Cora had a rough night. No matter which position she tried she couldn't get comfortable and that, coupled with embarrassing thought that Garrett had had to bathe her, made sleep almost impossible. She wondered if she would have been able to play it so cool if she had been presented with a naked Garrett to bathe.

The thought made her jump out of bed more quickly than she should have and she couldn't help the little yelp of pain that escaped. She had to rest on the edge of her bed for a few minutes until the throbbing subsided in both her ribs and her head. She had just about recovered when there was a knock at her door.

"Come in!" she called, thinking it was Margie. Cora was up a little later than usual and Margie was probably checking on her.

Garrett entered closing the door behind him. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Alright, I guess." She looked down at her hands and anywhere but at him. She wanted the floor to open up and swallow her.

"Do you need any help this morning?" He sounded so casual, as if he previous night hadn't happened. Which she supposed hadn't been that big of a deal to him, he had probably seen plenty of naked women in his time.

Cora couldn't help the blush that stole up her cheeks at the thought of his having seen her naked, "No, I should be fine."

He nodded turning to leave, "I'll be around today, if you need help with anything please let me know."

"I hope you're not planning on spending the day here on my account." Cora's eyes jumped to his, trying to gauge whether she was the reason he would be home all day or not.

"No, not on your account, I spend the occasional day working from home. It gives me and the people who work for me a break." His smile was vaguely polite.

That put her in her place Cora thought with a grimace. He was staring at the back of her head, waiting.

"I'll let you know if I need help with anything," she agreed.

After he had gone she sagged in relief, she hadn't realized that she had been so tense.

Slowly she got ready for the day and she was glad that Garrett had had the foresight to braid her hair. It made it much easier to brush out since she had only a few tangles. She wondered if he would have helped brush her hair again if she had asked him to.

Half an hour later she was dressed and downstairs in the kitchen, where Margie was putting the final touches on Aunt Mable's tray. The woman seemed extremely pleased with herself.

"You're in a good mood this morning," Cora said with a smile as she reached into the drawer and grabbed the account ledger.

Margie only smiled as she continued to work.

Cora settled into her chair and opened the book, taking her check stub out of her pocket to record the amount. When her eyes focused on the book she had to blink a few times to make sure that what she was reading was correct.

"Margie?"

There was three times as much in the account as there had been the previous day. It was more than enough to keep them going for over a month.

"Did Aunt Mable have a change of heart?" she asked in disbelief.

"No, Mr. Garrett asked to see the ledger last night and when he returned it this morning that was what it said."

"Garrett?" Cora looked at Margie, her eyes wide in disbelief. It took her a minute more to let the information sink into her brain; then she was up and out the door in a shot, forgetting all about her injuries in her hurry to find Garrett.

She didn't bother to knock as she pushed into the study where she found Garrett with a cellphone to his ear. He glanced up at her and then at the book in her hand, guessing why she had tracked him down.

"I have to go Theodora; can we talk more about this tonight?"

Cora heard a murmur on the other end of the phone and Garrett gave a gentle chuckle in response. A sound which Cora felt in her tummy. She studied him closely. He was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of old blue jeans, his jet back hair was mussed and starting to curl, and he had a thick shadow on his jaw line. His glasses were perched on the end of his nose as his blue eyes looked back up at her questioningly while he ended his conversation, telling the mysterious Theodora that he would see her that evening.

Cora hated her already.

"How can I help you Cora?"

The way he said her name made butterflies dance in her tummy again. What was happening to her? When had she become so aware of him as a man?

She held up the ledger with a shaky hand. "Did you add all this money to the account?"

"Yes." he confirmed, watching her guardedly as if he expected her to grow to heads and sprout wings.

"Thank you," she said her voice breaking as tears threatened, but she almost laughed at his look of shock at her words. "You look surprised." she noted as she cleared her throat.

"I had expected you fight me on it." Regaining his cool, he took off his glasses and threw them on his desk absentmindedly as he watched her closely.

Cora shrugged, "I'm not so brave or stubborn that I'll say no, and my pride was stomped underfoot a long time before this moment."

"About that pride, why do you stay? Why haven't you left long before this?"

"Margie and Leon."

He waited for her to explain and she felt that she needed to; after all it was no paltry amount he added to the account. "Aunt Mable can't stand them, they're on my side and always have been. They're only a few years away from retirement and if they leave now it's unlikely that they will find another position at their age. If I leave it will hurt them. Every dime I have ever made has been sunk back into this house so I have no savings and there has been little chance of developing any. I simply wouldn't be able to make it on my own."

"I doubt that," Garrett responded, and Cora's heart swelled a little as their eyes locked and everything stood still once again, neither one able or willing to look away. A few moments later a knock on the door broke the spell, but Garrett still didn't look away from her as he called for the person to enter.

"Your Aunt's breakfast is ready," Margie said as she stuck her head around the door looking from one to the other. The tension in the room was obvious but it wasn't from a fight, even though that was probably what Margie assumed.

"Thank you, Margie. I'll be right there." Her eyes were still glued to Garrett's as she spoke.

"There is something you can help me with today. Can you spare me a few hours?" Cora asked after Margie had retreated.

He nodded, then his phone buzzed and he looked down as it captured his attention.

"Can you meet me in the kitchen in half an hour? We'll need a car."

His lips rose in a partial smile but she didn't know whether it was because of her words or because of what he was looking at on his phone.

"I'll be there," he agreed.

Somehow it sounded almost like a promise.

She nodded as she left, closing the door softly behind her before a grin spread across her face. There was something new and exciting in the air and it had been such a long time since she had felt such hope. She was halfway across the hall when the study door opened. "My friend, Theodora, is coming for dinner this evening. Will you be able to join us?"

Cora's heart, which had just begun to lift, suddenly fell.

"Yes."

"Can we have a fire in the formal living room as well?"

She held up the ledger, "We can now." Her voice sounded strange to her own ears and it must have sounded strange to Garrett because he gave her a funny look before he nodded and retreated back into the study.

Breakfast with Aunt Mable was an afterthought as she spent the entire time thinking, jealously, about the mysterious Theodora. Even Aunt Mable's snide comments about her lack of talent when it came to anything and everything washed right over her. Who cared about Aunt Mable and what she thought?

Cora had the suspicion that she was in real danger where Garrett Reed was concerned.