“Just dirties up more dishes.”
She laughed. “I like how you think.” She helped herself to a scoop of potatoes, a piece of chicken, a generous amount of salad and two pieces of garlic toast. “My mother would have a fit if she knew I’d asked you to load up from the kitchen counter. Guests are supposed to be served from dishes brought to the table.”
“Then she’d better not visit the Buckskin bunkhouse. We hardly ever do it that way.” He followed her lead and took the same amount of food she had.
“That bunkhouse sounds like a fun place to live.”
“It has been. It still is when the Brotherhood gets together once a month.”
“Jake told me you do a sleepover.”
“We do. We’re debating whether this month it should be before or after Valentine’s Day.” He pulled out her chair.
She flashed him a smile. “Thanks.” Then she glanced at his plate as he took the seat across from her. “That’s all you’re eating?”
“It’s plenty.”
“It’s plenty for me, but I can’t believe it’s enough for you. You’re twice my size.”
“That doesn’t mean I have to eat like a horse.”
“Garrett, tell the truth. Normally you’d take two pieces of chicken and larger servings of potatoes and salad.”
He was amused by her tone. She probably spoke to Georgie like that when he wasn’t being straight with her. “Well…”
“Go get more food.”
“Okay.” He pushed back his chair. “But if we’re going to share dinner more often, let me bring in some groceries.”
“Are you kidding? You’re doing me a huge favor. The least I can do is feed you.”
“All right, then. Thank you. It’s a treat to have someone else plan the meals for a change.”
“What are some of your favorites?”
“Oh, hey, I don’t want you to start making things you wouldn’t usually—”
“Is there anything you dislike?”
“No, ma’am.” He returned to the table with a more robust serving of food. “I’ll eat anything that’s put in front of me.”
“Spoken like a kid who was told to clean his plate.” She picked up a fork and took a bite of the potatoes. “Mm.”
He smiled. Pleasing someone with his cooking was always a goal, but tonight he was especially happy that she liked the way he’d fixed the potatoes. He let the comment about cleaning his plate go by. No reason to dive into his unappetizing childhood.
She cut into her chicken. “What does Valentine’s Day have to do with when you schedule your Brotherhood overnight?”
“If we have it a few days before, we can gather suggestions about how to make the occasion special for our lady. If we gather sometime afterward, we can find out how everyone’s plans worked out.”
“You talk about such things?”
“In general terms, sure. Not the intimate details, but if somebody is having an issue with the woman in his life, he’s likely to ask for advice or even want assistance. I got my first taste of it last spring when Jake was on the outs with Millie.”
“Whatever you guys suggested must’ve worked since they got married on New Year’s Eve.”
“Oh, it worked.” He chuckled. “It was an epic stunt. He dressed up like the Lone Ranger and jumped through flaming hoops on a white horse. We rode along as his posse.”
“What in the world prompted that?”
“Millie accused him of acting like the Lone Ranger instead of treating her like a partner. She said he’d have to jump through flaming hoops before she’d take him back. I’ll never forget the look on her face when he literally did that. She was stunned.”
Anna grinned. “Gee, I wonder why. Does Valentine’s Day involve epic stunts, too?”
“I have no idea. I wasn’t here for Valentine’s Day last year.”
“If that was your first taste of Brotherhood interventions, there must be more stories.”
“Jake hasn’t told you any?”
“Not really. He just gave me some key points on each of you. He didn’t breathe a word about dressing up like the Lone Ranger. It adds a whole new dimension to his personality.”
“Speaking of Jake, I’d better call him and ask about towing your car out in the morning.”
“Oh, right.” Some of the sparkle left her dark eyes.
“While I’m doing that, you could contact Henri.”
She took a deep breath. “I guess.”
“Anna, she’d want you to ask. If she can’t do it, she’ll figure out who can. Please call her.”
“Okay.”
Chapter Four
While Garrett retrieved his phone from his jacket, she reluctantly took hers out of her purse. What if her brake line had been leaking and she’d failed to notice a spot under the car? Garrett had tried to let her off the hook, but her car, her responsibility.
And now she had to ask Henri to drive her and Georgie into town in the morning, and possibly make the reverse trip tomorrow afternoon. Her chest tightened as she made the call.
“Hey, Anna!” Henri sounded in good spirits. “What’s up?”
“I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”
“Not at all. Ben and I are having happy hour in front of the fire.”
“Oh.” She’d interrupted their cozy evening. But what was done was done. She soldiered on. “I have a huge favor to ask. Would you possibly be able to drive me and Georgie to his daycare in the morning? I usually leave around eight-fifteen.”
“Sure, I can do that. Happy to. Do you have issues with your car?”
“You could say that. The brakes went out on the way home tonight and I—”
“Oh, my God. Are you okay? Is Georgie okay?”
“We’re fine, thanks to Garrett. It’s a long story and I don’t want to keep you on the phone. In order to stop the car, I… had to hit a snowbank.”
“Oh, honey. That sounds traumatic. I’m so sorry. But you and Georgie have no ill effects?”
“We don’t. And Garrett was in front of me, so he ran to the rescue.”
“Of course he did. I’m so glad he was there! How’s your car?”
“We don’t know yet. It’s still in the snowbank. Garrett’s calling Jake now to ask for his help in getting it out tomorrow. But that’s the other thing. We should probably leave a few minutes early so I can transfer Georgie’s car seat from my car to your truck.”
“You bet. I need to get savvy about car seats so I’ll be ready when I’m allowed to take Cleo Marie in my truck, so this will be good practice. I’ll pick you up at eight-ten in the morning. That should get you back in time to open up the visitor center.”
“That’s perfect. Thank you so much, Henri.”
“I’m more than happy to do it. I’ve been wanting to get better acquainted with your little guy, so this will be fun. See you in the morning and give Garrett a hug for me. Tell him he’s my hero for coming to your rescue.”
“I’ll tell him. He’s mine, too.” But she wasn’t giving him a hug. “Have a nice evening.”
“You, too.”
Filled with equal measures of gratitude and relief, Anna ended the call. Asking for favors would never be fun for her, but Henri had made it less painful.
She returned to the table, where Garrett stood, his phone still to his ear as he talked with Jake.
His wide grin indicated Jake was likely teasing him about something. “What’s wrong with weaving in front of a speeding car? It worked, didn’t it?” He laughed. “Well, aside from that. I’ll see that it gets fixed.” He paused. “Yes, I’ve done some body work.” He rolled his eyes. “You know what I meant.”
Turning, he winked at her. “I’ll give her your best. Just a sec.” He pressed the phone against his chest. “Can Henri take you in the morning?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He put the phone to his ear again. “She’s all set with Henri for the morning run. We’ll see what kind of magic I can work. Maybe s
he won’t need Millie for the afternoon trip, but I’ll relay the offer. And tell Millie thanks. Yeah, you, too, bro. G’night.”
“He didn’t approve of your method of slowing me down?”
“He said I should’ve gone ahead to the curve and parked over the icy patch so you could swerve around me.”
“And then what? I would have taken that curve too fast. Even without the ice, I might have flipped.”
He shuddered. “What a nightmare scenario.”
“Your method worked fine. Henri said to tell you that you’re her hero.”
He blushed. “I did what anyone would have.”
That pink on his cheeks was adorable. “Except Jake, apparently.”
“Jake would have done the weave thing. I’d bet money on it. He just loves giving everyone a hard time.” Laying his phone by his plate, he walked around the table and pulled out her chair. “We should finish before everything gets cold. The chicken’s delicious, by the way.”
“Thank you.” She sat and retrieved her napkin from beside her plate. “Millie offered to take me to pick up Georgie tomorrow afternoon?”
“She did.” He rounded the table and levered himself into his chair. “I’m hoping I’ll have your car back by then. We’ll see.”
“Will you text me about the front end once you and Jake pull the car out?”
“I will.” He lowered his voice and leaned closer. “Can you see Georgie’s bedroom door from where you’re sitting?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m pretty sure he popped out to check on us while I was talking to Jake, but then I lost track of him.”
She dropped her voice to a murmur. “He’s on the couch, peering over the back of it. I’m pretending I don’t know he’s there. Keep talking. Got any other Jake stories?”
“More than we have time for.”
Anna hadn’t shared a meal with a guy in quite a while. She was enjoying herself. Garrett kept her entertained with stories of Jake’s antics and she’d never look at her boss the same way again.
They were almost finished eating when Garrett launched into a description of Christmas Eve in the waiting room of the maternity ward at Apple Grove General. Jake had grabbed that opportunity to coax Millie into proposing.
When he described how Jake took one of Santa’s knees and Millie took the other, she cracked up. She’d seen Leo wearing the Santa suit on Yule when he’d brought Georgie’s presents, so she had no trouble picturing the scene.
“They just managed to get it done when CJ came out to announce Cleo Marie’s birth. Quite a night.”
“So what about their wedding on New Year’s Eve? Did Jake pull anything, then?”
“Believe it or not, he played it straight. Got emotional, in fact. Not a dry eye in the house when those two finally said their vows.”
“That’s nice. Jake and Millie are great together. I wish them a lifetime of happiness.”
“I don’t think there’s any doubt. They’ve sorted through their issues and they’re solid.” He motioned to her empty plate. “Looks like you’re done.”
“Sure am.”
“Ready to move on to s’mores?”
“Absolutely.” She glanced toward the couch. “I’d better check on Georgie and find out if he ate all his dinner.”
“I did, Mama!”
Garrett turned around just as Georgie’s head disappeared behind the back of the couch. “Where’d that voice come from, Anna?” He widened his eyes in mock amazement. “I don’t see anybody.”
“Must be the invisibility cloak in action.”
“Grit can’t see Georgie.” The soft murmur came from the other side of the couch.
Garrett muffled a laugh with his napkin, making it sound like a cough.
He won points for that. Georgie’s fear was real to him and laughing at it wouldn’t be kind.
Leaning across the table, Garrett mouthed the words what now?
She pushed her plate aside, leaned in, too, and dropped her voice to a murmur. “He’s under the blanket that was—”
“Saw it.” He was almost close enough to kiss.
She hadn’t kissed a man in a long time, hadn’t had the urge. She wouldn’t be kissing this one, despite his appealing mouth. “We’ll take the fixings in and pretend we don’t know where he is.”
“Do you let him toast the marshmallows?”
“With supervision, but not if he keeps the blanket.”
“Good call.”
She focused on his eyes instead of his mouth. Not much better. The flicker of interest in his blue-green gaze beckoned her to come closer.
“What about eating s’mores under the blanket? Sounds messy.”
“I can wash it.” This close encounter was giving her a buzz. And she liked it.
“Guess so.” A soft smile curved his sculpted lips. “Then let’s see what—”
“No kissing!”
Surprise jerked her backward. She hadn’t been thinking about kissing Garrett — not really — but Georgie must have seen things differently.
Shrugging, she flashed Garrett a smile. “Kids.” Pushing back her chair, she stood.
“Yeah.” He returned her smile and got up, too. “I can load the dishwasher while you organize the stuff for s’mores.”
“Good idea. Thanks.” She took the chocolate bars and bag of marshmallows out of the cupboard and carried them into the living room.
The dancing flames had subsided, leaving red-hot coals. Perfect for toasting marshmallows. The long-handled forks hung by the fireplace. She’d only bought two. Hadn’t ever expected a third person would share this experience.
Her son had tucked himself under the worn plaid blanket and was hiding in a corner of the couch. He lifted an edge of the blanket and peered out at her. “Hi, Mama.”
“Hi, Georgie.” She laid the supplies on the unoccupied part of the couch. “If you keep that blanket wrapped around you, I can’t let you roast marshmallows. It’s not safe.”
“Why?”
“The blanket could catch on fire.”
“It won’t. I be careful.”
“I’m not taking the chance of you getting that blanket near the flames.”
“But—“
“Either you can remain invisible and eat the s’mores I fix for you, or you can come out from under the blanket and I’ll help you roast your own marshmallows.”
“Mama, I can—”
“That’s it, Georgie. Those are your two choices.” She fetched the folding table they used, about the size of a TV tray, and set it up in front of the couch. She laid the supplies there.
“Looks like you’re ready.” Garrett walked in from the kitchen nook and Georgie dived under the blanket. “You and Captain Invisible.” He glanced at her. “Any chance our friend will come out to toast marshmallows?”
“I don’t know. What do you say Captain Invisible?”
“Don’t want Grit.”
“Well, Grit, I mean Garrett, is staying for s’mores. Are you coming out?”
“No.”
“No, what?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Okay, then.” She walked over to the wall, took down the forks and handed one to Garrett. “Are you a slow, steady toaster or marshmallow-on-fire person?”
He smiled. “What do you think?”
“Slow, steady toaster.”
“Afraid not.” He took a marshmallow out of the package and impaled it on his fork. “I like to catch these babies on fire.”
“I’m a slow, steady toaster.”
“There’s room for all kinds.” He crouched beside the fire.
The position tightened the denim covering his thighs and backside. Nice. Having him around for several evenings in a row would be an interesting challenge.
But his presence would benefit Georgie tremendously. Nobody had to know how much she was enjoying the view.
Chapter Five
Garrett munched on his graham-cracker sandwich with a charred, squishy marshmallo
w cuddled up to a square of stubbornly un-melted chocolate in the middle. Tasted great.
And he had a dilemma.
Anna needed him to help her with Georgie and she enjoyed his company. He enjoyed hers, too. Very much. Maybe a little too much considering the circumstances.
On one level, he got it. She’d been burned and wasn’t ready to jump back into the fire. He wasn’t like her ex—that much was a given—but he was a man. Close enough, unfortunately. She was as spooked, or maybe even more so, than Georgie.
What was he supposed to do? Abandoning the project wasn’t an option. He could fix the Georgie problem, no question. All he needed was time.
But that meant time spent with Anna, because she needed to be there, too. Georgie would freak out if she left him alone with big, scary Grit. That meant the three of them were locked in a cozy situation that scared the devil out of her and made him wary, too. He didn’t favor getting his heart smashed to bits.
Anna and Georgie had the wherewithal to accomplish that. All he had to do was get attached to mother and son, then have Anna remind him that she wasn’t interested in dating.
He should be honest with himself. He wanted to help Georgie get over his mistrust of men because it would be good for the kid.
But he also wanted that outcome because it would be good for the mother, who might then consider getting involved with someone—him—before Georgie enrolled in college. He was a patient man, but his family jewels would dry up and fall off if he had to wait until Georgie moved into a dorm.
Anna had roasted two marshmallows at a time, one on each prong of her fork. She was good at it, turning the fork slowly while the marshmallows became golden brown, hot and ready to ooze with creamy goodness.
And wasn’t that the wrong image to entertain when he had a traumatized kid hiding under a blanket? When it came to sex, a toddler worked better than a chastity belt. He should keep that in mind. Nothing would happen with Anna while Georgie was around.
He finished his s’mores and reached for another marshmallow. “At this rate I’ll end up eating twice as many as you.”
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