Chapter Fourteen

Elise lay in bed the following morning, feeling like an idiot.

The night before, in the heat of the moment, she had obviously totally overthought and misconstrued the emotional tension between herself and Mr. H— Tucker.

She’d crawled into bed after practically running away from him, rethinking every moment of their interlude after Betsy had gone back to bed and they had sat together on the couch for a few minutes before she’d turned into a prarie dog and run away to hide.

At the time, the evening had seemed fraught with pent up emotion and lust, but in the soft, soothing light of the morning creeping in her window, she realized she was painting what happened with the wrong brush.

It was a hug between friends, a thanks for a job well done, and a quilt slung around two people to keep warm after taking a midnight dip in Lake Superior.

Jesus, she was an idiot.

He must think her a total spaz now, Elise thought darkly. Running away from him like that as though he had propositioned her for a swing from the chandlers…

Duh.

She was just so afraid that he would somehow be able to read the emotion on her face when she saw him.

There was little denying it – she liked Tucker Hale.

Liked his gruff manner, liked his shadowed affection to his niece, liked his dark hair and five o’clock shadow, and liked that he seemed to really listen to her and take a genuine interest in her, in her words, in her thoughts.

Not just her ass.

But of course he was like that; Tucker Hale was overall a decent guy. That doesn’t mean she has to lust after the one guy that had ever treated her decently.

The world was made up of more men than that.

Though, she thought with a wry grin, not so much in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There didn’t seem to be much in the way of eligible guys anywhere – or if they were, they were probably on a four wheeler with a shotgun, speeding after a deer through the woods.

She grinned at the parodic thought of “Yoopers”, and then sighed deeply, stretching her body under the blankets, again grateful to be inside, warm and dry.

She had gotten up several times in the night to check on Betsy, but the child had seemed to sleep well throughout the night, the trauma of her midnight dip in the lake erased by a few hours of easy slumber, for which Elise was grateful.

Vowing to stop acting like a lovesick puppy around Tucker, Elise got out of bed and headed for the shower. She’d make a good breakfast for them all, she’d ask him about his day, and hell, maybe she’d just hug him for the hell of it.

Flicking her long hair out of her eyes, she strutted to the shower and got ready to face the day, no matter what it brought.

#

“How are you feeling, darling?” Elise asked, coming down the stairs and spying Betsy on the couch reading a book, a crocheted blanket tucked around her legs.

“I’m good,” Betsy replied, standing up and dumping the blanket and book to give Elise a huge hug around the waist. “How are you?” she asked, her sweet face gazing up at Elise’s with a expression of open adoration.

Elise laughed at that earnest little face and gave her little charge an extra squeeze around the middle. “I’m great! In fact, I’m so great, I’m thinking it’s a pancake kind of morning.”

Betsy squealed and began galloping towards the kitchen. “Can I have chocolate chips in mine?” She called over her shoulder, not breaking her stride.

Elise laughed, noting that the girl was obviously feeling better after her adventurous night. She followed her into the kitchen and began to assemble the ingredients she would need for her special breakfast for perfectly healthy girls, rather than half drowned, scared little girls…

“Before I forget,” Betsy said seriously, “this is for you. I told Uncle Tucker I would give it to you first thing when I saw you. But I got excited about the pancakes and forgot for a minute. But here you go, now.”

Elise turned and saw that Betsy was holding up a folded piece of paper towards her.

She took it and sat down in one of the nearby kitchen chairs, unfolding it carefully.

She immediately recognized Tucker’s bold, strong, masculine writing from other things she had seen written in his library. She began to read as Betsy began digging into the pantry for chocolate chips.

Elise—

Thanks again for rescuing our Betsy last night – I’m forever grateful.

I got a call early this morning that I’m needed on a job near Munising, so I’m heading down there for a few days to see what needs to be done. I’m not sure how long business will keep me away. I’ll try and keep in touch to let you know what’s going on.

In the meantime, I’m going to have Rose come stay at Timberline until I get back, just in case. I don’t want you to have to sleep with both eyes open, even though I know you will…

I’m hoping to be gone only for a few days – I find myself eager to be back home already.

Call my cell if you need anything, anything at all.

Again, thanks for everything.

Take care,

Tucker

Though she was glad for the letter of explanation, she couldn’t help feeling a bit slighted that Tucker was suddenly gone without so much as a by your leave.

She knew it was business – his business – and she had no right to feel that way, but she did. Betsy seemed wholly unconcerned with her uncle’s departure, probably having grown accustomed to it for months before, but to Elise, it felt…

She felt silly saying it felt like abandonment, but if the night before hadn’t been so intense for all of them…

At least he had said “take care”.

And to call if she needed anything.

And that he wanted to be back home.

Where they were.

Elise rolled her eyes at herself. Welcome back to seventh grade, Elise, when girls analyzed every word, every loop of a note given to a girl by a boy.

It was a scrawled note he wrote before he left town. She was sure he didn’t spend hours composing it to make the tone just right, but rather was communicating something that would have taken too long to send in a text message or email.

Stop being an idiot, she ordered herself.

But, he did say “take care”…

Shaking herself, she straightened her shoulders and dug out a large mixing bowl. Tucker was on business, so it was going to be business as usual around here too.

She began making an extra large amount of batter with a smile when she heard Rose fling open the door and exclaim, “I understand we have a mermaid in our midst! Where is the little scamp?”

Elise could hear Betsy squeal as Rose had obviously pulled the girl into a hug, whirling her around in an excited dance.

“I never thought of myself as a mermaid…” Betsy said with a grin in her voice. “I could be like Ariel!”

“No Sebastian, though,” Rose answered. “Only an Elise and an Uncle Tucker to make sure you weren’t too long ‘under the sea’…”

Betsy laughed at that, and even Elise smiled. She never would have guessed Rose to be a Little Mermaid fan, but was grateful for Rose’s light take on the otherwise serious situation, and for making Betsy laugh in delight.

Despite her confidence in her abilities to care for Betsy, Elise had to admit she was grateful she would have Rose for company – and an extra pair of eyes and ears – while Tucker was away.

If she couldn’t have Tucker home at Timberline, she’d take the next best thing, and that was Rose Raisenen.

“Pancakes?” She asked Rose as the older lady stepped into the kitchen. They pressed cheeks in a friendly kiss and without taking a breath, Rose was off…

“So, I get the call this morning that wee Betsy had taken a dive into the water in the middle of thenight, and that brave Elise went thundering out to save her. Small wonder you didn’t all freeze to death, did you feel that wind last night, did you? And that moon, I looked up right before I went to bed, and do you know I think it was shining brighter and stronger than I can remember for weeks before. I meant to grab me farmer’s almanac this morning and see what it said about the moon, and the tide, but you know in all the excitement of seeing you both I plumb forgot…”

Elise smiled into the mixing bowl, comforted by the sound of Rose’s lilting voice, and by the sound of Betsy’s little feet, dancing around the kitchen to music only she could hear.

Life was good, whether the master was home or not.

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