Two hours later, Sam was on his way to the Rothwell Farm. He’d dropped Ben at school. He’d tried to drop Mina at school but that didn’t go so well. For the first time this year, he’d totally buckled and given in to her desperate sobs. He just didn’t have it in him today to deal with the guilt and misery of deserting her in a place she didn’t want to be. No sitters were available and Mina was being especially clingy anyway. He could take her home, but that would mean huddling in front of the space heater until the repairman showed and that wouldn’t be until late afternoon. Besides, Sam had promised Harper he’d come over early to work on her kitchen. It was the one room, aside from her bedroom, that she used a lot and there were some safety issues.
“Remember what I told you,” Sam told Mina as they rolled into the driveway. “Daddy’s here to work.”
“Okay.”
“Miss Day is a busy lady, so leave her be.”
“Okay.”
“I stocked your backpack with a mess of movies and cartoons, three books, and your Miss Kitty color set, so you have plenty to keep you busy.” He pointed to the ratty teddy bear Mina had dolled up in a pink dress and tiara. “And Princess Pinky to keep you company.”
“We’ll be good, Daddy, don’t worry.”
Sam smiled across the seat at his daughter. He’d bundled her up against the cold—coat, scarf, gloves, thick leggings, and insulated boots. She’d accessorized by topping her sock cap with a tiara and augmenting her pink wool scarf with a purple-feathered boa. She was cute as a button, but she was also a handful. Deep down Sam acknowledged that maybe part of the reason he’d buckled and brought Mina on the job was because she’d work as a buffer between him and Harper. He’d put in a few hours yesterday, working on her stairway. They’d pretty much kept to themselves—him sanding and varnishing wood, her yakking on the phone and flipping through entertainment channels like a celebrity news junkie. But whether they were inches apart or in entirely different sections of the house the sexual tension between them raged. Sam figured the presence of his daughter would diffuse that tension—one way or another.
Harper answered the door dressed in clingy activewear and her phone pressed to her ear. “Yeah. I got it. I know. On it. Have to go. What?” She held one finger up to Sam, holding him off for a minute. He was used to her doing that, not that he liked it. “I’m supposed to be on a short holiday, Martin. Okay. Fine.”
Sam took in her appearance as she ended the call. Her thick hair was pulled in a high ponytail and an iPod was visible in a sports armband. She wasn’t sweaty or flushed so Sam assumed she was preparing for a workout and not just finishing up. He struggled not to admire the way her formfitting attire accentuated her curves—although he was beginning to think she’d turn him on even if she was draped in a gunnysack. He held her gaze, acknowledged the mutual sparks, then the glitch when Mina moved out from behind Sam and into Harper’s view.
“Hi,” Mina said.
Harper tucked her phone into her waistband and raised a lone brow. “Hi.”
“This is my daughter, Mina. Mina, this is Miss Day.”
“Don’t worry,” Mina said. “I won’t bug you. I have movies and Princess Pinky to keep me busy.”
“It’s been an unusual morning,” Sam said.
“Our furnace is on the futz.”
“Fritz, honey.”
Mina sighed, shrugged. “Fritz. Futz.”
Harper’s other brow rose. “Nice tiara.”
“Daddy bought it for me.” Mina leaned a hard right, peeking past Harper. “This place is haunted, you know.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“Seen any ghosts?”
“Not a one.” Harper moved aside and waved them in. “Let me know if you do.”
“You betcha!” Mina rushed forward, dragging along her bear and backpack.
Harper stared at Sam, pressing her hand to his chest. “Cute kid, Rambo.”
“Thanks.”
“Shouldn’t she be in school?”
“Yup.” He looked down to where her palm burned through his jacket.
She snatched it back. “I’m not sure this place is kid safe.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“You sure don’t have much furniture,” Mina said while spinning in the center of the living room.
“Not yet,” Harper said. “You can sit in that red chair if you want. It’s pretty comfy.”
“Okay.” Mina set her bear on the chair and her pack on the floor then peeled off her scarf, gloves and coat. They landed in messy puddle.
Normally Sam would have told her to pick them up, but he was waiting for a snarky comment from Harper, a roll of the eyes, a disgusted groan. Something. Anything detrimental regarding his daughter. That would sure as hell snuff his attraction to the shallow publicist.
Harper shifted and crossed her arms as Mina dragged the portable mini-DVD player from her Miss Kitty backpack. “Would you like something to drink?” she asked Mina.
“Do you have hot cocoa?”
“No, but I have herbal tea.”
“Chocolate milk?”
“Skim milk.”
Mina wrinkled her nose. “No, thank you.”
Sam suppressed a smile while shrugging out of his jacket.
“Wanna watch a movie with me?” Mina asked.
“I have business upstairs,” Harper said. “A workout and some fancy footwork.”
“Dancing?”
“Something like that.” She eyed the staircase, checked her phone. The woman was itching to make her escape. “Do you like cupcakes?”
“Do I ever!” Mina’s eyes lit.
Sam’s ears perked. “Thought you were a health nut.”
“Health conscious,” Harper corrected. “I used all-natural and low-fat ingredients.”
“You bake?”
“Don’t look so shocked, Rambo.”
“Who’s Rambo?” Mina asked.
“Never mind, honey.” Sam followed Harper into the kitchen, his gaze drawn to the old cookstove she’d used for baking cupcakes. The same cookstove used by Mary Rothwell. An original appliance that had never been replaced. He shook off a weird feeling, eyeing the cupcakes Harper produced from the fridge. “Mina’s allergic to peanuts.”
“No nuts,” Harper said as she took one from the plastic cupcake holder and placed it on a paper plate. “Apple-cinnamon with low-fat buttercream icing. Want to try one?”
“No thanks.”
“Suit yourself.” She whizzed out of the kitchen with the cupcake and an attitude.
Sam dragged a hand through his hair, tempering a raging hard-on. “Shit.” By the time he peeked back into the living room, Harper was gone and Mina was immersed in a movie and her cupcake. He stepped back into the kitchen and nabbed the toolbox he’d left there the day before. He had a list of things Harper had asked him to look into and he had a list of his own. He’d always considered the kitchen the heart of the house and this heart needed mending. He wasn’t surprised when Harper had asked him about restoring the cabinets and counters to a vintage 1940s look. What surprised him was that he instantly visualized a scheme and that they’d easily agreed on style and colors. It was one of the only amicable moments of their short acquaintance.
Considering Sam needed to be home when Frank showed up to service his furnace and considering Mina would be hungry for lunch in a few hours, Sam figured he had three hours ahead of him at most.
Out of nowhere, Rae crossed his thoughts. It bothered him that he was suddenly unclear regarding his feelings for her. And the more he thought about his verbal clash with Luke, the greater his unease. Sam had reacted and spoken in the heat of the moment. He didn’t like being at odds with family and he especially didn’t care for the feeling that he might be in the wrong and that Luke’s feelings for Rae were sincere. He was pretty clear on the fact that Rae was hung up on Luke. He could see it now.