Stranded With a Hero Read Online Free PDF Page A

was now back in her life, in her house, stuck with her for who knew how many hours and she couldn’t get her stuff together?
    It was foolish. And if it was happening to someone else, she might even find it cute.
    But considering it was happening to her, she didn’t find anything cute about it whatsoever. Josh Powers unnerved her. With his big, burly chest and really nice forearms. Forearms he’d put on perfect display when he shoved up his sleeves and helped her wash dishes. What sort of man helped wash dishes?
    When she’d asked Josh where he learned such efficient dishwashing skills, he’d laughed and said the fire station. No one was off the hook there. They all had to share their chores equally.
    She couldn’t help but admire him. He’d done something with his life, something good and heroic. He’d worked his way up the ranks and was now an arson investigator. How cool was that? And what had she done?
    Stayed home and taken care of her kids and husband. She had no career, nothing to be proud of beyond two pretty great sons she could brag about.
    Frowning, she rinsed the pot she used to make the pasta. Raising her boys was a major accomplishment. She’d done it without much help on Marty’s part, either, since he’d always been out of town for so-called work. More like trysts with the girlfriends he had on the side.
    “What’s up with the frown?” Josh asked, his deep voice breaking through her thoughts. He had a nice voice. She wondered what it sounded like if he might whisper in her ear right before he kissed her. “I remember you used to hate washing dishes when we were kids, too.”
    She laughed, unable to hold it back. Heck, she was glad she didn’t hold it back. It felt good to laugh. To feel happy and carefree. Too much sadness had happened in her life this past year and she was sick of it.
    “You know I hate how the water always wrinkles up my hands,” she joked, halfway meaning it.
    “Such a diva,” he teased, nudging her shoulder with his.
    She nudged him back, trying to ignore the flight of butterflies fluttering around inside her stomach. Having him so close, feeling his body heat, made her nervous—in a good way. “Give me a break. I had to wash a lot of dishes back in the day, what with that big family of mine and people always hanging around wanting to eat dinner with us. Like you.”
    “Hey, it was fun hanging out at your house. Patrick was one of my best friends. So were you,” he said nonchalantly, but his words were like a physical blow.
    They had been best friends. He’d done all the guy stuff with Patrick and sometimes even Cam, but with Mindy, Josh really talked to her. They went on walks together, bike rides around the lake. They liked the same TV shows and movies, so he’d come over almost every weekend with a couple of rentals in hand.
    She’d spent so much time with Josh through the years, he’d been such a part of her life, and then…he disappeared. She’d rejected him for Marty and he’d cut off their friendship completely. Worse? She hadn’t minded at the time. She hadn’t given him much thought, too wrapped up in her newfound relationship with Marty to really care about Josh and his feelings.
    What a callous, silly girl she’d been.
    Mindy reached into the sink and pulled the stopper, watching the soapy water drain out. The confused tangle of emotions within her tried to do the same but it was so difficult. Like she couldn’t let go of them no matter how hard she tried. “I was such a jerk to you back then.”
    “What?” He dried the pot she’d just handed him, then set it on the drying rack. Funny how Josh could look so sexy performing such a routine chore. Clearly her hormones were acting up since she hadn’t had sex—let alone physical contact with another male she wasn’t related to—in who knew how long. “Why are you calling yourself a jerk?”
    “Because I was one. I treated you like crap, Josh. I ruined our friendship with a few careless