From the Heart: Romance, Mystery and Suspense a collection for everyone by Lorhainne Eckhart Page B

at the end of the hall upstairs. The one filled with boxes and furniture.” A dark shadow fell over his face, his eyes flinched and took on a hardness Emily hadn’t seen before.
    Emily poked around in there the other day and came across some extremely fashionable woman’s clothes, stacked high in the closet. A cedar chest tucked in the corner filled with baby clothes. “I’m sorry, if you’d rather that room not be used, I’m sure something else --”
    He cut Emily off. “No. Use the room. I’ll have Mac clear it out.” He’d shut down and packed away the flash of fury she’d swear had reared its ugly little head. Maybe she imagined it.
    Pam was looking at them in a way that said she, too, picked up on a problem. But to her credit, she dropped her eyes and started scribbling notes in her spiral-bound notebook. “When the consultant comes to visit, you’ll want to have it sorted out. Also, line up some therapists. Tamara will start training after she assesses Trevor.”
    “But I haven’t got a diagnosis for autism yet. Isn’t all this a little premature ?” Brad crossed his arms his face was all business.
    “By the time you jump through all the hoops needed to get your kid diagnosed, you’ll have wasted precious therapy time. The key is early intervention. The earlier Trevor starts, the best chance he has for a positive outcome. If it’s about money --”
    “No, we’ll start. Money’s not an issue if it’s what’s best for my boy. I’ll pay . I don’t care what it costs.” And so they did. For the next two hours, Emily took notes, distracted the children, and started implementing all Pam’s suggestions for help with Trevor.

Chapter Sixteen
    The soft lilt of Faith Hill singing Let Me Let Go, roused Emily from her sleep. Rolling over, she quickly flicked off the radio before kicking back the soft duvet. Emily was a morning person. But for some reason this morning, she could have yanked the quilt over her head and drifted back to sleep. She didn’t, even though thoughts of crawling out into the morning chill curled her toes and wiped away the last of her fairytale dream—her knight swooping in on his white horse and carrying her away.
    Emily pulled on her robe over her horsey flannel pajamas and crept into the bathroom for a quick shower. After her shower, Emily crept past Brad’s closed door, tying her damp hair back in a ponytail, wearing her sneakers, blue jeans and a light red sweatshirt and tiptoed downstairs. She cranked the heat and listened to the furnace kick in. The floor creaked above her. Brad’s up. She made coffee as she listened to the water run upstairs. Brad liked to grab a coffee on his way out the door to feed the animals.
    Emily got busy making breakfast, oatmeal in a big pot on the stove. Then hurried to the back porch and pulled out a loaf of bread from one of two freezers for toast. Since Emily started cooking, Cliff and Mac appeared like shirttail relatives for every meal. Brad clomped down the stairs and Emily’s palms began to sweat.
    “Good morning, Em.” Emily forced herself to look up into sleepy eyes that would be a dream to wake up to. Brad cleared his throat and Emily snapped out of her daze, blinking as her face tingled a little on the warm side. Emily looked down and snatched up the wooden spoon. Look somewhere else. Maybe she should’ve moved. Brad reached around her and took a mug from the cupboard, and then reached around her other side for the pot of coffee that ’d just finished brewing. “Can I pour you one?”
    Damn, why’d he have to smell so good? He hovered right in her space and her dratted tongue refused to move . Answer the man. “Yes.”
    He didn’t move , and when she looked up, he winked. And curse it all, she was blushing. She couldn’t shake the feeling of roses, candlelight and good man to cuddle up with. That was the effect this man had on her. Did he know? Maybe that’s why he appeared so amused. Grabbing hold of her senses, she