Chapter 4

Mark quickly wrapped a towel around himself and opened the door. Mara handed him a shirt and a pair of jeans. "I hope these fit. If they don't it looks like you'll just have to wear a towel. Now give me those wet clothes and I'll dry them."

Mark gave her the clothes and shut the door. He found the clothes a bit too tight for him being forced to wear just the towel. "This is really embarrassing,"he thought to himself.

Mara took a deep breath as she put the clothes in the dryer. When Mark had opened the door, she couldn't believe how muscular he was. She had to tell herself to take it easy. She went into the kitchen and looked through the fridge. She didn't know if they were hungry or not. "Let's see. Well, I could heat up the leftover stew. I'll ask them."

She went into the living and saw all three of them sitting on the couch. The boys were cuddled up close to him. "Would you like something to eat? I have some stew in the fridge. It wouldn't take long to warm up. The boys look like they're hungry."

"You boys hungry?" he asked them. The boys nodded their head. It had been a while since they had eaten.

"Okay, stew it is. It should be ready in a few minutes. The phone is on the end table and the phone book is underneath. You can call for a tow truck."

"Would it be okay if I made a long distance call to my folks to let them know we're okay and where we are?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Mara went back to the kitchen and put the stew in the pot to heat. She got some homemade bread out of the fridge and cut a few slices. She put an extra pan on the stove and poured some milk in it. She thought the boys wouldn't mind come hot cocoa. She then got some cookies out of a jar, thinking they would like that also. While the stew heated, she set the table and then put on a pot of coffee. She went back in the living room, telling them the food was ready.

Mark and the boys sat at the table. Mara dished up the stew for the boys. All three dug in and ate, especially the boys, who asked for seconds. While they ate, Mara finished the hot cocoa and poured each of the boys a cup, then poured a cup of coffee for Mark and her.

"I guess I had better introduce us. My name is Mark Calloway. These are my sons, Sean and Lucas."

"I'm Mara Sands. How long did they say before they would be here to get your car?"

"About ten minutes. We were on our way to my dad's ranch when the car broke down."

"How much further is it to your dad's place?"

"On this road, it's about another half day."

"Well, with the service around here sometimes it could take a day or so for your car to get fixed. They're pretty slow. Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," Mark replied.

"The cocoa and cookies are good," Lucas said.

"Thank you." She saw the boys beginning to yawn. "You two look tired. Why don't you put them to sleep in my room."

Mark picked up the boys. Mara lead them down the hallway to her room. She watched as he put them to bed, noticing how gentle he was. She went to the laundry room to check on their clothes, finding they had dried.

Chapter 5

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