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Standing, he walked over to the fireplace and put one last log on the fire. Tomorrow, he would need to restock the wood inside. Thank goodness he’d moved a cord of timber into the barn preparing for winter. They would probably burn through most of it in the next few days.
“What about you? What books did you enjoy as a child?”
“Oh, I wasn’t one for reading until my mother insisted I let her read to me. Then it was amazing, the worlds, the stories, the characters, and I became hooked on listening to her voice every night as I went to sleep. I loved pirate stories, and she would go to the library to find new pirate stories to read to me.”
A grin spread across her face and then she yawned. He could see she was growing tired and she probably needed to rest.
“Let me look at your pupils one last time to make certain you’re all right. I don’t want you going to sleep and never waking up,” he said as he walked over to the flashlight he’d brought with him.
Shining the light in her eyes, her pupils reacted normally.
“Good,” he said. “I think you’re going to be fine.”
Yawning, she nodded and he handed her the flashlight. “In case you need it tonight. In the morning, I’ll be up before six. I’ll need to check on the chickens and collect the eggs. After breakfast if you want to go with me, you can, or you can stay here in the house, but I’ll need to take hay out to the cattle in the pens close to the house.”
A crease appeared between her eyes. “How do you do that?”
“I have a wagon on sleigh runners and I load it up with bales and then I connect it to the snowmobile. It’s the more modern way of ranching.”
She smiled and yawned again. “I think I should go to bed.”
“You need to rest,” he said. “And Olivia, don’t worry, sleep well tonight, and know that I won’t be anywhere near your bedroom. You’re safe here with me.”
Not that he didn’t want to be, but he wanted her to feel comfortable.
With a slight grin, she rose from the couch. “Thank you, Lucas. You’ve been a lifesaver today. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t stopped.”
“You’re welcome. Sleep well,” he said as he pulled the fire screen in front of the fireplace and walked out of the room. As much as he wanted to make certain she made it up the stairs without falling, he thought she would feel more secure if he went to his side of the house.
She stood, watching him go, and he could feel her eyes on him.
He hoped she liked what she saw.
CHAPTER7
Olivia awoke to the smell of coffee drifting through the air. Last night, she’d put a chair in front of the door, hoping she wouldn’t hear it being opened. And this morning it sat in the exact spot she’d left it.
So far, Lucas appeared to be a very nice, handsome young man who had piqued her interest. She’d felt a sense of sadness about him, that he was alone. Last night, he’d mentioned his parents were dead, but she had not asked him how long they had been gone. Today, she’d find out more about them.
The man had taken in a complete stranger. What if she’d been a serial killer? And yet he’d opened his home, fed her, made certain she didn’t need medical attention, and attended to her wounds.
He’d even let her sob on his shoulder about her dreadful life. Christmas was only a few days away and she wasn’t certain she’d make it home in time.
She was shocked at the Christmas decorations about the house. Had he done the decorating or had his housekeeper? She’d ask him about that as well. There were things about him that she found intriguing and she wanted to learn the answers.
Stretching, she thought about yesterday and sighed. The worst was being fired from the job she loved. But as far as the jerk was concerned, she was better off without him.
If only she hadn’t waited so late to leave, she would have awoken in her childhood home this morning surrounded by her family, and right now, she was missing them.
While she was looking forward to seeing her parents, she dreaded the reunion with the golden girls. Their lives were perfect while hers was a complete disaster. And having to listen to them talk about their success would only make her sad.
Rising from the bed, she went into the bathroom and quickly dressed in yesterday’s clothes. Before she left the room, she moved the chair and then hurried into the living room.
This morning, she stared out the big windows and gazed at the snow coming down. You couldn’t see anything but flying flakes.
The snow was deep, at least four feet, and still floating down from the heavens. The plows wouldn’t come out until the storm passed and she would need a wrecker to pull the little hatchback that she loved out of the snow.
She was stuck here, and while Lucas was extremely nice to put her up, she was supposed to spend the holidays with her family. Her parents and the golden girls.
