Read Online The Mighty Quinns: Rourke by Kate Hoffmann - Free Book Online
Authors: Kate Hoffmann
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“He’ll scratch on the door when he wants to come in.”
The cabin seemed warm and cozy compared to the chill of the storm. “How do you know that seal?”
“Three years ago, I found her lying between the rocks. She was starving and maybe sick. And I nursed her back to health. Now every year, right about this time, she shows up to say hello. Just like clockwork. Always the first week in October. I buy herring and feed her. And then she disappears for another year. I wasn’t sure she’d come again. She should be old enough to have pups now. Once she does, I think she’ll stop coming.” She paused. “I know I shouldn’t have named her, but I call her Lady Gray.”
“Where does she go when she leaves?”
“There’s a gray seal colony over on Hay Island.” Annie shrugged out of her jacket and hung it up. “That’s where the seal hunt takes place.” She shook her head. “I’m just glad when she shows up. Seals can live to be forty years old if a predator doesn’t get them first. Forty years.”
Rourke smiled. God, could she be any sweeter? Saving starving seals. He stepped toward her and pulled her into his arms, drawing her into a long, deep kiss. He cupped her face in his hands, then pulled back. “I smell like fish,” he said.
Annie giggled, then held her hand in front of his nose. “Me, too.”
A scratch sounded at the door and Rourke opened it. Kit bounded in, then jumped up, placing his paws on Rourke’s chest and licking his face.
“Down, Kit,” Annie commanded. “Get down.”
“Great,” Rourke muttered. “Now I smell like dead fish and dog drool. If you’d like to throw up on me, we’d have a hat trick.” He let his jacket drop to the floor. “I could use a shower.”
“Why don’t you put on the pot for tea and I’ll go out and turn the water heater on in the lighthouse. In another hour, you can have your shower.”
“You, too,” Rourke said. “You don’t smell like a rose.”
“The water heater is pretty small. Only enough for one shower.”
“Then we’ll just have to shower together,” he said, sending her his most charming grin.
“All right,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
“And I’ll be waiting,” Rourke said.
He stepped out onto the porch and watched her cross the windswept rise to the lighthouse. The wind had calmed a bit and didn’t threaten to blow her off her feet. When she reached the door of the lighthouse, he grabbed a few more logs from the pile on the porch, then stepped back into the warmth of the cabin.
The fire in the stove was almost out, but with a bit of tending, he managed to get it going again. He washed his hands in water from the pitcher sitting next to the sink, but no amount of soap would completely rid him of the fishy smell.
He stood at the sink and smiled to himself. This wasn’t such a bad life, he mused. A guy could get used to the quiet. And did he really need all his electronic toys? His iPod and laptop were in the car, but he certainly didn’t need them. Without the constant distraction, he had time to think. And his mind was surprisingly clear and focused.
He wasn’t foolish enough to believe that Annie wasn’t a part of this odd contentment he’d found. They’d known each other for a day and yet it seemed as if they’d been together for years. He knew her, completely and intimately. Not the silly, trivial facts, like her favorite color or her preferred brand of shampoo. He knew her heart: deep inside of her was a woman who wanted to be loved.
He’d told her she was inscrutable, and it might take longer than a day to figure out how her mind worked. In truth, that’s what he found so fascinating about her. She was one of a kind. And he’d always thought, when he found the right woman, that’s exactly what he wanted.
* * *
T HE HOT WATER washed over her and Annie felt his fingers in her hair, gently massaging the shampoo into her scalp. Though she’d tried to tell him to hurry, Rourke wasn’t
The cabin seemed warm and cozy compared to the chill of the storm. “How do you know that seal?”
“Three years ago, I found her lying between the rocks. She was starving and maybe sick. And I nursed her back to health. Now every year, right about this time, she shows up to say hello. Just like clockwork. Always the first week in October. I buy herring and feed her. And then she disappears for another year. I wasn’t sure she’d come again. She should be old enough to have pups now. Once she does, I think she’ll stop coming.” She paused. “I know I shouldn’t have named her, but I call her Lady Gray.”
“Where does she go when she leaves?”
“There’s a gray seal colony over on Hay Island.” Annie shrugged out of her jacket and hung it up. “That’s where the seal hunt takes place.” She shook her head. “I’m just glad when she shows up. Seals can live to be forty years old if a predator doesn’t get them first. Forty years.”
Rourke smiled. God, could she be any sweeter? Saving starving seals. He stepped toward her and pulled her into his arms, drawing her into a long, deep kiss. He cupped her face in his hands, then pulled back. “I smell like fish,” he said.
Annie giggled, then held her hand in front of his nose. “Me, too.”
A scratch sounded at the door and Rourke opened it. Kit bounded in, then jumped up, placing his paws on Rourke’s chest and licking his face.
“Down, Kit,” Annie commanded. “Get down.”
“Great,” Rourke muttered. “Now I smell like dead fish and dog drool. If you’d like to throw up on me, we’d have a hat trick.” He let his jacket drop to the floor. “I could use a shower.”
“Why don’t you put on the pot for tea and I’ll go out and turn the water heater on in the lighthouse. In another hour, you can have your shower.”
“You, too,” Rourke said. “You don’t smell like a rose.”
“The water heater is pretty small. Only enough for one shower.”
“Then we’ll just have to shower together,” he said, sending her his most charming grin.
“All right,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
“And I’ll be waiting,” Rourke said.
He stepped out onto the porch and watched her cross the windswept rise to the lighthouse. The wind had calmed a bit and didn’t threaten to blow her off her feet. When she reached the door of the lighthouse, he grabbed a few more logs from the pile on the porch, then stepped back into the warmth of the cabin.
The fire in the stove was almost out, but with a bit of tending, he managed to get it going again. He washed his hands in water from the pitcher sitting next to the sink, but no amount of soap would completely rid him of the fishy smell.
He stood at the sink and smiled to himself. This wasn’t such a bad life, he mused. A guy could get used to the quiet. And did he really need all his electronic toys? His iPod and laptop were in the car, but he certainly didn’t need them. Without the constant distraction, he had time to think. And his mind was surprisingly clear and focused.
He wasn’t foolish enough to believe that Annie wasn’t a part of this odd contentment he’d found. They’d known each other for a day and yet it seemed as if they’d been together for years. He knew her, completely and intimately. Not the silly, trivial facts, like her favorite color or her preferred brand of shampoo. He knew her heart: deep inside of her was a woman who wanted to be loved.
He’d told her she was inscrutable, and it might take longer than a day to figure out how her mind worked. In truth, that’s what he found so fascinating about her. She was one of a kind. And he’d always thought, when he found the right woman, that’s exactly what he wanted.
* * *
T HE HOT WATER washed over her and Annie felt his fingers in her hair, gently massaging the shampoo into her scalp. Though she’d tried to tell him to hurry, Rourke wasn’t
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