Fan The Flames (Man Of The Month Book 3) Read Free Page A

front of the house, was Colleen’s bedroom, and Colleen found her bed and furniture already in place. The room had been painted a lovely shade of pale pink, and her heart ached. Brad had listened to her when she’d described Colleen’s room back in San Diego. A warm, fuzzy feeling washed over her. He wanted to make Colleen feel welcome. Everything in the room matched perfectly.
    Colleen bounced on her bed once. “Where’s your room?”
    “I guess the next one,” Scarlett said, checking out her daughter’s closet. Clothes were already hanging. Her parents clearly had concentrated their efforts unpacking items on this floor, and Scarlett bit back the tear that threatened to fall.
    “Let’s go find your bed. Maybe it’s this way!” Colleen opened a door, which led into a large oversized bathroom with a walk-in tiled shower and a huge claw-foot soaker tub. “Wow!”
    Brad had clearly worked his magic; everything was new. The bathroom, done in Mediterranean blues and greens, felt like being at the beach. She’d only seen these types of bathrooms on those high-end real estate shows on HGTV. Real people did not have double sinks like that.
    Colleen pushed open another door. “Here’s your room! Look, the bathroom is a secret passageway.”
    “You’re right.” In their old house, they’d all shared one tiny hall bath. This en suite was bigger than her entire bedroom back in San Diego. The master bedroom here, with its ten-foot-tall windows overlooking Victor Street and its ornate fireplace, was larger than probably half her house. Brad’s house was a little overwhelming, and they hadn’t even been on the third floor yet.
    “Can I sleep in your bed tonight?” Colleen pointed to Scarlett’s queen-sized bed, which, like the dining room table, seemed to be lost inside the massive space. “Just this once?”
    “Of course, you can.” Scarlett drew Colleen into her arms for a hug. Colleen hadn’t slept well the past two nights, despite having gone swimming in the indoor hotel pool first. She was already a fish, much like her state champion father had been. Scarlett had to find more swimming lessons—stat.
    “Good. Winnie and I would like to stay with you. And Winnie says thank you.”
    “Oh, she does?”
    “Yes.” Colleen tossed the doll onto the bed, which Scarlett’s parents had made up. She’d call them in a few minutes. Let them know she’d arrived. Thank them for getting so many things ready. But what would she do with all this space? She didn’t even have enough dishes to fill up the kitchen cabinets.
    Not that the house wasn’t beautiful. Having grown up in a tiny brick bungalow, she’d always fantasized about these beautiful old houses. Once, she and her mother had taken one of those house tours featuring the homes on Lindell, across from Forest Park. While this house was smaller than those, it was far too extravagant for two people. Yet now that she was here, she suddenly didn’t want to leave. Wanted this beautiful dream home to be hers, despite knowing dreams were foolish follies.
    “Are we getting our suitcases out of the car? Can we unpack?” Colleen tugged on her arm.
    “Yes!” Scarlett said, shaking herself out of her doldrums. She missed the blue sky of San Diego, that was all. “Of course we are.”
    She carried the majority of the suitcases in two trips while Colleen carried her small one. They set them in the kitchen, and as they finished, the snowfall began to intensify. She allowed Colleen to stand on the back porch. Her daughter had never seen snow, and Colleen leaned over the railing and reached her hand out. “It’s wet!” She tilted her head to the sky and stuck out her tongue. Laughed as she tried to catch the falling flakes.
    “Okay, that’s enough,” Scarlett called. “The weatherman says there will be plenty of snow tomorrow.”
    Colleen got excited. “Will I get to build a snowman?”
    Scarlett couldn’t help but smile. “Yes. Granny brought one of cousin