From the Heart: Romance, Mystery and Suspense a collection for everyone by Lorhainne Eckhart Page A
Authors: Lorhainne Eckhart
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Emily carried Trevor through the twenty-stall horse barn, with individual turnouts, a hot wash rack, separate hay storage, an outdoor riding ring, a poultry barn for meat birds and the dairy barn. There were several other outbuildings Emily had no idea what they were for. There were, what looked to be, hundreds of cattle grazing in the field with calves dogging their mommies. The sky appeared bluer, larger; so did the pristine untouched forest and the picturesque mountains in the background. It was invigorating, and a lot of responsibility for a man to carry. Maybe that’s why Mary showed her around, to give Emily this outside view of how complex a man Brad was. She knew that she’d only skimmed the surface of his life and his responsibilities.
Chapter Nine
Katy became cranky and wanted up. Trevor whined a “whee, whee” sound, sure to escalate into a full-blown meltdown, so Mary and Emily hustled back to the house. Time had slipped away. Although Mary had provided Emily with loads of information, it had thrown her schedule off. Not that she’d hammered one down yet, but she had a pretty good outline and the only saving grace was that the men had gone to town for lunch.
Now as the kitchen clock mounted on the wall by the table ticked closer to four, she scrambled, grateful the kids were occupied in front of the big screen TV again with their baby blankets, watching Treehouse, a children’s television station.
Emily grabbed two pounds of butcher-wrapped hamburger from one of the large freezers by the back porch and started browning it in a large frying pan. Pulling out the macaroni and canned tomatoes, she hurried to set the table until the meat was cooked enough to add the other ingredients. Just as she assembled the entire casserole, she heard footsteps, the men’s deep voices laughing and joking and someone stomped in the back door. She stole a glance over her shoulder as Brad entered the kitchen, alone. He stopped cold and quirked his lips in a teasing way she’d never seen before. Emily glanced down to see what he found so amusing and she nearly tripped over the big black garbage bag propped up beside the fridge. While cooking dinner, cleaning out the fridge somehow found its way onto her list.
“Wow, you wasted no time putting some order into this well-neglected kitchen.”
Emily warmed. She was so unsure of her footing around Brad. He could turn on a dime. She needed to distract herself, so she turned back to the stove. But he didn’t take the hint; instead, she could feel his heat as he came up behind her. Flustered, she wondered if she’d overstepped. “I cleaned out your fridge, I’m not sure how long some of the stuff was in there but I don’t think it’s edible. And if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather just toss it than take a chance.” She found the nerve to turn around and face him, and willed her shaking hand holding the wooden spoon to stop.
With a twinkle in his eye, he lifted the spoon she was holding and set it down beside the stove. “For safety, just in case you decide to knock me over the head for the mess I left you.”
Huh, who the heck was this guy?
“Anyway , you’re probably right. Mac’s been helping out in here, afraid we’re not much good in the kitchen. The guys quite often eat here too. Did I mention that?”
“You did. I’m not sure if I made enough tonight. How much do they eat?” Her palms were sweating.
“Relax, they’re not coming tonight; they’re headed into town as we speak.”
Emily was relieved at least for that reprieve, now maybe there’d be leftovers for lunch. “Um, I wanted to talk to you about something that happened today at the store.”
“Did I give you enough money?” He frowned.
“Yes, yes you did. It’s not that.” Oh, boy, how was she going to tell him? “When…” A thunk , as if something heavy had hit the floor, had Brad rushing into the living room, Emily right behind him.
The potted spider plant that was on
Emily carried Trevor through the twenty-stall horse barn, with individual turnouts, a hot wash rack, separate hay storage, an outdoor riding ring, a poultry barn for meat birds and the dairy barn. There were several other outbuildings Emily had no idea what they were for. There were, what looked to be, hundreds of cattle grazing in the field with calves dogging their mommies. The sky appeared bluer, larger; so did the pristine untouched forest and the picturesque mountains in the background. It was invigorating, and a lot of responsibility for a man to carry. Maybe that’s why Mary showed her around, to give Emily this outside view of how complex a man Brad was. She knew that she’d only skimmed the surface of his life and his responsibilities.
Chapter Nine
Katy became cranky and wanted up. Trevor whined a “whee, whee” sound, sure to escalate into a full-blown meltdown, so Mary and Emily hustled back to the house. Time had slipped away. Although Mary had provided Emily with loads of information, it had thrown her schedule off. Not that she’d hammered one down yet, but she had a pretty good outline and the only saving grace was that the men had gone to town for lunch.
Now as the kitchen clock mounted on the wall by the table ticked closer to four, she scrambled, grateful the kids were occupied in front of the big screen TV again with their baby blankets, watching Treehouse, a children’s television station.
Emily grabbed two pounds of butcher-wrapped hamburger from one of the large freezers by the back porch and started browning it in a large frying pan. Pulling out the macaroni and canned tomatoes, she hurried to set the table until the meat was cooked enough to add the other ingredients. Just as she assembled the entire casserole, she heard footsteps, the men’s deep voices laughing and joking and someone stomped in the back door. She stole a glance over her shoulder as Brad entered the kitchen, alone. He stopped cold and quirked his lips in a teasing way she’d never seen before. Emily glanced down to see what he found so amusing and she nearly tripped over the big black garbage bag propped up beside the fridge. While cooking dinner, cleaning out the fridge somehow found its way onto her list.
“Wow, you wasted no time putting some order into this well-neglected kitchen.”
Emily warmed. She was so unsure of her footing around Brad. He could turn on a dime. She needed to distract herself, so she turned back to the stove. But he didn’t take the hint; instead, she could feel his heat as he came up behind her. Flustered, she wondered if she’d overstepped. “I cleaned out your fridge, I’m not sure how long some of the stuff was in there but I don’t think it’s edible. And if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather just toss it than take a chance.” She found the nerve to turn around and face him, and willed her shaking hand holding the wooden spoon to stop.
With a twinkle in his eye, he lifted the spoon she was holding and set it down beside the stove. “For safety, just in case you decide to knock me over the head for the mess I left you.”
Huh, who the heck was this guy?
“Anyway , you’re probably right. Mac’s been helping out in here, afraid we’re not much good in the kitchen. The guys quite often eat here too. Did I mention that?”
“You did. I’m not sure if I made enough tonight. How much do they eat?” Her palms were sweating.
“Relax, they’re not coming tonight; they’re headed into town as we speak.”
Emily was relieved at least for that reprieve, now maybe there’d be leftovers for lunch. “Um, I wanted to talk to you about something that happened today at the store.”
“Did I give you enough money?” He frowned.
“Yes, yes you did. It’s not that.” Oh, boy, how was she going to tell him? “When…” A thunk , as if something heavy had hit the floor, had Brad rushing into the living room, Emily right behind him.
The potted spider plant that was on
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