Read Online Just Married...Again by Charlotte Hughes - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Charlotte Hughes
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minutes Rambo jumped up, placed his paws on the door, and barked as though he could will it to open. Once again, Muffin raised up on her hind legs and begged.
“You probably noticed a red Jeep stranded down the road,” Maddy went on. “It belongs to me. In case you don’t remember,” she added.
Michael didn’t answer right away. He didn’t know if he should remember the Jeep or not, since he’d seen it right before he’d been knocked unconscious. He wished he knew more about amnesia; he couldn’t afford to screw up. “Is there anything in it you need?” he finally asked, avoiding the question.
“Just food, clothes, firewood, and dog food.”
“I’m sure we can think of a way to get it here.”
“What we need is a big sled.”
Michael nodded and sipped his coffee in silence. This would give him the opportunity to prove himself in an emergency. Maddy would discover she had nothing to fear as long as he was there to take care of her. A woman could talk about being strong and independent all she liked, but when it came to survival, she needed a man. Already, he could feel an idea forming in his mind. The shed! He could tear the boards down and build the sled from those. Might take a while, might even take a couple of days, since there would probably be a number of rotted boards to contend with.
“Do we have any rope?” Michael asked, already excited over his plan. He envisioned what the sled would look like and how it would glide through the snow when he pulled it. He only hoped the boards didn’t crack the minute he stacked groceries or firewood on it.
“There’s some yellow nylon rope in the utility room,” Maddy told him. She smiled suddenly. “I’ll bet I know what you’re going to do. You’re going to take down one of the doors and nail that nylon rope to it so you can pull it across the snow. Am I right?”
One of the doors? Michael stared back at her.
Maddy pointed to the door that opened into the utility room. “I knew that’s what you’d come up with, since you once remarked how solid they are, unlike most doors, which are hollow inside. Of course, you probably don’t remember that, nor would you remember those old snow skis you absolutely refused to throw away. Your tools are still here, even that rusty saw that you swore would come in handy one day. Guess that day has arrived, huh?”
Michael didn’t know what to say. The fact that she’d come up with a brilliant solution to their problems, while he was still working on some half-baked scheme to tear down a storage shed, did little for his male ego. Her dogs came into the room, and Rambo automatically growled at the sight of Michael.
“What’d I do?” he asked Maddy, holding his hands out as if surrendering.
She waved it off. “It’s just a guy thing. He’s already determined this is his territory, and now it’s a power struggle.”
“Does this mean I’m going to have to sleep in my car tonight?”
She tried to look serious. “No, it just means the two of you should spend some time together. So you can bond.”
“Bond?”
Danny staggered down the hall, hair disheveled, mouth wide open in a yawn. “I’m starving. What’s for breakfast?” he asked.
Maddy smiled. “I don’t know. What do you feel like making us?”
The boy frowned. “Cooking is women’s work.”
“Wrong,” Michael said. “Cooking is for the person who’s hungriest.”
Maddy looked surprised. She could count on one hand how many times Michael had cooked a meal in the five years they’d lived together, and those he’d cooked had been along the lines of grilled-cheese sandwiches and scrambled eggs. His mother, who’d given birth to five boys, each about a year apart, claimed she hadn’t had time to train them to do anything for themselves, so she simply did it for them. Maddy discovered almost immediately after their marriage that Michael was helpless when it came to taking care of a household. Not that she had any room to judge.
“You probably noticed a red Jeep stranded down the road,” Maddy went on. “It belongs to me. In case you don’t remember,” she added.
Michael didn’t answer right away. He didn’t know if he should remember the Jeep or not, since he’d seen it right before he’d been knocked unconscious. He wished he knew more about amnesia; he couldn’t afford to screw up. “Is there anything in it you need?” he finally asked, avoiding the question.
“Just food, clothes, firewood, and dog food.”
“I’m sure we can think of a way to get it here.”
“What we need is a big sled.”
Michael nodded and sipped his coffee in silence. This would give him the opportunity to prove himself in an emergency. Maddy would discover she had nothing to fear as long as he was there to take care of her. A woman could talk about being strong and independent all she liked, but when it came to survival, she needed a man. Already, he could feel an idea forming in his mind. The shed! He could tear the boards down and build the sled from those. Might take a while, might even take a couple of days, since there would probably be a number of rotted boards to contend with.
“Do we have any rope?” Michael asked, already excited over his plan. He envisioned what the sled would look like and how it would glide through the snow when he pulled it. He only hoped the boards didn’t crack the minute he stacked groceries or firewood on it.
“There’s some yellow nylon rope in the utility room,” Maddy told him. She smiled suddenly. “I’ll bet I know what you’re going to do. You’re going to take down one of the doors and nail that nylon rope to it so you can pull it across the snow. Am I right?”
One of the doors? Michael stared back at her.
Maddy pointed to the door that opened into the utility room. “I knew that’s what you’d come up with, since you once remarked how solid they are, unlike most doors, which are hollow inside. Of course, you probably don’t remember that, nor would you remember those old snow skis you absolutely refused to throw away. Your tools are still here, even that rusty saw that you swore would come in handy one day. Guess that day has arrived, huh?”
Michael didn’t know what to say. The fact that she’d come up with a brilliant solution to their problems, while he was still working on some half-baked scheme to tear down a storage shed, did little for his male ego. Her dogs came into the room, and Rambo automatically growled at the sight of Michael.
“What’d I do?” he asked Maddy, holding his hands out as if surrendering.
She waved it off. “It’s just a guy thing. He’s already determined this is his territory, and now it’s a power struggle.”
“Does this mean I’m going to have to sleep in my car tonight?”
She tried to look serious. “No, it just means the two of you should spend some time together. So you can bond.”
“Bond?”
Danny staggered down the hall, hair disheveled, mouth wide open in a yawn. “I’m starving. What’s for breakfast?” he asked.
Maddy smiled. “I don’t know. What do you feel like making us?”
The boy frowned. “Cooking is women’s work.”
“Wrong,” Michael said. “Cooking is for the person who’s hungriest.”
Maddy looked surprised. She could count on one hand how many times Michael had cooked a meal in the five years they’d lived together, and those he’d cooked had been along the lines of grilled-cheese sandwiches and scrambled eggs. His mother, who’d given birth to five boys, each about a year apart, claimed she hadn’t had time to train them to do anything for themselves, so she simply did it for them. Maddy discovered almost immediately after their marriage that Michael was helpless when it came to taking care of a household. Not that she had any room to judge.
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