Page 61 of Ordered Home for the Holidays
“She told me earlier this week that she has rooms available.”
“You’re certain that’s the right decision? That your history won’t get in the way?”
“No. Our history is full of regret, and this is nothing more than a business transaction. She made that patently obvious.”
“Cass, please don’t go. Your place is here with us - moving into Deirdre O’Shaughnessy’s boarding house is only going to wake sleeping dogs. Keep in mind that your father doesn’t mean half of the things he says.”
Cass shook his head. “But he means the other half.” He threw his bag over his shoulder again and stooped to kiss her cheek. “I’ll see you in church next Sunday.”
“You’re being impulsive!” She called after him.
***
The woman he’d spent the last seven years trying to forget opened the door just as he was raising his hand to knock a fourth time.
The long braid of her hair hung over her shoulder, little tendrils of it kissing her collarbone. His eyes strayed to those stray wisps of flame and he lost his voice.
“Eyes up here, Cass.”
He gulped. She’d said their relationship was a business one and that meant no ogling. No matter how adorable the bare toes peeking from beneath the hem of her robe were. “Is that room you offered still available?”
She tightened the knot on her robe and braced her hand on the doorframe. “I should tell you it isn’t. You’re lucky I was still awake and your banging didn’t rouse James and Mary Kate.”
“So you still have it and the offer’s still on the table?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m running a boarding house, not a poker game, Cass. Come on,” she said and swung open the door.
He hefted the bag more securely over his shoulder, closed the door, and followed her up the stairs.
“I have some rules for my tenants. I’ll give you the list tomorrow,” she said as she pulled a keyring from her pocket and unlocked the door at the top of the stairs.
Cass stepped past her. The room was sparse but clean, and smelled like lavender and rosemary.
“The linens on the bed are clean, and I’ll bring you up some water for the basin. The chamber pot’s under the bed and the one thing I ask is that you empty it in the outhouse in the morning.”
“I’ll just use the outhouse.”
“Suit yourself. Breakfast is served in the dining room at six, and it’s first come, first serve. If you’re late you’ll probably miss out. Both of your fellow boarders have prodigious appetites.”
“I’ll make sure I’m awake.”
She raised a brow. “Your habits have certainly changed. When we were growing up you used to tell me that you preferred an additional half hour in your bed to breakfast. The only thing that would rouse you was a bucket of cold water from the pump outside.”
“I still prefer the bed to breakfast, but only if there’s someone there with me. Eggs and bacon are a poor substitute, but I’ll take them.”
She frowned. “No overnight company. That’s one of the rules. If you can’t abide by it, you should go back to the house on Main Street.”
He lifted the end of her braid and rubbed the bristly mop tied off with a green ribbon. There was no mistaking her quick inhale. When his eyes met hers, he smirked. “Even if the company already lives here?”
Her cheeks flushed and she stepped away. “That will never happen again,” she brusquely informed him. “There’s a kerosene lamp on the mantel, and extra blankets in the chest at the foot of the bed. If you open the drawer of the bedside table you’ll find a Bible.”
“A Bible? Are you insinuating I need redemption, Wildflower?”
She huffed, clearly aggravated by him. “Oh there’s no insinuation. You need it.”
Once she’d shut the door behind her, Cass threw his bag on the floor and fell across the mattress. When he bunched one of the pillows under his head, the smell of lavender and rosemary grew stronger. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine how the scent would coat her skin as he touched her cheek and lifted her body to his.
His father’s obstinacy worried him. If the family’s assets weren’t passed to him or Archie, what would become of their mother? If he feigned obedience, would the act be convincingenough to persuade Sir High and Mighty Percival Trenton to hand control of the company over to his oldest son?
