Page 14 of Hidden Rocco
“That may not be enough. You can come to my house if you need to be safe.”
And see him happy and in love when she was miserable? She sighed. “Gabriel, thank you for the offer. You and Raphael need to stop fretting. I’m always fine. I’ll be fine now.”
A huge boom made her jump. She and Jacob turned to the big window as outside a green pine tree toppled near the mountain bottom that just missed her chairlift for skiing. She picked up her son as her brother asked, “What was that noise?”
She glanced out and saw the downed tree heavy with ice and met Rocco’s gaze from her bedroom window.
He’d been near it when it fell? Her heart fluttered with worry.
He could have been killed. “A tree fell from the storm. Look, I’ll call you back.”
She dressed Jacob in fleece pants and socks, then his snow jacket, wrapping him in a thick blanket to be extra warm.
Mica threw a coat on herself and raced down the stairs. A few seconds later, she was in the back of her chalet in an outdoor area she’d designated for future cocktail hours and ran toward Rocco.
He didn’t have a warm jacket, just new work gloves from her supply shed, and he lowered his head like he’d avoid getting too close to her. She had goosebumps, probably from the cold, not from being near him as they had nothing in common. “What happened? Are you okay?”
He pointed toward the other tree in the back that had lost some of its snow and removed the gloves. “I saved the bird’s nest, ma’am.”
He’d stood near a tree on the verge of toppling because… he wanted to save a nest? Birds rebuild. Her lips pursed. “The bi… areyouokay?”
He widened his stance and gave her a curt nod. “I’m fine, ma’am.”
Jacob’s huge smile caught Rocco’s attention, and Rocco grinned back. Large snowflakes fell on them, not as thick as the storm had been, making the courtyard white. She glanced down and saw how her son beamed at this man.
If she was honest, she glowed too. She moved Jacob's face toward her shoulder, out of the snow. “It seems my son likes you.”
Rocco’s face paled and his lips thinned. “I thought the snow was done falling—should he have a heavier jacket?”
Yes. Fair. She hadn’t intended to take her baby out, but she’d needed to see that Rocco was all right. “We’ll only stay a minute. Where did you put the nest then?”
He motioned behind him toward her chairlift and the trees. “In that strong tree closer to your side of the mountain. I hope the birds find their eggs and that I didn’t ruin anything.”
She glanced behind her and realized the window in the kitchen faced in the same direction so that must have what he have been looking at earlier. This wasn’t something she’d have ever noticed. Ever. Only people in movies noticed the small things. Or trees and how birds behaved. He could have been killed climbing that huge fallen maple tree she’d have to hire a crew to clean. They were from two different worlds, clearly. She headed toward the tree behind him and gazed up, not seeing anything as she asked, “Eggs?”
He tucked his hands in his back pockets as they walked. “Yes. I was careful and used the gardener’s gloves I found in the shed so as not to add my scent to the nest.”
Yeah, she hadn’t seen a nest or eggs.
But then two blue birds with white stripes returned singing and flapping around as they searched the courtyard. Rocco pulled her back as the birds explored the second tree and went toward a branch. She narrowed her gaze and saw the birds land in a nest, chirping.
Had Rocco seriously moved that there? He’d have climbed that tree another four feet. Her last landscapers would have needed ladders.
She hugged her baby and backed up. “I haven’t paid for a gardener to start work. I was waiting till the inside remodel to finish.”
He pressed his hand on Jacob’s bald head and covered it with the corner of the blanket to keep her son warm. She glanced at him and saw the shadows under his eyes. He must be worried so she decided fast not to ask him. Rocco was kind when he stepped backward and said, “Then I have time to return the gloves.”
She joined him and he turned around, going to the hotel. Somehow this man stirred something inside her—he didn’t trigger her “hide” reflex that normally happened with men in New York. “You can keep them. I bought you work clothes.”
He held the door for her as they retreated into the chalet. “You didn’t need-”
“I did,” she interrupted. His jeans were too big and she couldn’t see his defined muscles. Her face felt hot for that thought. “As an employer, I need to ensure my hotel only gives off certain vibes. Please wear them when my clothes arrive for you.”
He bowed again. Seriously she didn’t need to replay the master/servant role. “Yes, ma’am.”
How to break through and find out more about him? Her son started his small song like sounds which meant he was hungry. She ignored the zip in her pulse and asked, “Come with me to put Jacob down in the playpen?”
He put his hands behind his back and nodded. “If you wish.”
