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“I’m really very sorry about the flooding. I’ll pay for the washing machine repairs,” she offered.
Kasey wasn’t sure just how she would pay for it because she had a rather sick feeling that Hollis had helped himself to their joint account before leaving town. But even if everything was gone and she had no money, she was determined to find a way to make proper restitution. Eli deserved nothing less.
Eli shook his head. “The washing machine was broken before you ever got here,” he told her. “There’s absolutely no reason for you to pay for anything. Don’t give it another thought.”
There had to be at least two inches of standing water in the utility room, Kasey judged. The only reason it hadn’t all come pouring into the house when he’d opened that door was because the utility room had been deliberately built to be just a little lower than the rest of the house—more likely in anticipation of just these kinds of scenarios.
“But I caused this.” She gestured toward the water. None of this would have happened if she hadn’t filled up the washing machine, poured in the laundry detergent and hit Start.
“I want to make it up to you,” Kasey told him earnestly.
He had a feeling that he just wasn’t destined to win this argument with her. Besides, she probably needed to make some sort of amends to assuage her conscience.
Who was he to stand in the way of that?
But right now, he really had a more pressing subject to pursue.
“You said something about having to make dinner?” he asked on behalf of his exceptionally animated stomach, which currently felt as if it was playing the final death scene from Hamlet.
“It’s right back here,” she prompted, indicating the plates presently warming on the stove. “And I don’t have to make it, it’s already made,” she told him.
“That’s perfect, because the washing machine was already broken. Looks like one thing cancels out the other.” Satisfied that he’d temporarily put the subject to bed, he said, “Let’s go eat,” with the kind of urgency that only a starving man could manage. “And then I’ll fix the washing machine,” he concluded. “That way you get to keep Wayne in clean clothes,” he added.
And you, too, she thought as she nodded and led the way back to the kitchen. I get to keep you in clean clothes, too.
She had no idea why that thought seemed to hearten her the way it did, but there was no denying the fact that it did.
A lot.
She smiled to herself as she placed his plate in front of him. If the smile was a little brighter, a little wider than normal, she really wasn’t aware of it.
But Eli was.
Chapter Seven
“So how’s it going?”
Busy taking a quick inventory of the groceries he’d placed in his cart, Eli glanced up. He was surprised to discover his sister standing at his side. She hadn’t been there a moment ago.
Or had she?
He’d been completely focused on picking up the supplies Kasey said they needed and getting back to the ranch as quickly as possible. That described the way he’d been doing everything these past three weeks: quickly. He’d do what had to be done and then get back to being with Kasey and the baby. He was eager to get back to his own private tiny piece of paradise before it suddenly vanished on him.
Eli had no illusions. He knew that it wasn’t going to be like this forever. Life wasn’t meant to be cozy, soul-satisfying and made up of tiny triumphs and small echoes of laughter. But while it was, he intended to make the very most of it, to enjoy every single second that he could and count himself extremely lucky. These moments would have to last him once she was gone.
Alma had been taking her turn at patrolling the streets of Forever when she’d passed Eli’s familiar Jeep. She’d immediately parked and gone into the Emporium looking for him. They hadn’t talked since the day he’d brought Kasey back from the hospital when she and the sheriff had gotten some of Kasey’s things, as well as the baby crib, out of the house that her no-account husband had lost in a poker game.
Her brother looked tired, Alma thought. Tired, but definitely happy.
Happiness didn’t come cheap. She knew all about that. She also knew that when happiness showed up on your doorstep, you grabbed it with both hands and held on as tightly as possible.
“Alma Rodriguez, remember?” she prompted, pretending to introduce herself to him. “Your sister,” she added when he just stared at her. “I know it’s been a while, but I haven’t changed that much. I recognize you,” she told him brightly.
Not wanting to come back to the store for at least a week, Eli began to move up and down the aisles again, filling his cart. Alma matched him step for step.
“Very funny, Alma.”
“No,” she said honestly. “Very sweet, actually. All this domesticity seems to be agreeing with you, big brother.” She examined him more closely for a moment, her head cocked as if that helped her process the information better. Eli continued moving. “Are you gaining weight, Eli?”
That stopped him for a second. “No,” he retorted defensively although he really had no way of knowing that for certain. He didn’t own a scale, at least not one for weighing people. Usually his clothes let him know if he was gaining or losing weight. For as long as he could remember, he’d worn jeans that proclaimed his waist to be a trim thirty-two inches, and they fit just fine these days, so he took that to be an indication that his weight was stable.
Although he wouldn’t have really been surprised if he had gained weight. Kasey insisted on cooking every night, and that woman could make hot water taste like some sort of exotic fare fit for a king.
Seeing that her brother wasn’t in the mood to be teased, Alma decided to back off. She knew firsthand what it felt like to be in a situation that defied proper description even though her heart had been completely invested.
She’d always had her suspicions about the way Eli had felt about Kasey and now, judging by what was going on, she was more than a little convinced that she was right. But saying so would have probably put her on the receiving end of some rather choice words.
Or, at the very least, on the receiving end of some very caustic looks.
Still, her curiosity was getting the better of her.
Watching his expression, she felt her way slowly through a potential minefield. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to get out to visit you and Kasey—”
“Nobody was holding their breath for that,” he told her quickly, dismissing her apology along with the need for her to make an appearance at his house. For the time being, he rather liked the fact that it was just the three of them: Kasey, the baby and him.
“Duly noted,” she replied, then reminded him, “You didn’t answer me.” When he appeared confused, she repeated, “How’s it going?”
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