The Road To Love: Love by Degree / The Rain Sparrow. Debbie Macomber
a fault. Another man might have told Pat, Monte and Ellen to pack their bags. This was his home, after all, and Derek had been wrong to rent out the rooms without Reed’s knowledge. But Reed had let them stay.
Disgruntled with the trend her thoughts were taking, Ellen forced her mind back to the books in front of her. But it wasn’t long before her concentration started to drift again. Reed had Danielle, and she had... Charlie Hanson. First thing in the morning, she’d call dependable old Charlie and suggest they get together; he’d probably be as surprised as he was pleased to hear from her. Feeling relieved and a little light-headed, Ellen turned off the light and went to bed.
* * *
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Reed arrived in the kitchen early the next afternoon, looking as though he’d just finished eighteen holes of golf or a vigorous game of tennis. He’d already left by the time she’d wandered down to the kitchen that morning.
“Ellen?” he repeated impatiently.
She’d taken the wall plates off the electrical outlets and pulled the receptacle out of its box, from which two thin colored wires now protruded. “I’m trying to figure out why this outlet won’t heat the iron,” she answered without looking in his direction.
“You’re what!” he bellowed.
She wiped her face to remove a layer of dust before she straightened. “Don’t yell at me.”
“Good grief, woman. You run around on the roof like a trapeze artist, cook like a dream and do electrical work on the side. Is there anything you can’t do?”
“Algebra,” she muttered.
Reed closed the instruction manual Ellen had propped against the sugar bowl in the middle of the table. He took her by the shoulders and pushed her gently aside, then reattached the electrical wires and fastened the whole thing back in place.
As he finished securing the wall plate, Ellen burst out, “What did you do that for? I’ve almost got the problem traced.”
“No doubt, but if you don’t mind, I’d rather have a real electrician look at this.”
“What can I say? It’s your house.”
“Right. Now sit down.” He nudged her into a chair. “How much longer are you going to delay writing that term paper?”
“It’s written,” she snapped. She wasn’t particularly pleased with it, but at least the assignment was done. Her subject matter might impress four-year-old Jimmy, but she wasn’t too confident that her professor would feel the same way.
“Do you want me to look it over?”
The offer surprised her. “No, thanks.” She stuck the screwdriver in the pocket of her gray-striped coveralls.
“Well, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“I just don’t think I’ve got a snowball’s chance of getting a decent grade on it. Anyway, I have to go and iron a dress. I’ve got a date.”
A dark brow lifted over inscrutable green eyes and he seemed about to say something.
“Reed.” Unexpectedly, the kitchen door swung open and a soft, feminine voice purred his name. “What’s taking you so long?”
“Danielle, I’d like you to meet Ellen.”
“Hello.” Ellen resisted the urge to kick Reed. If he was going to introduce her to his friend, the least he could have done was waited until she looked a little more presentable. Just as she’d figured, Danielle was beautiful. No, the word was gorgeous. She wore a cute pale blue tennis outfit with a short, pleated skirt. A dark blue silk scarf held back the curly cascade of long blond hair—Ellen should have known the other woman would be blonde. Naturally, Danielle possessed a trim waist, perfect legs and blue eyes to match the heavens. She’d apparently just finished playing golf or tennis with Reed, but she still looked cool and elegant.
“I feel as though I already know you,” Danielle was saying with a pleasant smile. “Reed told me how much help you were with the children.”
“It was nothing, really.” Embarrassed by her ridiculous outfit, Ellen tried to conceal as much of it as possible by grabbing the electrical repair book and clasping it to her stomach.
“Not according to Reed.” Danielle slipped her arm around his and smiled adoringly up at him. “Unfortunately, I came down with a terrible headache.”
“Danielle doesn’t have your knack with young children,” Reed said.
“If we decide to have our own, things will be different,” Danielle continued sweetly. “But I’m not convinced I’m the maternal type.”
Ellen sent the couple a wan smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go change my clothes.”
“Of course. It was nice meeting you, Elaine.”
“Ellen,” Reed and Ellen corrected simultaneously.
“You, too.” Gallantly, Ellen stifled the childish impulse to call the other woman Diane. As she turned and hurried up the stairs leading from the kitchen, she heard Danielle whisper that she didn’t mind at all if Ellen lived in Reed’s home. Of course not, Ellen muttered to herself. How could Danielle possibly be jealous?
Winded by the time she’d marched up both flights, Ellen walked into the tiny bedroom where she stored her clothes. She threw down the electrical manual and slammed the door shut. Then she sighed with despair as she saw her reflection in the full-length mirror on the back of the door; it revealed baggy coveralls, a faded white T-shirt and smudges of dirt across her cheekbone. She struck a seductive pose with her hand on her hip and vampishly puffed up her hair. “Of course I don’t mind if sweet little Elaine lives here, darling,” she mimicked in a high-pitched falsely sweet voice.
Dropping her coveralls to the ground, Ellen gruffly kicked them aside. Hands on her hips, she glared at her reflection. Her figure was no less attractive than Danielle’s, and her face was pretty enough—even if she did say so herself. But Danielle had barely looked at Ellen and certainly hadn’t seen her as a potential rival.
As she brushed her hair away from her face, Ellen’s shoulders suddenly dropped. She was losing her mind! She liked living with the boys. Their arrangement was ideal, yet here she was, complaining bitterly because her presence hadn’t been challenged.
Carefully choosing a light pink blouse and denim skirt, Ellen told herself that Charlie, at least, would appreciate her. And for now, Ellen needed that. Her self-confidence had been shaken by Danielle’s casual acceptance of her role in Reed’s house. She didn’t like Danielle. But then, she hadn’t expected to.
* * *
“ELLEN.” HER NAME was followed by a loud pounding on the bedroom door. “Wake up! There’s a phone call for you.”
“Okay,” she mumbled into her pillow, still caught in the dregs of sleep. It felt so warm and cozy under the blankets that she didn’t want to stir. Charlie had taken her to dinner and a movie and they’d returned a little after ten. The boys had stayed in that evening, but Reed was out and Ellen didn’t need to ask with whom. She hadn’t heard him come home.
“Ellen!”
“I’m awake, I’m awake,” she grumbled, slipping one leg free of the covers and dangling it over the edge of the bed. The sudden cold that assailed her bare foot made her eyes flutter open in momentary shock.
“It’s long distance.”
Her eyes did open then. She knew only one person who could be calling. Her mother!
Hurriedly tossing the covers aside, she grabbed her housecoat and scurried out of the room. “Why didn’t you tell me it was long distance?”
“I tried,” Pat said. “But you were more interested in sleeping.”
A glance at her clock radio told her