Meant to Be (Whisper Creek #5)(15)

She rolled her eyes, but finally put down the extinguisher and picked up a pan to dump it in the sink.

As she turned her back, Cooper did a quick 360 of the cabin, noting the placement of furniture, doors, and appliances one more time. He'd done it before she'd arrived, but when a person moved into a space, things changed. And one hassock three feet from where it had been could mean the difference between a clean exit and a broken nose, if there was an emergency and he had to get her out of this cabin fast.

He cleared his throat. "Do you want some help?"

"With breakfast?" Her eyes went wide, and now that the smoke was clearing, he could see that all she had on was a T-shirt and soft little shorts she'd probably slept in. Her long blond hair was tousled into a messy knot on the back of her head, and in her vulnerability, she just looked … cute.

"Actually, I meant with the smoke, or … cleanup. Clearly, you have the whole breakfast thing handled."

Shelby rolled her eyes. "Clearly."

Cooper saw a smile crack through her consternation, but he had a sneaking suspicion she might still launch the extinguisher at him, were it something softer. Her voice struck something inside him, like he'd heard it before, but he couldn't place it. He could sense the South in her accent, but it was slight, pleasant, not the twang he heard butchered in movies.

She dumped the other frying pan into the sink and ran some hot water and soap over the pile, but just as she turned the water off, there was a knock at her door.

She turned to face him, her eyes wide. "Please tell me that's not the fire department."

He stepped toward the door, automatically reaching for his belt, then letting his hand fall when he realized there was nothing on his hip anymore. Hadn't been, for far too long already.

So why was he still reaching?

Kyla waved from the porch, her smile trying to mask her obvious concern about the state of her guest … and her new honeymoon cabin.

"Morning, Shelby. I see you've met Cooper." She opened the door, holding up a white paper bag with pink writing. "Do you like donuts? We have extras from breakfast-I mean, if you haven't eaten."

Cooper smiled, but didn't say anything as Shelby pointed a warning finger his way.

"Thank you. That's really sweet of you." Shelby gingerly opened the window next to the kitchen table. "Breakfast and I seem to be having some issues this morning."

"Then my donuts are well-timed. And I realized I forgot to give you the Kitchen 101 orientation yesterday."




       
         
       
        
"When you saw the smoke, you mean?" Pink spots suddenly appeared on Shelby's cheeks, and it struck Cooper that for a celebrity, she was acting remarkably un-celebrity-like.

Except for the cooking, that is. Clearly, she was used to someone else making food happen in her life.

"Careful." He pointed to the bag. "Those donuts are from Heaven Scent Bakery downtown. One bite of Jenny's cooking, and you'll never eat a Krispy Kreme again."

Cooper saw Shelby eye the bag hungrily, but as he glanced at her figure-just a quick glance, thank you very much-he had a feeling donuts weren't part of her normal celebrity menu. She couldn't weigh more than one-ten, soaking wet.

"They sound positively lethal. I'd love one."

"Good!" Kyla grinned. "Ma was sure you'd say no, but yes is a much better choice. You won't regret it, even though you'll be begging Cooper to take you downtown for more, after you taste them."

"Um … " Shelby tipped her head, looking confused. "I imagine Cooper has-other things to be doing."

Again the pink spots appeared, and Cooper wondered what had sent the rush of color to her face. For someone who purportedly lived in some spotlight or another, she sure seemed easy to fluster.

Kyla set the bag on the table and stepped into the kitchen, where Cooper could see her visibly struggling not to cringe at the state of things. Without commenting, she pulled plates from a cupboard and walked back to the table, then opened the bag.

"Honey glazed or chocolate?"

"Either's fine, thanks. Um … would you like to-stay?"

Cooper heard the strain in Shelby's voice at the same time he figured Kyla realized she was intruding on Shelby's privacy.

"Oh." Kyla's hands froze. "I'm so sorry. Here I am, barging in here and making myself at home, and you haven't even been here for twenty-four hours yet."

She curled up the top of the bag and set it in the middle of the table. "I just-we just-I'm sorry. Ma and I wanted to make sure you were settling in all right. We're a big family operation, and we're used to walking in and out of each other's houses all the time, and I-sorry. Really."