Holidays at Crescent Cove by Shelley Noble

Author:Shelley Noble
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2012-12-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Three

BRI STOOD REGARDING David Henderson’s back. What the hell was she going to do with him? Now that he was inside, she couldn’t very well thrust him out into the cold again. The kitchen window thermometer said it was twelve degrees.

A cold walk into town.

But he couldn’t stay here.

“I told the dispatcher you wanted to talk to Nick. She asked your name. She’d never heard of you. She asked me what it was about. I told her I didn’t know. She thought it was odd.” And so did Bri.

“Look, I know you feel uncomfortable with me here. I don’t blame you. I don’t normally sleep in barns. I just couldn’t find a hotel and it was dark and cold, and I was tired.”

“So you said,” Bri said, refusing to give in to his rationale. He could still be a psychopath, and she would have put them all at risk.

David had been frowning at her, but now he looked past her and smiled. Bri turned to see Mimi and Lily peering out from behind the doorway. That was one of the problems with the language barrier. She’d taken them to their room and told them to stay. For all the good it did.

“Zao shang hao,” David said, in what to Bri sounded like perfect Chinese. Her suspicion barometer shot to the danger zone.

Mimi and Lily ran to Bri and hid behind her, but they peeked out at this new person, full of curiosity. She laid a protective hand on each little head and narrowed her eyes at him. Bri didn’t believe in coincidences. She’d never had a vagrant sleep in her barn before. Never met someone looking for Nick. And on top of that spoke something that sounded like fluent Mandarin At least it did to her, whose grasp of the language was basic at best.

He spoke to them again, and the two heads nodded in Bri’s palms.

“Did you just ask them if they were hungry?”

“Yes. It’s morning, and I for one could use some breakfast.”

“Where did you learn to speak Mandarin?”

“I know bits of lots of languages. I can say hello, order food, and ask the way to the American embassy in at least ten.”

Bri couldn’t help it, she smiled. Caught herself. “You’re not a spy the agency sent to see how I’m treating the girls, are you?”

“No ma’am. Just a traveler who happened to stop for the night in your barn.”

“How did you know Ben Prescott?”

His eyes hooded over. “I’ll tell you over breakfast. I can’t remember the last time I ate. Yesterday sometime, I think. Are your girls adapted to the new diet yet or shall we make congee and steamed eggs.” He’d spoken the last words in Mandarin, and Mimi and Lily squealed and repeated “steamed eggs, steamed eggs,” until Bri gave in and pointed him to the fridge.

“I don’t suppose you’re better at steaming eggs than I am.”

David shrugged, opened the door and stuck his head inside. “Depends on how bad you are.” His words echoed from inside the fridge.

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