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He sighed. “It was an accident. He fell down two flights of stairs when he was barely a month old.”
“Dear God.”
He understood the reaction. It twisted him into knots to think about it even after all this time. New subject. And a one he’d been thinking about all day. “Kara, have you been by my dad’s house lately?” he asked.
She looked suddenly guilty, as if she had something to hide. Which was odd, because he couldn’t think of a reason for it. “Yes, lots of times. Why?”
“Well, the stairs at the boarding house just aren’t cutting it. We might be out here as long as three weeks, maybe longer.”
She smiled suddenly. “You’ll be here for Christmas?”
“Yeah, looks like.” Her face lit up as brightly as the twinkling pine tree in the corner of the living room. “If that real-estate company I sold the place to, hasn’t resold it yet and it’s still habitable, I was thinking...”
“You and Ty and Colby could stay out there while you’re here.”
“Yeah.”
She licked her lips. “You know, it’s actually a great idea. There’s a ground-floor bedroom and bath. He wouldn’t have all those stairs to deal with. And it’s a lot roomier there. I mean the boarding house is fine, but not for a whole month. And it’s in pretty good shape, too. Betty Lou—your real-estate lady—has been renting it out to defray upkeep and taxes while waiting for a buyer. It’s vacant at the moment, though. The furnace and central air unit have just been cleaned and checked over. Power’s turned on. It has a great well and a brand-new pump.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “You know an awful lot about it.”
“Yeah. Well. That’s because I’m buying it.”
He was surprised.
She kept lowering her eyes, as if she felt guilty. “I mean, if it’s all right with you, I am. The bank called tonight and the loan was approved. I should have told you that was the place I had in mind for my day-care center this morning, but I was just so stunned to see you back in town on the very day I was applying for the loan to buy your childhood home.”
Again only a quick peek upward. He wanted to ease her mind. “I love the idea of a day-care center in that old house. I think Dad would have, too.”
“There are lots of other places I could—”
“No. No way.”
She lifted her head. “I don’t need to start work right away, though. I think it would be good for Tyler to spend some time in the house where you grew up. And maybe... good for you, too. You know, before any drastic changes are made.”
He shrugged. “I refuse to cause you to delay your plans.”
“And I refuse to have Tyler dealing with the stairs in the boarding house when there’s a perfectly good place sitting empty.” She shuddered and rubbed her arms. “God, the very thought of him on stairs at all, given what happened... “
He wasn’t sure, but he thought that her eyes got damp. “Maybe we could make some kind of deal, then?” he suggested.
She met his gaze, blinked that dampness away. “Such as?”
“I’ve got nothing to do for the next few weeks. Let me repay you by getting started on the work you need done on the place.”
Tipping her head sideways, she blinked those big green eyes at him. Damn, she was something. “You’re on vacation.”
“Not by choice,” he said.
“What does that mean?”
He waved a hand. “Doesn’t matter. You’d be doing me a favor, Kara. I’ll go stir-crazy before long.”
She nodded slowly. “Okay, it’s a deal. I’m supposed to meet Betty Lou out there at ten tomorrow morning. Why don’t you guys be there, too? We’ll check it out together.”
He nodded. “We’ll be there. Thanks, Kara.”
She hadn’t changed a bit, he decided. She’d give the shirt off her back to the first person she met who needed it.
