He sighed with relief and then scanned the room. She wasn’t there. He gave in to the luxury of a yawn, and lay there savoring the feel of the bed. Once he decided to treat the marriage like a business partnership, he’d made amazing progress, from sleeping in the study to the bedroom, from barely speaking to a halfway companionable—even entertaining—evening out with his wife, and his latest progress, moving from the chair to the bed.
Now he needed to quell her fear. If he could just catch Hallie unaware, apply a little seduction, he’d be able to show her that physical loving wasn’t always painful. He’d teach her pleasure, even if the control killed him.
Throwing back the covers, Kit got out of bed. From all the light shining through the bedroom windows, he knew it was late. He washed and shaved with the tepid water left in the pitcher and then dressed. He descended the stairs, feeling better than he’d felt in a long time.
The mouth-watering smell of bread baking and fried ham made his stomach growl like Lee’s. He entered the kitchen where fresh bread sat cooling on the kitchen table. He poured some coffee from the tin pot, picking out the eggshells that floated on the top of his mug. He must have reached the bottom of the pot. Grabbing the butter crock from its cool home in the water tub, he crossed over to the kitchen table, sipping distractedly on his black coffee. It was strong and gritty from the grounds, but this morning he didn’t care.
TheAltasat folded near the bread. Sitting down, he tore off a chunk of warm bread and rubbed it in the white butter, then folded it in two to better shove it into his mouth. He opened the paper and chewed while he read.
“Did you catch him?” Maddie stood in the doorway. “That horrid Abner Brown?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know how that bastard got away. Lee and I thought we had him.”
“I’d love to be alone in a room for about five minutes with that scum—”
The twins raced into the room, cutting off Maddie with their arguing.
“It was your fault!” one accused.
“Was not! You let him out of the bag. That’s when he got loose,” the other retorted.
“You two stop your arguing,” Maddie ordered. “The damage is done, and you promised—no more pets.”
“But it looked just like Liv’s cat,” one of them said.
“That’s enough! You two sit down and I’ll get you something—Christopher! What are you doing to my bread?”
“Eating it,” Kit said, ripping off another chunk and swabbing it across the crock. “Isn’t that what it’s for?”
Maddie glared at him. “Don’t you get smart with me, I used to wipe your nose when you were no bigger than these two!” She spun around and started banging around the kitchen.
The twins sidled over to Kit with looks of wonder on their faces. The one on Kit’s left spoke first. “You used to be little?” His eyes grew more.
Kit laid down the paper. “Yup. ‘Bout your size.”
“Really?” the other one asked.
Kit smiled at him and then looked back and forth between the two. For the life of him, he could not tell these boys apart. “Which one is which?”
The boy on his left scrutinized Kit.
Ah, Kit thought, this must be Gunnar, the thinker.
“Are you mad at us for the skunk?” he asked, his eyes still trying to read Kit.
Kit hid a smile, knowing these two little boys had no idea how indebted he was to them.
The one on the right piped up. “It was his idea. I just opened the bag.”
Knut, the tattletale, Kit thought. “No, I’m not angry, this time...” he said, forcing a stern tone into his voice. “But don’t pull something like that again.”
Gunnar looked relieved. “Okay,” he agreed, and the imp grinned. “I’m Gunnar.”
“And I’m Knut!” the other boy said, following his brother’s suit.
Kit tore off some more bread and handed it to the boys. They sat down next to him, mimicking his butter dipping.
A butter knife clunked onto the table, along with three plates and some cloth napkins. “Use the knife, Kit, you’re teaching these two bad habits,” Maddie ordered, and then returned to her work at the dry sink.
