Rocky Mountain Angels Read Online Free Page B

confusion. “You lost it? How could you lose it? It was pages and pages.”
    She pulled out of his grasp and took a step back, crossing her arms. “I know it was pages and pages, Joe, but I’ve searched my house from top to bottom, and I can’t find it.”
    He rose and came to her, sliding his palm down her cheek. “I’ll help you look after work. I know what a mess your place can be sometimes.” Beth bristled at that remark, and Joe gave her a half smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that like it sounded.” He gave her a gentle kiss. “We’ll find it.”
    ***
    Ben was unpacking the last box of dishes and putting them in Mari’s cupboards. He was frankly surprised that she had let him do this task; he thought most women were pretty fussy about their kitchens. At least he knew his mom certainly was. But he supposed kitchen stuff was less personal than other things she was probably unpacking in her bedroom. He couldn’t keep his mind from wandering that direction.
    He had assembled her bed the night before and knew she liked out of the ordinary things. She had told him that the black pipes that formed sort of a cube over her bed were there to support fabric. Ben wanted to see it after she had it all put together but didn’t think he should ask. Maybe I can sneak a peek.
    The more time he spent with her, the more he liked her. She had a sense of humor, and her eyes sparkled when she laughed. And when she looked at the mountains, she was like a little kid at the fair. He had driven her up to a particularly good look-out point in the city after they had taken the U-Haul back, and she had made him pull over so she could just look. He had to admit, it had been a long time since he had taken the time to “just look,” and Pikes Peak all covered in snow was breath-taking.
    He chuckled thinking about some of the other things he was learning about her—some of which were kind of quirky. He’d never seen anyone arrange their books and dvds by color before, even breaking up a series for the sake of the design. Joe would have a fit.
    Then she’d arranged her furniture by some weird method that didn’t make any sense to him at all. Why have a TV if the seating doesn’t face it? And he didn’t think the seating she had could support a snail—a small wicker bench that looked darned uncomfortable. Maybe that’s why she didn’t bother turning it toward the TV. If anyone actually sat on it, it would collapse.
    She hadn’t hung any pictures yet, but he had looked through the open box. The woman certainly loved color. Ben set the last bright yellow bowl in a stack sporting every color in the rainbow and closed up the cupboard. The glass doors showcased the pottery like an art gallery.
    He broke down the boxes he’d emptied and thought about Mari’s announcement that she already had one degree. So she’s a couple years older than me. He threw another flattened box on the pile. What of it? Mom is a year older than Dad. It’s really no big deal. He knew he couldn’t ask her outright, but if they actually started dating, he was sure it would come up sometime.
    He sent another box to the pile and had a disquieting thought. She’s only here for school; what if she has a boyfriend back in Oklahoma? Ben’s heart squeezed, but he knew there was no point worrying about it. He just needed to ask her out and see what she says. He took a deep breath and went to find her.
    ***
    Turning his drafting table away from the window hadn’t really helped Eli focus on his work. He kept picturing himself in Mari’s little house helping her with all the heavy stuff—being the one “earning points” instead of Ben.
    They had left around noon to return the rental truck and had been gone awhile, so Eli assumed they’d gone to lunch. And later when he needed to stretch his legs and just happened to do it in front of his window, he saw that they were no longer working in the living room, and that’s when Eli really lost all