shivered. The whole idea of having them stay, even temporarily, was so unsettling it made her insides tremble as she doled out more fluffy bath towels. And to think she’d just been yearning for some company because of the storm! What a stupid idea. Being lonesome was starting to look better by the minute.
Mitch’s hand accidentally brushed hers when he accepted the last towel. Startled, she pulled back and folded her arms across her chest in a defensive posture.
He gave her a concerned look. “You okay?”
“Storms make me nervous,” she replied.
“Not me. At least not until the one tonight. I’ve never seen that creek by Eldon’s rise so high or move so fast. I was afraid it might take out the whole cabin.”
“Is that what you meant by a flood?”
“Yeah.” Mitch draped another towel around Bud’s neck and proceeded to tousle his hair to dry it. “I tried to drive out to the main road, but we never made it.”
“Dad backed into a ditch and we got stuck,” Ryan piped up, wiggling and squirming. “Can I take a bath? I think I’ve got mud in my shorts.”
“Ryan! That’s enough. Mind your manners.”
Amused, Brianne pointed. “Sounds like a good idea to me. The downstairs bathroom is right around that corner. It has a large shower and linen closet. Take your family through there and down the tiled hall so you won’t get muddy tracks on the carpet. If you drop everybody’s wet clothes outside the bathroom door I’ll see that they’re washed and dried.”
“Gotcha. Thanks.”
Bending slightly, Mitch began to herd his little group of soggy refugees in the direction she’d indicated. All except one, that is.
In order to hold on to his towel, Ryan had had to put Barney down. The curious pup was busy sniffing his way across the foyer. Behind him, a line of smudged paw prints stood out prominently on the highly polished black marble floor.
“Uh-oh. Trouble,” Mitch muttered. Then louder, “Hey! Dog. Over here.” He began to whistle repeatedly while the children also called.
Barney ignored everything except the interesting scent he was tracking, which wasn’t too surprising since he’d only been with the family for a few hectic hours.
Mitch was about to leave the boys and go chasing after the wayward animal when Bree screeched, “Oh, no!” and dashed madly across the smooth floor.
She was really moving when her bare feet hit the rain puddle he and the boys had left. She started to slide, arms thrown out for balance, looking for all the world like a surfer hanging ten only without a surfboard or wave.
Mitch shouted, “Look out!”
Ryan punched the air over his head and hollered, “All right!” Bud clutched his teddy bear to his chest and wailed, “Barney! Barney!”
Brianne’s slide ended abruptly when she came to the edge of the slippery area. She staggered forward and almost fell flat on her face.
To Mitch’s relief, she regained her balance in time to overtake the shaggy little dog before it had walked three paces onto the cream-colored carpeting. He breathed a sigh.
The sense of relief didn’t last a millisecond. Barney was cringing. Poor pup must have been scared to death by all the noise, and now…
“Careful! Don’t scare him!” Mitch shouted. The warning came too late.
The moment Brianne reached down to grab the little dog he whimpered, shied and made a fresh puddle of his own. Right on her precious carpet!
Fortunately, by biting the inside of his lower lip, Mitch was able to keep from laughing out loud. Just barely.
By the time Mitch got his children showered and dressed in the makeshift outfits Bree had delivered to the luxurious bathroom, he was totally exhausted. He was also the only one who wasn’t clean, which meant he and the dog were probably still persona non grata in the rest of the house.
His biggest problem was what to do next. He’d already offered to shampoo the soiled carpet, but he couldn’t even do that much until he got himself clean and dry or he’d only make matters worse.
The boys were whooping it up so loudly he almost missed hearing the knock on the bathroom door.
He shushed them. “Yes?”
“It’s me, Mr. Fowler. Brianne. I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find anything for you to wear. What if I wash your wet things with the other clothes and get them back to you as soon as possible?”
“I suppose that beats staying in here till morning,” he answered. “Hold on. I’ll toss them out.”
“Hey, Dad, can we go with her?” Ryan asked. “There’s nothin’ fun to do in here.”
Mitch was about to deny his request when Bree said, “If the boys are showered and dressed they’re welcome to come out. I have cookies in the kitchen, and it’s no trouble at all to make up some hot chocolate.”
“Well… I don’t know.”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine without you for an hour or so.”
Although he was anything but certain she was right, he gave in to the chorus of pleas that followed the mention of cocoa and cookies. “All right. Simmer down. You can go. But Barney stays here. And if you guys cause any trouble you’ll have to settle with me the minute I get my clothes back. Is that understood?”
Two small heads nodded soberly. That wasn’t nearly enough to negate Mitch’s misgivings, but it would have to do.
“Okay.”
He stripped off his muddy jeans and wadded them into a ball with his pajama top, grateful he’d left his pajama bottoms on underneath the jeans when he’d dressed in such a hurry.
Hiding behind the bathroom door, Mitch peered around it far enough to toss his clothes onto the pile with the other washing.
Bree waited nearby.
He smiled at her. “If the kids give you any grief, march them right back in here, and I’ll take over.”
“It’s a deal.”
She was amazed when she saw the boys parading out. They looked positively angelic! Their hair was slicked back, their feet were bare, and the shorts and T-shirts she’d found for them were so roomy they made the children seem even smaller than they actually were.
The contrast between the way they looked now and the way they’d looked when they’d arrived was truly miraculous. The younger one was holding a scruffy teddy bear, which had obviously had a bath, too.
She paused and smiled, assessing the boys looking at her with such expectant expressions. How darling! Mitch Fowler must be awfully cynical to imagine that such cute kids would cause trouble. He probably didn’t have a clue how to handle them properly, the poor little things.
