Saturday's Child by Clare Revell Page B

her head. Some things would never change and seven over protective brothers were one of them.
     
     
     
     

8
     
    “He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let Him deliver him, since he delights in Him.” Psalm 22:8
     
    Even though Aaron sat by the fire, the room seemed to brighten as Meggie came into the kitchen. Her damp hair was piled on her head in a loose bun. Her blue sweater showed off her ample figure and slender waist, while the full length skirt seemed to add an inch or two to her petite height. Unless she was wearing heels, which Aaron doubted.
    “Feel better?” he asked, getting to his feet. He ignored the look of disgust Tanis shot him. His father had taught him that a gentleman always stood when a lady entered the room. And Meggie was all lady.
    “Yes, thank you.” She ran her gaze over him. “You changed, too.”
    “Yeah. I made use of the other bathroom. Did you want to ring home? The phone line’s working again now.”
    “Iestyn actually rang my mobile as I got out of the shower.” She grinned. “Anyway, he said the tornado made the news in the valley and they were all worried because I hadn’t rung them.” She sat and held her hands towards the fire to warm them.
    He sat opposite her, his heart pounding at the way she sat in Nancy’s chair. No one had sat in it since she’d died, well no one who mattered. Tanis regularly did, purely to annoy him. Yet he hadn’t been able to get rid of the chair because it was the one link he had left to his wife. Tanis had helped him box up Nancy’s things soon after the funeral, and then she’d taken them away. Aside from the chair and a couple of photos, he had nothing tangible left.
    As Tanis came back into the room, the temperature seemed to drop twenty degrees, despite the blazing fire. Was he imagining things because of what Meggie had said? Was this what she’d meant about the house being odd and the heating not working?
    Meggie pulled the chair a little closer to the fire. If she felt it too, then it wasn’t just his imagination. He tried to remember if the farm house had always been cold. There was a time before his mother died, when sunlight shone from every room and the house smelled of furniture polish and lily of the valley.
    He reached over and touched Meggie’s hand. “You’re cold.”
    “A little.”
    He held her gaze. It seemed brighter where she sat, as if she were keeping the growing darkness at bay singlehandedly.
    “Are you going to eat over there?” The icy voice of his stepmother cut into his thoughts.
    “Yes. It’s warmer.”
    She nodded and brought over two steaming plates. “Here you are.”
    Meggie accepted the offering. “Thank you. It smells wonderful.”
    Aaron took his and began to eat. He glanced at his stepmother. “So I assume bridge club isn’t on tonight?” he asked hopefully. After all, if the roads were closed, no one could get here. There was something about the members of the ‘bridge club’ that set his nerves on edge.
    “I’m flying them in via the corporate helicopter. I didn’t see the point of canceling a weekly event just because the road is closed.”
    His fork dropped to his plate. “And you didn’t think to offer this to Meggie to get her home?”
    Meggie turned to him. “Aaron, it’s fine—”
    “No, Meggie, it isn’t.” He turned and glared at his stepmother. “Well?”
    “Miss Knight came to collect her car. Flying her home would mean leaving her car here again.”
    “It’s not like it’s taking up your parking space,” Aaron snapped, his anger surging.
    Meggie put a hand on his arm. “Really, it’s fine.” Her quiet voice was as placating as the look in her eyes.
    Aaron nodded, dropping it. Half of him wanted to get Meggie out of there right now this minute. Hijack the incoming chopper if that’s what it took. The other half knew that was a stupid idea. Tanis would probably sue him for improper use of the chopper. That’s if she didn’t declare it