LITMIR.BIZ

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mess, that, at least, was one of her own decisions she didn’t doubt.

      While Eliza showered—oh, the wonder of those jets—and finished dressing and fixing her hair and makeup, Maddie quickly finished several of the worksheets her teacher in Boise had given Eliza to carry Maddie through the end of the year.

      When she was done, Maddie entertained herself by playing her favorite game on Eliza’s tablet and watching the snow steadily falling outside.

      Eliza considered it nothing short of a blessing that her daughter entertained herself so well. Maddie hardly ever complained she was bored. Give her a few art supplies or a couple of favorite toys and she could amuse herself for hours, something Eliza definitely appreciated for long waits in the doctor’s office or during lengthy hospital stays.

      After she was dressed—finally conceding she had done the best she could with her limited makeup tools and skills to conceal the bruises from the accident—she pulled Maddie’s hair back in a ponytail and the two of them set off to try finding the kitchen again.

      They walked hand in hand through the gorgeous house, with those honey-colored logs that glowed glossy and warm in the shafts of sunlight streaming through the windows everywhere.

      A gas fire flickered cheerfully in the great room fireplace but no one seemed to be in sight. That huge tree looked even more barren and forlorn in the daylight.

      From somewhere close by they heard someone singing “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” in an off-key twang. Sue. Eliza followed the sound to a big, well-appointed kitchen with gorgeous professional-grade appliances, granite countertops and a work island in the middle as big as a decent-sized children’s swimming pool.

      “Good morning,” Eliza said.

      Sue whirled around from the sink. “Hello! I wondered when you two might show your faces this morning.”

      “Sorry we slept so long.”

      “No need to apologize, darlin’. You had quite a day yesterday. It’s barely nine o’clock, anyway.”

      On a normal day, Eliza was usually up by six so she could work out, get in a load of laundry or take care of bills before Maddie awoke.

      “How are you feeling this morning?” Sue asked.

      She forced a smile. “Much better,” she said. It wasn’t a complete lie.

      “Aidan told me to let the two of you sleep as long as you need.”

      “Did he?” She wondered where he might be, but she didn’t want to ask—nor did she want to think about the heated dream she had about him.

      Sue answered her unspoken thought, anyway. “He and Jim are out trying to clear the driveway. They’ve got the plow on the pickup truck and the tractor going, too.”

      She tried to picture sexy brainiac Aidan Caine driving a tractor and couldn’t quite make the image jell.

      “He mentioned last night that more snow was expected throughout the day.” Right now the sun was shining but she knew that could change in a blink.

      “Oh, yes,” Sue said cheerfully. “We’re supposed to have loads and loads of it, at least for another day or two. Guess you’re stuck with us.”

      “Yay!” Maddie said. “I like it here.”

      “And we like having you, Miss Maddie,” Sue said. “I’ve got some breakfast waiting for you. I’ve just been keeping it warm.”

      She pulled a couple of plates out of a warming oven, layered high with scrambled eggs and sausages. “Have a seat, my dears. It won’t take me five minutes to add some pancakes to these.”

      As they wouldn’t be able to eat half of what she had already prepared for them, Eliza started to tell her that pancakes weren’t necessary but Maddie spoke up before she could.

      “Oh, I love pancakes!” Maddie declared. “My mama makes the best. Sometimes she even pours them into a heart.”

      Sue smiled at her. “Well, I don’t know if I can handle a heart since that takes some serious skills. I’ll see what I can do, though. You two have a seat and I’ll set you up.”

      “You don’t have to serve us. I can help.” It seemed strange to let Sue fuss over her when they were basically fellow employees now.

      “Suit yourself,” she said as she fired up the griddle. “There’s juice and milk in the refrigerator or coffee if you want it.”

      Eliza settled Maddie on one of the stools around the huge granite-topped island that dominated the kitchen space, found silverware for both of them in a drawer Sue indicated and then poured her a small glass of milk and another of juice.

      “Aidan said you might be staying,” Sue said after a moment.

      Eliza flashed a look at Maddie and saw she wasn’t paying them any attention.

      “Did he?” she asked, trying for a casual, noncommittal tone. The whole job offer seemed so perfect, she still couldn’t quite believe it was real.

      “You would be saving my hide if you take him up on his offer, I’ll tell you that much. Twenty guests, coming in just over a week and I’ve not even had time to decorate yet. You wouldn’t believe how crazy the last three months have been, trying to make the house ready for guests. I never thought we would make it before the holidays but when Aidan sets his mind to something, nothing can sway him. Even from his hospital bed, he would call me with suggestions for this and that.”

      “Hospital bed?”

      Sue looked horrified for a moment but quickly hid her reaction behind a cough. “Er. Forget I said that. No hospital bed for him. He’s healthy as a horse. Why, he’s healthier than some horses I know.”

      Was he? Eliza thought of those lines that looked fairly new around his mouth and the way his shirt the night before had looked a size too large. Had he been ill? And if so, why couldn’t Sue just tell her? Why the big secrecy about it?

      “I’ve met Aidan’s family a time or two,” the older woman went on quickly, as if trying not so subtly to change the subject, “and you’ll never meet a nicer bunch. Every last one of them.”

      She decided not to press her about their employer’s health, for now. It wasn’t her business, anyway. “That’s good.”

      “They’re just regular folk. I know you’ll like them.”

      “That will make the job a little easier.” She sipped at her coffee as Sue flipped the pancakes on the griddle.

      “As nice as they are, just thinking about a whole week of preparing three meals a day for twenty people—and then having to run the rest of the house on top of that—wears me right out. I don’t mind the cooking, it’s the rest of it that is a struggle. If you can handle all the details of throwing a big old-fashioned house party, you’ll be a real lifesaver, darlin’. For me and for Aidan.”

      She had wondered if he were inventing a job merely to make amends for the accident the day before. Listening to Sue, she wondered if her services might genuinely be needed at Snow Angel Cove.

      “If I agree to the job, where would Maddie and I stay? I didn’t have the chance to ask Aidan last night. I certainly don’t want to continue taking up one of the guest suites. By the sound of it, he will need all the space he can find for his family.”

      “Don’t you worry about that. We’ve got the perfect space for you and your little one.” She pointed to a hallway. “Matter of fact, it’s right through there. Cook’s quarters.”

      “But you’re the cook.”

      “This cook likes to lay her head next to my husband’s—I guess I’m funny that way—and he likes to stay close to his horses. We’re in a cozy little house just off the barn that used to be the foreman’s cottage, which means the cook’s quarters are

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