Nerds on Fire (21 page)

Just the way she said his name spread
happiness through him.

“
I’m glad you think so.
Supper tomorrow night?”

“
Yes.” There was no
hesitation in her answer. “I’ll cook.”

His smile probably lit up the
neighborhood.

Chapter 21

Waking on Monday mornings was never pleasant, not
with the long week of work looming. However, this morning Trixi
appreciated the benefits of a full night’s rest. It was the first
morning in a long while she had taken the occurrence for
granted.

There was something to be said for
having a man in the house. It didn’t hurt that he was big and
smart.

She rolled out of bed and into the
bathroom. Once her morning preparations were finished, Trixi
descended the stairs, enjoying the dawning rays outside the
windows. It was still dark, but daylight didn’t look too far off.
She mourned the loss of summer, but was starting to welcome the
changes fall brought.

In the kitchen, she headed toward the
coffee pot. It was already brewing. The smell warmed the kitchen
and added a homey touch she appreciated. Trixi veered to the range
and removed the oatmeal she had placed in the simmering oven the
night before. Peeking at it, the cinnamon and other spices wafted
up and her tummy growled.

Placing it on the island, she also
noticed the set table. Movement behind her revealed she had
company. Smiling, she turned to tell Mark “good morning,” and was
surprised when he paused in front of her. His focus centered on her
nose. She had forgotten to ask Katy what was going on.

It was time to ask. “What are you
doing?”

“
What?”

“
Why are you focused on my
nose?”

“
I’m counting.”

His answer didn’t help. Not
at all. “Counting
what
?”

“
Your freckles.” He
murmured like this was obvious and she was a little
slow.

Still none-the-wiser, she lifted an
eyebrow at the same time he must have finished. He leaned back,
satisfied.

Since she couldn’t figure his odd
behavior out, Trixi headed toward the coffee pot. It had just
finished brewing. Perhaps this would make sense after a dose of
caffeine.

After the first sip, which she needed,
she faced him again. “You count my freckles?”

“
Of course.” He helped
himself to a mug of coffee and then kissed the freckles in
question.

Gran entered the room then and Trixi’s
attention turned to her since she wasn’t certain what to do with
Mark. Her grandmother was dressed for the day and looked like she
had been up at least as long as Trixi. If not longer.

“
Good morning.” She smiled
at her grandparent, hoping she didn’t look a little desperate
around the edges.

Gran hugged her. “Good morning,
love.”

“
Good morning.” Mark echoed
the greeting.

“
Someone started the coffee
this morning.”

“
You’re welcome.” Gran
retrieved a mug from the warming plate on the range.

“
Thank you.” She grinned at
that lady as she carried the oatmeal to the table. “And thank you
to whoever set the table.”

“
You’re welcome.” Mark
found milk, juice, creamer and even the sweetener bowl.

She sent them a bright smile, pleased
they were both willing to help her. It was nice to be cared for.
Her father had done little things like this, and while she missed
him, it wasn’t nearly as bad because of these new
roommates.

Besides, she was thrilled for him
where he was. There might even be more happiness in store for him.
She needed to call him and find out how things went with his date
yesterday.

“
Gran, did you talk to
Dad?”

Her grandmother frowned. “Recently you
mean?”

“
Yes, as in last
evening.”

Mark seated Gran after Trixi announced
breakfast. He waited until she was ready to sit and assisted her
before taking his own seat. Such a gentleman.

“
I called him, but didn’t
get an answer,” Gran stated after they tucked in.

Trixi waited until after she swallowed
her first bite before answering. “Hmm, that might mean good
things.”

“
Yes, I thought so
too.”

“
Why?” Mark stirred his
oatmeal.

“
Because he doesn’t usually
miss phone calls.” Gran splashed milk over her cereal.

“
It means he was more
interested in his present company than the phone
caller.”

Gran chuckled. “Or he forgot to check
his phone until it was too late to call me back.”

“
We’re hopeful.” Trixi
beamed at their new breakfast companion, amazed at how quickly he
had settled into their routine.

“
It’s always good to be
hopeful,” Mark agreed. “This is really good, by the way.” He took
another bite. “I’m going to really enjoy living here.”

“
I do and I had a near chef
at my other house.”

Trixi shook her head. “I’m not a
chef.”

“
No, but you’re an
excellent cook because you enjoy it. And you love the people you’re
cooking for.”

Gran’s statement made Trixi start. She
had only just met Mark so to say she was in love with him seemed a
little...

“
I’m happy with everything
you make. It’s delicious and I didn’t have to cook it.” Mark’s easy
response smoothed over her confusion.

By the time breakfast was over, it
seemed like Mark had always lived with them. Gran loaded the dishes
into the dishwasher while she and Mark grabbed the things they
needed for work.

Driving to the hospital with Mark was
unusual. It was weird to be driven to work by someone other than
Katy. The two of them took turns driving, but a man had never
driven her. Certainly not an attractive bachelor who was well
thought of and at the top of his field.

They created a sensation when they
arrived.

Mark didn’t appear to notice, but
Trixi did. Whether it was because she was looking for the reactions
of those around them or whether it was so odd, she wasn’t certain.
Normally she didn’t care what others thought.

Maybe that wasn’t entirely true. It
had more to do with she wasn’t normally awake when she arrived.
This morning had been so different from any other. She was still
adjusting to Gran’s presence and not having her father
there.

She needed to call him and
dig for details on his date yesterday. Of course, Gran might do so
while he was at work today. They were very interested in his time
with Nina.
Oh, Nina.

“
What’s that smile for?”
Mark escorted her inside.

“
I just remembered Nina
works here.”

He frowned. “What does Nina’s place of
employment have to do with your smile?”

“
Right now I can’t call and
bother my dad about their date, but since Nina works here, I can
find out from her.”

“
I see.” He didn’t look
like he saw at all, but she didn’t mind. The man was eager to get
to the brains he was planning to fix this morning. He had more
important things to consider than her father’s love
life.

Katy trailed in then. She was
alone.

“
How did Dad’s date go?”
She sipped coffee like it was chocolate elixir.

Trixi filched Katy’s travel
mug and sipped. Mmm, it
was
chocolate elixir. This woman had her priorities
right. “Haven’t heard anything yet.”

“
Why not?”

“
Because he didn’t answer
his phone.”

“
Oh, so we can swing by
Nina’s desk?” Katy sent her a knowing look.

“
Yes. Mark doesn’t
understand how important this is.”

“
You don’t have time to
swing by Nina’s desk.”

Katy reclaimed her coffee mug and took
a long swallow. “We have to find out about Dad’s date.”

Trixi laughed. “I told you.” She tried
to steal Katy’s chocolate nirvana again. Katy eluded her and drank
more of the deliciousness.

“
You two need to take your
jobs more seriously,” he groused.

“
What aren’t they taking
seriously?” Leo snuck up behind them. He managed to snag Katy’s
coffee and took a huge gulp.

“
I had to buy this huge mug
last week because I have two coffee thieves now.” Katy’s
recriminating look bounced off Trixi, and from the look of it, Leo
as well since he continued to down the chocolate.

“
He’s drinking a lot more
than I got.” Trixi growled at Leo but she knew better than try to
steal the mug from him, the giant.

The man knew how to protect his own.
At least this boded well for Katy.

A happy feeling for her sister zipped
through her. Chocolate would help the feeling along though. She
tried for the coffee again, and missed.

“
What aren’t they taking
seriously?” Leo possessed a large quantity of patience, as any
pediatrician should.

“
Our jobs.” Katy stole her
coffee from Leo. He must not have put up as much of an effort with
Katy. “It’s hard to enjoy brains.” Or maybe Leo figured she
deserved the chocolate coffee.

Before Mark could defend his beloved
field, his phone rang and he turned away to answer it. When he
returned, he looked happy. “Good news. My team is going to be back
by the end of the week.”

Katy stared at him in relief before
she drank more coffee. “We need to think up an excuse to see
Nina.”

A glance at the clock told them they
didn’t have time now.

At lunchtime, Mark’s shoulders hunched
when he plodded in.

“
What happened?”

“
I lost a patient.” There
were new lines around his mouth.

Without thought, Trixi rushed to him.
She placed a commiserating hand on his arm. The fact he took losing
his patient so hard only made her like him more. Yet this was an
unfortunate part of their profession.

Some of the tension leaked out of his
shoulders and she wasn’t surprised when he grabbed her into a tight
hold. She held him just as close, offering him the comfort he
needed.

“
Thank you,” he whispered
into her hair.

“
You’re welcome,” she
whispered into his chest. Her nose was smashed against it but she
didn’t mind. Not when he smelled so good and felt even
better.

They fit together, even though he was
so much bigger than her.

She might not have much
experience with men, but this one seemed...
right
somehow. Some people said you
just knew, but her lack of experience on that front meant she
didn’t know right from wrong. Or did she?

Another problem was just
because she thought maybe he was right didn’t mean
he
thought
she
was right. Chances
were good he felt differently on the matter. He might not think of
her as anything other than a roommate.

Then there was their living situation.
Maybe he just considered her a landlady and felt he needed to keep
her sweet. Buttering her up didn’t seem like Mark’s style though.
Her house might be big and impressive, but so was Mark. She liked
big and impressive as much as the next woman, but there was a high
level of maintenance involved. At least her house required a lot of
maintenance. Time would tell whether Mark proved the
same.

Right now, she would just enjoy the
feeling of those hard arms around her. It was nice to be this close
to him. To be allowed to be this close.

He could make a fortune selling
tickets.

Someone’s phone rang nearby and she
stifled a protest as he released her. “We better eat lunch or we’ll
run out of time,” he said.

She was heartened that he seemed
reluctant to release her.

When they arrived home that night Gran
took one look at Mark and asked, “What happened?”

His mouth turned down.

“
He lost a patient.” Trixi
rubbed his arm as she answered.

Gran nodded. “It happens. Fortunately,
it doesn’t happen to you very often.”

Her resolute loyalty softened the hard
lines around Mark’s lips. He sent her a grateful look. “Thank
you.”

“
You’re welcome. Now, go
work this off in the gym.” She gestured toward the fitness
center.

Both Trixi and Mark nodded before they
disappeared to their respective rooms to change into workout
clothes.

In minutes, she joined him. It was
actually a decent gym. Over the years, her father had accumulated
some good equipment and when he moved to his new house, he only
took a few of his favorite pieces with him. Much of their
collection remained. Reed and Shawna also left a few odds and ends
from their time living above the carriage house.