Page 18 of Wild Rush Of Love
No. Best to keep that bit of info to herself.
And as much as she wanted to call Rush, she couldn’t. After their last night together, when she’d done something most men would call her a cock tease for, she doubted he’d want to talk to her. He’d probably been glad to see the back of her last week.
“Make the call.” Caitlyn crossed her arms, a determined glint in her eyes. “I’m sitting right here until you do.”
Spikes of fear stabbed at her belly while flutters of delight swept their way from head to toe at the thought of hearing his voice.
The emotions warred inside her for long moments.
Delight won.
With a trembling hand, Reena pulled her phone out of her bag and dialed the number for Winter Lake Lodge.
Chapter Eight
In spiteof her dragging feet, Reena smiled when she spotted Mrs. Abbott. As she neared her neighbor’s gate, she called out, “Nice afternoon for tea on the porch.”
“It is. Join me.” The older woman waved her arm wildly, urging Reena closer. “Come, come. The pot is still hot and I made scones today. I know they’re your favorite.”
Reena grinned. Mrs. Abbott had emigrated from England at nineteen. A new bride with an uncertain future ahead of her, she’d held on to her British roots as best she could. Afternoon tea with some home-baked goodness was one of the practices her elderly neighbor had never given up.
Apparently, Mrs. Abbott’s mother had an unspoken rule about such things and like clockwork, every afternoon at four, there was tea. On nice days, it was enjoyed out on the front porch.
It would be a cold day in hell when Reena passed up the opportunity to eat Mrs. Abbott’s homemade scones. Or anything else she made.
The woman had spent her entire life as a wife and mother, never working outside the home, but Reena was pretty sure you could drop her into the kitchen of any five-star restaurant and she would run rings around the head chef.
In fact, Reena would go so far as to say Mrs. Abbott would give Riley Young a run for her money—and every member of the Collins family plus those who’d had the good fortune to eat at Sunday’s were in agreement that Riley was an unrivaled master in the kitchen.
After the disappointment of her failed attempt to contact Rush, the thought of spending some time with Mrs. Abbott lifted Reena’s spirits and widened her smile.
Walking up the path toward her neighbor’s porch, she said, “Well, if the pot is still hot…”
“Good girl. Sit, sit.” Mrs. Abbott poured Reena tea in a delicate china cup decorated with hand-painted roses. Grandmother Abbott’s china bestowed on the new Mrs. Abbott on her wedding day. “Now. Tell me about that lovely young man who was here looking for you a bit ago.”
“What?” In the process of taking a seat, Reena’s ass hung in the air, all movement stopping with Mrs. Abbott’s words. “A man?”
“A very handsome one too. I haven’t seen him around here before though.”
Oblivious to Reena’s confusion, Mrs. Abbott continued to serve tea and scones and chat while Reena remained open-mouthed and motionless.
“Quite rugged looking, a smidge of bad boy in him I think, but a gentleman too.”
Dropping into her seat, Reena tried to form words, tried to get the questions swirling in her head out. “Mrs. Abbott—”
“Stop that. How often have I told you to call me Mary?” Shaking her head, Mrs. Abbott pushed the bowls of homemade jam and fresh whipped cream closer to Reena. “He’ll be back in a minute, and I want to know all about him before he steals you away.”
“Steals me away?”
“Oh my yes. No woman could resist a man who smiles like that when he says her name. He’ll have you swept off your feet in no time.”
Reena shook her head in an attempt to clear it. With each word, the conversation got more confusing. She had no idea who the guy could be.
She didn’t have any male friends who would visit her at home and Mrs. Abbott knew all the Collins men, so it couldn’t be one of them…
But who else could it be?
Was her elderly neighbor showing signs of dementia?
