Fan The Flames (Man Of The Month Book 3) by Michele Dunaway Read Free Book Online

“Enough. I don’t need you giving me something to do each day. I’ve been on my own since eighteen. Todd’s been gone two years. Let me do this. I’m an adult.”
    “Okay, fine.” Her mom shooed an invisible fly. “I’m just so excited you’re home. Our visits to California weren’t nearly enough and you never came home once because flying cost too much. I’ve always wanted both of my children near me. We need to make up for lost time.”
    “Bernadette, they have lives of their own too,” her father inserted, guiding the conversation safely to a close. “Scarlett, we are here to help you with the house. What do you need us to do?”
    “Colleen’s bedroom. I really want that done today. She slept with me last night, but I want her to feel at home in her new room.”
    “Then let’s get going,” her dad said. “Lead the way.”

Chapter Three
    By a little after four, Scarlett felt somewhat accomplished. Colleen’s room was at 90 percent. White bookshelves brimmed with books, stuffed animals and dolls. Her father had installed white decorative shelves and hung pictures. Clothes were on hangers in the closet and also folded neatly inside drawers.
    After a forty-minute break for lunch, they’d worked straight through. They’d even put up the curtains that matched Colleen’s pink-and-white floral bedspread. Those were mostly decoration, for Colleen’s two windows looked at the brick exterior wall of the house next door. She wouldn’t even need a shade or mini blinds. The back bedroom would have had a better view, but this way Colleen was closer. They could always move her room later, when she was older.
    Scarlett caught herself. She had to stop making long-range plans. This arrangement wasn’t permanent. Her phone buzzed with a text. At back door. Can I come in?
    In the chaos she hadn’t heard the bell. Sure, she texted back to Brad.
    He appeared upstairs within seconds. “Hey. Looking good.”
    He’d meant Colleen’s room, but Scarlett flushed anyway.
    “Hi, Brad!” Colleen said, diverting his attention. “My room is all pretty!”
    “It is.” Brad’s gaze swept over all the pink and white before returning to Scarlett. “Did you hear the bell?”
    Scarlett shook her head. “No.”
    He frowned. “Okay. Good to know. When I put in the alarm system, I wired it so it could handle an intercom system that was tied to the doorbell. I’ll get that installed ASAP. That way you’ll know when someone’s at the door if you’re up here. Need to go sand and mud upstairs. Do you mind?”
    “Of course not,” her mom said before Scarlett could speak.
    But Brad waited for Scarlett’s confirmation. “Go ahead,” she told him. “We’re done here. I’m about to start fixing dinner.”
    “Which you must stay for,” her mother insisted. “And do not say no.”
    “I’d like that, if you don’t mind.” Brad again looked to Scarlett for confirmation. He’d been about to protest, Scarlett knew. “I’ll only be about thirty minutes.”
    “What are you doing?” her father asked.
    “Come up and see,” Brad offered. He led the way to the staircase, and everyone followed. Once they reached the landing, the third floor opened up. Ceilings were ten feet at their highest point, and like on the first floor, there were three rooms, but here each had dormer windows. He’d also installed skylights, which were currently covered with snow, making the heavy glass appear dappled gray. Despite this, the third floor was filled with bright light. “These two rooms are finished, as is the bathroom.” He opened a white six-panel door, still in need of paint. While not as large as the bathrooms on the lower floors, this bathroom still had a good-sized sink, shower and toilet. Light came in through a round skylight. “I envisioned this floor as a sort of his-and-her office space, along with a playroom,” Brad said. “So I made some built-in bookcases for toy storage.”
    In the front room, Brad had created