Read Online A Christmas Blessing by Sherryl Woods - Free Book Online

Luke couldn’t argue with her. If she hadn’t taken off, though, he would have had a few things to say about her intrusion into his domain. He figured they could wait until she returned. If she brought strong, black coffee with her, he might even moderate his protest to a dull roar.
    He stood up cautiously, testing to see if any of his parts actually worked. His legs held him upright, which was better than he deserved. He stretched carefully, slowly working the kinks loose. By the time he heard Jessie’s returning footsteps, he was feeling almost civilized. That didn’t mean he intended to tolerate her sudden burst of uninvited activity.
    Unfortunately for his resolve, the aroma of coffee preceded her into the room. Oblivious to whatever order there might be to his desk, she brushed piles of papers aside and deposited a tray laden with pancakes, eggs, bacon and a pot of coffee. Luke glanced at the new disarray, considered bellowing in outrage, then took another whiff of that coffee and poured himself a cup instead. He sipped it gratefully as he sank back into his leather chair.
    Maybe the bustling wasn’t so bad, after all. Only trouble now was, she didn’t go away. In fact, she seemed to be waiting for something. She hovered at the edge of his desk, her gaze fixed on him as if trying to determine how to broach whatever was on her mind.
    “Coffee’s good,” he said, watching her uneasily. “Thanks.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    “Don’t worry about the dishes. I’ll bring them back to the kitchen and wash up when I’m done,” he said, hoping she’d take the hint and leave.
    She actually grinned at that. “Trying to get rid of me?” she inquired.
    Almost as if to taunt him, she pulled up a chair and sat down. What astonished him was the fact that even though she was wearing her oversize maternity clothes, she managed to look as sexy as if she’d been wearing something slinky. His imagination was perfectly capable of envisioning every curve under her shapeless top. As if it might make a difference, he turned his attention to the food she’d brought. He poured syrup on the pancakes and cut into the eggs.
    “I told you yesterday that I didn’t want you waiting on me,” he reminded her even as he took his first bite of pancakes. They were light as air. He knew for a fact that Consuela hadn’t left these, which meant Jessie had been cooking. “You need to rest. Taking care of a new baby is tiring. I want you concentrating on Angela.”
    “Angela’s fine. She’s been fed. Now she’s sleeping. That’s what newborns do.”
    He snapped a piece of crisp bacon into crumbs and prayed for patience. “So, rest while you have the chance. Read a book. The library next door is filled with them.”
    “Maybe later.”
    He could see he was getting nowhere. Maybe if he divided up the chores and took the lion’s share himself, she’d restrict herself to doing only what she’d been assigned.
    “Okay, here’s the deal,” he said. “I’ll fix breakfast and lunch. You can deal with supper, since Consuela already has those dishes prepared and ready to pop into the oven. I’ll clean up. Agreed?”
    “That hardly sounds fair,” she said. “I’ll cook all the meals. You clean up.”
    “No,” Luke insisted, his voice tight. “We’ll do it my way. And since you’ve already done breakfast today, I’ll handle dinner. You’re done for the day. Go take a nap.”
    “I wonder why I never noticed before what a bully you are,” she commented, her expression thoughtful.
    The observation didn’t seem to trouble her a bit, but he found it insulting. “I am not a bully. I’m just trying to divvy things up fairly.”
    “You have an odd notion of fair,” she observed. “Oh, well, never mind. I won’t argue for the moment. Maybe you should consider the pancakes a bribe,” she suggested.
    Luke’s gaze narrowed. “A bribe? For what?”
    “So you’ll do what I want, of course.”
    “Which is?”
    She opened her