Page 29 of A Bloom in Winter

The ever-so-slight recoil sealed the deal on her own suspicion, but she wasn’t surprised she was right. She had developed a sixth sense for those who kept secrets lately.

“Why are you pretending to ask me what his name is,” she murmured.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I didn’t know what he was going by now.”

“So I’m right—”

“Tell your father I said hello, why dontcha.”

Well. There you go, she thought.

“Um . . . Hemmy’s in the kitchen getting something to eat.” She nodded toward the back of the house. “You just go straight through there if you want to join him.”

“Hemmy?”

“That’s not his name?”

“Guess he’s claimed a nick, then.”

As Apex looked away, she studied his grim profile. “Can I ask you one question about the groundskeeper? Are you worried he’s dangerous?”

“Not to you,” came the tense response. Then the male focused on her. “You’re fine.”

Am I, she wondered listlessly.

From the far corner, Hemmy emerged with a tray of—

“Did you have to bring the entire kitchen?” Apex muttered.

Although he did have a point. Hemmy had clearly rooted around and brought out anything you could put a piece of cheese on, drag through a dip, or layer with a couple of slices of hard salami. But hey, at least he’d balanced all those carbs with a bag of M&M’s.

“There’s no food in there,” the male said as he came over and put things on the low table in front of her. “Did you just get here or something?”

For a second, she assumed he was talking to Apex. But no, those eyes were on her.

“Oh, me?” She tried to remember when the last time she’d had food was . . . and couldn’t recall. “I haven’t been thinking—I mean, I need to go to the store.”

“No one’s going anywhere.” Apex went to a window and stared out at the storm. “Not right now.”

Besides, what would be open this late this far upstate, she mused.

“Well, I raided the pantry.” Hemmy swept a hand over his display. “This is what we got.”

“You know, I think I am hungry.” She sat forward and forced a smile at the male. “And this looks terrific.”

Old saltines and oyster crackers. Fritos that had expired in November. Boxes of Triscuits and Wheat Thins. But she was suddenly starved, so it was a feast.

Breaking open the saltines, she looked back and forth between her two new roommates. Hemmy had gone over to the hearth and was throwing some more hardwood on the fire, his brows down low like log placement and BTU production was something he was going to be graded on. Apex was still staring out that window.

That looked across the circular pebbled drive to the garages. And the expression on his face was as if he’d seen a ghost.

Maybe she was just applying her own unrest to him.

She glanced at Hemmy. And then tilted her head to the side. “You have a mullet.”

The male looked over his broad shoulder. His smile was slow, and you know, suddenly the temperature in the grand hall seemed much, much warmer.

“It brings out the color in my eyes, don’t you think.”

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