Love Came Unexpectedly. Ruth Scofield

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СКАЧАТЬ turned sixteen, and at twenty-six she felt comfortable and disciplined taking care of them. She’d worked steadily, first as a nurses’ aide, then at anything she could find while she went to school. She’d been in fast food, first a fry girl, then a waitress, moving from one restaurant up to another where the tips were better. She’d saved every penny she could to go to school. She still owed on college loans, but she was paying them off a little at a time.

      First thing tomorrow, after she’d made an inventory of the entire place, she would know where she was with it all. She’d never lived outside a city before, and the idea began to make inroads on her mind.

      Only squirrels could be heard…and the lapping of the lake. Crickets began their song. The dark outside was vast and enclosed everything.

      She hurriedly locked her car, then went inside the cabin and locked the outside door. There, that was better. She checked all the windows, finding two unlocked.

      “Imagine, leaving the place so vulnerable,” she mumbled aloud, thinking of thieves and rapists and murderers. She turned each lock with precise care.

      There were no shades on the office windows; anyone out there could see into the cabin. Biting her lip, she closed the door connecting the office and living quarters. Tight and cozy at last, she finally sank into a kitchen chair.

      It was quiet.

      Jumping up, she switched on the television. There was a big satellite dish by the side of the cabin. Reception…

      …was minimal.

      She flipped from channel to channel, but there wasn’t enough to catch her attention. She sighed her disappointment and turned it off. She might as well see what was in the cupboard. A can of soup would do for dinner.

      She found several. Tomato, beef barley, vegetable. She had a choice.

      The refrigerator switched on, sounding loud in the silence. She nearly jumped out of her skin.

      “Oh, I’m being silly,” she said aloud. “This is mine now. I’ll get used to it, won’t I, Granddad? I can even learn to fish if I want to, and go boating. And when I sell the place, I’ll pay off my school loans and help the Larsons…”

      She laughed at herself. If her granddad were alive, would he think her crazy for talking to herself?

      Most people would. It would be better to think of that Grant guy to get herself in the proper frame of mind. She imagined herself recounting her adventures to the Larsons. Grant was good-looking enough to appeal to most females—and he wore a cowboy hat.

      Yeah, he sure was good-looking. And he had great eyes, though they stared at her with suspicion. Never mind. She just wasn’t interested in dark-headed cowboys right now. She had more important concerns about her future, not romance.

      Chapter Two

      She woke suddenly. For half a moment, she was confused about where she was. A whispering drifted from her half sleep, seeping away as she woke. What had she heard?

      She lay silently, listening for something…

      A motor boat, far away, made her aware of where she was—a place completely different from her apartment or the busy hospital or doctor’s office she knew.

      Faint light sifted around the edges of the curtains. It was morning? Time to get up and going on the day. She had so much to do she hardly knew where to start.

      Jumping from the bed, she padded to open the door to the office. Her quick inspection of the kitchen the night before hadn’t unearthed a coffeepot, so she’d have to make do with the one she’d spied on the metal file cabinet in the office. She suspected it was kept there to supply guests when they stopped by.

      The office was full of light, though the sun was just beginning to send rays through the front windows. She blinked into the sunlight. It was later than she’d thought.

      The coffeepot sat on a hot plate. She hurriedly tiptoed over to grab it before she realized she was alone. There was no need to remain quiet.

      Someone rapped on the front door. In the quiet, it sounded more like pounding.

      “Eeek…” She squealed and jumped a foot, her heart beating hard. Who was at her door? Already? She wasn’t ready for company. She was in her shorty pj’s.

      Which reminded her there were no curtains on the office windows. Anyone could look in and see her. The fact that she was no longer in a city with busy streets and crowded hallways did nothing to calm her. That was what she was used to.

      She scurried back through the inner door, closing it behind her. Whoever was at the outer door could just wait. Or go away, she didn’t care. Imagine expecting her to be on call at the crack of dawn!

      The knocking continued.

      Grabbing her lavender summer robe, she slipped it on, then hurried barefoot to open the office door.

      The tall guy from last night stood there…what was his name? His gaze went from her tousled head to her painted toenails, noting where the robe stopped at her knees. Why did he make her feel she was exposing more than she should? Her robe covered more than a pair of shorts did.

      “What is it?” She asked rather grumpily. Her temper made her impatient and cranky. Then her training kicked in. She cleared her throat and said more evenly, “May I help you?”

      He raised a brow, an amused grin starting to spread.

      “I thought since this is your first morning here, you might like to go out to breakfast.”

      “Well, I don’t know…um…?” She stumbled for his name. She usually remembered people’s names, but at the moment his mischievous look distracted her.

      “Grant.” His smile spread wider.

      “Ah, yes. Like the Civil War general.”

      “As a matter of fact, that’s the way it was. My granddad is a history buff, and he named me.”

      “Oh, is that a fact?” She was interested in spite of his silly grin. No one knew much about her personal history.

      “How about breakfast?”

      “I suppose it couldn’t hurt.” She was starving. There wasn’t anything in the refrigerator except mustard and ketchup, and the soup from dinner the night before was long gone. She’d have to grocery shop at some time, she knew. “Give me fifteen minutes to get ready.”

      She turned, and raced into the bedroom.

      “Fifteen minutes?” He called after her. “Most women take that long just to get into the shower.”

      She heard him, but she didn’t answer. She’d been trained to take three-minute showers, and two-minute dry-offs. Getting dressed was a matter of grabbing the clothes off the top of the stack in her suitcase.

      True to her word, she reappeared in the office in fifteen minutes. She wore jeans, a blue T-shirt, and brown sandals. She’d combed through her wet hair with the speed of lightning, and twisted it up with a large clip. She wore no makeup.

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