Chapter 51
Chapter Fifty-One
R ose left the house library with full arms. She’d spent the last hour opening bills with the dragon letter opener and writing the checks to pay them.
Juggling the latest magazine issues from the mail along with personal items, she climbed the stairs.
When she reached the second floor, she heard the front door creak open.
She whirled, heard the thunk of items hitting the carpet as she moved.
Not her phone again. The case was already chipped.
Thorne’s voice called out. “Rose, you home?”
Relief overwhelmed her. She’d gotten in the habit of locking all the doors, something she never worried about when she was younger, despite Magnolia’s lectures about home security.
Her siblings had keys.
She called down, “I’m upstairs, give me a minute.” She picked up her phone. An ink pen lay next to it. How had that ended up in her arms? She saw nothing else on the carpet, but thought she’d heard more things fall.
Thorne said, “Take your time. I’ll be in the kitchen.”
She shook her head. His hand would be in the cookie tin before she got back down. His love of homemade cookies never ceased.
She climbed the next set of stairs quickly, dropping the magazines on her bed. Then she went downstairs, her phone in her pocket.
Thorne held a handful of ginger cookies, one already balanced between his teeth.
He ate it, then said, “Great cookies! Can I take some back with me?”
“You have four others in your hand, unless you ate more before I caught you.”
He smirked. “Never know.”
Tess called him the cookie culprit. He might be twenty years older now, but he was still the sibling to blame when cookies disappeared off a sheet fresh from the oven. At least Rose had the wisdom to hide another dozen in the pantry, out of his sight.
She snagged one for herself and leaned against the counter. “I didn’t know you were in town.”
“Broome called me. He set up a meeting regarding my part of the will.”
She took a bite. “No envy here. I’ll take a collapsed ceiling over the pandering you’ll have to do.”
He gave her a playful punch in the arm. “No need to be mean.”
Thorne finished the cookies, then opened the fridge and asked, “What’s under the foil?” He didn’t wait for an answer, pulled the covered bowl out and lifted the foil. “Yum. Leftover bacon mac.”
He looked at her with hopeful eyes, reminding her of a salivating dog. With a sigh, she said, “Fine. You can have some, but not all.”
“I knew there was a reason you’re my favorite baby sis.”
Her eyes looked toward the ceiling. “Brothers.”
“That’s right.”
Thorne microwaved a sizable portion before sitting at the table. “You should join me. We can catch up before I ask if I can stay in the cottage for a few days.”
“A few days. Starting tonight?” She sat down on the long bench at the wooden table. This brother had never been one to plan ahead. At least she’d kept the cottage clean since she’d started sleeping in the house.
He nodded as he chewed. After he swallowed, he said, “This town needs more medical resources. Doc Mason struggles to keep up with his current patient load. With the new subdivision, it’ll worsen.”
Her phone buzzed.
Finn
There by five.
The heart made her smile. She tapped a quick response and sent it.
Thorne cleared his throat. “Finn?”
She set her phone on the table. “Maybe.”
He snorted and cracked his knuckles. “I visited him, helped him understand a few things.”
She folded her arms. “What did you do?”
Thorne forked another mouthful before answering. “He still has his nose.”
She sent her right foot into his shin. He flinched.
“Damn it, Thorne—I don’t need your interference.”
The last thing she needed was overprotective siblings.
“After asshole Brentwood,” he said, “you don’t have a choice when I’m around.”
She sat again. “Caleb was a mistake. I’m allowed to make those.”
Thorne leaned forward. “Back in high school, after I broke that nose of his, I ordered him to stay away from you. I wasn’t here for you when he ignored my mandate.”
Her brother had been in Mexico when she’d gotten engaged. When he found out, she received a phone call from him that was worse than her argument with Finn. By the time his educational exchange ended and he came home, Rose had broken her engagement.
She said, “Finn isn’t Caleb.”
He nodded. “I know. Brentwood never deserved you. Finn does.”