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The Steeles seemed to have everything money could buy...and yet they’d suffered the worst blow a family could face, losing two loved ones. She understood that kind of pain wasn’t anything money could fix. Her father had killed himself out of guilt for his role in that plane crash, and his death haunted her still.
She shook off thoughts of the past that threatened her focus. She needed to familiarize herself with the place, to do the best job possible so as not to arouse suspicion.
Like her bedroom, the kitchen featured a grand window over the sink, allowing another breathtaking view of the wilderness. The stone facade of the octagon kitchen island repeated the use of natural elements in the house. More stone framed the pine cabinets where condiments, spices and mixing bowls were carefully arranged. Laying a hand on the sand-colored granite countertop, she surveyed the rustic space. Light bounced off the glass cabinet panes. Built-in appliances were sleek and functional.
Perhaps she’d mischaracterized this space. Not quite a forest. The arrangement of stones reminded her of a special she’d seen on Viking halls. Something decidedly masculine about this space had her cheeks heating even though Marshall hadn’t reappeared. She’d been given a list of her boss’s preferences, courtesy of his new stepmother. What she hadn’t known how to make, she’d studied up on prior to arriving.
The inside of his refrigerator was just as incredible as the rest of the house.
Stocked to the nines with fruits, meats and a variety of cheeses. The freezer was every bit as impressive. She hadn’t even made it to the pantry yet, but she felt sure preparing meals here—and eating the food—would be a dream.
Cooking for Christmas in this restaurant-quality space would be memorable. She itched to get to work on researching menu options.
And yes, she was distracting herself with business to keep her mind off her boss. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected. The Steele siblings were all renowned for being attractive and intelligent. She should have researched more about Marshall in particular, but she’d never come across this issue in her work in the past. She’d considered herself immune. She’d been wrong.
But more unsettling, it seemed to her, those rogue feelings were reciprocated.
There’d been a curiosity in his eyes that gave her pause. She didn’t want him searching too deeply. She needed to keep her professionalism in place, do her job and lay family ghosts to rest. All so she could move forward with a future that was secure financially and emotionally.
“Tallulah...”
His voice pulled her out of her reverie.
“Tally,” she reminded him without looking over her shoulder. She kept her head buried in the refrigerator to cool her cheeks, which were already heating with a blush.
“Tally...” His footsteps drew closer. “What are you doing?”
“I’m making you something to eat. Hopefully you’ll share, because I’m starved,” she said with a brisk efficiency she hoped would set the right tone going forward.
A tone that didn’t involve the two of them soaking wet, inches apart.
“Ah, the whole room-and-board deal.” He leaned a hip on the polished stone counter.
Tally did her best not to appreciate his rugged unkempt hair, which curled ever so slightly. Or the way his scruff highlighted his sharp, strong jawline.
“Exactly.” She pulled out a package of ground moose and fresh vegetables for burgers. Not fancy, but fast and filling with top-quality ingredients. “Where’s your dog?”
“Nugget’s drying off in my bathroom, staying warm on the heated floor.”
A heated floor for a pup. This was definitely a world away from her little apartment. Another reason the attraction to this man was dangerous. A romance between her and her wealthy boss was an unlikely match from the get-go.
“I took a guess at what you would like based on what was in your refrigerator and a list of favorites from your stepmother. Although some of what’s in the fridge looks like meals brought over by others, perhaps to help during your recovery? You’re lucky to have so many people who care for you.” She tried to keep the wistfulness from her tone. She’d understood too well how difficult life could be without family support when she found herself alone and pregnant. Did Marshall appreciate the blessing of his big family?
“You’ve done better than I could have one-handed. Thanks.” He gestured to an indoor grill with a chimney vent. “Although I can grill them.”
“You could. But I prefer to earn my keep.” She busied her hands placing the ground meat in a bowl to keep from surrendering to the temptation to pick a piece of lint from his shirt. To touch him.
“There’s not going to be a lot to keep you occupied around this place.” He passed her the fresh spices. “I’m fairly self-sufficient, even with the cast.”
“No offense meant, but the place is dusty.” In fact, she’d already made a list of tasks to accomplish before the fund-raiser and in preparation for Christmas. The holidays were going to be chaotic enough blending the Steele and Mikkelson traditions. Luckily, much of the Christmas prep would also double as party prep. She needed to stay focused on her work, her tasks and her goal of making peace with her family’s past. “I don’t know what you were paying the other cleaning lady to do during her visits.”
“Are you angling to take her place permanently?”
His question caught her off guard. If her father hadn’t been the mechanic for that fated aircraft... If she hadn’t found her boss so incredibly attractive...
Then yes, this would have been the perfect job for her to seek long-term.
But that wasn’t the case.
“I’m only pointing out facts. My work will speak for itself and hopefully garner a good reference for another job.” She placed the patties out for the burgers, arranging three on a dish. “Wait until you see what I can do with my special brand of homemade fabric softener.”
“Homemade, huh?”
“I use all-natural cleaning supplies. Better for the environment and my health.” She’d started off mixing her own to save money and go easy on the environment, then found she liked the products better. She felt better, too—less sinus and skin irritation from work.
“Am I going to start seeing tofu and alfalfa sprouts in my food?” He tapped the plate, eyeing the burgers suspiciously.
“Do you like sprouts and tofu?” she found herself asking contrarily, even though they were both low on her list of favorites.
“Haven’t tried them.” He turned on the indoor grill, the flames licking upward to heat the grate.
“So you prejudge.” She was playing with fire, bantering with him. Yet she couldn’t seem to stop.
“Do you always argue with your employers?” He turned toward her to take the plate, their fingers brushing.
The light touch sent electricity crackling through her, leaving her loath to pull her hand from his.
“Not arguing. Just making conversation.”
“Uh-huh.” He took the plate, backing away slowly, then turned.
He flipped the burgers on the grill, the sizzling meat sending spicy scents into the air. His low growl of approval stirred her. Deeply. Calling to mind other primal pleasures.
Six weeks suddenly sounded like a very long time.
Heat built inside him faster than any smoking from the stone grill. Marshall watched Tally turn toward the pantry, all sass and sex rolled into one.
He read loud and clear the boss/employee boundaries she was keeping in place, and he respected her for that. And still...he was tempted.
Nudging the burgers on the grates and judging them nearly done, he knew full well there was no tofu or sprouts blended in since he didn’t keep any in stock. Still, she’d made him laugh. Something he didn’t do often.
Through narrowed eyes, he watched her arrange lettuce, pickle wedges and tomato slices on a small platter. She had a smooth way of moving, each motion blending right into the next.
Had they met a month ago, he would have pursued her like gangbusters. But with his broken arm and the taste for alcohol simmering just below the surface, he was reminded how tenuous sobriety could be.
He couldn’t afford change, not now.
She set a lone place at the table.
And somehow it seemed to be making a bigger deal out of the attraction not to do the obvious and invite her to join him. “Tally, set a place for yourself, too.”
She glanced at him quickly, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth before nodding slowly. “We should plan out my work schedule.”
“Now?”
“If you’re too busy watching those burgers—” she stared at him pointedly with those alluring hazel eyes “—then just let me know when would be a better time.”
There she went, making him chuckle again. “Now’s fine. Let’s plan.”
“Thank you. I need to let the hospital know when I’m available.”
“Hospital?” he asked. Keeping up with this woman’s conversational diversionary paths could make a man dizzy. Then he thought of her “all natural” quest. Was she ill? She likely didn’t have much of a financial cushion to take time off.
He thought of his sister Naomi’s teenage battle with cancer. Her return to health had been draining. He couldn’t imagine someone managing such a major health crisis while working full-time.
Tally folded napkins alongside the silverware, deep red hair feathering down her back. “I volunteer in the NICU—neonatal ICU—holding babies that are there for extended stays.”
A sigh of relief left him. He also wondered how he’d let himself jump to such a dire conclusion so quickly. This woman had him off-balance with her sexy confidence and curves to match. “Aren’t their parents there to hold them?”
“The parents stay as much as possible, but they often have jobs or other children that make it impossible to be at the hospital twenty-four/seven. Touch is so important to any baby, and even more so for a struggling preemie building up their immune system.”
His admiration for her grew. She had a fiery crusader’s spirit to go with that fiery red hair. This was the kind of woman a man admired, the kind of woman a man married. And he wasn’t in the market for happily-ever-after.
He would wager money she wasn’t the affair type, even if he wasn’t her boss. Even if this had been a month ago, even if his life wasn’t teetering on the edge. His broken arm and the frustration from the restrictions of his recovery had him longing to pass the time with a drink.
The last thing he could do. He’d worked too hard for his sobriety. He picked up the small platter. “Keep your volunteer schedule in place. If you could just give me a copy, we can work around it here.”
Her hazel eyes sparkled with appreciation. “That’s very kind of you.” Then the spark turned to something else. Suspicion, perhaps? “Don’t think you’re getting rid of me so easily. I’ll still be working at least a forty-hour week for you.”
“I’m sure you will,” he said. She seemed as tenacious as Nugget. “There’s plenty of flex when those hours can be, since I have business to attend to as well.”
“Thank you.” She wiped her hands on the apron tied over her khaki pants. “You’re entirely too accommodating, you know. I would be a much tougher boss.”
“And since I guessed that about you, there’s no need for me to be a hardnose.” He slid the burgers from the grill onto the platter. He’d always found, as one of the middle children in the Steele clan, there were better means for getting his way than the open bullheadedness of his siblings and father. “Well, unless you put sprouts in my burger.”
“Message received, boss.” She sliced fresh sourdough rolls, then gestured to the table. “Supper is served.”
He held out her chair for her, his eyes meeting hers. The air crackled with awareness, so much for someone he’d just met, but undeniable.
Without question, the woman beside him was far more enticing than any feast, no matter how appetizing.
Cradling a premature baby girl in her arms, Tally still felt guilty for taking a half day off only twenty-four hours after beginning her new job. But Marshall had insisted he didn’t care if she shuffled tasks into the evening and that he had a business meeting with his uncle, anyway. Having her out of the way would actually be helpful.
She suspected he’d made up the last part, but she had a list of tasks to accomplish after she finished at the hospital. Dusting was the least of her concerns for getting the house ready for Christmas.
Marshall’s place could seriously use a woman’s touch. She’d acknowledged that much in the cleaning she’d finished before she left for the hospital.
Toe tapping the chair into motion, she rocked with the baby girl—Stella Rae—mindful, always, of the monitors and tubes hooked up to the little one.
Despite the gravity of the NICU ward, despite the hardships these babies and their families all faced, the hospital staff went above and beyond. It came out in the way the nurses fussed, lingered past the end of a shift, and the pool of dedicated volunteers. Everyone who was part of this community dedicated time and emotion in ways that made it slightly better for the suffering families.
Which was why she smiled sadly at the Christmas decorations in the ward. The holiday wouldn’t be the same for families struggling with a hospitalized child. But there were touches here and there, attempts to bring some normalcy, and yes, joy, to this ward.
A nurse in reindeer-themed scrubs with a Santa pin passed by Tally. A squat artificial Christmas tree twinkled at her from the corner of the sitting room, minor touches of Christmas cheer.
She had her work cut out for her on more than one front with Marshall Steele. Now that she’d started her job and met her enigmatic boss, she wondered what she’d been thinking.
How could she ever expect there to be peace over her father’s role in the plane crash? Seeing Marshall Steele made the family feel so much more, well, real. Which should have been obvious.
Her plans to help them, to let them know her father wasn’t a bad man, had seemed so attainable before, and now? Far too simplistic.
Regardless, there was no backing out at this point. She had signed on for the job, and she needed the work. If an opportunity presented itself to discuss the past, she would take it.
For now? Her best bet was to focus on the present, starting with the sweet weight in her arms as she rocked back and forth, humming “Away in a Manger” under her breath.
A door swept open, and a local social worker strode through. Felicity Hunt had become her friend over the past month. In the case of a child entering foster care, a representative was assigned to stay with the child at all times until the little one left the hospital.
Working with Felicity recently had made Tally revisit some of her own past. When she, too, had sat in a similar position, with a baby of her own. A baby she’d given up in order to ensure her son had the best life possible.
Felicity made people feel comfortable as soon as she flashed her smile. In her early forties, the woman had a natural beauty and an effortless air with her understated style. Her straight brown hair was clipped back with a simple gold clasp.
Above all, her genuine kindness and caring radiated from her.
How different Tally’s life might have been if a woman like Felicity had been the one to guide her through the lonely process of giving up her baby for adoption. Or perhaps even help her find ways she could have kept her baby while building a secure future.
The what-ifs of such a scenario gut-punched Tally. She did her best to swallow the thoughts down, focusing on the fact that she did have Felicity in her life now. And for that, she was eternally thankful.
Tally had spent a lot of hours rocking infants alongside Felicity. They’d learned a lot about each other while cradling fragile little lives. Felicity had been in the foster care system as a child, changing homes frequently at first until landing with a wonderful family, where she stayed until graduating from high school. She considered them family still.
Tally admired her strength and how she’d powered ahead in spite of all the strikes against her.
The sleek brunette adjusted the hospital gown over her red sweater dress and scooped up a tiny baby boy, cradling him in her arms and settling into a rocker beside Tally. “Hey, friend. How’s the new job working out?”
“My boss is very...accommodating.” She eyed the fragile little boy in Felicity’s arms and thought of her own son.
“That’s rather vague.” She raised a delicately arched brow. Felicity had a way of appearing cool and collected, ready for a board meeting, even with hospital wear tossed over her clothes.
“He has been completely flexible with my volunteer hours. But that could be because he really doesn’t want me around.” Could she have mistaken the interest in his eyes at the pool, and then again in the kitchen? “His family insisted on hiring me.”
“Ah, he’s an independent sort of man. That can be a good thing, you know.” Felicity had shared her history of divorce from a spoiled mama’s boy who’d lost job after job.
“True, but I found him walking into the indoor pool to fish out his dog.”
“With a cast on.” Sighing, Felicity shook her head and cradled the baby boy. “Males. I understand them better at this age, for sure.”
“The dog was so small, Marshall probably could have gotten the tiny mutt out with the cleaning net.” Tally chewed her bottom lip, remembering how frantic the precious little dog had been.
“But that would have been obvious.”
