man seemed to notice.
“Oh, yeah. I remember Mom mentioning something about that. A final fling before she starts her new job, right?” Jacob sank down on the couch across from them and yawned. He looked tired and at the same time unconcerned. “Lucky her. Say, have you met Mom’s newest staff yet?”
“No.” Hayley tried to nudge Bram. He didn’t budge a millimeter. Obviously, he wasn’t nearly as pliable as the rigid metal he worked with. “Jacob, what happened to Mrs. Walsh and Kathy?”
“Beats me. They’ve been gone for a long time now. I thought you knew.”
“Not until a couple of hours ago, when I spoke with your mother on the phone. She said they had a better offer.”
Jacob’s shoulders rose and fell. “Mom said they quit when you and Leigh stopped coming home. She’s had trouble finding live-in help ever since. I think this is the fifth or sixth housekeeper she’s hired. Mrs. Norwhich is sort of built like Bram, here. A little older, and she lacks the tattoo, but she’s a force to be reckoned with. Sort of weird, but nothing compared with the new maid. Wait’ll you meet her. Say, maybe it was Mrs. Norwhich and Paula Kerstairs you heard.”
Hayley shook her head. “I don’t think so. Your mother thought Mrs. Norwhich was staying in town tonight. Besides, wouldn’t she have woken me if she came home and found a stranger sleeping on the couch?”
“You’d think so.”
“Maybe she tried,” Bram offered. “You’re a pretty sound sleeper, you know. You didn’t even stir when I got up.”
Bram’s words and tone implied an intimacy that made her squirm. He made it sound as if they’d been sharing a couch. Before she could correct that impression, Jacob yawned hugely.
“Sorry. I’ve been sitting on the Jersey Turnpike for hours thanks to a multicar accident. I think I’m too tired to worry about prowlers or weirdo housekeepers tonight. As far as I’m concerned, they can do whatever they want as long as they let me sleep. Would you mind if I go upstairs and sack out?”
“Take the couch,” Bram said firmly. “Hayley would prefer us to stay together.”
“But there’re only two couches in here.”
“That’s all right. Hayley and I don’t mind sharing. Right, Hayley?”
A protest leaped to her lips, but a warning in Bram’s expression made her hesitate. She did want them to stay together. Jacob shouldn’t go off on his own until they knew what was happening around here. The men might not believe her, but she knew someone else was inside the house.
“Go ahead and take the couch, Jacob. I’m not tired anymore, and Bram’s going to sit here and tell me all the fascinating details of his life, including how he got that tattoo. Right, Bram?” she asked with mock sweetness.
Bram settled back. He had to hand it to Hayley, the woman had a knack for turning the tables. Too bad for her that he’d had years more experience at it than she had.
“I wouldn’t bore anyone with my life story, but I’m sure we can find something more interesting to talk about,” he said suggestively. “We can start with all the things we have in common. Don’t worry, Jacob. We’ll keep our voices down.”
“Uh, sure. Okay.” But he stared at them, obviously perplexed by the exchange.
Bram was relieved when Hayley settled for glaring at him as Jacob stretched out on the couch self-consciously. The man’s arrival seemed entirely too well timed to be a coincidence. If Hayley really had heard people inside the house, Bram suspected Jacob had been one of them.
“If, uh, anything else happens, just wake me,” Jacob told him.
“Count on it.”
Hayley shifted restlessly. Bram ignored her none-too-subtle hint to move over. He was enjoying the feel of her body pressed against his more than he should. And if there was another incident tonight, he wanted to make sure the only way to reach her was to go through him first.
“Tell me more about the place you work,” he encouraged.
“I’d rather hear about you.”
“I’m flattered.”
“Don’t be. I’m making conversation here. Where did you get the dragon tattoo?”
“Thinking of getting one yourself?”
“You’re being deliberately impossible.”
“Years of practice,” he agreed.
“Is it some big secret? Some gang tattoo or something?”
“Interesting opinion you have of me.” But the set of her jaw told him she intended to be stubborn on this issue. “If you must know, I woke up after drinking all night and there it was.”
He knew his words sounded clipped, but he hated thinking about that period of his life. Not that he could remember much of it, including how and where he’d gotten the tattoo, much less why. He’d been drinking heavily in those days.
“Oh.”
She traced a finger over one dragon wing. Her touch was featherlight, yet it activated every nerve cell in his body. Desperately, he tried to think of a safe topic, but looking into those wide, innocent eyes seemed to be robbing him of coherency. He should not be noticing how soft and kissable her lips looked.
“You, uh, said your father and uncle were both blacksmiths. Is that how you got your start?” she asked, fidgeting.
That wouldn’t have been his conversational choice, either, but if it helped divert his current thoughts, he was all for a discussion of his work.
“Yes. My uncle used to work with real iron, like they did back before car manufacturers discovered they needed a metal with a more uniform strength.”
He droned on in his best lecture mode, conjuring up nearly forgotten facts on the subject that he remembered from his youth. As a boy he’d watched his father and uncle work the forge for hours, absorbing their tales.
Hayley surprised him by actually listening. Even after she closed her eyes and her head began to nod, she’d throw out a sleepy question to indicate she was paying attention. He was running out of things to say when he realized her breathing had slowed and deepened. Her head slumped against his shoulder.
Unable to resist, he stroked the fall of hair running over his chest. He’d been right, it was as soft as a river of raw silk. Inhaling the light scent of her shampoo, he was pleased to note she didn’t favor heavy perfumes. There were far too many things he liked about Hayley.
Jacob snored lightly across from them. Reaching for the afghan, Bram spread it over Hayley and surrendered to the urge to make her more comfortable. He snugged her tightly to his side.
Instead of waking, she nestled against him as if she’d been doing it all her life. Her head fit almost perfectly in the crook of his arm, while her long hair drifted whisper soft against his bare skin.
Something inside Bram tightened—not just
