The Road To Love: Love by Degree / The Rain Sparrow

* * *

THE NEXT MORNING, Ellen brought down her laundry and was using the washing machine and the dryer before Reed and the others were even awake.

She sighed as she tested the iron with the wet tip of her index finger and found that it still wasn’t hot, although she’d turned it on at least five minutes earlier. This house was owned by a wealthy engineer, so why were there only two electrical outlets in the kitchen? It meant that she couldn’t use the washer, the dryer and the iron at the same time without causing a blow-out.

“Darn it,” she groaned, setting the iron upright on the padded board.

“What’s the matter?” Reed asked from the doorway leading into the kitchen. He got himself a cup of coffee.

“This iron.”

“Hey, Ellen, if you’re doing some ironing, would you press a few things for me?” Monte asked, walking barefoot into the kitchen. He peered into the refrigerator and took out a slice of cold pizza.

“I was afraid this would happen,” she grumbled, still upset by the house’s electrical problems.

“Ellen’s not your personal maid,” Reed said sharply. “If you’ve got something you want pressed, do it yourself.”

A hand on her hip, Ellen turned to Reed, defiantly meeting his glare. “If you don’t mind, I can answer for myself.”

“Fine,” he snorted and took a sip of his coffee.

She directed her next words to Monte, who stood looking at her expectantly. “I am not your personal maid. If you want something pressed, do it yourself.”

Monte glanced from Reed to Ellen and back to Reed again. “Sorry I asked,” he mumbled on his way out of the kitchen. The door was left swinging in his wake.

“You said that well,” Reed commented with a soft chuckle.

“Believe me, I was conned into enough schemes by my sister and brother to know how to handle Monte and the others.”

Reed’s gaze was admiring. “If your brother’s anything like mine, I don’t doubt it.”

“All brothers are alike,” she said. Unable to hold back a grin, Ellen tested the iron a second time and noticed that it was only slightly warmer. “Have you ever thought about putting another outlet in this kitchen?”

Reed looked at her in surprise. “No. Do you need one?”

“Need one?” she echoed. “There are only two in here. It’s ridiculous.”

Reed scanned the kitchen. “I hadn’t thought about it.” Setting his coffee mug aside, he shook his head. “Your mood’s not much better today than it was last night.” With that remark, he hurried out of the room, following in Monte’s footsteps.

Frustrated, Ellen tightened her grip on the iron. Reed was right. She was being unreasonable and she really didn’t understand why. But she was honest enough to admit, at least to herself, that she was attracted to this man whose house she occupied. She realized she’d have to erect a wall of reserve between them to protect them both from embarrassment.

“Morning, Ellen,” Derek said as he entered the kitchen and threw himself into a chair. As he emptied a box of cornflakes into a huge bowl, he said, “I’ve got some shirts that need pressing.”

“If you want anything pressed, do it yourself,” she almost shouted.

Stunned, Derek blinked. “Okay.”

Setting the iron upright again, Ellen released a lengthy sigh. “I didn’t mean to scream at you.”

“That’s all right.”

Turning off the iron, she joined Derek at the table and reached for the cornflakes.

“Are you still worried about that math paper you’re supposed to do?” he asked.

“I’m working my way to an early grave over it.”

“I would’ve thought you’d do well in math.”

Ellen snickered. “Hardly.”

“Have you come up with a topic?”

“Not yet. I’m going to the library later, where I pray some form of inspiration will strike me.”

“Have you asked the other people in your class what they’re writing about?” Derek asked as he refilled his bowl, this time with rice puffs.

Ellen nodded. “That’s what worries me most. The brain who sits beside me is doing hers on the probability of solving Goldbach’s conjecture in our lifetime.”

Derek’s eyes widened. “That’s a tough act to follow.”

“Let me tell you about the guy who sits behind me. He’s doing his paper on mathematics during World War II.”

“You’re in the big leagues now,” Derek said with a sympathetic shake of his head.

“I know,” Ellen lamented. She was taking this course only because it was compulsory; all she wanted out of it was a passing grade. The quadratic formula certainly wasn’t going to have any lasting influence on her life.

“Good luck,” Derek said.

“Thanks. I’m going to need it.”

After straightening up the kitchen, Ellen changed into old jeans and a faded sweatshirt. The jeans had been washed so many times they were nearly white. They fit her hips so snugly she could hardly slide her fingers into the pockets, but she hated the idea of throwing them out.

She tied an old red scarf around her hair and headed for the garage. While rooting around for a ladder a few days earlier, she’d discovered some pruning shears. She’d noticed several overgrown bushes in the backyard and decided to tackle those first, before cleaning the drainpipes.

After an hour, she had a pile of underbrush large enough to be worth a haul to the dump. She’d have one of the boys do that later. For now, the drainpipes demanded her attention.

“Derek!” she called as she pushed open the back door. She knew her face was flushed and damp from exertion.

“Yeah?” His voice drifted toward her from the living room.

Ellen wandered in to discover him on the phone. “I’m ready for you now.”

“Now?” His eyes pleaded with her as his palm covered the mouthpiece. “It’s Michelle.”

“All right, I’ll ask Monte.”

“Thanks.” He gave her a smile of appreciation.