Snowflake Cottage by Linda Carroll-Bradd

Author:Linda Carroll-Bradd [Carroll-Bradd, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inked Figments
Published: 2020-12-08T16:00:00+00:00

At the word emergency, Jada swiped her hair from her face and gripped the phone tighter. “What’s wrong? Who’s hurt?”

“Calm down. No one’s hurt.”

She flopped back against her pillows, patting her left cheek with her free hand. Gotta wake up. “Not a morning person. Tell me in short sentences. What’s going on?”

“Worked all night. Got no sleep. I need daycare.”

“Daycare, okay. Let’s…” Her right hand drifted toward her shoulder.

“Hey!”

At the deep sound, she fought to open her eyes. She remembered that tone from the first day they met. Pushing herself upright, she braced her elbows on her crooked knees and dipped her head, creating a nice curtain to block out the sunlight. “Don’t yell.”

“Sorry. Do I need to walk you through each step of moving fast?”

A moan escaped. “You need me now?” Didn’t the man understand what not being a morning person meant?

“As soon as you can get here.”

“But I’m in bed.”

“I’d ask you what you’re wearing, but I don’t think you’re awake enough to flirt.”

His low voice and conspiratorial tone spread goose bumps over her skin. “Is that a challenge?”

“Only if it gets you out from under the covers and moving toward a shower or fresh clothes. I don’t even care what you wear. Just get here fast.”

She pulled out the phone charger cord and rolled to the side of the bed. “Feet on the floor and walking to the bathroom.” She cringed at the cold hallway floor underfoot.

“You there yet?”

“No en suite bathroom. Long hallway.” The bathroom tiles were even colder, and she hopped onto the bath mat. Sliding back the shower door, she pulled up the control lever and held the phone toward it. “There’s the shower. We don’t know each other well enough for you to share any more of my morning routine.” Clouds of steam rose from the bathtub.

“With that last, long sentence, I figure you’re now awake.” He chuckled. “I’ll text you the address. Don’t stop for coffee. I’ll have a pot waiting.”

“Bye, Graham.”

“Jada, thanks. I mean it.”

Setting the phone on the vanity, she stripped and climbed into the shower. With her eyes closed, she hunched her shoulders and moved to let the water pound every inch of her back. The hot water reminded her of hot places…hiking The Palisades, Sedona, sandy beaches. No! She slapped a hand against the tile wall and shoved back her hair. She’d been dreaming about lying on a sunny beach when the call interrupted her sleep. Had she only thought about the person who accompanied her, or had she said the words aloud? Wide awake now, she rushed through washing and conditioning her hair then using a loofa on her body. How could she look the man in the face?

Twenty minutes later, she stood on his doorstep, wearing a knitted cap over her still-damp hair. On the night of her arrival, if someone told her four days later she’d willingly agree to babysit, she would have said that person was certifiable. But here she was, because helping Graham proved more important.

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