“It wasn’t your fault,” she told him. “Unfortunately, under the circumstances, this was unavoidable.”
“I’d rather Danielle had left instead of you.” He walked to her side, deliberately taking the mug of tea from her hand and setting it on the counter. Slowly his arms came around her.
Ellen lacked the will to resist. She closed her eyes as her arms reached around him, almost of their own accord. He felt so warm and vital.
“I want us to spend the day together.”
Her earlier intention of studying for her algebra exam went out the window. Despite all her hesitations, all her doubts and fears, she couldn’t refuse this chance to be with him. Alone, the two of them. “All right,” she answered softly.
“Ellen.” His breath stirred her hair. “There’s something you should know.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m flying out tomorrow morning for two days.”
Her eyes flew open. “How long?”
“Two days, but after that, I won’t be leaving again until the Christmas holidays are over.”
She nodded. Traveling was part of his job, and any woman in his life would have to accept that. She was touched that he felt so concerned for her. “That’s fine,” she whispered. “I understand.”
Ellen couldn’t fault Reed’s behavior for the remainder of the weekend. Saturday afternoon, they went Christmas shopping at the Tacoma Mall. His choice of shopping area surprised her, since there were several in the immediate area, much closer than Tacoma, which was a forty-five-minute drive away. But they had a good time, wandering from store to store. Before she knew it, Christmas would be upon them and this was the first opportunity she’d had to do any real shopping. With Reed’s help, she picked out gifts for the boys and her brother.
“You’ll like Bud,” she told him, licking a chocolate ice-cream cone. They found a place to sit, with their packages gathered around them, and took a fifteen-minute break.
“I imagine I will.” A flash of amusement lit his eyes, then he abruptly looked away.
Ellen lowered her ice-cream cone. “What’s so funny? Have I got chocolate on my nose?”
“No.”
“What, then?”
“You must have forgiven me for what happened at the party.”
“What do you mean?”
“The way you looked into the future and said I’d like your brother, as though you and I are going to have a long relationship.”
The ice cream suddenly became very important and Ellen licked away at it with an all-consuming energy. “I told you before that I feel things have to be one day at a time with us. There are too many variables in our...relationship.” She waved the ice cream in his direction. “And I use that term loosely.”
“There is a future for us.”
“You seem sure of yourself.”
“I’m more sure of you.” He said it so smoothly that Ellen wondered if she heard him right. She would have challenged his arrogant assumption, but just then, he glanced at his wristwatch and suggested a movie.
By the time they returned to the house it was close to midnight. He kissed her with a tenderness that somehow reminded her of an early-summer dawn, but his touch was as potent as a sultry August afternoon.
“Ellen?” he murmured into her hair.
“Hmm?”
“I think you’d better go upstairs now.”
The warmth of his touch had melted away the last traces of icy reserve. She didn’t want to leave him. “Why?”
His hands gripped her shoulders, pushing her away from him, putting an arm’s length between them. “Because if you don’t leave now, I may climb those stairs with you.”
At his straightforward, honest statement, Ellen swallowed hard. “I enjoyed today. Thank you, Reed.” He dropped his arms and she placed a trembling hand on the railing. “Have a safe trip.”
“I will.” He took a step toward her. “I wish I didn’t have to go.” His hand cupped her chin and he drew her face toward his, kissing her with a hunger that shook Ellen to the core. She needed all her strength not to throw her arms around him again.
* * *
MONDAY AFTERNOON, WHEN Ellen walked into the house after her classes, the three boys were waiting for her. They looked up at her with peculiar expressions on their faces, as though they’d never seen her before and they couldn’t understand how she’d wandered into their kitchen.
“All right, what’s up?”
“Up?” Derek asked.
“You’ve got that guilty look.”
“We’re not the guilty party,” Pat said.
She sighed. “You’d better let me know what’s going on so I can deal with it before Reed gets back.”
Monte swung open the kitchen door so that the dining-room table came into view. In the center of the table stood the largest bouquet of red roses Ellen had ever seen.
A shocked gasp slid from the back of her throat. “Who...who sent those?”
“We thought you’d ask so we took the liberty of reading the card.”
Their prying barely registered in her numbed brain as she walked slowly into the room and removed the small card pinned to the bright red ribbon. It could have been Bud—but he didn’t have the kind of money to buy roses. And if he did, Ellen suspected he wouldn’t get them for his sister.
“Reed did it,” Pat inserted eagerly.
“Reed?”
“We were as surprised as you.”
Her gaze fell to the tiny envelope. She removed the card, biting her lip when she read the message. I miss you. Reed.
“He said he misses you,” Derek added.
“I see that.”
“Good grief, he’ll be back tomorrow. How can he possibly miss you in such a short time?”
“I don’t know.” Her finger lovingly caressed the petals of a dewy rosebud. They were so beautiful, but their message was even more so.
“I’ll bet this is his way of telling you he’s sorry about the party,” Derek murmured.
“Not that any of us actually knows what happened. We’d like to, but it’d be considered bad manners to ask,” Pat explained. “That is, unless you’d like to tell us why he’d take you to the party and then come back alone.”
“He didn’t get in until three that morning,” Monte said accusingly. “You aren’t going to let him off so easy are you, Ellen?”
Bowing her head to smell the sweet fragrance, she closed her eyes. “Roses cover a multitude of sins.”
“Reed’s feeling guilty, I think,” Derek said with authority. “But he cares, or else he wouldn’t have gone to this much trouble.”
“Maybe he just wants to keep the peace,” Monte suggested. “My dad bought my mom flowers once for no reason.”
“We all live together. Reed’s probably figured out that he had to do something if he wanted to maintain the status quo.”
“Right,” Ellen agreed tartly, scooping up the flowers to take to her room. Maybe it was selfish to deprive the boys of their beauty, but she didn’t care. They’d been meant for her, as a private message from Reed, and she wanted them close.
* * *
THE FOLLOWING DAY, Ellen cut her last morning class, knowing that Reed’s flight was getting in around noon. She could ill afford to skip algebra, but it wouldn’t have done her any good to stay. She would’ve spent the entire time thinking about Reed—so it made more sense to hurry home.
She stepped off the bus a block from the house and even from that distance she could see his truck parked in the driveway. It was the first—and only—thing she noticed. She sprinted toward the house and dashed up the front steps.
Flinging open the door, she called breathlessly, “Anyone here?”
Both Reed and Derek came out of the kitchen.
&
nbsp; Her eyes met Reed’s from across the room. “Hi,” she said in a low, husky voice. “Welcome home.”
He advanced toward her, his gaze holding hers.
Neither spoke as Ellen threw her bag of books on the sofa and moved just as quickly toward him.
He caught her around the waist as though he’d been away for months instead of days, hugging her fiercely.
Ellen savored the warmth of his embrace, closing her eyes to the overwhelming emotion she suddenly felt. Reed was becoming far too important in her life. But she no longer had the power to resist him. If she ever had...
“His plane was right on time,” Derek was saying. “And the airport was hardly busy. And—”
Irritably, Reed tossed a look over his shoulder. “Little brother, get lost.”
CHAPTER NINE
“I’VE GOT A game today,” Pat said, his fork cutting into the syrup-laden pancakes. “Can you come?”
Ellen’s eyes met Reed’s in mute communication. No longer did they bother to hide their attraction to each other from the boys. They couldn’t. “What time?”
“Six.”
“I can be there.”
“What about you, Reed?”
Reed wiped the corners of his mouth with the paper napkin. “Sorry, I’ve got a meeting. But I should be home in time for the victory celebration.”
Ellen thrilled at the way the boys automatically linked her name and Reed’s. It had been like that from the time he’d returned from his most recent trip. But then, they’d given the boys plenty of reason to think of her and Reed as a couple. He and Ellen were with each other every free moment; the time they spent together was exclusively theirs. And Ellen loved it. She loved Reed, she loved being with him...and she loved every single thing about him. Almost. His reticence on the subject of Danielle had her a little worried, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. She couldn’t bring herself to question him, especially after her own insistence that they not discuss Danielle. She no longer felt that way—she wanted reassurance—but she’d decided she’d just assume that the relationship was over. As far as she knew, Reed hadn’t spoken to Danielle since the night of the Christmas party. Even stronger evidence was the fact that he drove his truck every day. The Porsche sat in the garage, gathering dust.
Reed stood up and delivered his breakfast plate to the sink. “Ellen, walk me to the door?”
“Sure.”
“For Pete’s sake, the door’s only two feet away,” Derek scoffed. “You travel all over the world and all of a sudden you need someone to show you where the back door is?”
Ellen didn’t see the look the two brothers exchanged, but Derek’s mouth curved upward in a knowing grin. “Oh, I get it. Hey, guys, they want to be alone.”
“Just a minute.” Monte wolfed down the last of his breakfast, still chewing as he carried his plate to the counter.
Ellen was mildly surprised that Reed didn’t comment on Derek’s needling, but she supposed they were both accustomed to it.
One by one, the boys left the kitchen. Silently, Reed stood by the back door, waiting. When the last one had departed, he slipped his arms around Ellen.
“You’re getting mighty brave,” she whispered, smiling into his intense green eyes. Lately, Reed almost seemed to invite the boys’ comments. And when they responded, the teasing rolled off his back like rain off a well-waxed car.
“It’s torture being around you every day and not touching you,” he said just before his mouth descended on hers in an excruciatingly slow kiss that seemed to melt Ellen’s very bones.
Reality seemed light-years away as she clung to him, and she struggled to recover her equilibrium. “Reed,” she whispered, “you have to get to work.”
“Right.” But he didn’t stop kissing her.
“And I’ve got classes.” If he didn’t end this soon, they’d both reach the point of no return. Each time he held and kissed her, it became more difficult to break away.
“I know. I know.” His voice echoed through the fog that held her captive. “Now isn’t the time or place.”
Her arms tightened around his middle as she burrowed her face into his chest. One second, she was telling Reed they had to stop and in the next, she refused to let him go.
“I’ll be late tonight,” he murmured into her hair.
She remembered that he’d told Pat something about a meeting. “Me, too,” she said. “I’m going to the basketball game.”
“Right. Want to go out to dinner afterward?” His breath fanned her temple. “Just the two of us. I love being alone with you.”
Ellen wanted to cry with frustration. “I can’t. I promised the boys dinner. Plus exams start next week and I’ve got to study.”
“Need any help?”
“Only with one subject.” She looked up at him and sadly shook her head. “I don’t suppose you can guess which one.”
“Aren’t you glad you’ve got me?”
“Eternally grateful.” Ellen would never have believed that algebra could be both her downfall and her greatest ally. If it weren’t for that one subject, she wouldn’t have had the excuse to sit down with Reed every night to work through her assignments. But then, she didn’t really need an excuse anymore....
“We’ll see how grateful you are when grades come out.”
“I hate to disappoint you, but it’s going to take a lot more than your excellent tutoring to rescue me from my fate this time.” The exam was crucial. If she didn’t do well, she’d probably end up repeating the class. The thought filled her with dread. It would be a waste of her time and, even worse, a waste of precious funds.
Reed kissed her lightly before releasing her. “Have a good day.”
“You, too.” She stood at the door until he’d climbed inside the pickup and waved when he backed out of the driveway.
Ellen loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and cleaned off the counter, humming a Christmas carol as she worked.
One of the boys knocked on the door. “Is it safe to come in yet?”
“Sure. Come on in.”
All three innocently strolled into the kitchen. “You and Reed are getting kind of friendly, aren’t you?”
Running hot tap water into the sink, Ellen nodded. “I suppose.”
“Reed hasn’t seen Danielle in a while.”
Ellen didn’t comment, but she did feel encouraged that Derek’s conclusion was the same as hers.
“You know what I think?” he asked, hopping onto the counter so she was forced to look at him.
“I can only guess.”
“I think Reed’s getting serious about you.”
“That’s nice.”
“Nice—is that all you can say?” He gave her a look of disgust. “That’s my brother you’re talking about. He could have any woman he wanted.”
“I know.” She poured soap into the dishwasher, then closed the door and turned the dial. The sound of rushing water drowned out Derek’s next comment.
“Sorry, I have to get to class. I’ll talk to you later.” She sauntered past Pat and Monte, offering them a cheerful smile.
“She’s got it bad,” Ellen heard Monte comment. That was the same thing Ralph had said the night of the party. “She hardly even bakes anymore. Remember how she used to make cookies every week?”
“I didn’t know love did that to a person,” Pat grumbled.
“I’m not sure I like Ellen in love,” Monte flung after her as she stepped out the door.
“I just hope she doesn’t get hurt.”
The boy’s remarks echoed in her mind as the day wore on. Ellen didn’t need to hear their doubts; she had more than enough of her own. Qualms assailed her when she least expected it—like during the morning’s algebra class, or during the long afternoon that fo
llowed.
But one look at Reed that evening and all her anxieties evaporated. As soon as she entered the house, she walked straight into the living room, hoping to find him there, and she did.
He put some papers back in a file when she walked in. “How was the game?”
“Pat scored seventeen points and is a hero. Unfortunately, the Huskies lost.” Sometimes, that was just the way life went—winning small victories yet losing the war.
She hurried into the kitchen to begin dinner preparations.
“Something smells good.” Monte bounded in half an hour later, sniffing appreciatively.
“There’s a roast in the oven and an apple pie on the counter,” she answered him. She’d bought the pie in hopes of celebrating the Huskies’ victory. Now it would soothe their loss. “I imagine everyone’s starved.”
“I am,” Monte announced.
“That goes without saying,” Reed called from the living room.
Gradually, the other boys trailed in, and it was time to eat.
* * *
AFTER DINNER, THE evening was spent at the kitchen table, poring over her textbooks. Reed came in twice to make her a fresh cup of tea. Standing behind her chair, he glanced over her shoulder at the psychology book.
“Do you want me to get you anything?” she asked. She was studying in the kitchen, rather than in her room, just to be close to Reed. Admittedly, her room offered more seclusion, but she preferred being around people—one person, actually.
“I don’t need a thing.” He kissed the top of her head. “And if I did, I’d get it myself. You study.”
“Thanks.”
“When’s the first exam?”
“Monday.”
He nodded. “You’ll do fine.”
“I don’t want fine,” she countered nervously. “I want fantastic.”
“Then you’ll do fantastic.”
“Where are the boys?” The house was uncommonly silent for a weekday evening.
“Studying. I’m pleased to see they’re taking exams as seriously as you are.”