A Christmas Homecoming (16 page)

A hand on his arm brought him from his musings. His eyes met Bailey’s. “What’s wrong?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing.”

He covered her hand with his, gave it a light squeeze, and stood. “I’m going to run the kids to John’s.”

“I thought they were camping out at your place tonight.”

“Change of plans.”

“I hope it’s not on my account.”

The sad look in her eyes made him want to pull her close and tell her everything would be okay, but that was crazy thinking—they barely knew one another. One would think he’d bumped his head too. Then again, they’d been spending a lot of time together. He stood and walked toward the passage that led to the living room. “I’ll be back a little later to see how you’re doing. I plan to use my key to let myself in.”

“I guess that’s fair warning, but I really am fine. You don’t need to change any plans for me.”

He shrugged. “This will make me feel better.” He turned and marched into the living room. Maybe sending the kids to his brother’s wasn’t such a good idea after all. He lived in a studio apartment that was not fit for children. Maybe John could stay over at his place. It’d probably feel like a castle.

He made the call and was pleased when his brother agreed, although John was more than a little surprised to learn that Rick and Judy had left the kids with him. Didn’t Rick tell John anything? Stephen was close to both his brothers, but John and Rick rarely saw eye to eye. Considering Stephen had been out of the country for so long, he’d expected his brothers would have bonded by now.

“Uncle John is coming to camp out with you kids tonight. He’ll be at my house soon, so let’s get over there.”

Lacy and Collin looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

“What?”

“What about Bailey?” Lacy asked. “What if her head starts to hurt worse, and there is no one here to take care of her. Can she come too?”

He only had the one guest room, but it would be easy enough to work out sleeping arrangements. “I’ll ask her.”

“Ask me what?”

“The kids want you to join us at my place tonight.”

She shook her head then winced. “I don’t think so.”

“Please,” Collin and Lacy said in unison.

“All my stuff is here.”

Stephen snapped his fingers in an ah-ha moment. “We’ll stay here. There are plenty of rooms.”

“No.” The firm tone in her voice said it was a closed subject. He couldn’t blame her. Having all of them here would create a lot of extra work for her, and according to the doctor, she was supposed to take it easy.

“You heard her. Let’s scoot.” He ushered the kids to the door then turned and mouthed
I’ll be back.
He chuckled when she wrinkled her nose at him. The woman had no idea how cute she was. Cute or not, she was getting under his skin, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

Relief washed over Bailey when she finally had the house to herself. Nothing against Stephen and the kids, but her head hurt, and all she wanted was a hot shower and comfy clothes. Thirty minutes later, she sank onto the couch with her laptop and started making a list of the things she wanted Sierra to take over.

A rap sounded on the door and then the deadbolt turned over, clueing her in to Stephen’s return. “In here,” she called out.

A moment later he eased into the chair closest to her. “What a day!”

“Tell me about it. I’m glad we found my assistant. I’m working on a list of her duties.”

“I heard once that you’re not supposed to use a computer when you have a concussion.”

“I’m fine.”

He shook his head and gently removed the computer from her lap then placed it on the desk and brought her back a pen and pad of paper. “Please do it the old fashioned way for a few days. Let your head heal.”

Touched by his concern, she nodded.

“Today has been so long, it feels like we hired Sierra days ago.” He yawned. “John is staying over tonight. I thought I might crash in my old bedroom.”

She grinned. “That’s not necessary. Other than a slight headache, I have no repercussions from the ice show.”

He laughed. “And what a show it was.”

She tossed a pillow at him. “Be nice.”

“I thought I was.”

She rested the side of her head against the seat cushions. When she first met Stephen, she never imagined being relaxed in his company, but over the past several weeks they’d spent a lot of time together, and they had found an easy camaraderie. “Now that I have the design part of the business in hand, what are
you
going to do?” She studied his reaction through the slits in her eyes.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “
Do
you have everything under control? I had the impression you were feeling insecure about taking over.”

“I suppose I was at first. But now that I’ve had time to think about it, I know I can take Mona’s place and train someone to take mine.”

A sad look settled on his face.

“I’m sorry, Stephen. That was incredibly insensitive of me.”

“It is what it is. My mom’s future is uncertain, and even if she was healthy, she should be able to relax and enjoy life, not spend her days working. It’s time she handed the reins over to someone else. I’ll oversee Belafonte Designs from here forward, but you’re the face of the company. We’ll plan to meet at least once a week to discuss what you are working on, or to just keep me apprised of how things are going.”

“Okay.” A tingle zipped through her. It was funny how in a matter of weeks she’d gone from being uncertain about Stephen to wanting to spend as much time as possible with him. What would happen once Sierra started? Would they still get to see one another? She sure hoped so.

“I’ll be your assistant until Sierra starts.”

Yes!
But wouldn’t it be weird for both of them? “That’s not necessary.” But oh so appreciated. And here she was worried about not seeing him enough.

“I think it is. There is too much work for one person. Especially a person with a slight concussion.”

“But
you
can’t be my assistant.” He was the boss. How could he even consider being a lowly assistant?

“What? I’m not good enough for you?” A twinkle lit his eye.

“No. You’re
too
good to work with me.”

He frowned. “I know you must be teasing, but I’ve always been of the opinion even when someone teasingly says something they believe there is a degree of truth to the matter. Otherwise, they never would have thought of it.”

She shrugged and stood. “Perhaps. I’ll see you in the morning.” She brushed past him.

Stephen reached out, taking Bailey’s hand as she passed him. “Who hurt you?”

She stopped and faced him. “What are you talking about?” Confusion showed in her eyes.

He stood to be closer to her eye level. “Who told you that you aren’t good enough? I’m right, aren’t I? That’s why you always make cracks about yourself.”

Her face paled. “My head hurts. I’m going to sleep. Goodnight.” She turned and marched up the stairs. A moment later, the sound of a door firmly shutting filled the quiet house.

Well, he’d done it now. Hopefully he hadn’t alienated her. One thing was for certain, whether she’d admit it or not—someone had hurt Bailey and so badly that she clung to it like a badge.

Lord please heal her pain.
He headed to his old bedroom and softly closed the door behind him. Tomorrow was a new day, and as Bailey’s assistant, he would have plenty of time to try and figure her out.

Who was he kidding?

Figuring out a woman could take a lifetime!

Chapter Twelve

The next day Bailey walked into Mona’s house and headed up the stairs. Stephen had stuck to her like glue today, and she needed time alone. It seemed the only place she’d have solitude was her bedroom.

The front door opened and closed behind her. “I can whip up some dinner,” Stephen said.

She paused on the stairs, took a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning to face him. “That does not fall within your job description.”

“It seems to me you do a lot of things that don’t as well.” He smiled smugly. “I’m going to fix dinner. I plan to eat in thirty minutes. If you’re hungry, there will be enough for you to join me.” He sauntered in the direction of the kitchen.

Bailey snapped her mouth closed and rushed to her room. Five minutes later, she’d changed from her pencil skirt and silk blouse into comfy jeans and a sweater. The added responsibility of taking over for Mona was exhausting, and to make matters worse, her head ached. She fell onto her bed and closed her eyes.

Stephen had been a huge help today, but she felt awful about him doing her bidding. She should be doing that for him. After all, he was technically her boss now. It was all too weird. She’d never had her own assistant, nor had she ever been the boss. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for it.

Her cell rang. Keeping her eyes closed, she felt on the bed beside her and grasped her phone. “Hello?”

“Dinner’s ready.”

She sighed inwardly. “Thanks, Stephen. I’ll be right there.” She didn’t have the heart to tell him she was too tired to eat. Besides, when would a man cook for her again? Maybe never. She sat up and headed down to the kitchen.

Christmas music played softly as she entered the space and only one light shined over the stove where Stephen stood. She sniffed the air. “Eggs?”

“Omelets. I took a chance and made you ham and cheese.”

She couldn’t help grinning. “That sounds perfect.” There were few things more comforting than breakfast for dinner. She took the plate he handed her to the table and sat. “Why’s it so dark in here?”

“I like to be able to look outside when I’m cooking. Since it’s dark out that’s the only way I can see. Would you like a light on?”

“No. Actually, this is nice.”

He joined her and offered a blessing for their food. “I made decaf coffee too.”

“Maybe later. Thanks.”

He nodded. “Dig in. Breakfast is my specialty.”

“Why’s that?”

“My wife was not a morning person, so I always cooked breakfast. It seemed to get her day off to a better start.”

“That was sweet.”

He ducked his head and forked a bite into his mouth.

Was he blushing? It was hard to tell in the dim lighting, but she couldn’t imagine Stephen getting embarrassed over something so minor. She loved how light reflected off the snow making it look so much brighter outside than normal. Suddenly energized, she pushed back from the table. “Thanks for the meal. Leave the dishes. I’ll wash them when I get back.”

“You’re leaving?”

“For a walk. I love strolling through the snow.”

He stood. “I’ll come too.”

She paused. “You don’t have to.” Why was Stephen being so nice to her? The cards and flowers popped into her mind—that would explain his behavior, but why would a man like Stephen be interested in someone like her when he could have anyone? It stretched her imagination to fully believe he was her secret admirer, but the other options were not nearly as pleasant. At least she hadn’t seen the silver car for the past couple of days.