Leaning her head against the back of the chair, she reflected on the awkward situation she had gotten herself into. She was not by nature an impulsive or impractical person. She rarely acted without detailed planning and clearly defined goals. This trip to Honesty definitely qualified as impulsive, even though she had decided to take it several days before her departure. She’d made up her mind in an instant and hadn’t allowed herself to second-guess the decision afterward, even though she had been aware that it wasn’t the most rational business move she’d ever made.
And now, twenty-four hours after her arrival, she’d made absolutely no progress in discussing business with Gideon. To make matters worse, she had injured herself and was proving to be an inconvenience to him. This was what she deserved, she supposed, for losing her patience and her temper and behaving so uncharacteristically.
Because she didn’t want to spend any more time alone with her recriminations, she reached for the crutches beside her chair. There was pain when she lowered her foot from the stool and rose, but she ignored it. Following the doctor’s instructions, she moved her injured foot in a walking motion, though she put little weight on it as she made her way carefully to the kitchen.
Isabelle sat at the table, swinging her feet and talking while she crumbled cookies on a plate. Most of the pieces made it to her mouth, but she seemed more interested in telling Gideon a lengthy and complex tale about her classmates’ playground antics than in eating her dessert.
Gideon leaned against the counter, solemnly munching a cookie and trying to follow Isabelle’s monologue. He looked relieved when Adrienne entered, a bit as if he’d heard the welcome call of a cavalry bugle, she thought with a faint smile. And then he frowned. “What are you doing up? I’d have brought you anything you needed.”
“I was getting restless. I’m not used to sitting still for so long.” She moved toward the cabinet where he stored his drinking glasses. “Since I’m already up, I’d like a glass of water.”
He reached over her shoulder for a glass, brushing against her with the movement. She was keenly aware of the feel of his muscled arm against her shoulder. “Do you want ice?” he asked, his voice a low growl in her ear.
She hadn’t been particularly warm before she’d entered the kitchen. She was now. “Yes, please.”
He looked at her for a moment, and she wondered if the contact between them had affected him, too. Or was he simply reading something in her expression? Before she could decide, he turned to the side-by-side refrigerator and opened the freezer door.
She jumped when the telephone rang. The extension was on the wall right beside her. Busily filling her glass with ice, Gideon glanced her way. “I suppose you think we should answer that.”
“Of course.”
“Would you mind? If it’s a telemarketer, tell him he can—”
She cleared her throat loudly and looked warningly toward his attentive little sister. And then, balancing on her crutches, she reached for the receiver. “McCloud residence.”
She’d half expected to hear his mother on the other end of the line again. Instead it was a man who said, “Is, um, Gideon there? This is his brother, Nathan.”
“Just a moment.” She extended the receiver toward Gideon. “It’s your brother.”
Isabelle’s face brightened. “It’s Nate? Can I say hi?”
“Of course you can,” Gideon assured her, trading Adrienne a glass of water for the phone. “Hang on a minute.”
Adrienne set the water on the table, then carefully lowered herself into a chair to drink it. Just that brief walk from the den had left her foot burning with pain. The doctor had assured her the discomfort would lessen in a few days, especially if she took care of it and eased into the exercises she’d been given, but tonight the pain was intense. Not that she would admit that, of course. She’d caused Gideon enough concern.
She couldn’t help overhearing his side of his conversation with his brother as she sipped her water. Isabelle listened openly, squirming in her seat to signal her impatience to have a turn at the telephone.
“That was my agent,” Gideon said, sounding resigned to explaining Adrienne’s presence yet again. “She’s spending a few days here on business…. Yes, I’m being hospitable,” he added crossly in response to something his brother said.
“Isabelle’s fine,” he said a moment later. “You can ask her yourself. She wants to talk to you…. No, there’s no reason to cut your honeymoon short. I can handle things here until Mom gets back.”
There was another pause, and then Gideon spoke gruffly again, “That’s not necessary. You’d do the same for me. Here, talk to Isabelle. She’s about to explode.”
Hopping down from her chair in response to Gideon’s motion, Isabelle took the phone in her eager little hands. “Hi, Nate. I’m not really going to explode. Gideon was joking. Are you having fun on your honeymoon? Is Caitlin having fun, too? I lost Hedwig last night, but Miss Corley helped me find him. She’s nice and she’s pretty, too.”
Gideon pulled the chair he’d settled into closer to Adrienne. “I think you’ve got a fan,” he murmured, keeping his voice low so he wouldn’t distract Isabelle. Not that it seemed likely, since the child barely paused for breath before moving on to a recital of everything that happened at school that day.
Very aware of how closely he was sitting to her, she managed a smile. “Your little sister certainly loves to talk.”
“I’ve noticed that. Funny, she’s always been more reserved with me than with other people, but she seems to be getting over that.”
“Maybe she was waiting for a signal from you that you wanted to be her fr
iend. She told me she didn’t think you were used to having children around.”
“She was right about that. And I never expected to spend this much time with her.”
Glancing at Isabelle, who was still babbling happily into the telephone, Adrienne asked just as quietly, “Don’t you enjoy being with her?”