pans in her hands, surprised to see him there. Again, she felt a warning thump at his presence. Why in the world was she reacting this way to a complete stranger? It was more than a simple admiration of his good looks. A sliver of danger snuck down her spine. She knew nothing about him. He looked like a normal, nice guy. But how would she know? She didn’t even know the reason why he was on a leave of absence. What could have happened to make him need to take extended time off? Suddenly all her misgivings, ones she rarely gave credence to, came bubbling up to the surface. Most of the time she was confident in her abilities to look after herself. Something about Nate Griffith challenged that. And very soon, it would just be the two of them in the house.
“Is something wrong?”
She shook her head, giving a start and putting the pans down on top of the stove. “No, not at all. You just surprised me.”
Maggie took a deep breath, keeping her back to him. “Dinner’s not quite ready. It won’t be long.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
He took a few steps into the kitchen. It was her job to make him at ease and feel at home, so why on earth was she finding it so difficult? She forced a smile as she flipped the round loaves out of the pans and on to a cooling rack. “Jen should be down soon. Besides, it’s my job to look after you, remember?”
“Well, sure.” He leaned easily against the side of the refrigerator. “But I thought we were going to play it a little less formal.”
He had her there. She thought for a moment as she got the dishes out of the cupboard. He was only here for a few weeks. What harm could come of being friendly, after all? Her voices of doubt were just being silly; she was making something out of nothing. He’d be gone back to his job and the palm trees before she knew it.
“All right.” She held out bread plates and bowls. “Informal it is. We can use the kitchen or the dining room, whichever you prefer. If you could set the table with these, I’ll finish up here.”
He pushed himself upright with an elbow. “Absolutely.” He moved to take the dishes and their fingers brushed. Without thinking, her gaze darted up to his with alarm. For a second she held her breath. But then he turned away to the table as if nothing had connected.
Only she knew it had. And that was bad, bad news.
CHAPTER TWO
HE’D set the three places at one end of the table; one at the head and the other two flanking it. There was little chance of her getting away with sitting across from him. He’d be close. Too close. With his long legs, their knees might bump under the table. Her pulse fluttered at the thought and she frowned. It wasn’t like her to be so twitchy.
As she watched, he lit the thick candles at the center of the table with the butane lighter.
Maggie paused at the intimacy of the setting and shook it off again, putting the soup tureen on the table. It shouldn’t make her feel so threatened, but it did. Even with Jennifer here, a simple dinner had somehow transformed into something more. Maggie simply didn’t do relationships of any kind. Not even casual ones. It always ended badly with her being left to try to pick up the pieces. After the last time, with Tom, there hadn’t been many pieces left to pick up. She had to hold on to every single one. All that she had left was put into raising Jennifer and running her business. She didn’t know why he’d go to the bother of setting the atmosphere, and it unsettled her.
“Ms. Taylor?”
Maggie realized she’d been staring at the table. She laughed lightly. “I’m sorry. You were saying?”
“I asked if you ran the Haven alone. I’m afraid I didn’t get many details when I booked.”
“I do, yes.” She brought the basket of bread to the table and invited him to sit with a hand. She was surprised when he waited until she was seated before seating himself. “Jennifer attends school in Edmonton, so she’s not around much anymore.”
“Which makes you sad.”
Maggie smiled, pleasantly surprised by his small, but accurate insight. The house did seem unbearably lonely when Jen was gone. “Despite teenage angst and troubles, yes, it does. I miss having her close by. Speaking of, she should be here by now.”
She pushed her chair back and stood, fluttering a hand when he made a similar move out of courtesy. “It’s okay. Jen knows to be on time. I’ll call her.”
Maggie made her way to the bottom of the stairs. What she’d said was true. She did miss having Jen closer, even though at times she was glad Jen was away from here and making new friends. Not all her acquaintances at home were ones Maggie would have chosen. And the last thing Maggie needed was for the marshal to know about Jen’s brush with the law.
“Jennifer. Dinner,” she called up the stairs.
There was a muffled thump from Jen’s room, then she came down, earbuds still stuck in her ears and her MP3 player stuffed in her pocket.
They went to the kitchen together, but when Jen sat and reached for the bread, Maggie shook her head.
“Not at the table, please.”
Jen seemed unconcerned as she plucked the buds from her ears. “Hey, Nate,” she greeted, snagging the piece of bread as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Maggie saw Nate try to hide a smile. Honestly, she wondered sometimes if the manners she’d tried to instill had gone in one ear and out the other.
“Hey, Jennifer.” Nate politely answered the greeting and broke the awkwardness by starting a conversation. “So…spring break is just about over. You looking forward to getting back to school?”
Maggie relaxed and ladled soup into bowls. Nate apparently had paid good attention to his upbringing. Manners and a natural sense of small talk. And for once, Jen didn’t seem to mind answering.
“I guess. It’s been kind of boring around here. Nothing to do.”
“Oh, I don’t know. With all this snow…there must be winter sports. Skiing, skating, tobogganing…or are those things uncool these days?”
Maggie grinned behind her water glass. She’d suggested a day of cross-country skiing earlier in the week, only to have the idea vetoed by Jen. The same Jen who a few years ago would have jumped at the chance.
“I dunno,” Jen replied.
Nate nodded. “I’m looking forward to spending lots of time outdoors,” he said. “No snow where I live. This is a real treat for me.”
Maggie pictured him bundled up, his boots strapped into a pair of snowshoes, with his eyes gleaming like sapphire bullets beneath his toque. Her heart thumped heavily. His lean, strong build made the outdoors a natural choice.
“I suppose you’re all athletic and stuff.” Jennifer paused and tilted her head as if examining him.
“It’s part of my job. I have to stay in good shape. Just because I’m not…working, doesn’t mean I can ignore the routine.” He paused to take a spoonful of soup. “Besides, if I eat your mother’s cooking for the next two weeks, I’m really going to have to watch myself.” His smile sparkled
