Weathering Rock. Mae Clair
a bay window, a round walnut table was already set with glasses and plates.
“Good morning,” Wyn called from the stove. “I hope you’re hungry. I made enough for three.”
Arianna flushed, uncomfortable with such easy attention from a virtual stranger. “That’s kind of you, but–”
“But what?” He tossed a glance over his shoulder as he worked at scrambling a griddle of eggs. “Caleb should be down soon. I know he’ll want to thank you again and say good-bye. I’ll change your tire after breakfast.”
Caleb.
She wouldn’t mind another moment or two in the company of that particular man. She’d already stayed the night. What was breakfast in comparison?
“Okay.” She slid her purse onto the counter. “What can I do to help?”
“Uh…how about filling the glasses with orange juice? Maybe round up some butter for the table.”
“I can handle that.” She started for the refrigerator, growing more comfortable with a routine she remembered from childhood.
“Help yourself to coffee. Caleb drinks it strong, so I water mine down. Sugar helps.” Wyn cracked a grin. “Lots of it.”
“You make the coffee to suit Caleb?”
Wyn shrugged. He looked better rested this morning, his clothing neat and tidy, wavy dark hair combed into place. “It’s easier to water mine down.” He popped the door on the microwave to check the bacon. “I have a feeling he’s going to need it this morning.”
“How was he last night?” Arianna focused on Wyn as she carried the orange juice to the table and started to pour.
“Fine, just dazed from the spill. He was having one of his episodes.”
Arianna wanted to inquire further, but wasn’t sure how to go about it without appearing nosy. As trim and healthy as Caleb looked, she couldn’t imagine him incapacitated by headaches.
“He seemed confused, talking about someone named Meade.”
Wyn turned his back, but not before she’d caught his scowl. “That was nothing.” Taking the bacon from the microwave, he layered it on a platter and changed the subject. “What do you do in Sagehill, Arianna?”
“Ari’s fine.” Finished with the juice, she returned it to the refrigerator. “I teach at the local middle school. Seventh grade history.”
“So you get that nice long summer vacation everyone envies?”
She nodded. Monday was the beginning of her yearly summer break. School had finished two days before, but there’d been administrative work to clean up, yesterday marking the official end of her school year.
“I still have a few commitments during the summer,” she explained. “Day activities and field trips for kids in summer classes. I have one lined up the end of the month for Gettysburg.” Locating the coffee mugs on the counter, she helped herself to a cup, adding water at the sink and a few spoonfuls of sugar as Wyn suggested.
“Gettysburg, huh?” He returned to the stove, where he confiscated the pan of scrambled eggs, adding them to the platter with the bacon. “As a history teacher, you probably know a lot about the Civil War.”
“Living in Sagehill makes it almost mandatory, considering the town was a thoroughfare for the southern army when it came into Pennsylvania.”
“Yeah.” Frowning, Wyn slid the platter onto the table. “I wish Caleb would get down here.”
“Soon enough, Winston?” Caleb walked into the kitchen as if on cue.
Arianna couldn’t help stealing an appreciative glance. She had no intention of becoming infatuated with someone she’d only met, but something about Caleb DeCardian sent her pulse racing every time she glanced in his direction. Dressed in black jeans and a white cotton shirt, the sleeves cuffed on his forearms, Caleb looked casual and relaxed. The lines of pain around his eyes had vanished, his skin no longer drawn and ashen. In short, he looked every inch a fit and virile male.
“Perfect timing as usual.” One by one, Wyn mounded a spoonful of eggs onto each breakfast plate. “Right after I’ve finished with the cooking. Nice of you to join us, Caleb.”
“You know I dislike those blasted gadgets.” Caleb indicated the stove and microwave with a backhanded wave. “They’re–” He stopped, scowling when Wyn lobbed him a warning glare. His demeanor changed instantly and he turned to Arianna with a smile. “I hope you won’t let Winston’s grumbling spoil breakfast. You will join us, won’t you?”
She wasn’t sure she could have said no even if she’d wanted. An invitation from a man who looked like Caleb was hard to refuse. “Your brother was kind enough to invite me,” she said, feeling the need to come to Wyn’s defense.
“Please–” Caleb swept an arm toward the table, a grand gesture inviting her to sit.
With a hesitant smile, she moved toward the nearest chair, surprised when Caleb walked behind her and held it in place. It was a lovely old-fashioned formality. Feeling slightly bashful, she allowed him to guide the chair, then watched as he rounded the table to sit next to her. The first thing he did was remove the linen napkin from beside his plate and unfold it over his lap.
Arianna blinked.
She hadn’t expected linen napkins, much less a man who used one. When she glanced down at the plate, she realized it was delicate blush china. She’d been too distracted earlier in her conversation with Wyn to notice. She knew he was a doctor, financially solvent to live in an estate like Weathering Rock, but had expected the usual dishwasher-safe plates that comprised most kitchens.
“Allow me.” Caleb took her plate, adding a few strips of bacon and a plump muffin from the final platter Wyn set on the table. Did they always eat so lavishly, or had the breakfast been geared around having an overnight guest? Either way, Caleb’s attentiveness charmed her.
Wyn appeared amused by his brother’s courtly fawning.
“Thank you.” She smiled politely as Caleb set the now-full plate in front of her. Feeling a bit uncomfortable having breakfast with two men she barely knew, she made an attempt at small talk, asking Wyn about his work and whether he had a practice in Sagehill.
“Just outside of town.” He relayed the specifics. The group of doctors he’d affiliated with was small compared to some of the larger medical umbrellas attached to the local hospitals. She could picture the building that housed his practice, tucked off Juniper Drive, close to the public library and a small coffee shop. She’d driven by it numerous times. She and Lauren often met at the coffee shop, with Lauren’s specialty boutique, Pandora’s Box, a few blocks away on Limestone Avenue.
“Excuse me.” Caleb interrupted her discussion with Wyn long enough to leave the table and pour a cup of coffee–no sugar, no cream. He had a scar on the side of his neck she hadn’t noticed before. Jagged, and shaped like a diamond, it was partially hidden by his collar. He caught her watching and grinned.
She flushed. “Have you lived here long?” she asked Wyn, careful not to direct the question at Caleb.
“Six years. My ancestors built this property in the 1800s. When it went up for sale, I couldn’t pass on the opportunity.”
“It’s a beautiful home.” She paused to nibble a piece of bacon as Caleb returned to the table. ‘I’ couldn’t pass up the opportunity, Wyn had said. Not ‘we.’ Did that mean he and Caleb had not always lived together? She couldn’t imagine two grown men sharing space for long.
She shifted her attention to Caleb. “Can I ask what you do for a living?
“Retired military.” His answer was swift.
Arianna stared, thinking him terribly young for retirement. “What branch?” she persisted, unable to quell her natural