Four Flames for Angela

Todd’s eyes opened as wide as they could. “Really? Can I, Angie? Can I?”

“Sure, honey. I think that’s a great idea. Maybe I’ll take a turn after yours.” A long hot soak and a glass of wine sounded like heaven right now. Then if she could sleep for a few hours, she’d be able to face tomorrow and everything she had to do.

Chapter Eight

The first thing they did was to let Todd pick out the rooms he and Angie would sleep in. He decided he wanted his own room but wanted to know where Angie would be if he should need her during the night. He still had nightmares often and liked to crawl into bed with her when he was scared.

“Tell you what we’ll do, Todd. All of us will leave our doors open, and you can come see any of us if you need to.” River didn’t want the little boy keeping Angela up all night.

“Thank you. That’s all right. I’m used to it,” Angela told the guys while they carried up the things she had brought for her and Todd. She’d packed a quick bag with her and Todd’s night clothes and something for them both to wear tomorrow. Hopefully, they could get the house

cleaned and return home tomorrow before Todd had school on Tuesday. Luckily the mess had been contained in one room and hadn’t gotten on any of the furniture, and Todd’s school was closed on Monday for teacher planning day. She hoped airing out everything would get rid of the odor, and she wouldn’t have to replace it all.

“Let’s go find the tub the guys were telling us about,” Angie said to Todd, stifling a yawn. She was so tired she was operating on adrenaline. Once she had Todd taken care of, then she could rest.

Rock led them down the hall to the mistress suite and started filling the tub for Todd. She’d just taken a brief look at the tub before, and didn’t realize how big it was. Hunter took Todd into the bathroom ahead of Angela and the other men.

River leaned down and whispered in her ear, “The tub is big enough for you and all of us to fit in it. We designed it to share. This entire room was designed to be shared.”

Angie felt a tingle run down her arms, and when she turned her head to look at him, he brushed a soft kiss against her lips.

“Would you like to share this with us?” Sawyer asked from her other side.

Before she could answer, she heard Todd calling, “Angie, come look. Come on!”

Sawyer guided her into the room, and Angie stopped for a minute to take a better look at the room. It was more than large enough for one woman and the four men. Todd alone in the tub would be swimming.

“Isn’t it great, Angie? Come check it out. Rock already started adding water, and he’s gonna add bubbles!”

“It’s very nice, Todd. You want me to help you?” Angie asked even though she felt ready to collapse.

“How about I help you tonight and we let Angie go take her shower, then she can come listen while I read you a story? Will that work?” Angie’s eyes lit up when Rock made his offer to Todd. That would be perfect.

“Is it okay, Angie?” Todd was already trying to pull his shirt over his head.

“It’s fine with me. Are you sure?” She looked at Rock, making sure he knew what he was getting into. In a tub that big, Todd was sure to make a huge mess.

“I got this, baby. River will show you to the guest shower, and you take as long as you need. We’ll take care of Todd for you.” Rock then turned back to helping Todd get undressed.

River led Angie down the hall to another huge bathroom that was in the same wing as her and Todd’s rooms. “There should be everything you need in there. Mom had fun stocking all these rooms, and I know you’ll find something you like.” He showed her where towels were and how to work the shower and warming bar. There were several shower heads, and a panel inside the shower controlled them all and also played music.

In one of the cabinets was a selection of every flavor of shampoo a person could want. Angie picked her favorite scent, lilac, and hung a couple of towels over the warming bar. She might never leave this bathroom. She set the shower on a soothing rainfall, chose a music station, and pointed the nozzles toward the large seat in the corner. It was actually big enough to sit on, as opposed to the seat in her shower, which was only large enough to prop her feet on while she shaved.

She made herself comfortable on the large padded seat and leaned back, closing her eyes. It couldn’t hurt to close them for just a minute. The feel of the warm water and the sound of it was so soothing she let herself relax. It was the first time she could remember in a long time that she didn’t need to rush and worry about what Todd was doing. He was old enough to be left alone for a few minutes, but Angie didn’t like to leave him alone for long. He still didn’t always make the best decisions and sometimes didn’t understand that he needed to wait for her before doing something.

He’d lost his parents so early and had been in some uncaring foster homes that he didn’t always know how things were supposed to work. Like the night with puppies. He’d been so afraid that Angie would be mad at him and send him back. He didn’t understand that Angie was doing her best to make sure he was never in a situation like that again.

She let her mind drift and sat, enjoying the warm water and soft music playing. After a few minutes, she stood and washed her body and her hair. When the water was still warm, she decided to enjoy it a while longer. Hot water never lasted this long at home. Especially when Todd had a bath first. Their old water heater only had enough water for one good bath or one shower, and Angie was always on the short end. This was heaven.

Angie didn’t know how long she’d sat there before she heard a knock at the door and a voice call, “Angela. Are you okay in there?”

“What? Hold on.” She turned the water off and grabbed a towel off the warming rack. She wrapped it around herself and padded to the door. She opened the door a crack and looked through the space.

Rock stood there holding Todd. He gave her an appreciative glance. Not that he could see that much of her. “Sorry to bother you, but you’ve been in here an hour and we were starting to worry. We wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“An hour! I didn’t realize it had been that long. The hot water at home would have never lasted that long.” Angie was amazed that she had been in the shower an hour. It hadn’t felt like that long.

“We have multiple tanks. I’ll explain it to you another time. I’m going to take Todd back to his room. He still wants you to come in for a story. Do you need anything?” Rock asked as he started to walk away.