Her Very Own Family by Trish Milburn Page B

next couple of days, trying to figure out what it was about her that made him so curious. While she didn’t resume her frantic work pace, she still didn’t take a lot of breaks, either. She hadone heck of a work ethic, even if it was going to fry her at some point.
    As he sat at his dad’s kitchen table late one night, working on some plans for another project he and Craig were bidding on, his thoughts kept veering to Audrey and how single-minded she was in getting her new business off the ground. Almost as though if she didn’t get it done by some unnamed date, it’d be the end of the world. Maybe she was running low on funds and needed the inflow of income. He could certainly understand that, though he still believed she needed to slow down. He tamped down the old suspicion about her motives when it tried to make a reappearance. She’d given him no reason to suspect she was after his money.
    He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. His gut told him that whatever was bothering her was more than cash flow.
    “What’s got your forehead all scrunched up?” his dad asked from the doorway to the living room.
    Brady closed the folder in front of him and slid it to the side of the table. “Just tired. I feel like my eyeballs are on fire.”
    “I think it’s time we all took a day off. Think I’ll stay here and fiddle with some furniture designs tomorrow, watch a little baseball.”
    “Maybe I’ll sleep all day.” Between the schedule he’d fallen into at Audrey’s and his own work at night, he was beginning to feel like overcooked toast.
    “Going to be another pretty day. You should go do something fun with Audrey.”
    Brady let out a slow sigh. “Dad. We’ve been over this.”
    “I heard what you said, but I’ve got eyes. Yours don’t say what your mouth does.”
    Brady was too tired to argue. Instead, he got up from the table and headed to bed. Once in his boyhood room, however, he sat on the side of his bed and stared at the floor. What the hell? Maybe his dad was right. He could use a day off, and Audrey sure could the way she’d been working ever since he’d met her. He tried not to think about how much his mood improved once he’d made the decision to spend the day with her, alone and nowhere near a hammer. The big obstacle was convincing her.
     
    K NOWING A UDREY WAS typically up and at work at the crack of dawn, Brady drove into the clearing as the first hints of pink were lightening the sky. He wasn’t surprised that Audrey was already dressed when she stepped out onto the porch.
    “What are you doing here so early?” she asked when he stepped out of his truck. “And what’s with the canoe?”
    “You and I are going for a ride down the creek today,” he said as he walked toward her.
    She shook her head and said, “I have too much—”
    He stopped her objection by putting his index finger against her lips. His heart kicked up a notch at the feel of that softness against his skin. Her eyes widened in response. “No arguments. Even workaholics take a day off now and then. We both could use the break.” How could he sound so practical and matter-of-fact when he wanted to replace his finger with his own lips? Whenhe was freaking out at how Audrey made him feel, all antsy and overheated?
    He lowered his hand and watched as she considered his words. He imagined the war going on inside her head—her natural instinct to spend every waking hour working versus the allure of playing hooky.
    “Fine, but I want to get my camera.” She spun and disappeared into the mill before he could process his shock that she’d caved so easily. He’d been prepared for a long argument and was surprised by how much he was determined to win it.
    He decided not to analyze that too closely as he turned to unload his dad’s canoe.
    Once he had the canoe situated at the edge of the creek and loaded with the paddles and the cooler of food and drinks he’d brought, he straightened to find Audrey