Billionaire Romance: Out of The Cold (Book One) Read Free Page A

it.
    “If you’re cookin’ roast
beef, I’ve got to get a piece of that action!” Toby, young, partly
disabled from the accident that had scarred him, and definitely as
working-class as James, had shown up every time they worked in the
Catskills, usually to eat with them or show them around on the back
roads while Henry drove. They met when Monty had gotten out of the
SUV during a visit to Toby's home town of Phoenicia, and Toby had
shown up within five minutes with the dog in hand on a borrowed
leash, asking whose he was. Ever since then, he had had an open
invitation to visit whenever Henry was in town.
    “I am. C’mon in.” And Toby
ambled past her, a brown paper package in his arms, face lighting
up as he sniffed the air.
    Anna didn’t mind his
presence--well, yes, part of her did, the part that had hoped roast
beef and pie would lead to romantic scenes with Henry in front of
the wood stove. But generally, she was fine with Toby being around.
When he was present, things just couldn’t get too serious. He was a
ray of sunshine in these wintry mountains.
    He helped them finish
fixing things as he and Henry chattered. Anna quietly watched the
clouds marching in, stuffing themselves into the sky over the
mountain until the last patch of blue was gone. There they
thickened and darkened, lowering slowly. She remembered James’s
warning and his worried glances at her. She felt the seed of fear
in her stomach grow a little. I should say
something. Shouldn't I say something? Henry seems determined to
spend a few more hours and he's the boss, but....
    They ate well before
sundown, dining at the gorgeous live-edge dining table Toby helped
build. Anna couldn't tell whether it was Henry's concession to
James's warning or whether he was just hungry, but she was secretly
a little glad they were eating early. As much as she loved spending
more time with Henry, her eyes kept going back to the low black
clouds outside the window. James never looked worried about
anything, but he sure had that afternoon.
    "Guess it's good you
didn't bring Monty," Toby chattered on between huge bites of roast
beef. "I know how he likes to get out, and the last few nights have
been freezing. And tonight's really gonna be no night for a dog to
be out. Looks like snow. Maybe lots of snow."
    Henry frowned but then
forced his face into a more pleasant expression. "Monty's at doggie
daycare, they have already arranged to keep him overnight if we get
back late."
    "Guess that's good then."
He perked up. "Hey, did James tell you he got his trailer fixed up?
Just in time, too. I helped him put the new wood stove in. He’s
gonna be a lot warmer this winter, bet you anything. Good thing,
too, because last winter he had a cough for three months! Poor
guy’s had no luck since he got out of prison, not until you came
along.”
    Anna paused with her fork
halfway to her mouth. Then she forced herself to take the bite,
chew and swallow. Of course she felt a little worried about James’s
last winter. But mostly what she thought was that Henry was always
doing things like that: offering a second chance to people who
wouldn’t have it otherwise. Like the ex-con who had stolen money to
feed his family. Or the brain-damaged woodworker who sometimes had
convulsions. Or the social-reject secretary who was better with
dogs than she was with humans. Henry had a big heart, and she
wished, with an ache that deepened whenever she looked at him, that
there was room in it for her.
    “He didn’t mention it, no.
But I’m glad he did.” Henry sliced off more meat, dipped it in
mashed potatoes and gravy and stuffed it in his mouth.
    “Saw the inside the other
day. He scrubbed all the mold out, stuffed it full of insulation.
Got two solar panels of his own. Too bad his neighbors bitched
about the windmill noise or he would have that too.”
    “Hard to believe that that
not-in-my-backyard thing happens out where people’s backyards are
several acres,” Anna commented