Read Online Whenever You Come Around by Robin Lee Hatcher - Free Book Online

where he’d been that morning as she departed. He pointed at the basket. “What’ve you got there?”
    “Dinner.”
    He cocked an eyebrow in question.
    “I figured you must be tired already of warmed-up casseroles. How does baked salmon sound?”
    “Delicious. But that’s a lot of trouble for you to go to.”
    “Not really. I have to eat, too, you know.”
    He grinned. “You’re going to eat with me?”
    She felt his smile in the pit of her stomach, the sensation completely unexpected and entirely unwelcome. “Yes.” She turned toward the kitchen. Careful. He’s just a neighbor in need .
    Charity set the basket on the table and withdrew the two potatoes. It wasn’t long before they were baking in the oven. With that done, she tried to find the right pans and bowls and knives for the remainder of the meal preparation. Charity’s kitchen in Boise had a specific place for everything. So did her mother’s. Buck’s cupboards were—to put it kindly—lessorganized, and it took quite awhile to find some of the items she wanted, even after having used his kitchen several times.
    Finally, everything she needed was on the countertops, and she went to work on the salad, chopping and slicing and mixing. When it was ready, she placed the salad bowl in the refrigerator next to the paper-wrapped salmon. In short order, she’d cleaned up after herself with a damp dishcloth.
    “Anything I can do to help?” Buck asked, his voice much closer than the living room.
    Surprised, Charity spun to face him.
    Buck didn’t seem to notice he’d startled her as he rolled his scooter toward the cupboard that held plates, bowls, and glasses. “I can at least set the table. It’s good for me to get off the couch.”
    Had the kitchen shrunk in size in the last few moments? It seemed so with him in it.
    Stretching up, Buck took two dinner plates from the cupboard and set them in the basket on the front of the scooter. A couple of drinking glasses followed. Two sets of silverware went into one of the glasses.
    “You’re getting quite accomplished at that,” Charity said.
    “Maybe boredom is the real mother of invention.” He shot a grin over his shoulder. “You know. Instead of necessity.”
    Once again, his smile brought a shiver of pleasure. Not good. Really not good. She was trying to turn her life around and had been making progress. She wanted stability, a future, and if God was willing, a family. But she didn’t want to find it here in Kings Meadow, and she wouldn’t find it with a man like Buck Malone.
    Without a word, she turned away and got back to cooking.
    B UCK WASN ’ T USED TO WORKING THIS HARD TO WIN a woman’s interest. It frustrated him. It also made him all the more determined to break down those defenses of hers or know the reason why.
    He rolled toward the table. “Tell me about your writing.” That seemed a safe topic. “What got you started?”
    There was a lengthy silence, and he wondered if she would refuse to answer. Had he made her that angry this morning? He glanced toward the stove and found her back to him.
    But finally, she turned. “The short version: I wrote my first book on a dare from Terri.” She shrugged. “I never knew I wanted to write a book until I did it. And afterward I couldn’t imagine wanting to do anything else.”
    A dozen or so years ago, Buck had had dreams for his future. He’d planned to go to college, and then he’d hoped to play professional baseball. He’d wanted to travel, to see the world. Lots of choices had seemed to stretch before him. Time and circumstances had obliterated most of them.
    But he wasn’t bitter about the way things had turned out. He’d done what had to be done. He’d taken care of the people he loved. Now he had a simple, uncomplicated, uncluttered life. He liked it that way. He didn’t lack anything that he needed, and his wants were few.
    “What about you?” Charity asked.
    He had to stop for a moment to figure out what she was asking.