The Sweetest Gift (The McKaslin Clan: Series 1 Book 2) by Jillian Hart

gold. Amazing.
    Why had she gotten beneath his skin?
    Oh, that was an easy answer. Because she was beautiful, smart, capable and compassionate. Not your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill kind of woman.
    Well, he couldn’t stand around thinking about her all day. It was late enough that there was no sense driving down to the office. Maybe he’d start work on patching the numerous and varied holes in the walls from the previous tenant.
    He had a lot of work to do before he’d have this house the way he wanted it. New paint, new fixtures, new windows, a new furnace. He even planned on rewiring.
    He was halfway down the stairs to the basement, where his tools and supplies were, when Leo’s happy bark resounded through the house. The floorboards overhead groaned with the force of his weight as the dog ran from bedroom to front door. He sounded like a herd of charging dragons, breathing fire and in serious need of claw trimmings.
    Whoever was on his step and about to ring the bell had better not be Ruth. He didn’t want her seeing what had happened to her house. Not until he had it patched, painted and polished, anyway. He dashed back up the steps, already plotting ways to keep her from crossing the threshold, when the dulcet music of the old doorbell echoed through the house.
    Leo went nuts, bouncing off the windowsill and howling with delight. He was more gentlemanly around Ruth, so that meant only one woman could be standing on their front step.
    “Calm down, boy.” Not surprised at all, he saw her through the glass.
    Kirby McKaslin, protected by a cheerful red raincoat, smiled up at him from beneath the oversize hood. Fatigue darkened the skin beneath her eyes, but she sure looked good. The freckles on her nose stood out, probably because she wasn’t wearing any makeup. He liked those freckles. They made her look beyond cute. Endearing.
    He grabbed Leo by the collar and opened the door.
    The rottweiler lunged, thrilled beyond his doggy self-control apparently. It took a second order for him to sit still, the way a gentleman, even a young and eager one, should.
    “Look what blew onto my front porch,” Sam said. “A pretty lady carrying what looks like food.”
    “Looks like.” She gestured to the bulging white sack she cradled in one arm and to a cardboard drink tray. “I’ve come bearing good news and doughnuts.”
    “You’ve said the magic password—doughnut. You may enter.” He held wide the door for her, hearing the old furnace wheeze on in a pathetic attempt to warm them. A failed attempt.
    And it was a good thing he had a fire going in the fireplace, because it looked as if Kirby was shivering. Cold and tired. He knew how that felt, so he moved close.
    She smelled like apples and cinnamon and rain. The curled ends of her ponytail brushed his knuckles as he helped her out of her raincoat. The fabric rustled, a couple of rain droplets tapped to the bare hardwood floor and he felt terrified and excited and alive all at once.
    Exactly the same way he’d felt when he’d taken his first night flight. Adrenaline-pumping, mind-racing speed through the darkness.
    Wow. He hung her coat off the back of the wooden chair—the only furniture in the room—near the hearth. His hands shook so hard he nearly dropped the garment twice. What was that? What was she doing to him?
    “Sit. Get warm.” Did that sound like an order? He cleared his throat. Only then did he notice she held something else. A bright pink leash, and it was attached to her dog’s collar.
    How could he have not noticed she’d brought her cocker spaniel? It just went to show how much she affected him.
    “Hello there, little one.” He knelt to welcome Jessie.
    The little dog came up to him politely and nudged his hand, eager to be petted. A sweet girl, like her owner.
    “I almost hated to ring the bell. I was afraid you were sleeping. But with the way Leo was barking even before I reached the porch, I figured I might as well. Who could sleep