Page 65 of The Guest Cottage

Marlow had certainly taken control of things, at least as much as she could. Just then she appeared in the doorway, her arms loaded with two now-empty dishes and the sisters’ purses. Awkwardly, she tried to get the door closed.

Taking a few big steps, Cort reached her and relieved her of the dishes.

“Thank you.” She pulled the door closed behind her. “Here you go, Gloria and Bobbi. I got these for you, since Pixie was ready to nod off and she still needs to feed Andy. She asked me to thank you both.”

“You washed our casserole dishes,” Gloria said, bemused.

“I put the rest of the food in microwave-safe dishes so Pixie would be able to heat it up when she’s hungry.”

Bobbi frowned. “But now we can’t come back for them.”

Conniving, that’s what they were, Cort thought. But also considerate. “I’m sure you’ll come up with another excuse to visit.”

“We promised her more desserts,” Gloria reminded her sister.

“But,” Marlow said, smiling, “you’re going to text first, right? Pixie is still trying to get settled in.”

Both sisters turned their laser-like focus on him. “Settled in?”

“For a bit,” he hedged, because no one in Bramble wanted anyone staying on. Four hundred and one was still one too many.

“We’ll text,” Gloria promised, her gaze lingering on Cort as if she thought he might suddenly drop a clue as to what was really going on.

He kept his expression inscrutable.

Bobbi said, “Hmm. Well, I hope she’ll be around long enough to get the rest she needs.”

“That’s the plan,” Marlow said. “A summer of fireflies and sunrises and friendship. Bramble is the perfect place for a vacation.”

She was convincing enough that the sisters immediately agreed. They also announced a campaign to “assist” her in any way possible. Cort knew what that meant.

Did Marlow?

Doubtful. If she did, she wouldn’t still be smiling as the sisters drove away.

“Come on.” With his hand at the small of her back, he started her toward his truck. “My feet are drowning in my boots.”

She laughed. “Sounds like it was quite the mess. Thank goodness Bren had you to rescue him.”

“Not a rescue,” he pointed out again, then relented. “But yeah, if that leak had gone on much longer, it could’ve caused real problems.” He held her door for her while she hopped up into her seat. It still amused him, the difficulty she had getting into his truck. Her car, a silver Lexus SUV, wasn’t small by anyone’s standards, but it was closer to the ground.

As he got behind the wheel, she asked, “Are you hungry?”

“Getting there. You?”

“I had a little of the casserole the sisters brought to Pixie, but since she seemed to like it so much, I wanted to make sure I left her plenty. I don’t think she’s had any home-cooked food for a while.”

“Maybe when we fix meals, we could put together a plate for her.”

Marlow’s smile brightened another few watts. “So we’ll be having some meals together, will we?”

“I hope so.” He pulled into his own driveway, turned off the truck, then looked at her. “Not right now, though.” Catching the back of her neck, he drew her close to take her mouth in a firm kiss. “Right now, I want a shower—and then I want you.”

“Exactly what I was thinking.” She hopped out of the truck before he could come around to her side.

Cort grinned as she rushed to the house, which made him take longer than usual strides to keep up. He unlocked the front door for her, but as she peeked in, he sat on the porch chair and unlaced his sodden boots, setting them aside with his dripping socks.

“Jeans are wet, too,” she pointed out, looking at him expectantly as if she thought he might strip those off outside as well.

---