The Keeper by Stacey Reynolds

Author:Stacey Reynolds [Reynolds, Stacey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stacey Reynolds

The feeling left them not long after, but the awareness between them didn’t fade. It had been a week since she’d come to the island. Since they weren’t ready to go to bed, Josh carried something in from the other room. He’d finished scrubbing and polishing her bathtub, and she laughed at the sight of the wide, wooden bottom he’d put in it to protect her bum. “What?” he asked. “It was kind of scratchy. You’re banged up enough. Now, sit in it. I promised your parents I’d send pictures since you don’t have a phone.”

“I’m assuming clothed?” she asked, just to be cheeky.

“For a start,” he said slowly. She sat in the tub and hugged her knees. When he snapped a few photos, he pointed at the stove. “I’m already boiling water. No more outdoor showers.”

Josh poured the hot water into the bathtub, which he’d put in her bedroom. She had a roaring fire, and he’d already emptied several gallons of cold water in before the hot. She was watching him with hungry eyes, wondering if any girl at her college had ever been this lucky. Then he pulled a small parcel out of his pocket. It was wrapped.

“An early Christmas gift,” he said.

She took it, wondering what a man like Josh would pick out for a woman. He was nervous. He said, “It’s something small. I sort of made it.”

Maddie wrinkled her nose, smelling something. Then she started tearing into the wrapping. He laughed when her face lit up. Crushed heather and coarse salt. “There’s some olive oil in there as well. Weird, but I was reading how the Greeks and Romans used it to soften their skin and …”

She smiled with a look on her face that almost looked like pain. “No man has ever made me something before.”

“They probably had a store down the street,” Josh said with a shy grin.

“And you polished my tub and made me a little seat,” Madeline said as she closed the distance between them. “And you made a fire in my room so it wouldn’t be cold when I got out of the bath.” Josh was rubbing his neck, turning pink in the cheeks. “And you got my robe and slippers from the water closet.” She came up tight against his body, raising to her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I could live a thousand lives and never deserve this,” she said, giving his words back to him.

His eyes burned into hers. Josh cleared his throat. “You’re welcome. You better get in before it starts to cool. And if you need more hot water, just yell.” Then he turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. And because he didn’t look back, he didn’t see the tears begin to mist her eyes.

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