Page 44 of Arse Over Irish Teacup
She was still speechless.
“I’ll be off now and let you rest. We can work the details out later.” He gave a reassuring smile and turned to leave. “The tower isn’t fixed yet but the sun is coming out.”
“Roan,” she blurted. Finally getting her power of speech back. “Thank you, for all this.”
“You’re welcome, love. You can call me if you need anything. Anything at all.” He pursed his lips then put his hands in his pockets and headed to his car, whistling. The dark clouds were finally lifting, and the sun was reaching down, stretching its arms.
Beth stood, wrapped in the quilt, her mouth gaping. Roan really was a nice guy. But she was much too tired to expand that thought now. She brought the bag inside and took a whiff. Whatever Roan had cooked smelled divine. With a grateful heart, she put the dish in the refrigerator then headed to the bedroom where the soft, warm bed beckoned.
ChapterTwenty
Beth’s eyes opened.It couldn’t be said that she opened her eyes, because if she’d had any say in the matter her eyes would remain closed for a week and even that may not be long enough. But there her eyelids were, open. And now that her eyes were open, she saw that, once again, she had slept through more than half the day. Only this time she didn’t feel like she’d been hit by a freight train. In fact, once her senses all got on board with being awake, she decided she felt pretty good, and she was starving.
Her breakfast comprised of orange juice, brown bread, yogurt with a banana, and strawberries, and when that didn’t fill her up, she ate some chicken kiev with mashed potatoes.
There. Now that her stomach was satisfied, and she felt more human it was time to get herself looking more human.
She touched her hand to her hair and cringed. She didn’t need to look in the mirror to know it was a poofy, frizzy mess. Time for a shower.
Once she dried off and brushed out her hair she went to her suitcase for some clothes. As she lifted the lid the smell of horse assaulted her nose—some clothes were dirtier than others. Time to locate the washing machine. And since she was the only one in the house, Beth didn’t see any reason she should put the nightgown back on.
So, Beth padded through the house naked. She hadn’t walked around naked in … never mind how long.
The washing machine and dryer turned out to be under a counter in a small laundry room off the kitchen and were much smaller than what she was used to, which meant it would be hours before she had clean, dry clothes.
Beth started up the machine, then headed for the clothes closet. The nightgown she had borrowed fit well enough. Maybe there was something else she could put on for the time being. Nice as being nude was, she was getting a little chill.
She passed by the sliding glass door in her kitchen and looked out onto the garden. Now that it wasn’t raining, she could go outside and get a good look.
A privacy fence surrounded the garden blooming with yellow, purple, and pink flowers. She knew nothing about plants so she couldn’t identify any of the flowers but she could appreciate their beauty.
Beth opened the door and was about to step outside when the crisp air caught her unawares. She grabbed her shawl that laid over the kitchen stool and draped it around her shoulders then stepped out into the open air.
“Good morning,” said Roan from the gate.
Beth shrieked and pulled her shawl tight around her.
“I’m sorry. I should have knocked on the front door. Old habits die hard.” He leaned against the fence. “Do you always walk around outside in your nick?”
Did he always act so casual around naked women? “Nope. First time.” She couldn’t look him in the eye and anyway those yellow flowers with the pink face were ever so pretty and really needed to be admired.
“Sorry I scared you. I was only dropping by to leave you these. I picked them while I was out for a walk.” He pulled a bouquet of wild flowers from behind his back. “There’s a blue vase sitting on the counter. Grannie always liked to have flowers in it. She said they made her happy and that it was the simple things that can turn a day around. So, I thought you might like these.” Without taking a step closer he leaned forward with his arm outstretched.
She gripped her shawl and reached out a hand to accept the bouquet. “They’re beautiful, thank you.” She dared a glance at his face and couldn’t ignore his amused eyes.
“I’ll leave you now to commune with the fairies.” He turned to leave but stopped at the garden gate and looked over his shoulder. “You look really good naked, Bethany Spinner.”
She blushed all the way to her toes.
He turned again to leave, then paused. “Also, I wanted to ask, that is, I wondered if you might like to go to a wedding with me on Saturday. You could meet some of your neighbors there. It should be great craic.”
She knew from her book that craic meant fun. “Lauren got me a flight home tomorrow.”
Roan’s disappointment reflected in his eyes. “Oh. That’s good. You’ll be happy to get home, I’m sure.” He shifted his stance. No sense in lingering now. “You can leave the keys in the kitchen when you go. If you want help with anything you can call me.” He looked into her eyes, held her gaze for a moment. “I’m sorry you weren’t happier here.”
“Roan. Wait.” For a moment she forgot she was naked underneath a shawl. “Wait here for a minute, would you?”
He turned back around then perched his arm against the garden gate and nodded as she went indoors to find some clothes.
