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She put the candles where she could easily find them.
Just then, the doorbell rang. It was five-fifteen, too early for her guests. She hurried to the door and swung it open. Bill and Barry were standing on the front porch. “Hi. What are you two doing here?”
“We wanted to make sure you were doing okay in your new place. With a storm like this, you might have problems,” Barry said as he moved inside.
“But you shouldn’t have driven in this storm,” Lauren protested.
“We didn’t think it would get this bad,” Bill confessed. “If we hadn’t been over halfway here, we would’ve gone back.”
“Come on in and dry off. There are some towels in the bathroom.”
She went to her bedroom and found some sleep shirts her brothers could wear. “These aren’t good-looking, like your shirts, but they are dry.”
About that time, Jack and Ally came down the hall. “Oh, Jack, these are my brothers, Bill and Barry. They came to check up on me. This is Jack Mason. He’s working on my office.”
They all shook hands. Then the guys asked to see what Jack had done so far in the room.
“You might as well show them, Jack. You can’t possibly take Ally out in this.”
As they went past the dining room, the guys noticed the dinner table set for three. “You two were invited to dinner?” Barry asked.
“No, I think your brother James and a friend were having dinner with Lauren,” Jack said evenly, showing no resentment at Barry’s tone.
“Are they still doing that?” Bill asked. “I thought he would’ve gotten over that after a few weeks.”
“I believe he’s bringing someone to meet your sister.”
“A girl? Is he bringing a girl? What’s wrong with the boy?” Barry demanded. “You don’t do that unless you’re planning on doing something permanent. He’s not even twenty-two yet. Has he lost his mind?”
By that time, they’d reached the office and Jack showed them his drawing of what the room should look like when he’d finished.
“Hey, this will be nice,” Bill exclaimed.
Before anything else could be said, they all heard the doorbell ring again.
“Damn, he shouldn’t be bringing a girl here,” Barry protested again.
“Maybe we should wait a minute and give Lauren a chance to meet her without any protests from you two,” Jack said with a grin. “It might make it hard on James.”
“You know James?” Bill asked.
“No, Lauren told me about him at lunch.”
“You ate lunch with Lauren?”
“She insists on making lunch every day for us. I’m deducting a certain amount from my bill. She’s also taking care of Ally, too, until I can find someone to take her.”
“Cute kid, but did Lauren volunteer for that? I mean, she works long hours. I don’t see—”
“You didn’t know she’s not working for four weeks?”
The two men stared at Jack, their mouths open. Then they whirled around as one and started back to the front of the house.
“Uh-oh. Looks like I spilled the beans. We’d better go apologize to Lauren,” he muttered, taking Ally’s hand.
“I didn’t see any beans, Daddy.”
“I know, honey, but I should’ve.”
They reached the kitchen just as the two older brothers were greeting the other two guests. Lauren introduced Jack and Ally to James and a beautiful young woman named Cheryl.
Before Jack could say anything, Barry demanded to know why his sister wasn’t working for four weeks. Lauren shot Jack a look, obviously understanding how that information had gotten out.
“I’m taking some time off. Why? Is that a problem?”
All three brothers stared at her. Finally, Bill said, “No, not if that’s what you want to do.”
“Yes, it is. I’m getting settled in my new place. And I’m taking care of Ally while Jack works.”
“Oh, sure. We didn’t realize Jack was a friend.” Bill shot a look at Jack, obviously reevaluating his status as friend—or maybe more than friend.
Jack looked at Lauren, but he said nothing.
“Yes, well, I’ll need to add a few places to the table,” Lauren said, not bothering to explain, as she had to Jack earlier that day.
“May I help?” Cheryl asked, and Lauren immediately gave her something to do, making her feel welcome.
Within minutes, Lauren had expanded her dinner for three to dinner for seven. She added more broccoli to the pot and cut up more salad. She put Bill and Barry to peeling more potatoes, and suggested to James that he entertain Jack and Ally.
Just as they sat down to dinner the electricity went out. Lauren found the candles and matches and they ate their dinner by candlelight. Outside, the storm raged.
“I like this dinner, Lauren. What did you call the casserole?” Jack asked.
“Chicken spaghetti. It was one of Mom’s favorites.”
“Yeah, I love it,” James said, smiling at Cheryl.
“I’d love the recipe,” Cheryl said softly, looking at Lauren.
“Of course. Mom got it out of a church cookbook, so it didn’t originate with her. But it’s very filling and has a lot of good things in it,” Lauren explained.
“It’s a good thing you fixed a lot of it,” James said, “since Bill and Barry arrived.”
“You think we shouldn’t check on Lauren?” Barry demanded.
“You know I always come on Friday,” James pointed out.
“Yeah, but this is a bad storm. We were afraid she might find she had a leak or something like that,” Bill said. “You never know in a new place until it’s tested.”
A crack of thunder emphasized his words.
“Ooh, that was close,” Lauren said, staring out the window.
Ally whimpered, and her father comforted her. “We’re okay, baby. Don’t worry.”
Cheryl said, “I haven’t seen a storm like this before.”
“I remember a bad one when we were little,” Bill said. “We were frightened, but Mom and Dad calmed us down.”
“Yes, they were good at that,” Lauren said. “It’s different when you’re the adult. It’s easier to convince a child.”
“Yeah,” James agreed. “You used to tell me everything was all right.”
“But I was right, wasn’t I?” Lauren asked.
“Yeah, but—” Just then a booming crack of thunder resounded. “Do you want to tell me again?”
“I don’t think it works as well when you’re an adult.”
Lauren almost ducked at another loud boom of thunder. “Maybe we should just pretend it isn’t storming.”
Jack gave her a skeptical look.
She squared her jaw and got up from the table. “How about dessert? I made carrot cake.”
Her brothers showed enthusiasm, but Cheryl and Jack looked a little unsure.
James leaned over to Cheryl. “You’ll love it, honey. It’s one of Lauren’s specialties.”
“I’m willing to try it, but I’ve never had it before.” Cheryl gave Lauren a smile.
“Don’t worry. I won’t be upset if you don’t like it. James, will you get some saucers, and Bill, some clean forks, please?”
She took one of the candles from the table into the kitchen. The cake was heavy and she realized she couldn’t carry it and the candle at the same time. “Barry? I need some help here.”
She heard footsteps and assumed Barry had come to assist her. “Thanks. The cake is too heavy and—”
Turning around, she almost dropped the cake when she realized it was Jack who had followed her to the kitchen. “What happened to Barry?”
“He was still eating chicken so I volunteered. You needed help?”
Help was just what she needed. Help from her brother, not Jack. Somehow just being alone with him in the kitchen was making her nervous. She could feel her heart pick up the pace, and her voice was breathless when she finally responded, “You can take the cake.”
Jack reached out for it and, underestimating the heft, nearly dropped it. Acting on instinct, she flung out her arms and they met his hands as he got a tighter grip on the plate.
From the mere contact she felt a sizzle course from her hands up her arms, jolting her with its intensity. Pulling back as if burned, she grabbed the candle and spun toward the door, trying not to let Jack know she was running away.
The quick motion extinguished the flame on the candle, plunging the kitchen into darkness.
In her haste to escape, she ran into something hard, warm and…all male.
Chapter Four
Shivering from the contact, Lauren took a step back. “S-sorry,” she muttered.
“I’ll move out of your way,” Jack said.
“Th-thank you.” She really had to stop stammering. Good thing it was too dark for him to see the blush on her face.
Once she was sure Jack was not in her way, she turned on a burner on the stove and lit the candle. Then she led the way back to the dining room. Even after they reached the table, she still didn’t look Jack in the eyes.
“I thought you were going to help me, Barry,” she said pointedly.
“I was still eating and Jack volunteered. I figured you’d like him better in the dark than you would me.” He grinned at his sister.
Lauren stared at Barry. What could he mean? Then she remembered them asking earlier about why she wasn’t working—and their decision that Jack was a friend.
She debated explaining the situation, but she didn’t want to tell them that her boss had sent her away from the office. They might think her job was in danger. No, she’d just have to get through the rest of the evening without any repercussions.
The carrot cake was a big success, and the storm began to ease, though it didn’t completely go away. But it calmed down enough that everyone relaxed.
“Hey, we’re going to the Rangers game tomorrow night,” Bill said. “If anyone wants to go, we can turn in the tickets we got and get more so we can all sit together. How about it, Jack? Do you like baseball?”
“Yeah, I do, but I have Ally. I don’t think—”
“You and Lauren can handle one kid between you, can’t you? Because I know Lauren likes the Rangers.”
“You do?” Jack asked in surprise.
“Yes, I do,” she said, determined to show that he didn’t know anything about lawyers.
“Great! I’ll get four tickets, unless you want to make it six tickets, little brother.” Bill looked expectantly at James.
“Yeah, make it six. I don’t want to miss out on a family gathering.”
“I think Ally will need a ticket, Bill,” Jack said. “If you’re sure you don’t mind if we tag along.”
“No, it’ll be great fun.” Bill stood. “Well, we’ll help with the dishes and then get out of here. We’ve outstayed our welcome tonight.”
Lauren shook her head. “You don’t have to help with the dishes, Bill. I’ll get them after the lights come on.”
“Naw, sis, after that great meal, the least we can do is help with the cleanup.” He stood and began stacking the dishes and Barry did the same. James told Cheryl to keep Ally company and began helping, too. Jack joined in, carrying dishes to the kitchen.
When everything was straightened, they all moved toward the front door.
“We’ll meet here tomorrow night at five-thirty, okay?” Bill asked.
Everyone agreed. Jack put Ally on his shoulders as she snuggled against him.
