"I can"t wait."
Holly didn"t remember leaving the room or walking through the library and down the hall. The next thing she knew, she practically floated into the kitchen. Louise was leaning against the sink. She raised her blond eyebrows.
"Well?" the older woman asked.
"I offered to cook him something, and he said yes."
Louise shook her head. "He"s the most stubborn man I"ve ever met. You"re welcome to him." She walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out two steaks.
Holly eyed the meat. "Can he really eat that much?"
Louise grinned. "Only one of them is for him. The other is for you. I heard your stomach growling. You"ve been at work all day, haven"t you? Barely stopped for lunch."
Holly thought of the half sandwich she"d never had time to get back to. It had been a busy afternoon. Still, she would much rather be busy and go without food than sit alone in an empty store, wishing for customers.
Before she could comment, Louise continued, "I know what it"s like to be young. Thinking about everything but being healthy." She opened the refrigerator and pointed to the bottom bin. "There"s plenty of fresh vegetables. He likes them steamed. Of course, not when I steam them."
"Why doesn"t he like you?" Holly asked.
The housekeeper shrugged. She crossed the worn linoleum floor and grabbed a denim jacket hanging from a hook by the back door. "I don"t know. He"s always been this way. I"ve been working on and off for the Haynes family for years. There"s four brothers, five if you count Austin, who isn"t technically family but might as well be. I"ve helped when they"ve had new babies, cooked for the bachelors, nursed them through illness-" she tilted her head toward the study "-and injury." She smiled.
"They"re a wonderful group of people. Except that one."
"Then why are you here?"
Louise slipped on her jacket. There was a backpack on a second hook. She reached for that and slung it over her shoulder. "Because I care about the family. I told them I would look after him, and the good Lord willing, I"ll survive. But that Jordan has a chip on his shoulder. Don"t ask me why. He"s never said, and I haven"t bothered to ask. Maybe I will one of these days."
Louise opened the back door. "My cla.s.s starts at seven. I"ll be home around ten-thirty."
"Oh, I"ll be long gone," Holly said. "I"m just going to cook his dinner, then leave."
"I appreciate this. I would have gone to my cla.s.s no matter what, but I would have spent the whole time feeling guilty." Louise gave a quick grin, then left.
Holly turned to the old-fashioned kitchen and realized she hadn"t asked where anything was. She was going to have to fumble around to find pots and pans. She didn"t really mind. She was in one of the beautiful Victorian mansions she"d admired since coming to town. Jordan Haynes might not get along with his housekeeper, but Holly thought he was nice. Best of all, she was taking the first step in repaying her debt to him.
Jordan watched Holly carrying in a laden tray. She"d found an ap.r.o.n and slipped it over the white frilly blouse and long, soft-looking blue skirt she wore. Her wide eyes shone with excitement, and her mouth quivered on the verge of smiling.
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
He inhaled the savory aroma of steak, baked potato and broccoli. "Starved."
She set the tray on the table he"d pulled next to the bed. Like the bed, the table had been rented from a hospital-supply center. He"d figured if he had to be restricted for a couple of weeks, he might as well be comfortable. The table slid around easily and could be raised and lowered to fit across his bed.
Holly reached for the bed controls. "Can you sit up a little more? It will be easier to eat."
"Sure."
She worked the controls like an expert. Next she raised the table two inches and slid it close. She unfolded a napkin and handed it to him. She played nurse very well. Interesting.
He glanced at the tray and saw it was set with two plates. "Thanks for joining me," he said. "Sometimes I get tired of eating alone."
Holly sank into the chair next to him. "I"m glad you don"t mind. Louise suggested I join you. I was going to ask, but..." Her voice trailed off.
The all-business persona faded as quickly as it had arrived. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, as if she didn"t dare stare directly. Quite a contrast of personalities. Deliberate or unconscious? Then he reminded himself he"d spent nearly three days staring at the same four walls. His family had stopped by to visit, but it wasn"t enough to fill the hours. He didn"t care if Holly was a serial killer. He was grateful for her company, whatever her motives.
She took her plate and set it on her lap. He cut a piece of steak and tasted it. The meat was cooked perfectly.
"Great," he said when he"d swallowed, then leaned back. "So, Holly Garrett, cat owner, how"d you find me?"
"I went to the fire station. I thought I could leave the cookies with one of the men there and they would deliver them."
"Fat chance. They would have been devoured in thirty seconds."
She smiled. "That"s what the captain on duty told me. He gave me your address. I hope you don"t mind."
"It"s fine. Glenwood is a small town. Everyone knows everyone. That"s why I moved back."
"Where did you move from?"
"Sacramento. I"d grown up in Glenwood. When I decided to become a fire fighter, I left."
She cut some broccoli and speared it with her fork. "Don"t they have a training academy here?"
"The county does. But that wasn"t the problem. My father was the sheriff. His father was a cop, all my uncles are cops. I"m one of four boys, and the other three are all cops."
"You were expected to be a policeman, too." It wasn"t a question.
"Exactly." He remembered the fights he"d had with his old man. His brothers had teased him about his choice, but they"d supported his decision. Not Earl Haynes. His father had threatened to disown him. By that time Jordan hadn"t cared much about his father"s opinion. Not after everything the old man had done.
Holly tilted her head slightly. "Are you happy with what you do?"
"Yes. But I didn"t like being away from my brothers and their families. So I put in an application here. When a position for fire captain opened up, I got the job." He grinned. "One of my brothers, Travis, is the sheriff. He never said anything, but I suspect he put in a good word for me."
Holly laughed softly. The sweet sound penetrated his chest and, for a moment, thawed some of the cold he felt there. Then the laughter faded, and her eyes darkened with an emotion he could only label as sadness.
Don"t be a fool, Haynes, he told himself. He didn"t know this woman well enough to be reading her emotions.
"Your family sounds wonderful," Holly said, the tone of her voice confirming his guess. "I can understand why you would move back to be near them. How long have you been here?"
"About six months."
"That"s when I got here, too."
"What brought you to Glenwood? It"s not exactly a bustling metropolis."
"My mother and I inherited a store."