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

Eileen’s old snowsuits for you, so tomorrow you can go out and play.”
    “Yay!” Colleen shivered. “I like snow.”
    “It is pretty,” Scarlett admitted, for there was something innately beautiful about fresh white powder. “But let’s get inside since your jacket isn’t warm enough to stay out here long.”
    “Okay. It’s cold. Will it always be this cold?”
    “No. St. Louis is only cold during the winter. In the summer it will be really hot.”
    “Like back home.”
    “Yes,” Scarlett agreed, not correcting that this was their home now. She had to admit, snow and cold weather were two of the reasons she hadn’t wanted to return. She’d delayed the inevitable as long as possible. First, she’d needed to wait until the real estate market had rebounded. She and Todd hadn’t lived on the Navy base, and the house they’d bought and intended to fix up had never quite made it to the fixed stage. She’d managed to finally sell it and not be upside down. The proceeds had been enough to hire a moving truck to bring her possessions home, but that was it. She didn’t have enough for a down payment on her own place.
    Oh, her parents had offered to pay and help out. But she was thirty. It was time to be a big girl and solve her own problems. Besides, she’d wanted consistency for Colleen, and she’d wanted to grieve near her friends. But slowly, those friendships had faded. Scarlett was no longer a military wife—she was a widow. A daily reminder that what happened to her husband could happen to her friends’ husbands.
    As the remaining life insurance ran out, she’d invested practically all of the initial payout into a trust fund for Colleen. She’d realized that the future meant moving to St. Louis. Hopefully two years had been enough time for Todd’s family to grieve. Same for her own. She did not want either of them to see her return as a chance to meddle. Her life. Her terms.
    “Mommy, I’m hungry,” Colleen announced, and Scarlett realized it had been hours since they’d eaten last, somewhere just east of Springfield.
    “Granny said she’d stocked the fridge,” Scarlett told her.
    Colleen looked around the kitchen. “We don’t have a refrigerator.”
    “Yes, we do,” Scarlett said, finding it behind the cabinet doors. “See, it’s built-in. And look, Granny filled it all up.” Scarlett pulled out a pound of hamburger, then tried to figure out which cabinet would hold her frying pan. “Let me call Granny and I’ll cook us something to eat. And then we’ll unpack.”
    “Yay. Tell her we live in a castle. Can I help?”
    Her daughter hadn’t connected that her grandparents had already been in the house. “You may help,” she agreed, not bothering to correct the grammar. “Go wash your hands again. Do you need me or can you reach?”
    “I’ll reach. I’ll stand on my tiptoes.”
    As Colleen entered the bathroom, Scarlett began opening cabinets, scrounging for her frying pan. She found it in the last one she checked, and called her parents once the burgers were sizzling.
    “Hey, we’re here.”
    “Good.” She heard the relief in her mom’s voice. “The weatherman said it’s about to get really ugly out there. I’ve been wanting to call you, but not if you were on the road.”
    “Well, we’ve arrived safe and sound. Thanks for the groceries. And for the unpacking. And for everything.”
    “You’re welcome, although Brad did most of it, including buying food. He’s a good friend, that one. A good man. We can’t wait to see you tomorrow. You use tonight to settle in.”
    “We will.” Suddenly, Scarlett didn’t feel like talking. Brad had helped? Hadn’t he already done more than enough? When she’d pressed him a week ago as to why he was helping her, he’d brushed off her concerns. Evaded answering. A wave of pure exhaustion rolled over her. “Hold on. Let me pass you to Colleen.”
    She passed Colleen her cell phone. “Hi, Granny! We’re living in a castle,”