“I was the lead ranger on the rescue. It wouldn’t have mattered. The coroner said she died on impact.” If only Theo could convince himself that was the case. Having someone die on your watch was the nightmare of every ranger in the park.
“You still feel bad. I can tell.”
She always could read him so easily. Could she tell how much he wanted her? Wanted things back to where they were when they’d gotten married?
“Brett was devastated and started drinking heavily. He lost his job as a mechanic because of it. He seems to blame me for all his problems since then.”
Tammi called out his name, and Chelsea followed him to the counter.
“It’s good to see you again, Chelsea,” she said. “You and your daughter look adorable together. Throw in that pup, and you should be on the cover of a family magazine.”
“Thanks, Tammi,” Chelsea said, picking up the tray while Theo filled their drinks with soda. “We’re getting there.”
As he passed the counter, Kelly grinned at him. “Nice family.”
Yeah, if only wishing it would make it so. For the moment, he had to worry about who Chelsea was letting in her house.
“I don’t like the idea of that guy being in your house while you’re alone, pixie.”
Her startled gaze aimed his way, and her mouth tightened. “He’s got nothing against me, Theo. He’s been polite and respectful the last two days. And I could tell he’s been through something. He has that broken look, and if working for me can help, then I want to help.”
She’d know about being broken. It was what he saw most of the time when he looked at her.
“Be careful, then. If you suspect he’s been drinking or he does anything out of the ordinary, call me right away. And keep Bandit by your side.”
After taking a bite of her sandwich, Chelsea patted his arm. “I’m sure I’ll be fine, but thank you for being concerned.”
Knowing how much Brett despised him, hewasconcerned. Maybe he needed to keep Chelsea closer than ever. For some reason, he didn’t hate that idea.
Chapter eleven
Theopulledopenthefront door and froze. The smell of something burning had him jumping over the blankets piled on the floor and into the kitchen.
“Is everything okay?” he shouted above the sound of the oven vent turned up high.
Chelsea waved a dish towel in the air, fanning smoke away from the stove. Something charcoal rested in one of his frying pans.
“I’m sorry,” her tiny voice chirped out, her eyes like a frightened doe. “I guess I’m not used to this stove.”
Rushing toward the offending appliance, Theo flipped the burner off and slid the pan to the side. He bit his lip to keep from laughing. Chelsea had done a few things like this when they’d first been married. Having grown up with tons of household help, cooking wasn’t something she had much practice at.
“Hi, Daddy,” Jordan greeted from the floor where she sat with the three black furballs scrambling over her lap. Bandit whimpered near the back door.
“Does the dog need to go out?” he asked. Chelsea’s anxious eyes moved in that direction.
“I think so, but I had to get this under control first.”
Inching closer, he took the dish towel from her and lightly pushed her toward the dog. “Take Bandit out, so he doesn’t do his business on the floor. I’ll see what I can salvage here.”
Once the back door shut, he grabbed a sponge and started mopping up the grease around the stove.
“Peanut, what’s this supposed to be?” He indicated the blackened food in the pan.
“Fried chicken.”
Chicken. Maybe he’d have to start giving Chelsea some cooking lessons. The ones they’d had five summers ago had been fun. Although not a lot of food had been cooked.
It only took a few minutes to clean up the mess and cut through the black to see if the chicken had been cooked through. Luckily, it was.
