she didn’t need to imagine he was there, because he was the first thing she saw when she looked out over the land that bordered the village. Kari was racing to fetch a ball that he’d just flung into the air, and he turned, as if aware of her gaze on him. Seeing her at the window, he waved.
Great. Not only was he intruding into her dreams, he seemed to have taken over her waking moments now. Flora waved back, turning from the window.
Somehow, Aksel managed to follow her into the shower. Wet-haired, with rivulets of water trickling over his chest. Then downstairs, as butter melted on her toast, he was standing by the stove, making coffee in that little copper kettle of his.
‘If he’s going to stalk me, then perhaps he should do the washing-up…’ Dougal was busy demolishing the contents of his bowl, and gave Flora’s comment the disregard that it deserved. Aksel wasn’t stalking her. She was doing this all by herself.
The doorbell rang and Dougal rushed out into the hallway, knocking over his water bowl in the process. He was pawing at the front door, barking excitedly, and Flora bent down to pick him up. Then she saw Aksel’s dark shadow on the other side of the obscured glass. She jumped back, yelping in surprise, and the shadow suddenly seemed to back away too.
She opened the door, trying to compose herself. At least the real Aksel bothered to wait on the doorstep and didn’t just waltz in as if he owned the place.
‘Is this too early…?’ Today he was clean-shaven, with just the top half of his hair caught back, leaving the rest to flow around his shoulders. How on earth did he get such gorgeous hair to look so masculine? Flora dismissed the question for later, and concentrated on the one he’d asked.
‘No. Not at all.’ A cold wind was whipping through into the house, and Flora stood back from the door. ‘Come in.’
She led the way through to the kitchen, and both he and Kari stepped neatly around the puddle of spilt water from Dougal’s bowl. He insisted that he didn’t want coffee, and that she should sit down and have her breakfast while he cleared up the mess. Flora sat, taking a gulp from her mug while he fetched a cloth and wiped up the water, washing the bowl in the sink before refilling it for Dougal.
‘I assume you didn’t just pop in to wipe my kitchen floor for me?’ Who knew that a man could look sexy doing housework? If she wasn’t very careful, she would find herself fantasising about that, too.
‘No. I came to ask you a favour.’
‘Fire away.’ Flora waved him to a seat, and picked up her toast.
‘I did some reorganisation this morning, to prepare for when Mette comes back to the cottage to stay with me.’ He frowned, clearly not very pleased with the results. ‘I wondered if you might take a look, and tell me what you think? I won’t keep you long.’
This was where the fantasy stopped. Mette was a patient at the clinic, and Aksel was a father in need of some help. It was safer, more comfortable ground, even if it was less thrilling. Flora got to her feet.
‘Okay. Let’s have a look.’
Aksel picked Dougal up in his arms, and all four of them squeezed through the hole in the hedge, Flora shivering as the wind tugged at her sweater. Dougal followed Kari into the sitting room, and He led the way up the stairs. Flora was surprised when he opened the door to the left because this cottage was the mirror image of hers, with the smaller bedroom and a bathroom to the right. She followed him inside.
Aksel had obviously made an effort. There was a toy box with a row of cuddly animals lined up on the top. A single bed stood at the other end of the room with the wardrobe and chest of drawers.
‘This is nice. I can see you’ve covered all the health and safety aspects.’ The room was immaculately tidy, which would help Mette find what she wanted. He’d obviously been thinking about trip hazards and sharp edges, and all of the wall sockets had protectors fitted.
‘That’s easy enough.’ Aksel was looking around the room with a dissatisfied gaze. ‘It’s not very pretty, though, is it?’
It was a bit stark. But that could be fixed easily. ‘Why did you choose this room for Mette?’
‘It’s the biggest.’
‘Big isn’t always best. In a very large room like this, Mette might find it difficult to orientate herself.’
Aksel thought for a moment, and then nodded, striding across the hallway and opening the door of the other bedroom. Inside, Flora could see a large double bed, which must have come from the main bedroom. This room too was scrupulously tidy, as if Aksel had decided to camp here for the night and would be moving on soon.
He looked around, assessing her suggestion. ‘I think you’re right. I’ll move everything back the way it was.’
‘Would you like a hand?’ The heavy bedframe must have been a bit of a struggle.
‘Thanks, but I’ll manage. What else?’
‘Well… I’m no expert…’
‘Give me your next-door-neighbour opinion.’ His smile sliced through all of Flora’s resolutions not to interfere too much and she puffed out a breath, looking around.
‘You’re not here for long so you don’t want to make any permanent changes. But it would be great to be able to change the tone and brightness of the light in here to suit her needs. Maybe get some lamps with programmable bulbs that you can take with you when you go?’
He nodded. ‘That’s a great idea. What else?’
‘Taking her toy box downstairs and just having a few cuddly toys up here for bedtime might get her used to the idea that upstairs is for sleeping. If you use bright colours that she can see, it’ll help guide her around the room. And what about some textures, a comforter or a bedspread…?’
He walked across to the nightstand next to his bed, picking up a notebook and flipping it open. ‘Lights…’ He scribbled a note. ‘Colours… Textures… Bedspread.’
Flora nodded. ‘If you got her a nice bedspread, then perhaps she could use it here and on her bed at the clinic. Then, if she wakes up in the night, she’ll have something that feels familiar right there.’
Aksel nodded, scribbling another entry in the notebook. ‘Good idea. Anything else?’
‘What does Mette like?’
That seemed the hardest question of all to answer. ‘Um… Sparkly things, mostly. And she likes it when I read to her. She always wants the same stories over and over again.’
‘The ones her mother read to her?’
‘Yes. I think they help her to feel more secure.’
‘Then use them as a guide. Maybe choose some things that feature in her favourite stories.’
‘That’s a great idea, thank you.’ He made another note in his notebook before putting it into the back pocket of his jeans and striding back to the main bedroom. ‘I’ll take the toy box downstairs now. If you could suggest
