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tomorrow. It was getting late, and she needed to get supper on.
    She began putting things back into the empty trunk, taking care not to rip the fragile fabrics. She’d just stuffed the last gown on top when a sound at the door reminded her she’d forgotten about Adam.
    â€œDid you get your drink of water without spilling?” she asked, tucking the clothing into the trunk.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” The voice was no young boy’s.
    Her gaze swung to the doorway. Cade’s large frame filled it, his face washed in a glow of lantern light. A frown puckered his brows.
    Emily’s mouth felt as dry as the dirt that coated her gown. “Cade, I—why, you’re back early, I don’t even have supper on yet.”
    He looked around the room as if to make sure everything was still there. She felt her face flush.
    â€œAdam said you were up here.”
    â€œYes, I–I wanted to sort through things.” Her mind fished for a plausible excuse. Why hadn’t she thought of this before? “I found a lamp for the sitting room.” She held it up by the metal handle, but she felt the smile on her lips wobble.
    He nodded, but the frown remained. She knew she must look a sight, evidence she’d been up here far too long to justify the finding of a single lamp.
    â€œWell, I’d best get supper on.” She began to rise, but her feet had fallen asleep and refused to support her. She reached out to grab hold of something, but there was nothing but air. She tried to take a step toward the wall, but her foot connected with something, and she tripped.
    Cade stepped forward and caught her as she fell into his arms. Her hands found the hard flesh of his arms. His chest was a rock-hard wall against the softness of her cheek. Her pulse skittered.
    He felt warm against her already heated body. She pulled back and realized his hands encompassed her waist. The glow of the lantern light flickered over his face, revealing something new in his expression. Her mind was too befuddled to put a word to it.
    Her thoughts swirled in her mind in a heated frenzy. She felt his hands tighten on her waist, and it brought the oddest of sensations to the pit of her stomach. Her heart, too, reacted to Cade’s nearness .
    As his gaze roamed over her face, she became aware of how she must look. Dust and cobwebs probably coated her hair. She wondered if there were streaks on her face where drops of sweat made trails through the dirt.
    She looked down, and her gaze locked on a button on his shirt. She felt his hands leave her waist, felt him pull back, both physically and emotionally.
    Whatever she had seen on his face before was certainly gone now.
    Her gaze darted to his, and she saw her suspicions confirmed. A deep shadow had settled into the plane of his jaw and shifted as his muscles twitched. His eyes too had grown distant, hard.
    The silence swelled around them, and she wished he would say something, anything. Because she couldn’t seem to form a rational thought.
    She backed away a step, and her foot connected with something on the floor. She caught herself quickly.
    â€œPa,” Adam called from somewhere downstairs.
    Cade glanced at the door, then back to Emily. “Be right there,” he called to Adam. His voice sounded loud in the confinement of the attic. He cleared his throat. His posture was stiff, his gaze harsh. She wondered what had caused him to go from warm and pliable moments before to rigid and withdrawn.
    â€œI told him I’d take him for a ride while you get supper on.” His voice was clipped.
    Emily nodded, her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.
    He started for the door, and Emily felt a physical relief that he was leaving. Before the breath she’d inhaled found release, he turned.
    In the shadows, his expression was unreadable. “In the future, you might spend more time tending the garden than sorting through junk.”
    The words hit their mark. Her