Snowbound - Harlequin.com

88 SNOWBOUND
It took her a bit longer than that to appear in the
kitchen; but he’d known she would check on her kids
on the way down.
He was setting out onions, garlic and green pepper
on the counter when he heard the swinging door and
glanced over his shoulder. She’d brushed her hair and
pulled it into a ponytail that made her look as young as
the teenagers.
“Find them all?” he asked.
“Mmm-hmm,” she murmured absently. “Shall I chop?”
“Sure. I’ll get the hamburger frying.”
He dumped several pounds in his largest skillet.
“Four onions?” she asked, sounding surprised.
“There are ten of us. Wouldn’t hurt to have enough
left for lunch tomorrow.”
“No. That’s true. Okay.” The knife whacked down on
the cutting board.
By the time she dumped the first diced onion in with
the meat, her eyes were misty. With the second, tears
clung to her lashes and her eyes were red. “I’m going
to be wailing any minute,” she warned.
“Want to switch jobs?”
“No point in us both crying. We’d scare the kids if
they come in.”
He gave a laugh that felt creaky. “It’s good for teenagers
to get jolted out of their self-absorption occasionally.”
Whack. Whack. Whack. “Are you speaking from experience?”
He saw more of himself in Dieter than in the others.
He, too, had been a nerd despite the fact that he’d played