The Winston Brothers by Lori Foster

Author:Lori Foster [Foster, Lori]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781101658222
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2008-12-02T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Allison made four peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and poured two large glasses of milk. Rose and Burke were mysteriously absent, and she had the feeling they were watching Chase read. She felt so bad for them, she sincerely hoped Chase would be able to accommodate what needed to be done.

She’d been downstairs over twenty minutes and decided putting it off any longer was just plain cowardly. Still, she dragged her feet as she went up the steps. Sure enough, when she entered the bedroom, she saw both Burke and Rose hovering over Chase, who still had his nose buried in the journal. Now, however, he’d taken off his boots and had his sock-covered feet crossed at the ankle, with one long arm behind his head. He was so tall, his stretched-out form went from the head of the bed to the very end, when she often felt lost in the incredible size of it.

When she stopped in the doorway, his gaze lifted to her, but otherwise he didn’t move. His expression was speculative and lazy.

She cleared her throat, ignoring Rose and Burke. “I, ah, made you some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I hope that’s okay?”

He laid the open book on the mattress, spine out, and rolled to his side, propping his head on a fist. He still didn’t say anything.

“Um, interesting reading?”

“Very.”

“How far did you get?”

“Far enough to know now what it is you want me to do.”

“Oh.” Her face heated and she inched closer to hand him the tray of sandwiches.

Chase set it in the middle of the bed, then patted the other side, indicating she should sit down with him. Very tentatively, she slid onto the mattress. She smoothed the robe over her outstretched legs, kept her back straight, and settled her hands in her lap. Just to give herself something to do, she picked up half a sandwich and took a small bite while staring at her bare feet.

Chase, knowing exactly how nervous she was, waited until she had her mouth full to say, “I’m supposed to be your grand passion, right?”

And Allison promptly choked.

Chase made no move to assist her, instead picking up his own half of a sandwich and eating it in two bites while watching her struggle for a breath.

Allison wheezed and snuffled and when she could finally talk without rasping, she asked carefully, “Did you get to the part about the jewels?”

“Um-hmm. Burke gave Rose jewels as a sign of his love, but when he died with the measles, and she, too, got sick from never leaving his bedside, nursing him until his death, she hid them in the house so none of her damned relatives could steal them. They were, in Rose’s words, a symbol of grand passion, and neither she nor Burke wanted them getting into the wrong hands.”

Allison toyed nervously with a curl that had escaped her hairpins to hang to her shoulder. “That’s right. And in fact, Rose did die of the same thing, only she went a little faster than Burke did because she was already so weak from taking care of him.

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