Having Faith by Abbie Zanders

offered instead.
    * * *
    K ieran regarded her with fascination.  The transformation that had occurred was nothing less than stunning.  Her eyes sparkled, her face glowed, and she seemed ... buoyant.  He tried to think of what he might have said to elicit such a powerful response, because he wanted to make a point of doing so repeatedly.
    If he didn’t know any better, he might think she wasn’t used to hearing such praise.  But with talent like this, she had to be.  Didn’t she?
    “Yeah, anything cold would be great,” he said.
    He stalled as long as he could, taking his time as he unloaded his truck and showed Faith what he’d managed to find.  Judging by her reaction, he might have thought he’d created an unlimited spending account at the home center for her, rather than delivered an unimpressive truckload of odds and ends.  He would have gotten a hell of a lot more if he thought for one minute she would have accepted it. 
    “This is a lot of stuff,” she said, shifting uncomfortably as Kieran carried things into the shed.  “Are you sure you don’t need it?”
    “It’s all leftovers,” he assured her.  “The Pub reno is complete, although after seeing your sketches, maybe you should come by and take a look.”
    He didn’t want to leave.  He wanted to follow her into the house and spend a few hours removing the paint from specific parts of her anatomy before crawling into bed with her and claiming that which he now knew was exclusively his.  He knew from his brothers’ experiences that now that he had discovered his croie , it would be impossible to find satisfaction with any other woman, not that he’d want to.  He was officially off the market.  And so was she.
    “Thanks for dinner,” he said, grasping desperately for a few extra moments any way he could get them.  A cold drink had turned into a meal.  The vegetable stew she’d had simmering in the crock pot and the crusty loaf of homemade bread had been mouthwateringly good.
    “You’re welcome.”
    “You’ll let me know?  About Matt?”  He and Matt had presented a thorough and well-executed offensive at dinner.  The kid was a natural.  Plus he knew how to capitalize on Faith’s weaknesses – her unease of leaving Matt alone for the entire day while she worked, the allure of having him under watchful eyes and knowing that he was doing something constructive with his time. 
    Oh yeah.  She didn’t stand a chance against the two of them when they joined forces.  It was a heady feeling.
    She exhaled and furrowed her brows, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the doorframe.  Kieran found himself envious of the door frame.
    * * *
    “I t’s a very tempting offer, Kieran,” she said slowly.  “But I worry that we are taking advantage of your kindness.”
    “Oh, well, yeah,” he grinned mischievously.  “There’s that, of course.” 
    Faith looked up but saw the teasing in his eyes and bit back a smile.  It was impossible not to like Kieran.  He had this force about him that just drew her in, made her want to lose herself in it and absorb it all in.  No wonder so many hopeful females had set their sights on him.  Whoever captured Kieran’s heart would be a lucky woman, indeed.  The thought shouldn’t have been as depressing as it was.
    “But it benefits us, too,” he added.  “Matt’s a responsible, hard-working kid with a good head on his shoulders.  They’re not that easy to find these days.”
    “I can understand why you want him to do yard work and stuff,” she said, subconsciously biting her lip.  “But what about the classes?”
    Kieran shrugged.  “The kid’s a natural, lots of potential.  With a little direction and self-discipline, he can be amazing.”  Faith’s eyes glowed with pride.  “Plus he’s going to make me look good.  Other kids see him, what he can do, and I’ll have them lining up to join.  Gets them away from their computers and keeps them off the