They stepped out onto the snow-covered porch and he grimaced. “I should have gotten you a coat.”
She glanced at him skeptically. “You have one that would fit?”
He wanted to drown in her big blue eyes and for a smart man that didn’t make sense. He’d already set his mind not to trust again and that precluded falling in love, or even indulging an attraction. But how could he stop an attraction? The bubbly feeling that rose when she looked at him was natural, spontaneous.
And annoying. He hated being out of control.
“No, but even a too big coat would be better than an insubstantial hoodie.”
She laughed.
The sound skipped along his nerve endings, filling him with pleasure. Damn it! Why was this happening?
She jogged down the steps. “Can’t argue that. But since we’re out here already, let’s just grab my suitcases and do the tour so you can get to work and I can spend some time with Jack.”
He couldn’t argue that. With his hormones going haywire, the less time they spent together, the better.
Her things turned out to be two suitcases, an overnight bag and a laptop. He carried the two suitcases. She carried the rest. He led her down the hall to the kitchen again, then to the suite of rooms behind it.
“Mrs. Alwine stays here when I travel. But while you’re here, the suite is all yours.”
She made a slow turn, taking in the big dresser and mirrored vanity, as well as the aqua-and-brown comforter and pillows that matched the aqua-and-brown print curtains.
She faced him with a frown. “So in other words, if you travel while I’m here, I’m in charge of the kids overnight.”
Heat crawled up his neck. He hadn’t even considered that might be presumptuous, then realized he’d done the same thing to Mrs. Alwine. The heat intensified. If there was one thing he prided himself on it was doing his fair share. Not leaving the kids to their own devices. But it seemed in being so careful of the kids, he’d been a little heavy handed with his employees.
“I guess that depends on when Mrs. Alwine comes back.”
She laughed and slid out of her jacket. A rust-colored T-shirt outlined perfect breasts and a small waist. With a quick shake of her head, her sunny yellow hair swirled around her and fell in place on her shoulders.
His mouth watered, and he cursed inside his head. With her hoodie gone, she didn’t look twenty-two anymore. She looked all twenty-eight of the years he’d seen on her résumé. But instead of that making her less desirable, it made her more desirable. She was right in his age range—not too young for him as she’d looked in the hoodie.
He pivoted to face the door. That kind of thinking wouldn’t do either one of them any good. He needed her help. She needed some money. For both of them to get what they wanted—what they needed—they had to keep this relationship strictly platonic.
“I’ll round up the kids and you can do what you want this afternoon. Maybe let Jack have a hand in choosing the new homeschooling program.”
She nodded, but he didn’t hang around. He bounded out of the room, found the kids, and got them set up in the den.
When everyone was settled around the big desk, Jack behind the computer, Althea on the chair beside him, and Teagan on the opposite side with her coloring book, he said, “Okay. Now I’m going upstairs to my office to work.”
He closed the den door behind him with a giant sigh of relief. But Althea faced his two quiet children with a sigh of confusion.
Seeing the look of exasperation on Jack’s face, she clicked off the computer monitor. “I just got here. You just met me.” She smiled at Jack, then Teagan. “I don’t think we should work this afternoon.”
Jack said, “All right!” But Teagan jumped off her chair, scampered over to Jack and frantically tugged on his shirtsleeve.
He leaned down, rolled his eyes, then caught Althea’s gaze. “She still wants to color.”
“Oh, sweetie! You can color, if that’s fun for you. I’m just saying that neither your brother nor I was prepared to work today so I don’t think we should.”
Teagan didn’t really pay attention to what Althea said. From the second the words, “You can color,” came out of her mouth, the little girl raced back to her chair and put her attention on a fat coloring book and a box of brightly colored crayons.
The temptation was strong to ask Jack if she was always like this. Then she remembered Missy. She remembered how as older sister Missy had ended up assuming responsibilities that shouldn’t have been hers, and she pulled back her question.
For all she knew, having to speak for his three-year-old sister could be part of the reason Jack was unhappy.
“So, do you want to play Yahtzee or Uno or something?”
Jack laughed. “Really?”
“Well, we can’t just sit here and do nothing. Plus you can learn a lot from how somebody plays a game.”
He slouched down on his seat with a huff and folded his arms across his chest. “You’re going to analyze me.”
“No, I’m going to get to know you. And if you’re smart you’ll also use the time to get to know me.”
He sniffed a laugh. “Right.” He sat up. “But I’d rather play video games.”
She winced. “I’m not very good.”
“Then I guess we’ll see if you have a temper.”
This time she laughed. “You’re pretty smart for a twelve-year-old.”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m failing all my classes.”
It would have been the perfect opportunity to get into a discussion about his classes and what he thought might have caused his bad semester, but he gave the video game instructions so quickly she didn’t have time to ask. He handed her a controller and pointed at the spot beside him on the sofa. Thrust into a game she’d never seen before, she needed all her concentration just to work the controller.
In between rounds, she glanced at Teagan who quietly colored in her fat book. After an hour or so of the game, Jack said, “Hey, Chai Tea.”
Teagan looked over.
“Isn’t it about time for your nap?”
She slid off her chair just as the den door opened and Clark stepped inside. He stooped down and opened his arms. “I see somebody’s ready for a nap.”
He scooped up the little girl, and, as he rose, he saw the video game. “I thought you’d be working.”
“Today is our first day together,” Althea said, then added a, “Drat” when Jack killed two of her soldiers. “Anyway, we’re using this time to get to know each other.”
Without taking his eyes off the screen, Jack said, “We’re bonding.”
“Just don’t bond too long. I want your grades up so you don’t fall behind a semester.”
He left the room and Jack tossed his controller to the sofa. “Let’s go.”
Baffled, she turned, her gaze following him as he walked to the desk. “Go?”
“To work. You heard him. He wants my grades up.”
She rose from the sofa. “Yes. But he didn’t seem to be angry that we were getting to know each other.”
“You should have spent some time bonding with my dad instead of me. Then you’d know that was his angry voice.”
“That was his angry voice?”