I wrapped my arms around my chest as I started down the hallway, and soon the smell of bacon and eggs was wafting up my nose. My stomach audibly growled, begging for the food I could smell.
I came down the hallway and rounded the corner to find Evan cooking. His massive form was standing at the stove while he tossed the eggs around in the pan, but I didn’t see the kids. There was a high chair at the table that had a bottle sitting out as well as a small plate of food, but there were no tiny people filling the spaces just yet.
“They’ll be up soon,” he said. “You hungry?”
I studied his hulking form as he cooked. The sight of him making breakfast and setting out food for the kids struck me as incredibly sweet. Though I was still a bit leery, I couldn’t help but admit that I was insanely attracted to him.
I hadn’t been with anyone in a long time, no one being able to break through the barrier I’d erected around myself the last few years. As I looked at him, my sorely neglected body reminded me just how much I had missed out on.
“I am,” I said, nodding. “Thank you.”
“I’ll fix you up a plate,” he said.
His voice was low and rumbling, and sexy as hell. It was powerful, but at the same time, gentle and quiet so as not to wake the children before they were ready. I sat down at the kitchen table as he made me a plate, my mouth drowning in saliva as my stomach readied itself for the food. He sat it in front of me as the steam rose to my nose, and I closed my eyes and inhaled the wonderful scent.
“This smells wonderful,” I said.
“Just some bacon and eggs. I’m about to make some toast. Juice or coffee?” he asked.
“Coffee would be great, thank you,” I said.
He went back to the kitchen and put bread in the toaster before grabbing a mug and pouring me some coffee. “Did you sleep okay? You must have been exhausted, you never came out for dinner,” he said, looking at me curiously.
I nodded as the coffee warmed me from the inside. “I guess I was. Once the adrenaline wore off, I was done for. I slept fine, thank you.”
He nodded. “Were you able to get ahold of your dad?” he asked me as he buttered the toast.
“I was, yes. I let him know where I am and that I’m okay,” I said, wanting to be sure Evan understood that someone knew where I was.
He glanced over at me and smiled. “Good,” he said.
“Has it stopped snowing yet?” I asked.
“It has, but it dumped quite a bit on us.”
“So, with the snow piled so high, when will the kids’ parents be back to get them?” I asked.
“Not for a while,” he said after a moment of hesitation.
“You said they’re your niece and nephew. Are they your brother’s kids or your sister’s kids?”
“Brother’s.”
His tone had changed the slightest bit, but I detected something in it that told me I had broached a sensitive subject. Not wanting to offend the man who had so far been nothing but gracious to me, I decided to let it go. I bit into my bacon and tried to stifle a moan as he set a small plate of toast next to me, then I watched him as he made his way down the hallway.
Studying him as he walked away, I took in the tightness of his muscles. His shoulders were broad and his ass looked like it was sculpted from marble. His thick thighs filled out the legs of his dark jeans rather deliciously, and his large, powerful hands swung easily at his sides.
Sensations I hadn’t let myself feel in a long time came bubbling to the surface. It had been so long since I’d desired physical contact with someone, the sensation hit me hard. I pressed my legs together to try and quell the growing ache. What the hell was wrong with me?
I heard Evan’s low voice coming from down the hall, followed by that of Liam’s high toddler pitch and Hadley’s soft cooing. I couldn’t help but smile. As unsure of himself as he seemed with his niece and nephew, it was obvious that he loved them very much.
Liam came careening down the hallway, stopping in front of me and giving me a big smile.
“Hi Menamie!” he said enthusiastically.
“Good morning Liam,” I returned as the child sat and happily dug into his food. “Why don’t you just call me Mel?” I said. “All of my friends do,” I winked and he giggled.
“Mew,” Liam said, his ‘l’ becoming a ‘w’.
“Exactly,” I said, smiling. “Is your breakfast good?”
“Mhm,” Liam said.
“And what about you?” I asked Hadley. “Is your breakfast good?”
She blew me wonderful spit bubbles filled with pureed foods, and I giggled at her reaction when they popped.
“Gotta be careful with those,” I said, as I picked up a napkin. “They’ll getcha every time.”
I wiped her face off before I finished the last of my breakfast. The kids were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, something that took me three cups of coffee to obtain. Evan stayed in the corner of the kitchen with his coffee as he watched us, a look I couldn’t quite discern on his face. I rose from the table and took my plate to the sink. “Why don’t you sit and eat, and I’ll clean the kitchen,” I offered.
He shook his head. “No, you don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t mind,” I said. “Think of it as repayment for taking me in.”
He sat down and began to eat while I started cleaning up the kitchen. I put all the dishes in the sink and ran some hot water over them to let them sit, and then I got Hadley out of her high chair. Liam was already running back to his room to play, so I put the little girl in her playpen, watching with a smile on my face as she started to play with her toys.
“They’re good kids,” I said.
“They are,” Evan said.
“How long have you lived up here?” I asked.
“Two years.”
“Do you enjoy it here?” I asked.
“The quiet was nice.”
My eyes locked on the back of his head as he continued to eat the plate of food.
“Well, I’ll make myself scarce then,” I said, slightly taken aback by his comment.
I ventured back toward the opening of the hallway just as a loud sigh emanated from behind me.
“That’s not what I meant,” he said.
“I don’t want to be a bother. And you said the snow’s let up, right?” I asked.
“But it’s deep. Very deep. The ditches will be full of snow. All the way to the top.”
“Which means no one will find my car,” I said.
“I have a snowmobile, but all four of us aren’t going to fit on it,” he said.
“It’s fine. I’ll figure something out.” I turned to head back to the room to check in on Dad.
“Mel?” I heard him call my name softly.
I turned my head toward him and caught him staring at me. The look in his eyes told me that he might be fighting the same feelings I was. That both terrified and intrigued me.
“I wasn’t implying that you were a bother,” he said, his eyes boring into mine. “I’ve just had a lot of changes in the past couple of years that I’m still adjusting to,” he said.
I nodded and offered him a smile. If anyone knew about adjusting, it was me. I continued down the hall and called my father.
The day wore on and I grew more comfortable as I watched Evan interact with the children. He laughed with them, played with them, and didn’t become immediately annoyed when they fussed. With each passing moment, he was becoming more and more attractive to me.
My dad still sounded good and assured me that he was eating. Luckily, I had just gone grocery shopping, and there was plenty of soup and lunchmeat to keep him fed until I could get home. He took his pills while on the phone with me again and told me he was going to take a nap.
Dinner had been served and cleared, and Evan was bathing the kids and getting them ready for bed as I cleaned up the kitchen. About half an hour later, he appeared from the hallway, looking exhausted.
“Man, those two wear me out,” he said.
I laughed and came to sit in front of the fire once again.
“Would you like a beer,” Evan offered as he threw another couple of logs into the fireplace.
“I’d love one, thank you,” I said.
He went into the kitchen and returned a moment later with two frosty bottles. I took a long pull of mine and closed my eyes, sighing.
He chuckled a bit, a sound that shook my knees and seemed to flip a switch within my gut.