One in a Million Read Free Page A

scent of soap and man. Something deep inside her, that feminine part of her dormant for the past three years, gave a slight hiccup of resurrection and slowly stirred to life. Awareness rippled through her. Awareness and sexual interest.
    Telling herself that the good news was that this would be a great story to tell her friends the next time they managed to sneak away for a girls'-only dinner, she stepped back and cleared her throat.
    “ Okay. While I'm out today I'm definitely getting you that bell." She handed him the jumper cables. "Hooking them up is going to be your problem. I know what a car battery looks like, but if I used those things, I would probably electrocute myself and set both our vehicles on fire."
    “ No problem. I appreciate the help. Are you sure I can't repay you by looking at the washer?”
    “ Thanks, but no. Think of this as part of our ser vice here at Serenity House." Nash studied her for a few seconds before turning and walking toward the parked cars. Stephanie sighed in relief. While the offer to pay her back was really nice, she had less than no interest in an am ateur messing around with her washing machine. Whenever Marty had decided to "help," he ended up completely breaking whatever had only been par tially broken before. Now she hired experts at the first sign of trouble. Easier and certainly cheaper in the long run.
    She followed Nash to the curb and watched as he popped the hoods on both vehicles. He stretched out the cables and clamped one end to her battery.
    “ What brings you to Glenwood?" she asked as he walked to his car and she did the same.
    “ I'm visiting family." Huh. She wouldn't have picked him for the small- town type. "I don't know anyone named Harmon in the area." He opened his car door. "Actually their last name is Haynes."
    “The Haynes men?" He frowned slightly. "You know them?"
    “ Sure. Travis Haynes is our sheriff. Kyle, his brother, is one of the deputies, as is his sister, Han nah." Stephanie tilted her head. "Let me see. I think Hannah is only a half sister. I never heard the whole story. There are a couple more brothers. One's a firefighter and one lives in Fern Hill."
    “You know a lot."
    “ Glenwood isn't the big city. It's the sort of place where we all keep track of each other." Which was one of the things she liked about the area. While owning a bed and breakfast had never been one of her dreams, if she had to run that kind of business, far better here than somewhere cold and impersonal.
    Nash moved into his car and turned the key. The engine caught.
    When he stepped back out, Stephanie studied his dark hair and strong jaw. "I can see the family resemblance," she said. "Are you a cousin?"
    “Not exactly." He released the jumper-cable con nection. "I don't know much about them. Maybe you could fill me in later." A shiver shimmied through her. Anticipation, she realized. Great. In the time it took to serve breakfast and dig out jumper cables, she'd developed a crush. She was thirty-three. Shouldn't she be immune to that kind of foolishness? He coiled the cables, then handed them to her. "If it's not too much trouble."
    “ Not one bit. Hunt me down when you're ready. I'm usually in the kitchen after the boys get home from school."
    “Thanks." He smiled. Unlike last night's, this one reached his eyes. They brightened for a moment, which made the cold foggy morning suddenly less dreary. Oh, she had it bad. And as soon as her long- legged, hunky guest drove off in his rental car, she was going to give herself a stern talking-to. Falling for one pretty face once had turned her life into a disaster. Did she really want to risk that a second time? She was a sensible woman with children and bills. The odds of her finding love with a decent responsible guy had to be substantially less than one in a million. She would do well to remember that.
    Chapter Two

    Nash circled around Glenwood and started out on the interstate. He checked his watch and when he'd