up. “Everything okay?”
“Sure. Why would you ask?”
“I heard part of your conversation,” she said.
“You were listening to my phone call?”
“Not intentionally, but you didn’t close the door all the way.”
“I thought you were watching TV.”
“I turned it off.” She waited for him to say something else. He went into the kitchen and started making a pot of coffee. “If you’d like to talk about anything...” She laughed softly. “I am the perfect captive audience.”
He turned away from the coffeemaker to stare at her. “Carrie, if you want to know who I was talking to, why don’t you just ask?”
“Okay. Who were you talking to?”
“My son. He lives in Seattle. And again I just spent another Christmas away from him.”
“That can’t be easy.”
“It’s not, but over the years I’ve missed plenty of holidays, and I’ve got no one to blame but myself.” He pressed the button on the coffee brewer. “You want a cup? It’s decaf.”
“Sure, thanks. And, Keegan...?”
“What?”
“You must be divorced from the boy’s mother, right?”
“That’s a logical assumption.”
“Did she not invite you to spend Christmases with your son? Did she keep him from coming to see you?”
He frowned, and she hoped she hadn’t crossed a boundary of privacy. But he seemed like he was having a tough time with missing his son.
“My ex-wife isn’t an unreasonable person,” he said. “I’m just not Daddy-of-the-year material. Let’s leave it at that.”
Wow. Keegan’s conversation with his son had been short and almost awkward. Yet his voice had been comforting, his tone almost sweet. If she had to guess—and since he wasn’t going to say anything else, what other choice did she have—she concluded that he had genuine feelings for his son.
“Okay,” she said. “Conversation closed. You take the bed. I’ll sleep fine on the sofa.”
“Never mind.” He took a long sip of coffee and brought a mug to her. “I won’t be sleeping much tonight anyway.”
KEEGAN’S CELL PHONE rang early the next morning. He answered it right away and spoke in a near whisper, obviously trying to keep from disturbing Carrie in the bedroom. His voice was alert, as if he’d been awake a long time, or perhaps, as he’d said, hadn’t slept much at all.
“Oh, hello, Grady,” he said. “No, she’s not up yet, and I don’t want to disturb her.”
“It’s all right,” Carrie called out. “I’m awake.” She glanced at the bedroom clock. Eight o’clock. Sunlight streamed through the window blinds promising a beautiful day, just what she’d hoped for.
Keegan’s head appeared in the opening of the bedroom door. “Can I come in?”
“Of course.”
He entered the room, and she sat up against the pillows. She pulled a comforter over her sleeveless nightgown and placed her arms over the top, wrapping herself in a modest cocoon. The only times she had been this underdressed with a man had not turned out well for her. She lightly clasped the amethyst amulet she always wore around her neck, appreciating its smooth familiarity.
Keegan smiled while his gaze grew more intense. “Warm enough?” he said.
She brushed bangs from her eyes and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m good. That’s the car mechanic on the phone, isn’t it?”
“Yep. Hold on. I’ll put him on speaker.” Keegan pressed the appropriate button. “Go on, Grady. Carrie’s listening.”
“We’ve got a problem,” the mechanic said. “I checked the car out thoroughly yesterday but couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t start. Finally found the problem. The impact destroyed the steering box.”
Carrie leaned forward in the bed. “That sounds bad.”
“It’s not good,” Grady said. “Without a steering box, you can’t...well, I guess it’s obvious. Unfortunately this is not a universal gizmo. I’ve had to contact the foreign automaker and order a replacement. Once it gets here, I don’t know how long it will take me to get the car running again. I’ve never exchanged this particular part before.”
“I see.” Carrie stared at Keegan, trying to judge his patience barometer. Was this news already ruining his day? She’d taken a week off from her job, so she wouldn’t be expected back in Michigan until after the coming weekend. But that might be too long for Keegan to put up with her.
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