middle of it all—the town, the house, the pastoral setting—and he sure as hell didn’t feel very peaceful. Not when he considered the kids who inhabited the house...or the woman who cared for them.
He glanced at the bedside table and at the bottle of whiskey sitting on top of it. His friend. His companion. His catharsis for a pain that just wouldn’t go away.
He frowned and reached for the bottle, curling his fingers around its neck. Amber liquid sloshed against its side as he leaned over and shoved the bottle underneath the bed and out of his sight. The whiskey had failed to work its magical charm for him this time. His dreams during the night, though different from his past ones, were no less disturbing. They had been filled with an angel-faced woman with eyes so deep a blue a man could drown in them, and a gentle touch that made his skin heat and his heart yearn for things that could never be.
With a groan, he rolled to his side again, and stared out the window. As if his thoughts had drawn her, the back door of the Pond House opened and the woman who had filled his dreams stepped out onto the flagstone patio.
Alayna.
She wore a long, cotton robe, the same shade of blue as her eyes. It billowed around her legs in the early-morning breeze like a cloud in a summer sky. Barefoot and with her blond hair still mussed with sleep, she looked young and innocent...and good enough to eat. While he watched, she hugged her arms up under her breasts, tipped her face up to the sky and drew in a deep, cleansing breath. A soft, sensual smile curved her lips as she filled her lungs with the fresh, early-morning air. Even from his distance, Jack could see the rise of her breasts over her folded arms, and his groin tightened in response.
Damn, but she was pretty, and as sexy as any woman he’d ever seen. He shifted, easing the unexpected ache that jumped to life between his legs. Unable to look away from her, he continued to watch as she walked around the patio, pausing to fluff a floral pillow on a chair, then stooping to pull a weed from a terra-cotta pot filled with pink geraniums and trailing ivy. With her movements, the robe parted, revealing a brief peek at tanned legs, and when she stooped, the top gaped, baring an even more enticing view of the valley between her breasts.
Eve couldn’t have waved that apple under Adam’s nose with a greater effect.
Jack felt the desire mounting and rolled to his back and away from the tempting sight, his eyes wide, his breath coming fast and hard. He fisted his hands in the tangle of bed linens, forced his gaze to remain on the ceiling and made himself draw in three deep breaths.
Kids, he reminded himself. The woman had kids. And Jack Cordell wanted no part of them. The woman or her brood.
Alayna stuck her head out the kitchen door and offered Jack a sunny smile. “Good morning! You’re up early.”
Seeing that she still wore the same blue robe he’d seen her in earlier, Jack frowned and glanced away, setting his toolbox on the flagstone patio. “Didn’t see any sense in wasting time getting started.”
“Have you had breakfast?” She laughed before he could answer, flapping a dismissing hand at him. “Of course you haven’t,” she said, shaking her head at the foolishness of her question. “You wouldn’t have had a chance to stock the cabin with food, yet.” She waved her hand again, this time gesturing for him to come inside. “I was just whipping up a batch of pancakes. There’s plenty for two.”
Without waiting for an answer, she slipped back into the kitchen, letting the door close softly behind her.
Jack stared through the mesh screen at the shadowed form moving beyond it, his empty stomach warring with good sense, his mind worrying with the fear of facing those kids again. In the end, his stomach won out.
His feet heavy with dread, he opened the door and stepped inside. The smell of coffee greeted him first, followed quickly by the scent of bacon frying. Then his gaze rested on Alayna, standing before the stove, looking much the same as she had earlier that morning when he’d seen her on the patio—her feet still bare, her hair still tousled from sleep.
He glanced around uneasily. “Where are the kids?”
“Oh, they’ve already left for school.” She glanced over her shoulder, but missed the relaxing of his shoulders, though she must have seen the question in his eyes. “My cousin’s son drove them,” she explained, then turned back to the griddle with a sigh. “Yesterday wasn’t the first time we’ve had a problem on the bus...and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Molly says that Mr. Evert, the bus driver, picks on Billy.”
Jack grunted his doubt and won a slight frown from Alayna.
“I know that what Billy did was wrong,” she said as she turned back to the stove. “But he’s just a little boy and he’s having a difficult time adjusting to all the changes in his life. Mr. Evert’s an adult. Surely he could be a little more understanding, a little more compassionate.”
“The boy needs to learn to control his mouth and show respect for his elders.”
Alayna sighed again, and poured batter on the griddle. “Yes. You’re right, of course. Still...” She gave her head a shake, then
