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His pulse skipped as she stepped closer to him. “By the time we finish, it’ll be getting dark. How about staying for di
She hesitated, then stiffened. “No, Co
Co
A sarcastic tone edged his words. “Okay, let’s get this finished.”
Chapter Three
After an hour of talking about the cabin, Ellene settled onto one of Co
Co
She studied the yellow legal pad as a garbled notation hopped from the page. “You’re willing to lose four feet of the great room to expand the bathroom and bedroom downstairs. Is that what we agreed? I can’t read my notes.”
“Right. If we make the porch a year-round room, I can spread the sitting area out even more, and we’ll leave the far end of the porch as it is.” He glanced her way. “Is that right?”
“The last twelve feet will remain a screened-in porch. Correct.” Her fingers flew across the keyboard, and she only noticed Caitlin when her shadow fell over her scribbled notes.
The girl leaned over her shoulder and looked at the screen. “What are you doing?”
“I’m typing information.”
“Can I type?”
“I’m working right now, Caitlin, but I know computers are fun. They have all kinds of information and even programs for kids.”
Caitlin drew back. “I know.”
Ellene chuckled at her blunt retort.
The little girl touched the edge of the keyboard. “We have computers at my school.”
“Computers are the backbone of communication.”
Caitlin’s face screwed into a disbelieving look. “Computers don’t have backbone. People do.”
Ellene laughed and glanced at Co
Caitlin lifted her eyebrows. “Talk?”
“Not talk, but write to people or read information from other countries.”
“On e-mail,” Caitlin said.
The child’s simple response made Ellene grimace at her lack of experience talking with children.
Caitlin faced Co
He arched an eyebrow. “Maybe we should, but Caitlin, right now, you shouldn’t bother Ellene.”
“It’s okay,” But was it? Ellene felt her heartstrings tangling around the little girl. She needed to remain uninvolved before she got hurt again.
Caitlin leaned closer to the monitor. “Do you have games on your computer?”
“A few.” Ellene paused a moment to shoo her away, then thought better of it and hit the minimize button. “This is the desktop. See this right here.” She cringed suspecting Caitlin knew about the desktop.
Caitlin nodded as Ellene clicked an icon. A noise hummed and clicked as a machine came onto the screen while Caitlin giggled.
“What’s that?” the child asked, pressing her finger against the monitor.
“It’s pinball. You’re too young for this game, but adults like it.”
Caitlin leaned closer, watching Ellene shoot the ball. “We don’t have games like that at school.”
The sound pulled Co
“You’re kidding,” Ellene said. “What world do you live in?” Silence hung between them for a moment.
“The world of a single dad.”
Her stomach knotted, getting his message.
“Look,” she said, hoping to ease the uncomfortable moment. “Here are the keys to use the flippers and bumpers, and you use the space bar to shoot the ball.”
Caitlin giggled as Ellene’s ball skittered across the screen, bouncing into a worm hole and rattling against the bumpers. She gave the ball another whack, and it rebounded, sending her score upward.
“My turn!” Co
She gri
He gave her a silly grin while his knee tapped as he pushed the space key that triggered the ball into the playing field.
Ellene forgot herself, watching him play the game and delighting in Caitlin’s amazement. But, noticing the clock hands, she realized too much time had slipped away. She’d let down her guard and had gotten caught up in Co
She touched Co
He halted and dropped his hand from the keyboard. “Sorry. I got carried away.”
Caitlin slipped her arm around his shoulder. “Get us one, daddy,” she pleaded in his ear. “We can play games.”
“It keeps them busy,” Ellene said, seeing the excitement on Caitlin’s face.
Caitlin pressed her palms on Co
Ellene hid her grin.
Co
Caitlin continued to watch her as she input the data. Ellene longed to get out of there and finish the job back in the office, but she feared she couldn’t read what she’d scribbled.
The aroma of ground meat drifted around her, and her stomach gnawed silently. She wished he’d let her leave before preparing their meal, but glancing at the time, she realized he had every right to get their di
One notation confused her, and she stopped and reread the note. “Co
When she looked back, Co
She shivered, and Co
“It’ll only take a minute.” She hurried to the far side of the enclosure and pointed. “We want to begin the screened porch here.”
“Right.”
She handed him the end of the tape measure and backed up to the far wall. “Sixteen feet for the room’s length, then. I know it’s eleven and a half wide.” She drew in the tape as she returned to him. “What about this window over the sink? What did you decide?”
“You suggested leaving it as a window to pass food out for a picnic, and then you said you could block it with shelving on the inside.” He rubbed his temple as if the action would clear his memory. “I think that was it.”
“Which do you prefer? I like the opening.”
“Me, too, but what I’d really like is to get you inside.” He stepped behind her and grasped her arms, then shifted her around to face the doorway into the house. The heat from his nearness swept up her arms into her chest, and she felt his warm breath against her cheek.