Absolute Zero (39 page)

“Ahhh…” his eyes wandered from Anne to the woman behind her causing Anne to turn and catch the woman’s disgusted look and subsequent eye roll. Anne immediately turned toward the young man once again.

“Hello,” he stated tentatively.

“Please tell me you speak English.” Anne stated.

“I speak English,” he answered with a serious expression.

“Hey Nelina,” he gave a quick jerk of his head to acknowledge her.

“So, who are you?” he asked, focusing his attention on Anne once again.

“I’m Anne.”

“You’re American,” he stated before his eyes widened slightly. “Ohhh…”

“What?”

“Nothing,” he shrugged as his eyes once again fixed on the woman behind Anne. “Sooo…you’re here for a visit?” he asked, his expression inscrutable.

“I…no? I mean, I think I’m here to work, but now…I don’t know,” Anne stammered out, watching him closely.

“Hmm. So you work for Dunmed?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“And you’re from America…” he stated more to himself than her.

“Yes,” she answered, realizing why he suddenly looked familiar to her. He was the boy in the picture in Ian’s room.

“Who are you?” she asked in an almost cautious voice.

“I’m Braden. I guess you could call me Ian’s son.”

The glass sort of slipped from her suddenly lax fingers, falling to her foot, bouncing and spewing water all over her shoe and the surrounding floor.

“Oh! Ya eejit! What the…Braden! I swear!” the woman’s voice exclaimed in the background as Anne stood frozen, her eyes still staring at the young man.

“I’m not lying! It’s sort of true. I’m sorry, you should see your face right now,” he commented casually to Anne. “He’s my uncle, really, but he’s more like a da to me…”

Anne blinked, trying to comprehend, trying to get at least some air into her suddenly deflated lungs.

“Oh my god,” she gasped, realizing finally that she dropped the glass. She looked down to see…Nelina wiping the floor with a paper towel below her. She was mumbling something under her breath.

Her eyes affixed to Braden once again.

“Sorry about that,” he shrugged. “So, are ya dating my uncle?”

“Braden! Go somewhere…anywhere. Off with ya now…” Anne could hear Nelina grate out below her.

“You speak English.” Anne stated, fixing a glare in her direction.

A loud sigh sounded before her head snapped up and her eyes connected with Anne’s.

“He told me to do it. I’m sorry. He said you’d argue with me,” she stated as she hefted herself up and stood to face her.

Anne let out a slow breath. “He’s very smart,” Anne started. “And sneaky…totally immature, completely deceptive,” she added under her breath. “I won’t take it out on you, Nelina. I’ll let him have it when he gets home. Whenever
that
is…” she stated softly.

“Oh, he’s in a meeting. Believe me, he tried to get out of it, but…he’s just hoora
busy
right now,” she stated in a soft brogue.

“Right. Well, I don’t suppose you could call Paden and have him pick me up, take me to a Hotel?” she asked with a hopeful expression.

“Not unless I want to get sacked,” she answered seriously before a smile crinkled her features. “I’m joking. Ian’s a good lad. The verra best. He went to an awful bit of trouble for you, ya know. I was trying to show you…he told me you like to cook? He bought the pots and pans for you, had me stock the pantry and refrigerator.”

“Ooo, what are ya cookin’? I like to eat…” Braden chimed in.

“Did I
not
say off with ya? What are you doing here, anyway?” Nelina shot a frown his way.

“I came to play a bit of X-Box. Don’t tell Mum, she thinks I went to the Library,” he answered.

“Well get to it then,” she flicked her wrist in his direction.

“Fine. Can I stay for dinner? Mum can’t boil water. I haven’t had a home-cooked meal in
forever
,” he emphasized, his boyishly handsome face turned toward Anne. He looked so earnest, her face broke into a hesitant smile.

“Sure,” she stated. Besides, that would piss McClellan off. Knowing him, he’d probably try to lure her into a bedroom as soon as he came home…Not possible with his nephew lurking about.

“That’s quality,” Braden commented, much to Anne’s confusion. She watched him walk from the room.
Quality?

“So let me show you what we have, here,” Nelina’s voice caused Anne to turn her way.

“This is so much better,” Anne mumbled as she watched Nelina pull out the wrapped packages from the refrigerator. “I was getting a bit frustrated there, I didn’t mean to swear.”

“That’s all right. I was having a hard time not laughing,” Nelina answered as she laid out the packages on the island.

Anne’s fingers combed through her short hair before one hand held her forehead. “I was just joking about the goat thing,” she stated, clearly embarrassed by the memory.

“I should certainly hope so,” Nelina laughed out.

*****

Anne stirred the mustard mixture, adding a few chopped herbs and a small amount of minced garlic later as she stood in the kitchen, alone with her thoughts.

She should be mad. She should be
furious
. And yet… it was so…sweet. In a completely deceptive way, but still…

She busied herself smearing the mixture on the lamb chops and placing them on a rack, noting the fact that every piece of cookware appeared brand new. Not a scratch or a stain on any of it. According to Nelina; he bought her this, and he must have spent a fortune. The name on the cookware was high dollar, the very best quality and an involuntary smile lifted the corners of her mouth as she worked. If she didn’t want to strangle him for everything else, she might actually want to
kiss
him for this.

The back door was opening, causing her head to swivel in alarm toward the sound.

A brunette wandered in, the same beautiful woman from the picture up in Ian’s room…a small jolt of apprehension rushed through Anne as her hands froze in mid-motion.

“Hello,” the brunette stated and smiled, her expression not in the least shocked to find a strange woman standing before her, or at least it seemed that way to Anne.

“Ah…hi,” Anne said absently.

“I’m Lena, Ian’s sister? Braden’s Mum…”

“Oooh…” Anne breathed out; relief seemed to wash through her for some reason.

“Braden called me. Said he was having dinner at his uncles’ house and I thought there must be something up. Ian doesn’t cook. He eats out every night of the week. So here I am. And you are…?”

“Um…Anne? Anne Bennett. I would ah…shake your hand, but…” she raised her hands to show the paste slathered all over them.

“No worries,” Lena laughed. “So, from your accent I take it you’re American?”

“Yes.”

“And you know my brother, how?” It almost seemed as if she already knew the answer.

“I work for him. I mean, I work for the American facility, of course,” she amended for no apparent reason. Her nerves were beginning to show themselves.

“And you’re here…visiting? When did you arrive?”

“Today.” Anne looked down concentrating on the meat in front of her instead of the dark penetrating eyes staring at her.

“Very nice. Have you ever been to Scotland before?”

“No.”

“Oh! Well, it’s a lovely country. How long are you staying?” Lena asked, watching the smaller woman. She seemed…nervous.

“A week.”

“Well, I certainly hope he takes you site seeing. If he doesn’t, I’d be happy to take you.”

“Thanks.”

“Right. Well, that certainly looks good. Do you happen to have enough for one more? I can’t boil water…”

“I know.” Anne commented. “I mean, your son said the same thing,” she quickly added looking up to see a small smile develop on Lena’s mouth. “Ah…sure?”  Anne stated.
What was one more?
If it pissed him off, she’d invite the entire town just to get back at him.

“So, what do you do at Dunmed?” Lena asked as she pulled out one of the stools pushed under the island.

“R & D,” Anne answered simply. Her lungs were beginning to squeeze ever so slightly. She took a few deep breaths to try and calm her nerves.

“Scientist?”

“Yes,” Anne replied as she turned on the faucet. Her answer seemed a bit clipped. “I mean…yes,” she stated again in a softer tone.

“Oh, well you must be verra smart. I bet you and Ian have extremely boring conversations,” she stated.

Boring? Actually, their ‘conversations’ were anything but.
She wouldn’t tell her that.

“I guess,” Anne answered instead.

“What did you go to school for? Chemistry?”

“Ah…yes?” Anne answered. Technically, she wasn’t lying. She did have a Bachelor’s of Chemical Engineering and Post Grad Chemistry Minor along with her Medical Degree. She just wouldn’t elaborate on that. The inevitable question always followed.
Why aren’t you a doctor?

“Ian has his PhD in Chemical Engineering. He was always verra driven. I think he’s done quite well. So where did you go to school?” she asked.

“UCLA,” Anne answered quickly, her discomfort becoming harder to tamp down. “So, what do
you
do?” she turned and grabbed a paper towel from the rack beside the sink. Maybe turning the conversation to something else would help.

“Oh! I just opened an Inn,” she heard. Anne’s body turned immediately as her eyes sought and connected with Lena’s.

“Do you have any rooms available?” she blurted out.

“Yes? Why?” One of her dark brows lifted.

“Well, it would probably be more appropriate for me to stay…someplace else,” she answered.

“Ahhh…” a look of complete confusion seemed to settle on Lena’s face. “Aye, probably not a good idea,” she stated slowly, her voice sort of trailing off.

“Why not?”

“Well, for one thing, I don’t want to be disowned. Secondly…” she breathed out as her eyes flicked toward the ceiling and back down, “I can’t think of a second reason, sorry. I have a feeling he wants you here. If he wants you here, I won’t be able to convince him otherwise. He’s stubborn,” she stated knowingly.

“Tell me about it,” Anne mumbled.

Lena smiled. “You can ask him when he gets here, though. I want to see his reaction.”

Anne gave a crooked smile back before grabbing the rack and wandering toward the refrigerator. Opening the door, she placed the rack on top of the paper wrapped packages. He certainly bought enough food for an army. She could always use the excuse that from the sheer quantity of food, she assumed she was to invite guests.

That wouldn’t wash, but whatever…

She grabbed a container of heavy cream and a carton of eggs on a whim before shutting the door.

“What’s that for?” Lena asked.

“Crème brulee?”

The other woman grabbed her chest. “Oh, I think I love you, Anne Bennett!” she exclaimed. “I would offer to help…”

“It’s all right,” Anne answered quickly.

“Probably a good idea,” she stated with a smirk. “Well, I’ll leave you be. I’m going to go check on my son. He’s supposed to be at the
Library
, the little brat,” she huffed out as she pushed the stool out and stood.

Anne turned and caught a glimpse of her retreating form before the longest breath escaped her mouth.

She stood immobile for a few moments before finally turning and opening the cabinet, grabbing a bowl and a saucepan. Both new, both gleaming and suddenly she was back to reluctantly mooning over Ian and his thoughtfulness.

A smile formed on her lips as she opened the container of cream and emptied the contents into the pan before turning the knob.

“So, I’ll be leaving ya. Looks like yer in good hands,” she heard behind her. Nelina stood near the entry way to the kitchen, her large purse slung over her shoulder. “Besides, I need to get home and explain myself to Paden. You probably didn’t notice the look he was giving me when I was talking to you…” she grinned.

Actually she did. She just didn’t realize
why
at the time.

“Ok? So…it was nice meeting you,” Anne stated quietly.

“Oh, we’ll see each other again. I come every day to clean. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow. We can play charades again for old time’s sake,” she quipped, eliciting a laugh from Anne.

She was left alone once again as Nelina disappeared from her view. She busied herself opening several drawers, finally managing to find a whisk, check that, a
brand new
whisk. He had to have had help procuring all of this equipment. He thought of everything.
Someone
thought of everything…

She even found matching ramekins in the cabinet containing the dishes. She set them in a pan before whisking the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl. Looking over to the pan, she saw the cream was becoming frothy from the heat and immediately began stirring it.

The house was relatively silent, peaceful even, as she concentrated on the pan.

“Now, there’s a sight.”

Her stomach all but dropped to the floor. Her head automatically turned to see Ian leaning on the door jamb. He looked…wonderful of course. His eyes were intent as usual and a quick flush of heat infused her cheeks at the sight.

She quickly turned her eyes back to the pan and the slowly rolling boil that was developing.

She continued to stir with a suddenly clenching hand.

“Are ya verra mad at me or just a wee bit?” she could hear. His voice was closer, his footsteps almost pounding in her brain.

“Well, I can’t look at you right now. This cream will either burn or boil over. I would shoot you my evil death glare if I could. Then you’d have your answer,” she muttered as she concentrated on stirring.

“Ooo, well then, I suppose I’ll have to try my best to make it up to you, eh?” his voice was as smooth as the cream she was stirring. His breath tickled her ear. His body was so close.

Her skin was probably bathed in goosebumps if she cared to look. Tingles shot from the spot his breath touched to every outlying part of her body. She turned the heat off and moved the pan to different burner before stepping to the side.