LITMIR.BIZ

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she was and watched him bend down and reach for the propane starter to ignite the gas log.

      He stood up, smiling at her, then walked over to the drinks table in the corner. “Let’s see. Scotch, of course. Brandy. Cream sherry. There’s red wine. What can I get you?”

      Another hug, please, she wanted to say. “Sherry, I think.”

      “Sherry, it is. I’ll have Scotch. I’m a Bourbon man at home.”

      “Kentucky is famous for its Bourbon whisky, isn’t it?”

      “We make the best. I’ve heard Tennessee produces some passable stuff, too, but I’m partial to the home spirits.”

      “Naturally.”

      He caught the humor in her voice, looked over and grinned.

      “I have to thank you for a wonderful day,” he said, pouring a couple of ounces of sherry into a wineglass.

      “Your girls are enchanting.” What she really felt like saying was that she didn’t want the day to end. “You must be very proud of them.”

      “I am.” He decanted even less whisky into a short tumbler for himself. “You have to understand, though, they’ve been on their best behavior the last couple of days, for which I’m enormously grateful. But they can also be holy terrors, I assure you.”

      She smiled as he handed her the sweet wine.

      “Thanks for inspiring them,” he said.

      “It’s I who should be thanking you for today,” she replied, standing in front of the fire. “You’ve given me a special gift, sharing your family and allowing me to see the world ’round me with fresh eyes. I shan’t forget that.”

      He loved listening to her speak, the crisp accent that was so clear and precise, the unaccustomed words. Meeting her eyes, he held up his glass. “To special gifts.”

      She raised hers, never breaking eye contact. The intimacy of the moment lingered even after they’d sipped their drinks.

      Taking her hand, he led her over to the love seat in front of the fireplace. Yellow and blue flames licked around the simulated logs. The fire wasn’t giving off much heat yet, but that wasn’t important. There was already enough between them.

      “You must be tired,” she said softly. “This has been a long day for you, too.”

      “All I feel right now is contentment. It’s been a wonderful two days,” he murmured. “I met you.”

      She looked up at him then, her eyes searching his. He brought his lips down to hers, and suddenly the heat of the fireplace was nothing compared to the heat between them.

      It was all happening so fast, she thought, yet not quickly enough. She closed her eyes, let her senses float. A furor of needs and desires raged inside her. Was it this man who was setting her free? Or would any man touching her have provoked the same response?

      She sensed, too, the desperation in the kiss. Were they no more than two lonely people starved for contact?

      They broke off. He didn’t look at her but bowed his head. Had she disappointed him? Did he feel regret?

      Another long moment elapsed before she was aware of a sound coming from the other room, a muffled sob.

      Six

      He was on his feet so quickly she almost fell into the void he left. She regained her balance and stood up as he darted to his daughters’ bedroom and shot inside. Devon went as far as the door but didn’t enter.

      Rhea was sleeping soundly, her face turned away from the light coming in through the open doorway. It was Katie who was crying.

      Brent sat at her side and ran his hand gently along her hair and down her neck.

      “What’s the matter, pumpkin? Having a bad dream?”

      “I miss Mommy.”

      He gathered her in his arms. “I know, honey. I do, too. But you know she’s here with you. You just can’t see her.”

      Katie cried harder against his chest. “Daddy…”

      “What is it, baby?”

      “Are you going to take us back to that school and leave us there?”

      “What?” He held her gently away so he could look into her tear-drenched eyes. “What are you talking about, honey?”

      “The other kids…they told us their parents brought them there and left them. They don’t see them anymore, except on visitors’ day. They don’t go home anymore, except maybe on holidays. Are you going to leave us there, too?”

      He thought he’d known pain before, but nothing compared with the agony he felt at that moment. For his girls to think he would abandon them…

      He hugged her so tightly he was afraid he was going to hurt her.

      “I would never do that, sweetheart. I love you so much, I could never leave you with other people. We’re only visiting here. When our vacation is over we’re going home again. All of us. Together.”

      She sobbed. “I was afraid you didn’t want us with you anymore.”

      “Shh,” he soothed. “That’s not true, honey. It’ll never be true.”

      He rocked her in his arms and felt his own tears roll down his face.

      “We’re going to have a good time while we’re here,” he said, “then we’re going home. Okay?”

      She nodded and hiccupped and clung to him all the tighter.

      “I promise.” He brushed away her tears with the pad of his thumb and kissed her cheek softly.

      He urged her to lie down again, pulled up her covers and sat on the edge of the bed until she had fallen asleep. Only then did he tiptoe from the room.

      Devon watched him pick up his whisky glass with a shaky hand and swallow its meager contents. She waited for him to go to the drinks table and refill it. Wasn’t that what men did when things went wrong or they didn’t get their way? Take another drink? To her amazement and relief, he didn’t.

      “What’s going on, Brent?” she asked in a quiet but determined tone.

      He spun around, as if he had forgotten she was there. “I should have realized something was bothering her,” he said morosely. “Rhea is the chatterbox, but Katie isn’t usually as withdrawn as she was this evening.”

      “That doesn’t answer my question.”

      He finally looked at her. “What do you mean?”

      “You obviously didn’t come to Briar Hills Academy with the intent of enrolling your daughters there, unless what you told Katie was a lie.”

      “It wasn’t.” He opened a bottle of Evian water and poured the contents into a clean tumbler.

      “So why did you come to the school?” When he didn’t respond, she ventured further. “Are you going to tell me, Brent? Or should I just leave?”

      “Don’t go. Please.”

      He sounded so earnest, so troubled, but he had already lied to her once. Why should she believe anything he told her now? Had the kiss been a lie, too? A way of manipulating her, of getting whatever it was he was after? She could still imagine the sensation of his lips on hers.

      “Please sit down,” he said, “and I’ll tell you.”

      She wasn’t sure she should stay, but she did want answers, and he was the only one who could furnish them. She settled into the club chair. Her sherry was within reach, but she ignored it.

      “What do you know about Apollo’s Ice?” he asked.

      She

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