Lone Pine Bride (The Brides of Lone Pine #1)(44)

Why had life become so complicated? Why had there been an earthquake? There was still some shaking of the earth periodically and occasionally it had been a bit violent. During the morning there had been one particular vibration which sent the children running to their parents.

And twenty seven people had died in Lone Pine. People were made homeless. People were injured. So how could she complain in view of all that and she was the most fortunate person out. She had somewhere to stay. She had food. She wasn’t injured and she had narrowly escaped death the previous day. She opened the oven door, poked a fork in the fish and it seemed to be soft. She checked the food in the pot and that was ready too, she felt.

“How are things?” She turned at the sound of Seth’s voice and wanted to run to him and feel his arms round her. He was so beautiful. He was so generous. He was so kind. Instead she smiled at him.

“It’s ready. I’ve set the table but we’re one serviette short. Do you have a handkerchief we could use?”

“I’ll get one.” He ran upstairs and was down in a couple of minutes. He went into the room where she had laid the table and folded it the way she had done hers.

“I could make shapes for us,” he said. “The children might like that.”

“What shapes?” she asked.

“I don’t know. What do you think?”

“My father makes rabbit shapes.”

“Rabbit shapes?”

“Rabbit shapes.”

“How do you do that?” Seth asked, picking up a napkin and looking at it with exaggerated interest, his eyes half on Hannah while he did so.

Hannah lay a napkin straight out on the table and smoothed it carefully. “That’s the first step. Try it.” He grinned and did the same. “Fold it in half from top to bottom.” He folded carefully. “Repeat the fold again from top to bottom.” He looked at her blankly. “Like this. Now bring each side to the middle and fold again.” They did it simultaneously. “Fold the bottom right edges to the middle then bring the right side to the centre to form an ear.”

“Like that?” he asked, doing it.

“Just like that, then do the same on the left. Now fold the pointed triangle at the top down and put the right top point into the pocket formed on the left.”

“Like this?” he asked.

She smiled widely. “Just like that, sir. Turn the napkin right side up and ....”

“You’ve got ears.”

“A rabbit,” she said.

Seth placed the rabbit carefully beside a plate and started on another one. “You’re clever,” he said.

“My father is.” Her expression was a bit sad as she looked at him. “I shouldn’t have just gone, should I?”

“I should have told my mother,” Seth replied.

“Why are we both so stupid? Well, I’m stupid. You’re not.”

“I am.” Seth continued with his work, his eyes repeatedly on Hannah’s face. They set down the last one and he made for the door.

“I’ll just get everyone.”

“I’ll start putting the food on plates.”

“I can help you with that.”

“I’ll wait for you then,” she said.

“Thank you.”

He ran. She walked through to the kitchen, her eyes on everything in the lounge as she walked through it. He had put a lot of thought into the design of his house, she thought, and had made it large enough to house quite a few people. Did he do that in case he had lots of children? He would be good with children because he was good with Lucille, Aaron and Lucas. He was patient and he thought of ways to keep them amused, which was shown when doing the chair.

She heard his running footsteps outside then listened to him stride through the living room to the kitchen. Only a few steps because he had long legs. He walked over to stand beside her at the stove.

“What shall I do?” he asked.

“I need the water to be drained from the pot. Yesterday I had to just fish everything out.”

“I can do that,” he said. He flexed his muscles. “Feel that.”

She stroked him, blushed and turned away to lay out plates on the worktop. A long one and it was very useful. As with the other rooms, he had designed the kitchen well. He drained the vegetables and walked back to her.

“I’ve got fish in the oven,” she said. “Maybe you could cut it into pieces and put it on the plates. Tell me if it’s cooked.”

“It is,” he said after he had poked a fork in it.

“Did you catch it?”

“Yes. I got it this morning. Usually I have to wait for hours but it virtually threw itself at me when it heard I was catching it for you.”

She smiled. “I tried to get out the bones. Could you check that I’ve got them all? I don’t want anyone swallowing one.”

He checked carefully “You’ve done it very well,” he said. “Have you cooked fish before?”

“No. I never cooked at home. Could you take out the pastry? I remembered how to do that from my childhood and the children cut out animal shapes. I did the house.”

“Is it my house?” he asked.

“Definitely your house.”

“It’s all very artistic.”