“Good. Can you walk?”
I jumped down from the kitchen counter as his arms reached out to catch me. I collapsed against him, hissing as pain shot up through my knee. I’d really done a number on my shin , which meant I wasn’t going to be able to clean the house like I’d planned.
And how the hell was I going to afford to repair that damn staircase?
“Yep. I can walk,” I said.
“Doesn’t look like it,” Brian argued.
“Would you put on a damn shirt, please?” I asked.
His eyes locked hard onto mine before he turned his head toward the little girl in the corner. I sighed before I mumbled an apology, then began limping over to the doorway.
I needed to get back to the cabin and figure out what the hell my next move was going to be. I’d had enough in savings to last me three months, but now that the cabin would need extensive repairs, I had no idea how I was going to make it livable on what I had.
I was feeling overwhelmed, and I was ready to leave.
“I’m Lanie,” said a little voice.
“Lanie, back up,” Brian said.
My watery gaze drifted over to the child in the corner as she came up to me.
“Hello, Lanie. I’m Amanda,” I said.
“I hear with my ears,” she said.
“That’s good. What do you do with your eyes?” I asked.
I could feel everyone’s eyes on me as a smile broke out across Lanie’s chubby little cheeks.
“See!” she said.
“Good girl.”
I turned toward the door, but I was halted in my tracks by a small little tug at my jeans.
“Lanie, let her go,” Brian said, sternly.
“Food?” Lanie asked.
My eyes looked over to her nanny who was now scurrying to her side.
“Let’s get you something to eat,” she said.
“No. Amanda food,” Lanie said.
“Are you asking me if I’m hungry?” I asked.
“I think she is,” the nanny said.
“Tanya, right?” I asked, recalling the name Brian had used when he’d spoken to her.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“No ‘ma’am’ necessary,” I said, smiling. “I have food back at my place,” I lied. It was clear Brian didn’t want me here, and though he was nice to look at, he was kind of a cocky asshole.
“Food with us?” Lanie asked.
“No.”
Brian’s voice was stern and caused me to jump. It was a tone of voice I’d heard many times when I was with Daryl. That tone of voice that spoke of controlling intent and disapproval. Hearing that tone drip from Brian’s lips only fueled the anger that bubbled in my gut whenever I thought of that pathetic bastard.
“How about this?” I asked as I looked at Lanie. “When I get my cabin repaired, you can come over anytime you want, and I’ll cook us something.”
“Pancakes?” Lanie asked.
“That’s enough, sweetheart,” Tanya said.
“If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get,” I said.
“Pinky?”
The little girl held out her pinky finger, and my eyes drifted up to Brian. There was a storm of emotion rolling over his face. Anger and apprehension and sadness. There was a wall coming up over his entire face that set it in stone. His brow was furrowed with a deeply-set frustration that made me curious about him.
What was a man with a child doing on a mountaintop that had nothing to enrich a child at all?
“Pinky promise,” I said.
I reached down to link the little girl’s finger, and she smiled broadly. She let go of my pants and allowed me to leave the house, her eyes following me as I left. I hobbled down the porch steps and began limping back toward the cabin.
My mind started running through all the things I could do to make it better before I had to get creative.
I looked back at Brian’s home and saw Lanie standing on the porch. Tanya was behind her, holding the little girl close to her side. Lanie was waving with a big smile on her face that warmed my heart.
But Brian was standing inside, watching me from his kitchen window. I could tell by the set of his broad, sculpted shoulders that my mere presence had made him uncomfortable. I couldn’t help but be intrigued as to what his story might be. I highly doubted I’d ever find out though, that man was as guarded as they came.
I nodded once in his direction and turned toward home, hobbling as I went.
I had to figure out what to do about the cabin. How I was going to get it fixed? It was rundown, and it needed a great deal of love and care. It would take going into town and pricing out some things to figure out how much money would need to be spent on my end, but I could no longer think straight with my stomach as empty as it was.
I grabbed my purse from the house, threw open some windows to let out the dust, then got into my car and went into town.
I needed food, quiet, and some time to think.
CHAPTER 4
Brian
I hated going into town. People around here were too friendly for their own good. If I could’ve found a way to have groceries delivered every two weeks, I’d never come into town. But food was necessary and between the things I ate and the things Lanie needed, I could only shove two weeks’ worth of stuff in my refrigerator.
“Grocery store!” Lanie said.
“Yes. Every two weeks,” I said.
“Ice cream?” she asked
“If you’re a good girl, we’ll get you some, yes.”
“And chips?”
“You can have ice cream or chips, but not both.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because you’ll get a tummy ache.”
“But you rub tummies,” she said.
“Only yours, and only when it hurts. But you don’t want it to hurt, do you?”
“Will you rub my tummy anyway?”
“How about I scratch your back?” I asked. “Like I do whenever you go to sleep?”
“That’s sleepy scratch. I’m not sleepy.”
“You’re not, huh?” I asked, grinning. “Well, what about this. If you’re good at the grocery store, I’ll rub your belly while we’re standing in line waiting to check out.”
“But ice cream?” she asked.
“You just want everything, don’t you?”
“Yes!”
Chuckling, I placed her in the grocery cart. We needed to stock up on everything. Toilet paper, toothpaste, diapers and wipes. We needed fresh vegetables to go with the deer I’d shot last week, and I was out of all the spices I used for my chili. I walked up and down the aisles as I grabbed things, and Lanie giggled as she tossed random boxes of food into the cart. Crackers and dental floss. Cereal I knew she’d never eat and dried cranberries. She tossed them in and giggled profusely like she was getting away with something she knew she wasn’t supposed to be doing.
“Oh, you think that’s funny, huh?”
I plucked her from the cart and started blowing raspberries into her stomach. She squealed with delight and kicked her legs, begging me to stop as I tickled her underneath her arms. She was giggling and panting for breath, trying to wiggle out of my grasp as I planted my lips on her cheek.
“Beard,” she said breathlessly. “Beard tickles.”
I set her back into the cart and continued up and down the aisles. Loaves of bread and peanut butter made it in as well as gallons of milk and containers of juice. I grabbed fresh and frozen vegetables for quick lunches and dinners, then I threw in a few snacks I knew Lanie loved.
She clapped her hands in delight when she saw them being tossed into the cart.
“Now, what are we missing?” I asked.
“Ice cream!” Lanie said.
“That depends. Have you been a good girl?”
“Uh huh.”
“A really good girl?” I asked.
“Yes, Uncle Bwian!”
“A really, really, really good—”
“Chocolate, please?”
I laughed at her insistence before I pushed the cart down the ice cream aisle. I grabbed a pint of her favorite chocolate ice cream and tossed it into the cart, then I made my way to the cash register. Just like I’d promised, I rubbed Lanie’s stomach while we waited. Her eyes were already beginning to droop shut with exhaustion as her nap time approached, and I shook my head as she laid her forehead against my chest.