Stranded with the Bridesmaid

by Beth Cornelison

  He was being responsible, cautious, pragmatic. He was protecting her. Yet every fiber of her heart and mind screamed in protest.

  Ellen drew a ragged breath, tried to ignore the disappointment that lanced her chest. Nodding, she whispered, “You’re right.”

  His grip tightened, pulling slightly at her hair as he narrowed a penetrating gaze on hers. “Believe me, there is nothing I want more right now than to make love to you. But…I won’t do anything to hurt you. I have to…I have to do what’s right.”

  After kissing her soundly, he tucked her head under his chin, and she nestled closer. Her body still shook with unspent desire, with adrenaline, from the cold, and he held her securely, warming her all the way to her core.

  His word choice hadn’t escaped her. Make love. They shared an unspoken agreement that what had just happened between them was more than meaningless sex to fill the empty hours. They’d both been driven by something deeper, something real, something new and amazing and powerful. Ellen’s heart performed a slow roll in her chest.

  She was falling in love with Zach.

  Zach stared into the darkness, cradling Ellen against him, the thudding of her heart a steady cadence against his own drumming beat. His body thrummed with unsated longing, and his thoughts stirred restlessly.

  He’d never wanted a woman the way he wanted Ellen—and not just for a quickie in the backseat of a rental car. He wanted more. He wanted to know her heart and spirit. He wanted more time with her than a whirlwind holiday wedding weekend.

  When had he become the kind of guy to get emotionally entangled with a woman? He wasn’t sure. Yet sometime between his impulsive kiss in the parking garage and the sound of his name on her lips as she shattered in his arms, he’d lost his heart to Ellen.

  So now what did he do? How had his life become so complicated?

  He stroked her back when she shivered and checked his watch in the light from the moon. Almost 2:00 a.m. The longest, coldest hours of the night still lay ahead. Tipping his face toward the window, he glanced up at the night sky to check the weather conditions.

  And the sight that greeted him stole his breath.

  Chapter 7

  “O h, man. Ellen, look!”

  Ellen’s pulse jumped, uncertain how to interpret the fevered pitch in Zach’s tone. Muscles tensing and mentally bracing for another tragic turn to their dilemma, Ellen shifted on the seat and leaned across Zach to glance up at the stars.

  A swirling greenish-blue and yellow glow twisted and writhed over the treetops, casting an eerie light across the snow. Ellen stared, awestruck for a few staggering heartbeats before what she was seeing clicked in her brain. “Oh my God. Are those the Northern Lights?”

  “I’d say so. Pretty impressive, huh?”

  Ellen angled her head to meet Zach’s eyes, a fresh, excitement-borne burst of adrenaline coursing through her.

  A smile tugged the corner of his mouth. “Want to go outside for a better view of nature’s show?”

  She returned a playful smile. “Darn right. Race you!”

  Zach smacked a kiss on her lips, and she tumbled backward as he sat up. With a squawk and a laugh, Ellen scrambled to roll down the window again and slide out onto the packed snow.

  A frigid blast of air buffeted her as she hoisted herself from the car, and she almost changed her mind about the outdoor viewing. Snuggling with Zach in the protection of the car had been awfully nice. The circle of his arms had been secure, his body warm, his kisses sweet—so sweet that she’d forgotten where they were, lost all sense of their precarious situation. While she appreciated the distraction of his kisses, she’d also pushed aside the truth that Zach wanted to destroy her sister’s happiness.

  Ellen gazed at him now, the colorful Northern Lights reflecting off the snow and highlighting the masculine cut of his jaw. The man she’d gotten to know tonight didn’t jibe with the heartless goal he’d professed. She realized with a sharp pang in her chest that she wanted to know more—much more—about Zach Kallen. Starting with the career that had tarnished his optimism and jaded his gentle soul.

  Scooting closer to her, he tucked her under his arm and pulled her nearer his body heat. “Warm enough?”

  “Mmm-hmm.” She rested her head on his shoulder and turned her eyes toward the display of color in the late night sky. “You said earlier that you think about leaving your job every day. So…why haven’t you?”

  Beside her, his body tensed. He expelled a deep sigh that clouded in the cold air. “Where would I go?”

  “Anywhere you want! It’s a big world out there, Zach. You don’t have to stay in Sacramento to make a difference. Heck, you don’t have to stay in politics to make a difference. In fact, some would argue you have to get out of the political world to affect real change.”

  “Yeah, I know. God knows, I’ve thought about that.” His tone was dark with regret. “But…what about the senator I work for? He gave me a job before I’d even graduated college. He gave me my start, gave me a great salary, helped me meet people with connections in the state—”

  “Because he recognized your talent, your potential, your enthusiasm. He wanted to be sure no one else could hire you first!”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. But I owe him something for all of that. How can I repay all the help he gave me by walking out on him?”

  “This is the same man who is cheating on his wife and asking you to cover his tracks and keep his dirty secret? The man whose brand of politics involves clandestine deals and backroom meetings?”

  Zach grunted. “Well, yeah. One of several like him in his office.”

  “As much as I appreciate and respect your loyalty to the senator for the help he gave you…” Ellen sat straighter and turned more fully toward Zach. His gaze lowered from the stars to meet hers. She drew a deep breath before plunging forward, a surge of emotion twisting in her chest. “This man is manipulating you, using you, playing on that sense of debt he created in you. He’s dragging you down into the mud with him, and he’ll kill everything that is good and honest and honorable in you if you let him.” She placed her hands on his icy cheeks and drilled him with a beseeching stare. “Don’t let him do that. You’ve paid your debt to him. Don’t let his brand of politics destroy your faith and hope and happiness.” Her voice cracked and moisture gathered in her eyes. “Please, Zach.”

  His brow furrowed, and he cleared his throat before he spoke. “Maybe. I…If I walk away from this job, it’s likely I’ll never get another job in Sacramento again. He has a lot of power and influence.”

  “He’d sabotage your career?”

  “He’s done it before.”

  Ellen scowled. “What an ass.”

  Zach’s cheek twitched in an almost grin. “It’d be career suicide to quit my job.”

  “No. You’d be saving yourself. Your soul. Finding something that makes you happy. Leave California, Zach. Move to Atlanta or Albany or…or Portland.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “Portland isn’t the capital of Oregon.”

  She returned a coy grin. “I know. But it’s a really great place to start over. I promise to show you all around.”

  His nostrils flared as he sucked in a deep breath, and the Northern Lights reflected the passion that filled his eyes. He pressed a warm kiss to her lips and rested his forehead against hers. “If you ever decide to leave magazine editing and layout for a new career, you could make a mint on tour as an inspirational speaker.”

  “There’s more to life than making money, Zach.”

  “So I’ve heard. And I’m beginning to see it for myself lately.”

  Hope swelled in her chest, spreading an airy warmth. “Then you’ll think about quitting your job? And I mean really think hard about it—no guilt or second-guessing?”

  His fingers combed through her hair and cradled the back of her head. “I will.” He sealed the promise with a deep lingering kiss that spun a crackling energy through her.

  Humming her satisfaction, Ellen angled he
r body so she could lean against Zach’s solid strength and nestle in his embrace. Tipping her face toward the heavens, she marveled at the dancing swath of colored light on the horizon. “Beautiful.” She sighed after a moment.

  “Yeah. We definitely owe Santa for arranging this.”

  She cast Zach a curious look. “Come again?”

  “If his reindeer hadn’t run us off the road, I seriously doubt we’d have seen Mother Nature’s awesome show. We’d have been inside asleep in our respective beds.”

  “Hmm. You’re probably right.”

  “And we wouldn’t have had the chance to talk the way we have. I’d have never heard about your flashing the crowd at Mardi Gras.”

  She groaned and covered her eyes with one hand.

  A chuckle rumbled in his chest. “That is an image I’m going to savor for a very long time.”

  “Zach…”

  He raised a hand and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “That and the way the moonlight looks when it shines on your face.”

  Ellen’s heartbeat slowed.

  “I’m glad we got this chance to know each other, Ellen. You’re a special woman.”

  She tried to talk, to respond, but the air stuck in her throat, backed up in her lungs.

  Despite the bitter cold, the uncertainty of their rescue, the inconvenience of lost sleep and hunger, Ellen couldn’t think of anywhere else she’d rather be. Snuggled in Zach’s arms, the night sky draped in a dazzling glow, Ellen felt something shift inside her. She knew at that moment she was right where she belonged. After giving Zach a soft kiss, she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

  “Yeah,” he murmured quietly, “I definitely owe Santa’s reindeer for tonight. Big-time.”

  Zach woke in the predawn darkness, colder than he could ever remember being in his life, despite the warm woman snuggled in his arms on the backseat. Ellen shivered violently, and he tucked her coat more securely around her and he pulled her more firmly against him.

  His nose was frozen, his feet were numb, and an icy chill seeped to his bones. But morning was just a couple hours away, and the sun would raise the temperature and provide the light they needed to safely flag a passing car.

  Ignoring the crick in his neck from the awkward angle at which he’d been sleeping, he tried to doze until sunrise. Sometime later, a bright shaft of sun crept over the horizon and roused him again.

  Ellen was still shivering, and he did his best to chafe warmth into her arms and hands.

  Pulling her scarf up around her nose, she shuddered hard as she angled her head to look at him. Despite the wrap over her half her face, tiny smile lines crinkled the corners of her eyes, and sunlight caught the sparkle of humor in her gaze. “G-g-good m-morn-n-ning-g,” she said, teeth chattering. “M-merry Christmas Eve.”

  “Good m—” A rumbling noise in the distance cut Zach off. He stiffened, straining his ear to listen.

  “Zach, what’s—?”

  “Shh. Listen!” When the rumbling grew louder, more distinct, his pulse jumped. “That’s a truck! Maybe even the road crew with a plow.” He pushed her up and scrambled from under her to turn the ignition. He prayed the battery had enough life left that he could roll the window down one last time.

  Ellen tipped her head to listen, excitement lighting her face.

  With a squeak and a groan of struggle, the frozen window slid slowly down, and Zach waved Ellen forward. “Hurry! We’ve got to get up to the road and flag ’em down!”

  Ellen scrambled out the window, and Zach followed, his cramped, cold muscles protesting. In the morning light, the slope of the embankment up to the road proved steeper than he’d believed the night before. Slicked with ice, the hill would be a challenging climb at best.

  Ellen’s face reflected the same dismay as she cast a worried glance at him. “Any ideas?”

  “Try to gouge foot- and handholds and pull yourself up. I’ll be behind you and give you a boost up to the top. But one of us has to get up there fast, before that truck gets out of range.”

  Together they started chipping at the ice-crusted snow, carving out a notch or two for her to hoist herself closer to the rim. The rumbling engine was louder now, their rescue almost upon them. But Ellen was only halfway up the hill, still six feet shy of the top, and scraping her next handhold as fast as she could.

  Zach considered yelling to the driver but over the grinding of the engine and scraping blade, the chances of being heard were slim. His energy was better used digging a foothold for Ellen.

  “Oh, no. There it is! Zach, I’ll never make it!” Ellen tried frantically to scramble up the icy slope. Her feet slipped and skidded, and she slid all the way back to the bottom of the rise.

  Zach squelched his disappointment, turned and clambered onto the roof of the Malibu. Waving his arms, he shouted, “Hey, down here! Stop!”

  A flash of color drew his attention to Ellen, who used the gouges they’d already scooped to climb halfway back up the hill. She snatched the scarf from her head, knotted it into a ball and heaved it over the rise of the hill.

  A screech of hydraulic brakes echoed through the still, frozen air. She cut a glance at him, her expression a mirror of the hope that bubbled in his chest. In unison they shouted, “Help! Down here!”

  A door slammed, and a red-cheeked man with a white beard peered over the top of the hill. “Land sakes, folks. You been out here all night?”

  Ellen bobbed her head. “Can you take us to a phone? Please? We have to get to Spokane by two!”

  “Sure enough. And you can use the radio in my truck to call a tow for your car.” He disappeared for a second, then reappeared with Ellen’s blue scarf in his hand. “I believe this is yours? I thought I was seeing things at first when that came sailing in from the edge of the road. Smart thinking, honey. I’d have never seen you if not for your unique distress flag there.”

  Ellen grinned at the elfin man, then at Zach. “Necessity is the mother of invention.”

  Zach scooted off the roof of the Malibu and helped Ellen down from the icy hill. Pulling her into his arms he pressed a kiss to her warm lips. “Well, sweetheart, I think we may just make it to the church on time.”

  She held up crossed fingers. “From your lips to God’s ears!”

  While Ellen maneuvered up the rope ladder the driver of the snowplow dropped for them, his thoughts turned to his original plan for today. If they made good time getting to Spokane, he might still have time to talk to Sean before the ceremony started. He still had a duty to look out for his best friend’s happiness.

  Even if it meant Ellen hated him.

  Chapter 8

  T he cab of the snowplow was crowded for three people, but the blast of the heater was a welcome blessing. The driver, whose resemblance to Santa was uncanny, shared his Thermos of coffee and tin of sugar cookies with them, and Ellen devoured four cookies with gratitude, savoring the sweet treat.

  Within twenty minutes, they’d reached a small town and caught the owner of a small diner just before he closed his restaurant. Borrowing a phone beside the cash register, they called Ellen’s parents and assured them they were safe and en route. A second call to the car rental company secured them a replacement car and sent a tow truck out to recover the Malibu.

  By 11:00 a.m., they were fed, warm and back on the reopened interstate headed toward Spokane. But Ellen couldn’t breathe easy yet. Zach’s grim expression as they approached the exit for Spokane told her he hadn’t abandoned his plan to interfere with the wedding. In light of the night’s events and all she’d learned about Zach, his determination to talk Sean out of marrying her sister bothered Ellen all the more. She’d seen Zach’s chivalry when he tended to her after the carbon-monoxide scare, his practicality in dealing with their safety and best chance for rescue, his kindness in calming her fears. How could the same man who’d showed her honor and gentleness plan to ruin his friend’s wedding?

  “Zach, about the wedding…you won’t really…” She paused,
air snagging in her chest when she locked gazes with him. With his handsome face, sense of honor and sharp intelligence, Zach could easily steal her heart. If only…

  “I won’t really what?”

  She angled her head to watch the traffic clogging the frontage road to a large mall. “You know, I halfway hoped we wouldn’t be rescued in time for the wedding. If Sean and Trix married before we got there, then you can’t mess anything up for them.”

  His strong, warm fingers grasped her chin and brought her head around to face him. “Ellen, I told you before, my intent is not to hurt anyone or mess anything up. I hate that it’s gotten so late, so close to the wedding.”

  She frowned and pulled her chin from his hand, even though his touch was inviting.

  “Whether he gets married or not is up to Sean. I just—” He sighed and stared at the traffic in front of them. “I want a chance to lay out the truth as I see it to my friend and hear from his lips, see his face, know for sure he’s considered what he’s doing carefully. I have to know this is what he wants, because this is not what the Sean I met in college would have ever chosen of his own will. I’m trying to save him from future unhappiness. I’m sorry, Ellen, but if I think he feels at all coerced or manipulated or cornered into this marriage, I will try to talk him out of it.”

  She turned back to the view of last-minute shoppers braving the snowy roads, clogging the parking lots.

  Zach sighed. “I have to do what I feel is right, even if it makes me unpopular or hated.”

  A bittersweet stab of regret twisted in her chest. While she admired his conviction, his determination to follow his conscience, she wished he hadn’t chosen her sister’s wedding as his target. Yet a whisper of doubt tickled her brain. What if Sean hadn’t changed? What if Zach was right and her sister had pressured Sean into this marriage?

  Ellen gritted her teeth and sent Zach a wounded look of resignation. “Fine. Do what you think you have to. But remember this—sometimes doing the right thing means listening to your heart instead of your head. Trust your heart, Zach.”