Against the Heart Read Free Page B

unpack."
    "This was your room?"
    "Yeah.  Mom never changed it after I left."
    Curiosity moved through her.  You could tell a lot about a person by the space he lived in.  She wondered what the room would tell her about Ian Brodie. 
    He walked over and turned on a small TV, set it on the Disney channel.  Meri lifted Lily up on the bed in front of the screen. 
    "You stay here.  Mama’s going to work for a while.  I’ll make you a sandwich and bring it up, okay?"
    Lily nodded, her eyes fixed on the cartoon characters on the screen.  "Okay."  Besides watching cartoons, her favorite pastime was coloring, or playing with her Kermit the Frog hand puppet.  Meri made a mental note to get the toys out of the car.
    "I’ll show you the rest," Ian said. "Then I’ll show you where the cleaning stuff is kept.  It’s bound to be there, since Dad clearly hasn’t used it."
    She smiled and followed him out of the bedroom.  A quick tour of the upstairs included a total of three bedrooms and two baths.  Except for the master, where Daniel Brodie slept, the upstairs wasn’t too dirty.  She figured not too many people had stayed there over the years so the doors and windows had remained closed.  Still, the rooms were musty, dusty, and the linens all needed washing.
    The living room was dank and cluttered, but had seen little use.  She paused in the dining room to admire the lovely old mahogany dining room table with its eight, high-backed tapestry-upholstered chairs, and the beautiful matching sideboard with a silver tea service on top. 
    "This was my mother’s favorite room," Ian said softly, reaching out to run a finger through the dust on top of the table, exposing the mirror-like sheen underneath.
    "It’s beautiful."  She looked up at him.  "It will be again, Ian.  I promise you."
    He smiled.  It wasn’t one of the wary smiles he’d been giving her.  It was a smile that lit up his face and made her breath catch at how amazingly handsome he was.
    "My mother would like that," he said.
    Meri just nodded.  Her mouth felt dry.  Her heart was hammering.  It had been years since a man had attracted her.  Not since before Lily was born.  She had learned the hard way what could happen when you let your physical desires rule your head.  The only good thing to come from that night with Joey was Lily.  Meri would always be grateful for that. 
    She glanced away from Ian’s sexy smile.  "Where’s the kitchen?"
    "This way."  He led her into a once-white room whose walls were now more a gray.  White curtains trimmed with faded red hung at the windows and the white Formica counters where piled high with dirty dishes. 
    "Cleaning won’t be enough," she said, appraising the dreary room.  "It needs to be painted."  The whole house did, but she wasn’t sure she should say that.
    He nodded.  "It’s pretty bad.  After you get things put away, I’ll get in here and get it done."
    "You’re going to paint it yourself?"
    He grinned.  "What?  You don’t think I can handle the job?"
    Her gaze cut to the powerful biceps stretching the sleeves of his dark blue T-shirt.  She had a hunch Ian Brodie could handle just about anything. 
    "I guess I just figured you could pay someone to do it."
    "I enjoy the exercise."
    Her gaze ran over his impressive chest and wide shoulders.  "Where are the cleaning supplies?" she asked, forcing her gaze away.
    "Some of the stuff is under the kitchen sink, the rest is in the mudroom."  He showed her where to find everything, then they returned to the kitchen.
    "Now that you’ve been here and seen what you’re facing, you still want the job?"
    It wasn’t what she’d planned, but it would get them moving again.  "Yes."
    "All right, then, why don’t you go ahead and get started?  I’ll be outside working in the barn if you need anything." 
    As he headed for the back door, she turned to the gigantic stack of dishes on the kitchen sink.  She was supposed to cook supper, but no