Page 4 of Fire in My Heart

I couldn’t stop the paranoia from hijacking any sense of reason.

I set the clothes on the bed just as Charlotte followed behind me with her own armload of clothes. She dropped them on top of my pile.

She took a few hangers and hung them on the rack in the closet. The cottage was small but perfect for one person if they didn’t have a lot of stuff. But I was getting the impression Charlotte had a lot of clothes.

She methodically moved items from the bed to the closet, hanging each piece. I couldn’t seem to make my feet move.

Finally, Charlotte turned toward me, a crease on her forehead. “I don’t think I need any help here.”

“Right.” I turned on my heel and got out of there as fast as I could. I emptied the small car, placing her things in the front room.

There was nothing left for me to do, and surely my father wouldn’t expect me to stay to help her unpack. Charlotte could handle it.

Just when I was intending to leave, Charlotte jogged down the steps, coming to an abrupt stop at the bottom. “Oh. I thought you’d be gone by now.”

“I promised my dad I’d get you settled in.” Unloading her car should have fulfilled the promise to my father. I should leave.

Her face brightened. “Would you mind helping me unpack the kitchen?”

I was stuck now. “Sure.”

I grabbed the boxes labeled Kitchen and set them on thecounter. It was hard to imagine someone living here other than Daphne and my niece Izzy. But Daphne was married to Cole now; they had a son together and had moved into a farmhouse shortly after they got serious.

I opened the flaps to the first box where random kitchen items were strewn about. It was like everything had been thrown into them with no thought as to how someone would empty them.

It made the process of organizing the kitchen tedious. Then there was Charlotte who kept changing her mind.

“I think I’d want the silverware here.” She pointed to a drawer near the fridge. “Or maybe here.”

I opened the only drawer that made sense to put silverware inside. Sure enough, Daphne had left a silverware organizer inside. “They should be closest to the dishwasher.”

Charlotte beamed at me. “That makes sense. Thanks.”

It was hard to be grumpy around her. That must be the reason why I avoided her. The longer I was around her, the more I felt myself softening. I couldn’t afford to let my guard down. You never truly knew someone, and Charlotte was obviously hiding something.

My stomach rumbled. “Dad wanted to have lunch with me. Will you be okay here?”

“Oh, yeah. I was just going to make the bed next.”

I couldn’t be in the bedroom with her again, focusing on the bed. I would be having all kinds of thoughts of spreading her out and devouring her.

I slowly moved around the corner, hoping she didn’t notice how badly I wanted to get out of this tiny space. Charlotte was already infusing the room with her unique light, and the longer I stayed, the more I’d fall into her orbit.

I’d almost made it to the front door when her hand landed on my bare forearm. My muscles tensed under the warmth of her palm.

“Thank you for helping. I really appreciate it.” She peered up at me with those bright blue eyes, the ones that threatened to drown me.

Charlotte was always quick with words of appreciation. She reminded me a little of my mother. Not that I allowed myself to think of my mother often. “No problem.”

“I know you don’t want me here.”

I winced because I’d made that fact obvious.

“I want to help. I know I can make a difference on the farm.” Her expression was so earnest; my heart actually squeezed. I don’t think that had ever happened. I usually felt cold and numb around women. Irritated even. Never had my heart contracted for one.

I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. My jaw tightened to the point of pain. “We’ll see.”

Her eyes flashed with frustration. “Al wants me here.”

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