“Can’t do that,” he said seriously. “You’re quite pretty and your frame is . . .” He hesitated as he searched for a word. “Luscious.”
“Oh my,” Miranda said. “I should probably protest that remark but I won’t.” Getting up, she cut his stack of pancakes into bites.
“These are good. What’s for lunch?”
“Whatever you catch. Sandy said you like to fish.”
“I do. What about you? Ever been fishing?”
“No. Never. But I would like to go outside.”
They smiled at each other across the table, and Miranda thought that with his big plaid shirt on, he didn’t look like the owner of some Fortune 500 company. “Help me clean up the kitchen,” she said, “then we can go.”
He didn’t hesitate as he carried his plate to the sink. She washed and he tried to dry, but with just one hand, it wasn’t easy.
“Here, let me help,” she said, then moved next to him to take the plate. She halted when she felt his breath on her hair, but she didn’t look up at him.
Seconds later, he stepped away and went to a cabinet near the front door. It was full of fishing gear.
It took a while to pack it all, including an old iron skillet that was blackened with years of use. “Whose is this?”
“Mine,” he said.
“Then who gave it to you?”
“What makes you ask
that?”
Miranda turned to the cabin. “This place is yours and it is perfect. If you owned a skillet, it would be stainless steel and spotless. Did Sandy give you this?”
Frank tried to repress a smile. “He did, actually. Do you moonlight as a detective?”
“No, I leave that for my son and his friend Chelsea. But some of it does rub off on me.”
Frank was glad his back was to her so she couldn’t see his face because he was sure it had just drained of color. Chelsea?! Eli’s friend? Was it possible that she was Eli’s mother? If so, it was possible that he had just seen the reason behind everything. All this was Eli’s doing, not his brother’s.
Frank tried to regain his calm. “Is this the son I’m to send to school?”
“Oh, heavens!” Miranda said. “I forgot about that. I’m sorry I said that. I was just so angry I couldn’t think clearly. You asked what I most wanted in life and that came out. But it’s absurd to even think you’d pay for my son’s schooling.”
“My company gives scholarships. Is your son smart enough to qualify for one?”
Miranda picked up a nylon pack full of gear and put it on her back. “Eli is smart enough for anything. He’s being offered a full scholarship, but . . .”
“But what?” Frank opened the door and they went outside to the trail.
“I can’t bore you with my life story. What about you? Your life must be very interesting.”
“It is. Since my last board meeting, I’ve been worried about something. The Hong Kong market is volatile right now and I’m concerned about my stock in one of my minor companies. I can’t decide whether to go public or not. What’s your opinion?” He turned to look at her.
“I, uh . . . Uh . . .”
Frank started walking again. “Right. There’s nothing in my mind that would interest anyone not in a business suit. So what were you saying about your son’s future? Eli. Was that his name? And the girl was Sheila?”
“Chelsea. They are the most incongruous pair you’ve ever met. She looks like a girl who’d only care about her nail polish, while Eli . . . Well, to me, he’s beautiful, but he didn’t inherit my ability to put on weight.”
“I should turn him over to my relatives. Two of my brothers, Kane and Mike, power lift.”