kitchen cooking dinner since six thirty, but it was too risky. She had seen enough of Cade today to last them both for a while.
She waited a little while longer before curling up on the bed and putting an arm over Clara.
Abigail wasn’t sure who needed a bath more, her or the dog.
She might have slept a little, because her eyes flew open in the dark room. Clara jumped, but kept snoring.
Abigail heard Cade’s door close.
She waited.
And waited some more. Nothing.
She took off her clothes and put on her robe. Gathering her toiletries, she tiptoed to the bathroom down the hall.
This was a man’s house, so she expected black towels and chrome details, toilet tissue on the floor and a stained bathtub. But she had to have this bath, even if the tub needed a good scrubbing first.
What she entered was a pretty bathroom, not feminine, but definitely not all guy. It had to be Eliza’s doing. The tub was an old clawfoot, chipped but satisfyingly clean. A dark green shower curtain went with the old wooden pedestal sink that had green trim. As she looked at it, she realized that it actually might be the same green as the trim on the outside of the house.
Abigail smiled. That seemed like Eliza.
She turned on the hot water and waited. Lovely and hot. Now, a touch of cold water.
A cup of tea would be nice.
And maybe a piece of toast.
Abigail padded downstairs. She put the kettle on and popped a piece of bread in the toaster. Then she sat in the rocking chair and closed her eyes for a moment while waiting for the toast to pop.
Then she heard a roar from upstairs, followed by wild barking.
She ran upstairs as fast as she could. Had Clara lost her mind and attacked Cade? She didn’t even know where Cade kept a phone so she could call 911 if she needed to.
At the top of the wooden stairs, she slipped in warm water. By wheeling and grabbing the stair rail with all her strength, Abigail avoided falling backward down the stairs. As she made it to the door of the bathroom, she heard Cade roar again.
“What happened? ”
“It’s flooding! How did you do this? Get towels!”
“Where?”
“Hall closet. Now!”
Abigail grabbed as many towels as she could carry and ran through the water again. It wasn’t deep, but it seemed to be moving fast.
“Turn the water off!” she yelled as she came running back into the bathroom.
Cade was wearing nothing but his blue jeans, kneeling in the bathroom. He looked at her incredulously. “Water’s off . What, you think I’d leave it running?”
“How did that happen? I just left the room a couple of minutes ago. Does the bathtub leak?”
“Yes, it leaks. It leaks right over the top of the bathtub if it overflows! Start mopping! This is going to go straight through the floorboards….”
“What about the overflow valve?”
He glared. “It’s a clawfoot. Where would the water go?”
Abigail opened her mouth and closed it again. “Oh.”
She fell onto her knees, grasping at the belt of her robe, making sure it was firmly tied. He was practically naked already. She didn’t want to join him.
She’d had a sneaking suspicion that his chest would be good, not that she’d been consciously thinking about it. And this afternoon at the waterfall had confirmed that she was right. But she hadn’t seen this, hadn’t seen the muscles.
She guessed working a ranch was good exercise. She could see his bare back as he swept the water from the floor with a sopping towel. His muscles rippled across his back. She hadn’t ever known that muscles could actually do that. But his did.
“Here,” she said in a small voice. “This one’s dry.”
“You’d better have a towel for yourself, too.”
“I do.”
“Start drying.”
Abigail went out in the hall and worked backward, tracking the water to its farthest reach, mopping back toward the bathroom. She went through four towels by the time she got back to where Cade was.
She crawled toward him in the hall through the puddles,
She waited a little while longer before curling up on the bed and putting an arm over Clara.
Abigail wasn’t sure who needed a bath more, her or the dog.
She might have slept a little, because her eyes flew open in the dark room. Clara jumped, but kept snoring.
Abigail heard Cade’s door close.
She waited.
And waited some more. Nothing.
She took off her clothes and put on her robe. Gathering her toiletries, she tiptoed to the bathroom down the hall.
This was a man’s house, so she expected black towels and chrome details, toilet tissue on the floor and a stained bathtub. But she had to have this bath, even if the tub needed a good scrubbing first.
What she entered was a pretty bathroom, not feminine, but definitely not all guy. It had to be Eliza’s doing. The tub was an old clawfoot, chipped but satisfyingly clean. A dark green shower curtain went with the old wooden pedestal sink that had green trim. As she looked at it, she realized that it actually might be the same green as the trim on the outside of the house.
Abigail smiled. That seemed like Eliza.
She turned on the hot water and waited. Lovely and hot. Now, a touch of cold water.
A cup of tea would be nice.
And maybe a piece of toast.
Abigail padded downstairs. She put the kettle on and popped a piece of bread in the toaster. Then she sat in the rocking chair and closed her eyes for a moment while waiting for the toast to pop.
Then she heard a roar from upstairs, followed by wild barking.
She ran upstairs as fast as she could. Had Clara lost her mind and attacked Cade? She didn’t even know where Cade kept a phone so she could call 911 if she needed to.
At the top of the wooden stairs, she slipped in warm water. By wheeling and grabbing the stair rail with all her strength, Abigail avoided falling backward down the stairs. As she made it to the door of the bathroom, she heard Cade roar again.
“What happened? ”
“It’s flooding! How did you do this? Get towels!”
“Where?”
“Hall closet. Now!”
Abigail grabbed as many towels as she could carry and ran through the water again. It wasn’t deep, but it seemed to be moving fast.
“Turn the water off!” she yelled as she came running back into the bathroom.
Cade was wearing nothing but his blue jeans, kneeling in the bathroom. He looked at her incredulously. “Water’s off . What, you think I’d leave it running?”
“How did that happen? I just left the room a couple of minutes ago. Does the bathtub leak?”
“Yes, it leaks. It leaks right over the top of the bathtub if it overflows! Start mopping! This is going to go straight through the floorboards….”
“What about the overflow valve?”
He glared. “It’s a clawfoot. Where would the water go?”
Abigail opened her mouth and closed it again. “Oh.”
She fell onto her knees, grasping at the belt of her robe, making sure it was firmly tied. He was practically naked already. She didn’t want to join him.
She’d had a sneaking suspicion that his chest would be good, not that she’d been consciously thinking about it. And this afternoon at the waterfall had confirmed that she was right. But she hadn’t seen this, hadn’t seen the muscles.
She guessed working a ranch was good exercise. She could see his bare back as he swept the water from the floor with a sopping towel. His muscles rippled across his back. She hadn’t ever known that muscles could actually do that. But his did.
“Here,” she said in a small voice. “This one’s dry.”
“You’d better have a towel for yourself, too.”
“I do.”
“Start drying.”
Abigail went out in the hall and worked backward, tracking the water to its farthest reach, mopping back toward the bathroom. She went through four towels by the time she got back to where Cade was.
She crawled toward him in the hall through the puddles,
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