“I don’t know, Leigh. I don’t have any experience with—”
“You always said you wanted a large family.”
“Well, yes. But I thought I’d start from the ground up. You know. Get married, then have a baby.”
“Nat, I’m desperate. There isn’t anyone else to ask. I can’t put them in a boarding school. They would be too unhappy there. They’re only six years old. They need to be with family, with someone who will love them. If you turn me down, I won’t be able to go with Jim.”
His sister was right. Paradise was the perfect place for the girls. They should experience living in the mountains. They should see how things worked on a ranch. They ought to live through one Idaho winter with tons of real snow instead of staying in the summer-like conditions of Florida. And how difficult could it be to take care of a couple of six-year-olds?
“Okay, Leigh. I’ll do it. You knew I couldn’t say no to you.”
“I know,” she said with a laugh. “But you had me worried for a second or two.”
“So when should I plan for them to arrive?”
“Not for about a month. We have all sorts of things to work out first. We’ll have to close the house and put things in storage.” Her tone turned serious. “Jim and I can’t thank you enough for agreeing to do this. Really.”
“No big deal. I’m glad to do it. And you’re right. It’ll be good practice for when I have kids of my own.”
“I’ll call you again in a few days. As soon as I have more details.”
“Great.”
“I love you, bro.”
“Backatcha, sis.”
‘Talk to you soon.”
“Sure thing.”
After Nat placed the receiver in its cradle, he leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes.
It’ll be good practice for when I have kids of my own.
But when, if ever, was that going to happen? He was thirty-five years old. Thirty-five, widowed, and not seeing anyone at present.
Nat had taken his time after Joanne’s death before he tried entering the dating scene, and when he did think he was ready, he’d found there weren’t many women out there who interested him. Mostly that was because of his newfound Christian faith. He wanted a relationship where both man and woman embraced things like chastity, fidelity and the desire to make an until-death-do-you-part commitment. He’d been surprised to find how those requirements severely limited his choices, even in the Christian community.
The image of his slightly odd but definitely cute neighbor drifted into his thoughts. He’d noticed her Bible when seated beside her in church that morning. The leather-bound book was well-worn, its pages highlighted and underlined with dates and comments written in the margins. He’d also noticed the smile that had curved her rose-tinted lips as she lifted her voice in song.
Most appealing.
He gave his head a quick shake. What was he thinking? Shayla Vincent? She was the last woman he’d want to get involved with. She might be a believer, but she was also a city girl from a place that almost never saw snow. The chances of her sticking it out in Rainbow Valley through a hard winter were slim to none.
No, sir. When the time came, God would bring the right woman into his life. Nat would be patient and wait.
With smoke billowing behind her, Shayla raced through the front door, carrying a charred roast in its pot. Eyes watering and throat smarting, she tossed the ruined meat over the deck railing, dropped the pot and oven mitts onto the deck, then sank onto the top step, fighting the urge to dissolve into tears of frustration.
“Don’t like well-done beef?”
She looked up to find Nat O’Connell leaning his hip against his pickup, arms crossed over his chest. A half smile curved his mouth, and his eyes twinkled with amusement.
It figured he would be present to see what happened. He seemed to show up during her worst moments, didn’t he?
“The oven overheated,” she explained.
He pushed off the truck and strode toward her.
“The whole place isn’t going to burn down while we talk, is it?”
“No.” She glanced over her shoulder. The smoke was beginning to clear. “But maybe it should,” she added with a note of disgust.
“Why don’t I check it out?”
“Be my guest.” She didn’t bother to rise. Merely slid to one side so he could get past her.
One more thing needing repair. One more drain on the inheritance that had seemed bountiful when she received it but now seemed inadequate. She could almost hear her mother saying, Come home, dear, where you belong.
She pressed the heels of her hands against her closed eyes, her elbows resting on her thighs.
“I opened the windows,” Nat told her a short while later. He sat down on the step next to her. “It’s the thermostat, I think. Or maybe the element. Shouldn’t be too expensive to replace.”
She straightened and looked toward him. “Even for a stove that old?”
“We’ll get it fixed. Don’t worry.”
Don’t worry. Easy for him to say.
“I’ll run into town as soon as the hardware store opens in the morning. With luck, Ed will have the part in stock. Plenty of old stoves in this valley.”
“You don’t have to do that. If you tell me what I need—”
“Glad to do it.” He patted her shoulder and smiled. “And since you’ll be busy cleaning my house all this next week, you sure aren’t going to have time for it.”
Her heart started doing a little soft-shoe routine in her chest, then burst into overdrive. Her body felt too warm, the heat radiating from where his hand had touched her.
“Nearly forgot what brought me over.” He straightened. “I was thinking this afternoon about you being in this cabin all by yourself and wondered if you might like some company.”
Was he saying he wanted to be with her? Her pulse quickened even more.
“I’ve got some sheltie pups that are just weaned and thought you might like to have one.”
Of course. He was offering her a pet to be her companion, not himself. How could she have thought otherwise? Even for a millisecond. Worse. Why had she wanted to think otherwise?
“You like dogs, don’t you?” he continued, oblivious to her thoughts.
“Yes, I like dogs.”
“Good.” He stood. “I brought one with me.” He headed for the truck.
Shayla’s sister Anne was the classic beauty in the family. If it was beautiful Anne living in this cabin, Nat wouldn’t be bringing her a puppy for company. He’d be bringing flowers.
She clenched her teeth. She had to get off this pity-me kick.
Nat opened his truck door and reached inside. A few moments later, he returned to where she sat, carrying with him a little orange-and-white ball of fur with big golden-brown eyes and a shiny black nose. Shayla couldn’t help laughing as she accepted the quivering, tail-wagging, whimpering pup, her disappointment instantly forgotten.
“Oh, she’s adorable.” She met Nat’s gaze. “Is it a she?”
“Yup.”
“What’s her name?” She rubbed her cheek against the puppy’s soft coat.
“That’s up to you. She’s yours if you want her.”