The Bride Came C.O.D. (Bachelor Fathers) Page 5

"I don't make my food at home. Someone else makes my food at home." And once I get my inheritance I'll never touch a microwave oven again as long as I live.

  "Your mommy?"

  Lexi's throat tightened. That was so many years ago. You'd think she'd be over it by now. "Not my mother," she said carefully. "Someone who works for me." Rather, a series of someones, none of whom ever stayed very long.

  "Do you work for my daddy?"

  "Of course not!" Lexi ladled some stew into the child's bowl. She searched around for a nice soup plate for her own portion then settled on a plain white dinner plate. "Napkins," she said, poking in drawers and cupboards. "There must be some around here."

  "There!"

  Lexi turned to look at the child. "What?"

  Kelsey pointed toward the sink. "The napkins are there."

  Lexi glanced in that direction and saw nothing but a window and a roll of paper towels. "Napkins, honey, not paper towels."

  "Daddy says they're better than napkins."

  "They're paper," Lexi said, aghast. "Napkins are made of linen."

  Kelsey frowned. "What's linn-inn?"

  "Cloth," said Lexi. "Nice, tight-weave cloth that civilized people put on their laps at meal time."

  Apparently not in this house. With a shudder, Lexi ripped off two squares of paper toweling and carried them to the table. The selection of flatware wasn't much better but she at least found service for one that matched. Kelsey was content with a Beauty and the Beast spoon.

  She took her seat opposite the child, placed the paper towel on her lap, and then surveyed the scene. Kelsey had jammed the paper towel into the neckline of his shirt. Lexi decided to ignore it. There was something else that irritated her more.

  "No G.I. Joe at the table," she said, pointing to the grubby doll lying near Kelsey's mug of milk.

  Kelsey took a bite of stew.

  "Kelsey." Lexi's voice rose a tad. "Dolls don't belong on the table." Especially not dolls that look like they won Desert Storm singlehandedly.

  The child chewed and swallowed.

  Lexi waited a moment then leaned over and grabbed G.I. Joe by the bullet clip. In a moment of inspiration, she sat him down on the empty chair to her right.

  Kelsey looked at her, then at the doll.

  Lexi waited for the explosion.

  But there wasn't one.

  Kelsey returned to the stew with renewed interest. G.I. Joe minded his own business. The Incredible Hunk stayed in his lab.

  Lexi glanced at her watch. The day was almost over. She was still alive, she still had her sanity.

  Only one hundred eighty-seven more days like this one and she'd have her inheritance, to boot.

  It was enough to make a woman stop and rethink.

  Connecticut

  "Now?" asked the technician, hand poised over the keypad.

  Joanna checked her watch then nodded. "Now."

  Ryder watched from the far corner of the room. "Something's going to go wrong," he said in ominous tones. "I can feel it."

  "Nothing's going to go wrong," his wife said, glancing at him over her shoulder. "Besides, if Kiel had wanted to reach us badly enough, he has other ways."

  "They've probably killed each other by now."

  "Maybe not," said Joanna.

  "You don't sound very convinced."

  "You're being ridiculous," Joanna said. "They're both intelligent, highly motivated human beings. They'll make the best of the situation."

  Ryder's response was unprintable.

  "Nice talk for the father of two," Joanna said dryly. "If I remember right, you didn't have much choice in the matter."

  The technician leaned back in her chair. "Done, boss," she said to Joanna. "System's back up and running."

  "Thanks, Sharon."

  "Anything else?"

  Joanna shook her head. "You can go back to what you were doing."

  Ryder waited until the technician closed the door behind her. "What if something goes wrong?" he asked his wife. "There might be movement in their area. She's not trained to do anything but shop."

  "She's a smart woman," Joanna said. "A hell of a lot smarter than you think. Besides, she's there to take care of Kelsey, not to save the world."

  "Yeah," said Ryder. "Let's hope it stays that way."

  Kiel powered down his equipment and turned off his computer.

  He hadn't accomplished one damn thing since he locked himself in his lab four hours ago. He'd been trying so hard to forget about what was going on in the house that he'd been unable to think of anything but Lexi Marsden.

  She had the disposition of a rattlesnake.

  The sleek line of her thighs as she sat in the rocking chair.

  She thought technology had peaked with the invention of the blow dryer and the lighted makeup mirror.

  The way the firelight made her pale blond hair glow.

  She turned every verbal exchange between them into a major battle of wills.

  The scent of lilacs that continued to haunt him.

  He groaned and dragged a hand through his hair.

  And she was the only game in town. He knew the powers-that-be well enough to know they'd sent her here for the reason. She had to have some underlying value, some talent or gift that was invisible to the naked eye. And he also knew they weren't going to let her turn her back on the assignment without a damn good reason.

  "You're going to have to learn to live with her," he said aloud in the silent laboratory. His work demanded a total commitment, something that was impossible without someone to care for Kelsey.

  He knew the clock was ticking on his research work. With the breakup of the Soviet Union, nuclear warheads had become a hot commodity on the black market and every little country with ready cash was eager to arm themselves to the teeth. Democratization was taking its toll, in ways the world could not have foreseen. It used to be arms for hostages. Now it was arms for bread as starving nations struggled to feed their people while they learned to live with independence.

  The research he was working on could change all of that. He was close--so close--to a breakthrough that sometimes he couldn't sleep because his mind kept replaying the formulas, turning them around, trying to find the last piece of the puzzle. The ability to disable active warheads and neutralize the resultant nuclear waste was beyond comprehension.

  But it could be done.

  And he intended to be the one who did it.

  He pushed back his chair and stood up. They'd gotten off to a bad start. They didn't have to like each other just because they were supposed to get married. Hell, they didn't even have to talk to each other if they didn't want to. He'd provide everything she needed to live a pleasant life. All she had to do was make sure his daughter was safe and happy.

  We can do it, he thought as he locked up the laboratory and set the alarms. They were two adults, after all. Two adults who understood responsibility and reality and the importance of working as a team.

  Besides, it wasn't all her fault.

  He'd been every bit as obnoxious himself. It wouldn't have killed him to carry all of her bags inside. Just because they were working together didn't mean he had to forget what little he knew about polite behavior.

  Besides, there wasn't time to find someone else. He needed to string together some eighteen-hour days and he needed to start now. The only way that was going to happen was if he and Alexa Grace Marsden found a way to make it happen.

  "Okay," he said as he started across the snow-covered field to the house. "This can work." It would take some effort on both of their parts but it could be done. He'd go in there and talk to her and no matter how annoying she was he'd hold his temper. And he wouldn't notice the lilacs.

  He pushed open the front door and a wave of warmth enveloped him. He grinned as he hung his jacket on the peg by the door. She knew how to keep the fire blazing in the hearth. Not a bad skill to have if you're going to spend the winter in Alaska.

  "Alexa!" His voice rang out in the empty room. "W
e need to talk."

  No response.

  "Alexa!" Louder this time. He tried not to think of all the things that could have gone wrong while he was holed up in the lab. "Where are you?"

  "In the bathroom," she called out. "I'm helping Kelsey undress and then--" Her shriek pierced the air.

  His imagination raced out of control.

  Broken glass under tiny feet.

  Fractured skull.

  Blood everywhere.

  He tore into the bathroom and found Kelsey naked as the day she was born. She stood in the middle of the bathtub, wailing loud enough to wake the dead. Her little face was contorted with tears but she looked hale and whole. No bruises, no cuts, no broken bones. Relief blasted through him and came close to buckling his knees.

  Wrapping his daughter in a big fluffy bath towel, he scooped her out of the tub and held her against his chest.

  "What's wrong, Kelsey?" he asked, stroking her wet hair. "What happened?"

  "He's a girl."

  He spun around to see Lexi sitting on the closed toilet seat. "What did you say?"

  She pointed toward his daughter. "He's a girl."

  At that Kelsey wailed louder. "What in hell did you think she was, a cocker spaniel?"

  "They told me she was a girl but I thought they'd made a mistake."

  "You need help," he said, shaking his head. "You can't tell a girl from a boy."

  That dangerous sparkle was back in her eyes. "Obviously I had no trouble once she got into the bathtub," she shot back, "but before that it was a tad difficult."

  He leaned back and took a good look at his child. Big blue eyes, long lashes, tiny and determined chin. "You're blind."

  "The child was wearing baggy jeans and a baseball cap. What was I supposed to think?"

  "That she's a normal kid," he roared.

  "Look at her hair," Lexi said, gesturing toward Kelsey. "When was the last time you had it styled?"

  "She's four years old, dammit. You want her sitting under a dryer in some ridiculous beauty parlor?"

  "Nobody said anything about sitting her under a hair dryer." The woman was amazingly persistent. In a weird way he admired her for it. "I'm saying she's a little girl. She deserves more than a pair of old jeans and a baseball cap."

  "If a man said that, you'd call him a sexist pig."

  She shook her head. "I'd say he cared about his little girl."

  "What planet are you from anyway?" he exploded as Kelsey, tears drying on her cheeks, listened to the exchange. "This is the 90's. Little girls are more than sugar and spice."

  "And they're more than G.I. Joe and high top sneakers."

  "I want a dress like Beauty wore when she danced with the Beast."

  Kiel felt as if he'd been kicked in the solar plexus. He stared at Kelsey as if she were an alien. "What?"

  Kelsey's eyes took on a dreamy expression. "A yellow dress," she went on, glancing shyly at Lexi, "with a big fat skirt."

  Lexi's smile was triumphant. "What did I tell you." Her smile grew even more triumphant. "Kelsey knows what I'm talking about even if her father doesn't."

  Kiel's brows knotted. "You want a fancy yellow dress?" he asked Kelsey.

  She nodded vigorously. "And a machine gun for G.I. Joe."

  He hugged his daughter tighter and started to laugh.

  "That tickles!" Kelsey pushed at his chin with both hands.

  Still smiling, he met Lexi's eyes across the top of his daughter's head. To his amazement, she smiled back at him.

  "We need to talk," she said, sounding more approachable than she'd sounded since she arrived.

  He nodded. "After I put Kelsey down for the night."

  "You must be hungry," Lexi said. "I'll heat up the rest of the stew."

  "Potholders," said Kelsey.

  Kiel glanced down at his daughter. "What?"

  "Girl talk," said Lexi, heading toward the door. "I'll see to the stew."

  Kiel stared after her. "I don't get it," he said aloud. "One minute she's Princess Di, the next she's old Mother Hubbard. What gives?" He ruffled his little girl's damp hair. "Do you know, Kelse?"

  Kelsey nodded. "She's pretty," said his daughter, "but she doesn't know about potholders."

  Which summed up Alexa Grace Marsden about as well as anything could.

  The microwave beeped twice. Lexi popped open the door

  and reached for the container of beef stew.

  "Potholders," she said, jumping back at the first touch of heat against her fingertips. From the mouths of babes....

  To her amazement Lexi found herself smiling as she thought of Kelsey. Admittedly it had been a shock to discover that Kiel Brown's scruffy little boy was really a scruffy little girl, and Lexi wished she'd managed to stifle her scream of surprise when she first realized that fact. Poor Kelsey probably thought she was mad as a hatter.

  And maybe she was.

  "I can do this," she said as she set a place for Kiel at the kitchen table then sat down to nurse a cup of coffee. It had been a long day. She'd traveled thousands of miles, left everything she knew behind, and found herself in the middle of a ready-made family. No wonder she felt short-tempered and overwhelmed.

  Once she got the hang of it she was certain she and Kelsey would get on together just fine. Besides, it wouldn't hurt the child to have a feminine influence around, even if it was only for six months. Kelsey was a cute little thing, if a bit rough around the edges, and Lexi had no doubt she'd be even cuter once she got to work.

  There was something about the sight of a beautiful woman sitting at the kitchen table that awakened the cave dweller in a man.

  The fact that he'd followed the scent of lilacs all the way down the hall didn't help matters any. Not even the robust aroma of beef stew could compete.

  Kiel stood in the doorway and let the scene wash over him. She'd set a place for him at the table, complete with a square of paper towel folded into a fan shape and tucked with a flourish into his water glass. Curls of steam rose from the ironstone bowl. She sat opposite his chair, her pointed chin resting in her highly incapable-looking hands. Her eyes were closed; the thick tangle of lashes cast a shadow against the curve of her cheekbones.

  She was so damn small, so finely made. He had no doubt he could span her waist with his hands. His breath snagged deep in his throat and for a moment he imagined he could feel the supple curve beneath his fingers as he moved his hands up over her ribcage until the gentle swelling of her breasts filled his palms and--

  "Oh!" She started as she grew suddenly aware of his presence. "I must have been daydreaming."

  He found himself grinning easily as he took his seat. "Sleeping's more like it."

  "I wasn't sleeping," she said, that backbone of steel reasserting itself. "Just resting my eyes."

  "Right," he said, reaching for his fork. "Whatever you say."

  She stifled a yawn. "Well, maybe I am a little tired. Back home it's almost midnight."

  He started shoveling in the stew then stopped abruptly at the look of horror on her face. "Something wrong?" he asked, wiping his mouth with the intricately folded square of paper towel.

  "Your table manners," she said.

  He speared a cube of beef. "What about 'em?"

  "They're non-existent."

  He chewed then swallowed. "Never had any complaints before."

  "Obviously you've been away from civilization for awhile."

  "Don't tell me," he said. "You're one of those charm school graduates who thinks the meaning to life can be found written on the back of a lace doily."

  Something suspiciously close to a giggle broke through her stern demeanor. "There's nothing foolish about dining in a civilized manner," she said. "Especially not when you have a daughter looking to you for guidance."

  "Kelsey's table manners aren't so bad."

  "Compared to whose?" she shot back. "Yours?"

  "I'm doing the best I can, lady. It's not easy being mother, father, teacher, and nu--" He caught himself in t
he nick of time. He'd almost said nuclear physicist. "And environmental scientist."

  She didn't bat an eye. He'd never realized what a cool liar he could be.

  "I know it's hard," she said smoothly. "And that's why I'm staying."

  Chapter 5

  He didn't say anything. Lexi took that as a good sign and plunged ahead. "I thought about it while you were in your lab counting birds. We're both adults. We understand the rules. We don't have to like each other in order to live together. You need someone to take care of your daughter and I need--" She stopped. It wouldn't do to say she needed a temporary husband so she could collect some permanent money. Men, even men who didn't particularly like you, could be very sensitive about things like that.

  "Go ahead," he said, leaning back in his chair and watching her with those devastating blue eyes of his. "What do you need?"

  You, she thought, and then felt herself flush deep red with embarrassment. Where on earth had such a ridiculous notion come from? The last thing on earth she wanted was to be mixed up with a man like Kiel Brown. He might be brilliant, she'd grant him that, but she liked her men polished and sophisticated and polite. Everything Kiel Brown wasn't.

  "I'm waiting," he said, still watching her closely. "Tell me what you need, Alexa Grace."

  Even the way he said her name was wrong. Somehow he made it sound like a caress, a long, slow voluptuous rise and fall of vowels and consonants that made her shiver. "I need this assignment," she said finally, recovering her poise. "I came here to take care of your daughter and I intend to honor that commitment."

  "Not if I don't want you to."

  So he was going to make her beg. "You need me as much as I need this assignment."

  The fiery glitter in his eyes turned to ice. "I'll tell this to you once," he said, his voice as cold as the winds buffeting the cabin. "I don't need anyone."

  She thought of the little girl asleep in the other room. "You don't mean that."

  "You know what I'm talking about," he snapped. "If we go through with this, it's a marriage in name only."

  "Of course," said Lexi, highly affronted that he would even suggest she'd consider him a worthy romantic partner. "A business arrangement."