floor, Sawyer sat down at his desk and leafed through his personal phone directory. He needed to talk to Christian, the sooner the better.
He called Directory Assistance to get the number of Christian’s hotel in Seattle—or, at least, his last-known residence there. Christian might not even be in Seattle anymore—but Sawyer swore he’d find him if it took the rest of the night.
He waited for the hotel operator to answer. As luck would have it, Christian was still registered at the Emerald City Empress. The operator connected him with his room.
Christian answered on the fourth ring, sounding groggy.
“It’s Sawyer.”
“What time is it?”
“Eleven.”
“No, it isn’t.” Sawyer could visualize his brother picking up his watch and staring at it. “It might be eleven in Hard Luck, but it’s midnight here. What’s so important that it can’t wait until morning?”
“You haven’t called me in days.”
“You got my message, didn’t you?”
Sawyer frowned. He had; that was what had prompted him to move Abbey into Christian’s house. “Yeah, I got it. So you’re taking some personal time.”
“Yeah. Mix business with pleasure. I might as well, don’t you think?”
“ You might think of phoning more often.”
Christian groaned. “You mean to say you woke me up because we haven’t talked recently? You sound like a wife checking up on her husband!”
“We’ve got problems.” Sawyer gritted his teeth.
“What kind of problems?”
“Abbey Sutherland’s here.”
“What’s the matter? Don’t you like her?”
Sawyer almost wished that was true. Instead, he liked her too much. He liked her so much he’d completely lost the ability to sleep through an entire night. Either he was pacing the floor, worried about her living in that cabin alone with her two children, or he was fighting the instinct to walk across the street and make love to her. Either way, he was fast becoming a lunatic.
“I like her fine. That’s not the problem.”
“Well, what is?”
“Abbey didn’t arrive alone.” A short silence followed his announcement. “She brought her two children.”
“Now, just a minute,” Christian said hurriedly. If he wasn’t awake earlier, he was now. “She didn’t say a word about having any children.”
“Did you ask?”
“No…but that shouldn’t have mattered. She might have said something herself, don’t you agree?”
“All I know is we’d better revise the application. Immediately.”
“I’ll see to it first thing in the morning.” His promise was followed by the sound of a breath slowly being released. “Where’s she staying? You didn’t stick her in one of the cabins, did you? There’s barely room for one, let alone three.”
“She insisted that was exactly where she’d stay—until I convinced her to move into your house.”
“My house!” Christian exploded. “Thanks a lot.”
“Can you think of anyplace else she could live?”
There was a moment’s silence. “No.”
“I tried to talk her into moving back to Seattle, but she’s stubborn.” And beautiful. And generous. And so much more…
“What are we going to do with her once I return?” Christian asked.
“Haven’t got a clue.”
“You’re the one who told me to hire her,” his brother argued.
“I did?”
“Sure, don’t you remember? I was telling you about Allison Reynolds and I mentioned there were two women I was considering for the position of librarian. You said I should hire the one who wanted the job.”
So apparently Sawyer was responsible for his own misery.
“Maybe she’ll fall in love with John or Ralph,” Christian said hopefully, as if this would solve everything. “If she gets married, she won’t be our problem. Whoever’s fool enough to take her on— and her children—will be responsible for her.”
Anger slammed through Sawyer, and he had to struggle to keep from saying something he’d later regret.
“Any man who married Abbey Sutherland
He called Directory Assistance to get the number of Christian’s hotel in Seattle—or, at least, his last-known residence there. Christian might not even be in Seattle anymore—but Sawyer swore he’d find him if it took the rest of the night.
He waited for the hotel operator to answer. As luck would have it, Christian was still registered at the Emerald City Empress. The operator connected him with his room.
Christian answered on the fourth ring, sounding groggy.
“It’s Sawyer.”
“What time is it?”
“Eleven.”
“No, it isn’t.” Sawyer could visualize his brother picking up his watch and staring at it. “It might be eleven in Hard Luck, but it’s midnight here. What’s so important that it can’t wait until morning?”
“You haven’t called me in days.”
“You got my message, didn’t you?”
Sawyer frowned. He had; that was what had prompted him to move Abbey into Christian’s house. “Yeah, I got it. So you’re taking some personal time.”
“Yeah. Mix business with pleasure. I might as well, don’t you think?”
“ You might think of phoning more often.”
Christian groaned. “You mean to say you woke me up because we haven’t talked recently? You sound like a wife checking up on her husband!”
“We’ve got problems.” Sawyer gritted his teeth.
“What kind of problems?”
“Abbey Sutherland’s here.”
“What’s the matter? Don’t you like her?”
Sawyer almost wished that was true. Instead, he liked her too much. He liked her so much he’d completely lost the ability to sleep through an entire night. Either he was pacing the floor, worried about her living in that cabin alone with her two children, or he was fighting the instinct to walk across the street and make love to her. Either way, he was fast becoming a lunatic.
“I like her fine. That’s not the problem.”
“Well, what is?”
“Abbey didn’t arrive alone.” A short silence followed his announcement. “She brought her two children.”
“Now, just a minute,” Christian said hurriedly. If he wasn’t awake earlier, he was now. “She didn’t say a word about having any children.”
“Did you ask?”
“No…but that shouldn’t have mattered. She might have said something herself, don’t you agree?”
“All I know is we’d better revise the application. Immediately.”
“I’ll see to it first thing in the morning.” His promise was followed by the sound of a breath slowly being released. “Where’s she staying? You didn’t stick her in one of the cabins, did you? There’s barely room for one, let alone three.”
“She insisted that was exactly where she’d stay—until I convinced her to move into your house.”
“My house!” Christian exploded. “Thanks a lot.”
“Can you think of anyplace else she could live?”
There was a moment’s silence. “No.”
“I tried to talk her into moving back to Seattle, but she’s stubborn.” And beautiful. And generous. And so much more…
“What are we going to do with her once I return?” Christian asked.
“Haven’t got a clue.”
“You’re the one who told me to hire her,” his brother argued.
“I did?”
“Sure, don’t you remember? I was telling you about Allison Reynolds and I mentioned there were two women I was considering for the position of librarian. You said I should hire the one who wanted the job.”
So apparently Sawyer was responsible for his own misery.
“Maybe she’ll fall in love with John or Ralph,” Christian said hopefully, as if this would solve everything. “If she gets married, she won’t be our problem. Whoever’s fool enough to take her on— and her children—will be responsible for her.”
Anger slammed through Sawyer, and he had to struggle to keep from saying something he’d later regret.
“Any man who married Abbey Sutherland
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