said.
“Are you gonna stay with us forever?” Brooke asked.
Eve glanced at Connor. “I’m here for as long as you need me.”
And not one second longer
.
Sawyer rolled over onto his back, his feet flopping. He scrubbed at his eyes, then sat up and asked his father, “Can I have pancakes for breakfast?”
The matter-of-fact statement made it clear Sawyer’s hunger came a long way ahead of anything else. Eve and Connor smiled at each other before he answered, “Sure.”
“How about you, Brooke?” Eve said. “Pancakes?”
“With blueberries?” Brooke asked.
“We don’t have any blueberries,” Connor said. He hurried to add, “But I’ll get some for next time.”
Brooke scrambled toward the edge of the bed. “Come on, Sawyer. Let’s go get dressed.”
Sawyer scuttled after her on all fours.
“I’ll come help,” Connor said.
Brooke stopped short. “I want Aunt Eve to help.”
If she’d been dressed in decent pajamas, Eve wouldhave gotten out of bed and followed the little girl to her room. But she wasn’t about to stick so much as a naked toe out from under the covers while Connor was standing there watching. “I need to get dressed first.”
She should have known better than to try reasoning with a four-year-old.
Brooke stomped her foot. “No. Come now.”
Sawyer tried stomping his foot but stumbled sideways instead. He ended up clapping his hands. “Come now!”
Eve realized her modesty was going to have to suffer. She shoved the sheet aside and heard Connor’s soft gasp as she threw her bare legs out from under the covers. She had a warm robe, but she hadn’t unpacked it last night. She hadn’t unpacked much of anything, which was why she’d gone to bed in a T-shirt. She reached for her jeans, which she’d left in a pile on the floor, stepped into them, and pulled them on, aware that Connor was standing frozen on the other side of the room.
When she stood upright, she saw his gaze fall to her chest, where her areolas were clearly visible through the thin cotton. Eve felt a hot flush working its way up her throat. She didn’t bother trying to find her socks and boots, just ran to the doorway, grabbed one hand of each child, and hurried them across the hall toward their bedrooms.
Over her shoulder she said, “Why don’t you get those pancakes started?”
Eve sent the two washed and dressed children to the kitchen ahead of her, telling them to help their father set the table while she got dressed. When shearrived in the kitchen ten minutes later, she found Connor dressed, the stove cold, the table not set, and both children sitting on stools at the breakfast bar with half-filled glasses of orange juice in front of them.
She stopped short. “What happened to breakfast?”
“I don’t have any food in the house,” Connor admitted sheepishly. “I didn’t count on having to cook. I figured the kids and I could eat at the Main Lodge with everyone else.”
Eve realized that was the sort of decision a man without a wife might make. But she was here now. There was nothing she could do this morning, but she was going to have a talk with Connor about how a family sat down to breakfast.
They put on jackets and took the short walk along a stone sidewalk to the Main Lodge, a log building where breakfast was being served to guests at the ranch. Connor held the door open as the two children skipped inside. Eve felt the heat of his hand when he laid it on the small of her back as they entered and walked more quickly to separate herself from his touch.
Distance
, she told herself.
Keep your distance
.
She was amazed at the bustle in the dining room. At least two dozen men, some dressed like cowhands, some wearing military desert camouflage, sat on benches on either side of long tables.
A Native American with dark, lively eyes and black braids, wearing a cook’s apron over a Pink concert T-shirt and a pair of jeans, was setting a large bowl of scrambled eggs on a table where a half
“Are you gonna stay with us forever?” Brooke asked.
Eve glanced at Connor. “I’m here for as long as you need me.”
And not one second longer
.
Sawyer rolled over onto his back, his feet flopping. He scrubbed at his eyes, then sat up and asked his father, “Can I have pancakes for breakfast?”
The matter-of-fact statement made it clear Sawyer’s hunger came a long way ahead of anything else. Eve and Connor smiled at each other before he answered, “Sure.”
“How about you, Brooke?” Eve said. “Pancakes?”
“With blueberries?” Brooke asked.
“We don’t have any blueberries,” Connor said. He hurried to add, “But I’ll get some for next time.”
Brooke scrambled toward the edge of the bed. “Come on, Sawyer. Let’s go get dressed.”
Sawyer scuttled after her on all fours.
“I’ll come help,” Connor said.
Brooke stopped short. “I want Aunt Eve to help.”
If she’d been dressed in decent pajamas, Eve wouldhave gotten out of bed and followed the little girl to her room. But she wasn’t about to stick so much as a naked toe out from under the covers while Connor was standing there watching. “I need to get dressed first.”
She should have known better than to try reasoning with a four-year-old.
Brooke stomped her foot. “No. Come now.”
Sawyer tried stomping his foot but stumbled sideways instead. He ended up clapping his hands. “Come now!”
Eve realized her modesty was going to have to suffer. She shoved the sheet aside and heard Connor’s soft gasp as she threw her bare legs out from under the covers. She had a warm robe, but she hadn’t unpacked it last night. She hadn’t unpacked much of anything, which was why she’d gone to bed in a T-shirt. She reached for her jeans, which she’d left in a pile on the floor, stepped into them, and pulled them on, aware that Connor was standing frozen on the other side of the room.
When she stood upright, she saw his gaze fall to her chest, where her areolas were clearly visible through the thin cotton. Eve felt a hot flush working its way up her throat. She didn’t bother trying to find her socks and boots, just ran to the doorway, grabbed one hand of each child, and hurried them across the hall toward their bedrooms.
Over her shoulder she said, “Why don’t you get those pancakes started?”
Eve sent the two washed and dressed children to the kitchen ahead of her, telling them to help their father set the table while she got dressed. When shearrived in the kitchen ten minutes later, she found Connor dressed, the stove cold, the table not set, and both children sitting on stools at the breakfast bar with half-filled glasses of orange juice in front of them.
She stopped short. “What happened to breakfast?”
“I don’t have any food in the house,” Connor admitted sheepishly. “I didn’t count on having to cook. I figured the kids and I could eat at the Main Lodge with everyone else.”
Eve realized that was the sort of decision a man without a wife might make. But she was here now. There was nothing she could do this morning, but she was going to have a talk with Connor about how a family sat down to breakfast.
They put on jackets and took the short walk along a stone sidewalk to the Main Lodge, a log building where breakfast was being served to guests at the ranch. Connor held the door open as the two children skipped inside. Eve felt the heat of his hand when he laid it on the small of her back as they entered and walked more quickly to separate herself from his touch.
Distance
, she told herself.
Keep your distance
.
She was amazed at the bustle in the dining room. At least two dozen men, some dressed like cowhands, some wearing military desert camouflage, sat on benches on either side of long tables.
A Native American with dark, lively eyes and black braids, wearing a cook’s apron over a Pink concert T-shirt and a pair of jeans, was setting a large bowl of scrambled eggs on a table where a half
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