Solid as Steele

Solid as Steele Read Free

Book: Solid as Steele Read Free
Author: REBECCA YORK
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swayed together, and she wondered if he was sharing a similar fantasy. If he—
    She stopped her wayward thoughts and summoned the resolve to ease away.
    â€œDon’t,” she whispered.
    Instantly, his hands dropped to his sides.
    Taking a step back, he dragged in a breath and let it out as he stood looking at her. While she tried to figure out what his expression meant, he said, “Tell me what’s wrong.”
    Could she?
    Talking to Jo had seemed like such a logical move. Talking to Mack didn’t have the same appeal.
    To keep from blurting anything right away she said, “Let’s have a cup of tea.”
    â€œOkay.”
    He followed her into the kitchen and looked around in surprise at the flour, sugar and other ingredients spread around on the counter. “You’re baking?”
    She flushed. “After we talked, I knew I wasn’t going back to sleep, so I started making some of those baking jars we’ve been selling in the Lobby Shop.”
    â€œI see,” he answered, though she was pretty sure the gift items weren’t on his radar.
    â€œThey were selling so fast before Christmas that Sabrina asked me for some more,” she answered. “She’s paying me up front for the ingredients and giving me a commission on every sale. Maybe we can make them into a feature at the shop.”
    When she realized she was babbling, she stopped. Instead she asked, “What kind of tea do you want? Or would you prefer coffee?”
    â€œDon’t go to the trouble of making coffee. I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
    â€œYou’re into green tea flavored with ginger?”
    â€œMaybe not. You got any… Earl Grey?”
    There was a moment of silence when they both remembered that Craig had liked Earl Grey.
    Turning quickly away, she filled the kettle and set it on a burner, then got tea bags out of the pantry and put them into mugs. As she waited for the water to boil, she finished up the jar she’d been making, then started putting away the rest of the supplies, aware all the time of Mack sitting at the kitchen table watching her. He didn’t sit in Craig’s chair, she noticed. Probably he knew which one to avoid.
    As she wiped spilled flour from the counter, he said, “You’ll feel better when you tell me why you called the office.”
    â€œProbably not.”
    â€œGive it a shot.”
    The kettle whistled, and she snatched it off the burner, then poured water into the mugs.
    â€œSugar?”
    â€œNo, thanks.”
    She added sugar to her own mug, keeping her back to him. After taking a breath and letting it out, she blurted, “I had a nightmare, and I think it’s real.”
    â€œYou mean, like you dreamed someone was outside, and you woke up and heard rustling in the shrubbery?” He glanced toward the darkened window. “Do you want me to check around the house now?”
    â€œNo. Not someone around here. Someone in Gaptown. Someone in trouble.” She swallowed. “Someone who was calling out to me.”
    Long seconds passed before he answered. “That’s your hometown?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œThey called on the phone?”
    Obviously, he didn’t get what she was trying to say.More likely, she wasn’t being very clear. She set his mug on the table in front of him but remained standing.
    He shifted in his seat, keeping his eyes on her.
    Her throat had turned dry, so that she had to swallow before she could speak. “Not a phone call or anything like that. It was a dream. But…I’m pretty sure it was real.” Absolutely sure. But she wasn’t going to say it that way. Not to Mack Steele.
    He turned his mug around on the table. When he spoke, his words were measured. “Dreams aren’t reality.”
    â€œYeah. Right,” she agreed too quickly. “Everybody knows that.” Rushing on, she added, “It was a mistake for you to come over.

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