Blessings of The Heart. Valerie Hansen

hills with you like they’re on some lost safari.”

      “Good point.” Mitch considered alternatives for a moment while he searched for truth in Brianne’s beautiful blue eyes. Maybe she hadn’t been trying to get rid of him the way he’d thought. She was right about some things, like the boys’ physical limitations.

      “Okay,” he said, “I might have breakfast here, then go out alone, if you wouldn’t mind keeping the kids for a couple of hours.”

      “Of course not,” she said, amazed that she honestly meant it. “They were wonderful tonight.”

      Mitch snorted a wry chuckle. “Are we talking about the same two—an eight-year-old with a giant chip on his shoulder and a six-year-old with a teddy-bear fixation?”

      “Sounds like the ones I met. What I don’t understand is how you could let their mother just take them away from you the way she did.”

      “It’s a long story.”

      “I have all night.”

      He decided it wouldn’t hurt to at least try to explain. “When I met Liz I thought she was the most amazing woman I’d ever known, always fun to be with, always exciting. I didn’t realize she was also unstable and flighty. Unfortunately, once she got it into her head that she’d be happier away from me, she was almost impossible to locate. She was too unpredictable.”

      Even from halfway across the room, Bree could see the muscles of his jaw clenching. Perhaps she shouldn’t have probed so deeply but she was interested in learning more about the children’s lives. “That’s it?”

      “Pretty much.”

      “What about school? Didn’t Ryan go to school?”

      “Not often. He’ll have some catching up to do this year but he’s smart. He can do it. Bud was too young until recently, so he didn’t miss as much.”

      “How about getting them a tutor?”

      “Why? Were you planning on funding a private recovery effort?” There was a stubborn edge to his voice when he added, “I assure you, Ms. Bailey, I can take care of my family without anybody else’s help.”

      If he had been the only one involved, Bree wouldn’t have considered speaking her mind. It would have been easier to simply give up and walk away. It would also have been wrong. Like it or not, she found herself in a position to aid those poor little boys, and she intended to take every advantage of it. If that included alienating their hardheaded father for their sakes, so be it.

      She boldly rounded the end of the workstation island and approached him. “It’s not what you think that matters, Mr. Fowler. What’s important is what’s best for your sons. Don’t let your pride keep you from accepting whatever assistance comes your way.”

      Mitch made a rumbling sound low in his throat and shook his head. “Since you seem to have all the answers, suppose you tell me how to get those three years of my boys’ lives back.”

      “Believe me, if I had the ability to fix the past, your children aren’t the only ones I’d help.”

      “You think I need fixing, too, I suppose?”

      “Actually, you may,” Bree said with the lift of an eyebrow and a wry smile, “but I happened to be referring to myself just now.”

      “Oh?”

      “Never mind. It’s not important.”

      Heading for the doorway, she’d planned to walk out past him. If the overhead lights hadn’t flickered at that moment she would have kept going. Instead, she hesitated and sucked in a quick breath. “What was that?”

      “The storm is probably causing power problems,” Mitch said calmly. “It’s not unusual up here in the hills.”

      Losing her electricity and having to grope around in a pitch-dark house alone didn’t frighten her one bit. Having to do it with Mitch Fowler underfoot, however, was a decidedly unsettling thought!

      “Everything is unusual here,” she said. “For such beautiful country, the Ozark Mountains certainly have a lot of drawbacks.”

      “That’s a matter of opinion. If you had a gas generator for backup, like I do, you wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not you lost power.”

      Bree huffed in mock disgust. “I don’t suppose you brought your generator with you.”

      “It’s much too heavy to carry,” Mitch said as if explaining to a simpleton. “Don’t you have a flashlight?”

      “Yes! I know there’s one around here somewhere. Let me see…” Turning in a slow circle, Brianne frowned. “I think I may have put it in the pantry.”

      “Then I suggest you go get it.” He looked at the lights as they flickered repeatedly. “Soon.”

      Bree had traveled less than three paces when the lights flashed one more time. Then everything went black.

      “Don’t move,” Mitch warned. “Let your eyes adjust to the darkness first.”

      “I know that.” Tension was making her sound waspish.

      “Excuse me. I was just trying to help.”

      “I know that, too,” Bree said. “You stay put. I’m used to this place. I can find my way around.”

      “Make use of the lightning. You’ll be able to see a little better when it flashes. It’ll help you get your bearings.”

      “Is that more of your homesteading wisdom?”

      Mitch chuckled softly. “No. Just plain male logic. Something women don’t understand.”

      She was glad he couldn’t see the exasperated face she was making at him. “Next, you’ll be telling me that female logic is an oxymoron.”

      “Isn’t it?”

      If Mitch hadn’t known he was in the company of a well-bred, refined lady he’d have sworn he heard her give him a raspberry!

      The sky outside the kitchen windows was alive. Clouds glowed a misty gray, dimming and brightening unevenly as if lit from behind by some monstrous, out-of-control searchlight.