скачать книгу бесплатно
He drew in a deep breath. He’d bought the old Victorian mansion less than two months ago. So far, he hadn’t made much of a dent in restoration. Maybe he could get some work done while he was convalescing. He wouldn’t be allowed back at the fire station until after the first of the year.
“I want to stay here,” he said, then regretted his decision.
“If you’re sure.” Elizabeth leaned close and kissed his cheek. “Be nice to her, okay? She’s doing you a favor.”
“No problem.”
She smiled. “Liar. You’re going to make her life hell. I’d better go warn her.” She rose and started out of the room. When she reached the doorway, she glanced back at him. “None of this would be a problem if you’d found yourself a wife.”
He smiled at the familiarity of this conversation. Elizabeth was forever trying to get him married off. “I like being single.”
She didn’t return his smile. “That’s twice you’ve lied to me, Jordan. It’s a good thing I love you as much as I do. Maybe I’ll have my husband beat some sense into you.”
“I could take him.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Well, maybe not today, but by the end of the week, for sure.”
She stared at him for a moment. “Maybe this is a good thing—lying flat on your back will give you time to think about your life.”
“I like my life just fine.”
“You’ve got your brothers fooled, but we females know better. You need a woman.”
“I’m a wounded hero. Leave me in peace.”
“You’re a stubborn pain in the rear, but I still adore you. Take care of yourself and be nice to Louise.”
She gave a quick wave and disappeared into the hallway. Jordan listened to the sound of her footsteps on the hardwood floor until they faded into silence. Then he was alone.
It was how he preferred to spend his life. Alone. He was used to the solitude. But for the next few days he was going to have company. Louise. Elizabeth had admonished him to be nice. He grimaced. If she knew the truth, she wouldn’t be so eager to have Louise around. But Elizabeth didn’t know. No one did. He wasn’t sure why he’d been so diligent in guarding Louise’s secret. Probably some useless sense of honor. It didn’t matter that he owed her nothing or that she’d destroyed his family. He couldn’t bring himself to betray her.
He heard footsteps again, but these weren’t his sister-in-law’s. Louise Carberry entered the room and stared at him. She was of average height with short blond hair and blue eyes. He guessed she had to be in her midforties, although she looked younger. A bright, long-sleeved fuchsia blouse hung loosely over purple pants. Louise dressed as if she were color-blind. She folded her arms over her chest and stared at him. He stared back.
The moment reminded him of wrestling with the damn cat on the landing. He’d won the battle but lost the war when he’d gone over the side of the balcony and fallen to the hard ground below. His gaze narrowed, and he wondered if he would end this encounter equally battered.
Holly parked her car in front of the large Victorian mansion. It was barely after six in the evening, but already it was dark. The sun set before five in the late fall. She could see the faint outline of the beautiful old house. The peaked roof, the oddly shaped windows.
Years ago this part of Glenwood had been home to the rich and powerful families who made their fortunes in timber, mining and the railroads. By the Second World War most of them had left the small community for San Francisco or Los Angeles, but their houses remained. Some had been torn down, and some had been converted to offices. A few were being restored.
Holly stared up at the building and wished she had the money to buy one herself. She would turn the downstairs into a showroom and live upstairs. She smiled. It was a lovely dream but had no basis in reality. Still, her fingers itched to feel the original wood molding and trace the shape of the stained-glass windows above the double-wide front door.
She opened the car door, collected the pink bakery box, then got out. The early evening was still. Only the faint call of a night bird disturbed the silence. She drew in a deep breath and inhaled the scent of trees and the faint hint of some distant fire. The homey scent reminded her she’d lost her home three days ago. Everything she owned had either been crushed or soaked beyond repair. At least Mistletoe was safe.
Holly clutched the bakery box firmly and started up the stairs. Store-bought cookies wouldn’t begin to repay the debt she owed Fire Captain Jordan Haynes, but they were the best she could do right now. She didn’t have access to a kitchen. As soon as she could afford to get a new place, she would bake something wonderful.
She climbed the three stairs leading to the front porch. The wide wooden deck was bare. A single light burned by the front door. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what the porch would look like in the summer with sunlight spilling onto the refinished floor. There would be a swing at one end, by the large window on her right. Maybe a white wrought-iron table-and-chair set at the other end. She could see ladies in long dresses and gentlemen in tall hats. Children would play on the lawn, their laughter a happy background noise to the adults’ polite conversation.
“You are the most stubborn man it’s ever been my misfortune to know.”
The loud voice startled Holly, and she jumped back. She stared at the front door. She’d been about to knock, but obviously this wasn’t a good time.
A low male voice rumbled, answering the woman’s claim, but Holly couldn’t make out the words.
“If I didn’t care about the rest of your family, I’d leave you here to starve,” the woman continued. “It would serve you right, too. Even my Alfred, God rest his soul, wasn’t this fussy about his food.”
More male rumbling.
“Fine. Be insulted. You don’t like anything else about me, why should I be surprised that you resent being compared to a dog? Oh, and Alfred was better looking than you, too.”
Before Holly could step back, the front door flew open. A woman stood in the doorway and stared at her. “I thought I heard a car pull up.”
Holly didn’t know what to do. She was poised awkwardly on the porch, with one foot behind her as she tried to make her escape.
“I…” she said, then paused. “I’ve come to see Captain Haynes, but I’ll come back. This obviously isn’t a good time.”
The woman grimaced. “There’s never a good time with that one. He’s the most stubborn, pigheaded, difficult man I’ve ever met.” She paused and shook her head. “Why you’d want to see him is beyond me, but you might as well come in. Maybe you can talk some sense into him. Oh, by the way, I’m Louise.”
She held the door open. Holly forced herself to walk forward. Once in the house, she shifted her weight from foot to foot and stared at her hostess.
The woman wore a bright yellow long-sleeved shirt tucked into cobalt blue slacks. The silver belt around her trim waist matched the moon-and-star silver earrings she wore. The two women were about the same height, although Holly had come straight from work and still wore two-inch heels.
“What are you doing now?” a male voice inquired. The tone of the question implied the woman was doing something he wouldn’t like.
“Answering the door. Quit being such a baby. You don’t want me in the room with you, but you yell at me if I go away. Make up your mind, Jordan.”
“Who is it?” he asked.
Louise rolled her eyes. “One of your women.”
“Oh, no,” Holly said quickly. “I’m not—”
“Which one?”
Louise glanced at her. “What’s your name?”
“Holly, but I’m not—”
“Holly,” she yelled toward the back of the house.
Jordan was silent. Holly figured he was trying to place her.
“I’m not one of Captain Haynes’s women,” she said.
Louise smiled. “Then that makes you a smart girl. That boy is nothing but a difficult toad.” She shouted the last part of the sentence, aiming the words in the direction of what must be his room. After drawing in a deep breath, she released it slowly. “I’m real sorry I ever agreed to this. He’s going to be the death of me. And Lord knows I’m far too young to die.” She paused and drew her eyebrows together. “Who are you, then?”
“I’m Holly Garrett.” Holly shifted her package to the other arm and held out her hand. “My apartment was destroyed in that big storm earlier in the week. Captain Haynes went back inside to save my cat.” She shook Louise’s hand. “I’m the reason he was injured. Actually Mistletoe is, but I feel responsible.”
“Mistletoe?”
“My cat. She got scared once they were out of the apartment and tried to get away. Captain Haynes managed to hold on to her, but in the process he lost his footing on the balcony and fell over the side. I feel terrible about what happened.”
Louise’s lips started to twitch. She chuckled for a moment. “Felled by a cat. Serves him right.”
“I brought cookies,” Holly said, holding out the box. “They’re not much. I couldn’t make them myself. I don’t have a kitchen right now. I wish I did. I really like to cook and bake.”
“Louise!” Jordan yelled.
“Wait a minute,” she yelled back, then lowered her voice. “He’s going to be flat on his back for two weeks. I don’t think I’m going to last here.”
“You’re his…?”
“Housekeeper. It’s a temporary job. Very temporary. You want some coffee?” Louise didn’t wait for an answer. She just headed for the rear of the house.
Holly trailed after her. As they passed through the foyer, she noticed the stunning chandelier hanging down from the ceiling two stories up. The tiny crystal teardrops were original. They caught light and created rainbows. The banister was hand carved, the floors in great shape. In her mind’s eye she saw the house as it had once been and what it would be like again, given enough time, money and love.
“He’s through there,” Louise said, pointing to a half-closed door.
Holly saw a library and beyond that the foot of a bed in what had once probably been the study.
“How is he?”
Louise snorted. “If his foul temper is anything to go by, he’s improving every hour.”
They entered the large kitchen. A tray sat on the table in the center of the room. Louise motioned to it. “Says he won’t eat it. Can you imagine? I’ve been cooking all my life, but Mr. High-and-Mighty doesn’t like it.”
Holly glanced at the plate filled with meat loaf, mashed potatoes and vegetables. It smelled wonderful. Her stomach growled. She hadn’t had anything since breakfast, and suddenly she was starving.
Louise smiled. “Help yourself.”
“Oh, I couldn’t.”
“Louise!” Jordan called again. He sounded furious.
Holly looked at the tray, then in the direction of the makeshift bedroom. She owed Jordan Haynes a big debt. He’d saved her cat. Mistletoe had been her mother’s gift to her the Christmas before she died. A single dinner wouldn’t do much to repay what she owed him, but it could be a start. She didn’t know much about men, but she was intimately familiar with a sick room.
“Maybe I could help,” she said cautiously.
Louise planted her hands on her hips. “Honey, you’re welcome to try.” She glanced at the clock over the stove. “My evening college class starts in forty minutes. I don’t have the time to fix Jordan something else. Why don’t you go introduce yourself and if he takes to you, then be my guest.”
“Thank you,” Holly said, then headed back the way she’d come. She knew several dishes specially designed to tempt an invalid’s appetite. She’d taken care of her mother for years.
“Oh, and Holly?”
She paused, then glanced over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“Tell the boy to put some clothes on.”
Chapter Two
Tell Jordan to put some clothes on? Holly blinked several times. “You mean he’s—” She couldn’t even say the word, but she could sure think it loudly. Naked?
Louise winked. “You’ll just have to go see for yourself, won’t you? Don’t worry. He hasn’t got anything you haven’t seen a dozen times before.”
Holly gave a weak smile, then headed for the study. Actually Louise was wrong. Jordan did have something she had never seen before. At least he did if he was naked.
As she walked through the library, one part of her mind noted the hand-fitted floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and the large crystal light fixtures hanging in each corner. In front of her she could see the bottom of a bed. Her steps slowed. Naked? No, Louise wouldn’t do that to her.
She stopped on the library side of the doorway and cleared her throat. Maybe she should warn him that she was about to enter his room. So if he was, well, naked, he could cover up.
Still, she hesitated before speaking. She didn’t know what to say. Just thinking about the handsome fire fighter made her nervous. At the hospital she’d been so concerned about his condition, she’d barely had time to notice his looks at all. But once he woke up and they spoke, she hadn’t been able to think about anything else. Her stomach had gotten all sort of quivery, and she’d barely been able to form whole sentences. Thank goodness his family had shown up and she’d been able to escape before she made a complete fool of herself.
Now here she was, about to enter his bedroom. Well, not really his bedroom. He had been put downstairs because it was more convenient and would make it easier for him to get around without having to worry about stairs. She remembered when they’d first moved her mother to the downstairs family room. Holly sighed at the memory. She might not know a single thing about men, but she knew how to take care of someone. That’s why she was here. Because Jordan Haynes was injured. If she remembered that and forgot how he looked, then everything would be fine.
“Captain Haynes?” she said softly as she stared at the scarred hardwood floors. “Hi, I’m Holly Garrett. We met in the hospital. May I come in?”
“Sure.”
She paused, waiting to hear the rustle of bed sheets as he covered himself. There was only silence. She reminded herself that sick and injured people had a lot of similarities. They got frustrated, bored, tired of the pain and isolation. And if she was worried about him being naked, she wouldn’t look at anything below his neck.
She drew in a deep breath, smiled broadly and stepped into the converted study.
Thick drapes had been pulled over two sets of windows. In the daylight the room would get morning sun. A hospital bed had been set up in the center of the room. She was familiar with the model. The electric motor allowed the occupant to raise and lower both the head and the foot to find the most comfortable position. A low table had been pushed to one side, and there was a straight-back chair nearby.
Holly ignored the patient for as long as she could, then gave a quick prayer for courage and turned her attention to him.
He wasn’t naked. Not completely. Still, her breath caught in her throat, her heart started pounding and she had the uncomfortable feeling that she was turning bright red.
Jordan had raised the back of the bed so he was in a nearly sitting position. Dark hair tumbled onto his forehead. Equally dark eyes studied her in return. She wasn’t sure if it was the shape of his masculine features, the set of his jaw or just a perception problem on her part, but she knew he was the best-looking man she’d ever seen. The muscles in her legs felt funny. It took her a moment to figure out they were shaking.
Her gaze dipped to his bare chest and the sheet bunched around his waist. She swallowed, resisting the urge to run for cover. Sculpted muscles defined his shoulders, arms and the hard, flat region of his belly. He looked as if he were posing for a provocative calendar.
“Searching for visible proof of my injuries?” he asked.
Holly realized she’d been staring at him for several seconds. This time she didn’t have to guess about blushing. The heat climbed quickly from the edge of her collar to her cheeks. She ducked her head.
“I…” What was she supposed to say?
“Have a seat.”
She sank into the straight-back chair and folded her hands on her lap.
“You’re the lady with the cat,” he said.
She risked a glance. He didn’t look annoyed. “Yes. You saved her. I stopped by to see how you were doing. I don’t mean to intrude.”
He studied her as intently as she had studied him. His attention made her uncomfortable, but she didn’t feel she had the right to protest. Fair was fair.
