Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
Colby smiled when Brynn stumbled down the stairs the next morning.
She obviously wasn’t trying to impress him. Her long blonde hair was wavy in places, as if she’d smoothed it down with her fingers, and she still wore a long-sleeved pajama shirt and pants made out of a fleece material with panda bears all over it. The fuzzy socks were most impressive, he decided as he took a sip of coffee.
Her eyes struggled to stay open, it seemed, even though she was walking.
“Coffee?” he asked.
“Absolutely.”
He’d been thrilled to see the coffee supplies this morning. It would have been a nightmare if he’d been iced in with a tea drinker.
He set a full cup in front of her and the creamer he’d found in the fridge. He took his black, but could read the signs that she didn’t.
She moaned as she cupped the warm mug between her palms. He couldn’t help but wonder if she made that same sound for other things she found pleasurable. Not helpful at the moment, especially considering her insistence on keeping him at arms’ length. Which was absolutely acceptable and prudent considering her vulnerability with a stranger in her house. But his curiosity seemed to be growing in other areas besides just the reason she was here in Thornbury Woods.
To distract himself, he turned to grab the eggs from the refrigerator and started cracking them into a bowl one by one.
Brynn cleared her throat. “If you’re going to stay here, you’re going to have to go on a diet.”
He glanced up to see her eyeing the bowl over the rim of her cup. “Huh?”
She pointed at the bowl without otherwise moving. “ Diet. I only brought enough food for me, for vacation purposes, and we can’t just run to the store for more.”
Then he realized he’d already cracked half of the eggs into the bowl. Right. She wouldn’t have anything stocked away, because she didn’t actually live here.
“Right. I’ll keep that in mind. The last thing I want is for us to have to resort to extreme measures.”
The way her cheeks heated up and she dropped her gaze to her cup piqued his interest. “Right.”
“I’m not pretty when I’m hangry.”
“Same as when I run out of chocolate chip cookies,” she said, arching one brow.
He’d have to remember that. Though he had to wonder if other things of hers tasted as good as those delicious cookies.
He shook his head. Focus.
As soon as she finished off her cup, he refilled it. He focused on fixing breakfast until this cup also disappeared and she seemed to be in a more awake state.
“Any plans for today?” He glanced out the white-crusted window. “Or plans you had for today that have been cancelled?”
She narrowed her gaze on him. “Haven’t we gone over this before?”
“I would say you were avoiding the question, then and now.” But he actually found great pleasure in sparking her defensive response. The mystery of her presence intrigued him and she had no idea that he wouldn’t stop until he got to the bottom of a good mystery. While he may appear laid-back to the casual observer, Colby was at heart a life-long learner. One who enjoyed studying history and the present. “Are you visiting family? Taking care of the place now that Maria has moved? Moving in?” A horrible thought occurred to him. “You weren’t here to be alone, were you? I mean, it’s Christmas.”
She blinked a couple of times, as if the holiday hadn’t occurred to her. “Look, I’ve just had a lot to take care of lately and needed some new surroundings.”
“I get that, but that’s kind of contrary to the reason for the season. You know, family. Togetherness.”
A shadow of sadness passed over her face before her features went carefully blank. “I don’t have any other family. Besides, I’m not celebrating this year.”
“Are you sure?”
He pointed toward the metal Christmas tree lantern, which he’d moved to the kitchen bar to add a little touch of festivity to the place.
She looked startled for a moment, as if she’d forgotten about the oversized ornament.
“Oh, right. I actually saw that on my way here, and somehow I couldn’t not buy it. My father loved Christmas, but I thought it would be hard to be in that same house during the season. Why I was drawn to pick that up, I’m not sure...” Her voice faded away as she stared at the ornament.
“I’m glad you did. That may be the only reason I made it through the storm. I followed its light to the front porch.”
She threw him a sideways glance. “Surely not. It isn’t that bright.”
“I swear I saw it shining in the window,” he insisted, holding up his hand in a pledge. He couldn’t help teasing her though. “Maybe it’s Christmas magic?”
He’d barely gotten the last word out before she was shaking her head. “I’m too practical for that.”
“That ornament tells me there’s a spark of whimsy in there somewhere.”
“I’ve never found it. Not since—not in twenty-eight years,” she corrected herself.
Remembering her as a normal, if quiet little girl, he had to wonder why.
He winked, loving the return of the flush to her cheeks. “I do love a good challenge.” He reached out and handed her plate to her.
That same subtle moan slipped out as she took a bite of his scrambled eggs. “These are good.”
“I do make a mean egg scramble. It’s a pretty easy breakfast for the firehouse for a Saturday morning meeting.”
She smiled before digging in.
They ate in companionable silence, the sound of the wind the only noise from outside. The snow and ice had stopped pelting the windows sometime after midnight. At one point the wind had been so strong that Colby had worried the ice would break the stained glass in the peak of the front of the house.
“I’ve always loved the architecture of this place,” Colby said. “Very unusual.”
“My dad loved it. The renovation was a labor of love, he said.”
She glanced down at her plate, her expression taking on a sad tinge.
“I know it’s become trendy to make churches into homes,” he said instead, “but this one was before its time. I’m glad they were able to keep the stained glass and some openness to it.”
She nodded, glancing back through the doorway toward the living room, where the high peaks of the sanctuary were still in place. “It is beautiful.”
So why was she frowning? He’d guess she didn’t have very fond memories of the place. Or had they moved before she was old enough to remember?
“It definitely doesn’t help with the heat,” he joked, though he was occasionally shivering, even having been able to layer his pants and sweater on this morning.
She nodded as if making a decision. “Look, I didn’t realize I’d be here under these circumstances. Though I knew some weather was expected, it never occurred to me that it would become an ice storm.” She smiled sheepishly at him. “You seem to know what you’re doing. If you could help me out, I’d appreciate it.”
“Sure. What do you need?”
“There’s wood stacked on the back porch. It’s covered, so I didn’t think it would need to be brought in. And I’m not good at lighting fires, so I didn’t know how safe it would be to light one last night. Could you do that for us? It would definitely help with the temperature in the living room.”
“It should. I have plenty of experience with fireplaces. Granddad had one and the house I rented a room in when I was up north for college had one too. I’ll get it going.”
“Thank you.”
She grabbed his plate on the way to the sink.
“I can do that,” he said.
“No, you cooked, I’ll clean. It’s just a little anyway. I’d rather have the fire,” she said with a grin over her shoulder.
Sounded like a plan. Why did that smile make him feel like a million bucks?