shut the bathroom door. Deciphering the meaning was the tricky part. Was it her overactive imagination or was he passing some sort of judgment after all?
She took another sip of coffee, annoyance combining with the dark roast to floodher mouth with a bitter taste. After all, how could he have left Wilder with hardly any food?
“Have you seen your brother’s fridge?” she said slowly. “He can’t be left without food and no transport.”
A muscle in Sawyer’s jaw flexed. “You spent the night with him, right?”
“Yes. Well, no. I mean, yes, but not . . .” Her cheeks burned. “I slept in his room, he slept on the rocking chairout here.”
Sawyer kneaded his forehead. “You’re both adults and it’s not any of my damn business where you choose to sleep, or not sleep as the case may be. But if you’ve spent a few minutes in my big brother’s company, you’re bound to notice he’s not exactly gracious about receiving help.”
“But that’s no reason to—”
“He hasn’t opened the door to me all week. That’s why I’m bargingin so early, seeing if I could catch him bleary-eyed and docile. But I’m not taking him to do any shopping right now because tonight he’ll have that entire fridge crammed with turkey and cranberry leftovers.”
“Of course.” Quinn resisted the urge to face palm. Today was Thanksgiving.
Wilder entered the room with an audible groan. “I said I didn’t want to—”
“You’re coming,” Sawyeranswered with a tinge of weariness as if they’d gone around and around with this conversation.
“I forgot today was a holiday,” Quinn said. “I’m so discombobulated.”
“Wish I could forget,” Wilder murmured.
Sawyer said nothing, but gave a slight flinch, as if the words hit a secret mark.
“Hey now,” Quinn chastised Wilder as he huffed back toward the table, looking and sounding likea grizzly fresh out of hibernation. “I know it’s early and I kept you from your bed, but that doesn’t mean that you can behave like a bear with a bee up its butt,” Quinn said.
Wilder’s head snapped up, gaze furious even as Sawyer burst out laughing.
“Hey, what are you doing this evening?” Sawyer asked after his chuckles subsided. “Want to join us Kanes for dinner? I can’t speak for thisbig lug, but the rest of us don’t bite.”
She waved him off. “Oh, that’s okay. I couldn’t impose.”
“Course you can,” Sawyer said even though Wilder’s folded-arm posture communicated otherwise.
Why was his dark and broody act so darn appealing? Never had she been such a cliché, all twitterpated for a mysterious guy. But like it or not, she was intrigued. What were his secrets? He eitherhad one doozy of a story or she had the world’s most overactive imagination.
“You have plans for dinner?” Wilder asked at last.
“I . . .” No. She had planned to spend lunch with Dad. Mountain View Village was going to host their own midday food fest. Say yes, say you’re busy.
“Let me guess, you have a thing against turkey too?” Sawyer asked.
“Too?”
“My girlfriend, Annie, isa vegetarian. She’s making Tofurky, whatever that is.”
“No. I’m not a veggie,” Quinn said with a little shiver. “Mad respect to our plant-eating friends but I love my meat.” If it wasn’t for her fear of rickets she’d subsist on the stuff. “But that’s okay, I hate imposing . . .”
“Imposing? You know my other brother’s fiancée, Edie, owns the bakery in town, right? Word on the street isthat she’s bringing five desserts. Five. Tell me how we could eat all that?”
She didn’t want to barge in on a holiday family dinner, but Sawyer was being insistent.
Wilder scowled like a gargoyle. Except the effect was sort of sexy. Which shouldn’t work because weren’t gargoyles monstrous? Confused frustration swirled through her stomach. Why did this guy tie knots in her mental circuits?
“She doesn’t have plans,” he rumbled. “But isn’t sure if
She took another sip of coffee, annoyance combining with the dark roast to floodher mouth with a bitter taste. After all, how could he have left Wilder with hardly any food?
“Have you seen your brother’s fridge?” she said slowly. “He can’t be left without food and no transport.”
A muscle in Sawyer’s jaw flexed. “You spent the night with him, right?”
“Yes. Well, no. I mean, yes, but not . . .” Her cheeks burned. “I slept in his room, he slept on the rocking chairout here.”
Sawyer kneaded his forehead. “You’re both adults and it’s not any of my damn business where you choose to sleep, or not sleep as the case may be. But if you’ve spent a few minutes in my big brother’s company, you’re bound to notice he’s not exactly gracious about receiving help.”
“But that’s no reason to—”
“He hasn’t opened the door to me all week. That’s why I’m bargingin so early, seeing if I could catch him bleary-eyed and docile. But I’m not taking him to do any shopping right now because tonight he’ll have that entire fridge crammed with turkey and cranberry leftovers.”
“Of course.” Quinn resisted the urge to face palm. Today was Thanksgiving.
Wilder entered the room with an audible groan. “I said I didn’t want to—”
“You’re coming,” Sawyeranswered with a tinge of weariness as if they’d gone around and around with this conversation.
“I forgot today was a holiday,” Quinn said. “I’m so discombobulated.”
“Wish I could forget,” Wilder murmured.
Sawyer said nothing, but gave a slight flinch, as if the words hit a secret mark.
“Hey now,” Quinn chastised Wilder as he huffed back toward the table, looking and sounding likea grizzly fresh out of hibernation. “I know it’s early and I kept you from your bed, but that doesn’t mean that you can behave like a bear with a bee up its butt,” Quinn said.
Wilder’s head snapped up, gaze furious even as Sawyer burst out laughing.
“Hey, what are you doing this evening?” Sawyer asked after his chuckles subsided. “Want to join us Kanes for dinner? I can’t speak for thisbig lug, but the rest of us don’t bite.”
She waved him off. “Oh, that’s okay. I couldn’t impose.”
“Course you can,” Sawyer said even though Wilder’s folded-arm posture communicated otherwise.
Why was his dark and broody act so darn appealing? Never had she been such a cliché, all twitterpated for a mysterious guy. But like it or not, she was intrigued. What were his secrets? He eitherhad one doozy of a story or she had the world’s most overactive imagination.
“You have plans for dinner?” Wilder asked at last.
“I . . .” No. She had planned to spend lunch with Dad. Mountain View Village was going to host their own midday food fest. Say yes, say you’re busy.
“Let me guess, you have a thing against turkey too?” Sawyer asked.
“Too?”
“My girlfriend, Annie, isa vegetarian. She’s making Tofurky, whatever that is.”
“No. I’m not a veggie,” Quinn said with a little shiver. “Mad respect to our plant-eating friends but I love my meat.” If it wasn’t for her fear of rickets she’d subsist on the stuff. “But that’s okay, I hate imposing . . .”
“Imposing? You know my other brother’s fiancée, Edie, owns the bakery in town, right? Word on the street isthat she’s bringing five desserts. Five. Tell me how we could eat all that?”
She didn’t want to barge in on a holiday family dinner, but Sawyer was being insistent.
Wilder scowled like a gargoyle. Except the effect was sort of sexy. Which shouldn’t work because weren’t gargoyles monstrous? Confused frustration swirled through her stomach. Why did this guy tie knots in her mental circuits?
“She doesn’t have plans,” he rumbled. “But isn’t sure if
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