Within Reason: Mill Brook Trilogy, Book 2 by Carla Neggers

Author:Carla Neggers [Neggers, Carla]
Language: eng
Format: epub

What happened began with an appraisal of the sleeping accommodations. Char had two twin-size cots: one for her and one for Emily. Adam refused to sleep in Emily’s cot, on the grounds that he didn’t want to disturb the array of stuffed animals she had arranged on her dinosaur sleeping bag. Char wasn’t so sure: she had a feeling he had some kind of plan up his sleeve.

Of course, her cot was out altogether.

“Why?” she asked.

He was standing in the doorway, looking into the tiny bedroom where she and Em had set up their beds. Char was in the narrow hallway behind him, near the bathroom and linen closet doors.

He glanced around at her. “I’m going to take your bed while you sleep on the floor?”

“I’ll sleep in Em’s bed.”

He didn’t like that, either. Like the Three Bears, Emily would know someone had been sleeping in her bed and would demand an explanation. When she discovered “Uncle” Adam had come to visit while she was out of town, she would be disappointed.

“Then you sleep on the floor,” Char suggested, her mood something between frustration and anticipation.

She wasn’t surprised when that idea didn’t meet with his approval, either. Shaking his head, he walked past her into the living room. She followed. The house was absolutely still, the shadows, the quiet, the slight chill all a reminder that it was nightfall.

Adam surveyed the living room, frowning. “You don’t have any rugs,” he pointed out, “and my sleeping bag’s fairly thin. It’d be damn uncomfortable sleeping on the floor.”

Char settled against the doorway, arms folded over her chest, one leg bent. “There’s still time to check into a hotel. Or you can try the old doghouse out back.”

He ignored her sarcasm. “I do have an idea.”

“No kidding.”

“I noticed you have a thick sleeping bag. We could open it up and spread it on the floor as a makeshift mattress and use mine as a blanket.”

She looked right at him. “That means sleeping together.”

He looked back. “Uh-huh. It does.”

Her lighthearted, teasing mood lasted only a few more seconds until she could feel the heat in his eyes, could feel it bubbling in her blood. They were finished playing games. They weren’t talking about a couple of old pals arm-wrestling for the hell of it. They were talking about spending the night together.

“Adam, I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

He laughed softly, coming toward her. “What friendship?” he asked, slipping his arms around her.

The strength of his chest against her felt so good, better even than she had hoped. All evening, Char thought, she had vacillated between feeling totally at ease with Adam Stiles and wanting to put him on the next plane headed north. Now any feelings of uneasiness seemed so long ago, so distant. She wanted to be exactly where she was. He went on, quietly, wryly, “You and I have tolerated each other for years. We haven’t been enemies—but friends? Come on. Seems to me we must have just been waiting for lightning to strike.

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