“I guess it would be. The only mask I ever wore was when I dressed up as Jason from Friday the 13th.”
“Yeah, that’s not romantic.”
“When you’re a ten-year-old boy you want to scare girls and make them scream.”
“So did you?”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be. I made one girl cry and I ended up taking off the mask and apologizing for scaring her.”
She smiled. “Now that’s romantic.” She met him in the barn aisle as they each finished feeding. “Should we turn them out? It seems super cold this morning.”
“That’s because it is. But they can handle it much better than we can. I’ll take them out if you—”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m helping. I like doing it, even when it’s cold. I sometimes forget that they’re different from us, though. I make the mistake of thinking of them as big dogs. And a dog would want to stay where it’s warm.”
“Not these guys. Unless they have a problem, they’d much rather be outside.” Pete took both their jackets down and handed over her parka. “On the other hand, I don’t intend to lollygag while we’re taking them out there.”
She laughed. “Yeah, me, either.”
It might’ve been the fastest turnout they’d ever done. Taryn always enjoyed the satisfaction of mucking out the stalls, but this morning it was also a great way to warm up again.
Pete was on his game today. He was finishing up his fourth stall while she put the final touches on her second. That gave him time to dump the wheelbarrows in the compost pile while she used a pitchfork to spread out a thick bed of straw.
She glanced up when he came back inside. “Hey, speed demon. Who put a quarter in you this morning?”
He leaned against the open stall door. “I stayed up late listening to Uncle Brendan’s stories. Moving fast keeps me awake. I’m counting on a hot cup of coffee when you’re done, though.”
“That can be arranged.”
“Maybe we should take that time to go over your blizzard preparedness, just in case.”
“Fine with me. Coincidentally I made a grocery run after Caitlin left yesterday. When I heard about the storm on the weather channel I checked on my supply of candles and flashlights.”
“And?”
“I’m good on that front, but is there more I should be doing? Should we string a rope line between the house and the barn so I can feed if I’m here by myself? I’ve heard stories about folks getting disoriented and becoming lost on their own property.”
“We can string a line. Wouldn’t hurt.”
“Then let’s do that today after it warms up a bit.” She evaluated her job on the stall and called it good. “At first I thought I’d have the Christmas lights to guide me.” She joined him in the aisle. “But then I realized if the power goes out…”
“No Christmas lights.”
“Uh-huh.” She snapped the pitchfork into a holder on the wall. “I was so close to buying a generator back in September. Maybe I should have.”
“Made sense to wait. You don’t have guests yet and the horses will be fine. You will, too. I just don’t want you to run out of stuff to eat. Your stove is electric.”
“As you’ve seen, I rarely use it, anyway. If I end up here by myself, I can eat your share of the sandwich fixings.”
“Guess so.”
“I also have my cheese and nuts, plus wine. You can tolerate suboptimal food if you pair it with a hearty red.”
“You may be all set, then.”
“Maybe, but I’ll bet there are things I haven’t thought of. Measures you’d take automatically.” She put on her jacket and zipped it.
“Could be. I just thought of something. Let’s bring in one of these shovels.”
“I have a snow shovel at the house.”
“I know, but one like this might be better if you have to tunnel out.”
“Tunnel out?” She stared at him. “The snow could pile up so high I couldn’t get out my front door?”
“Probably not. We only had to do that a couple of times, but—”
“By all means, let’s take that shovel, then. The other one would be harder to maneuver if I had to dig my way…wait a minute. If you open the front door and there’s a wall of snow, where do you put the snow you’re shoveling?”
“We used the bathtub.”
“Good Lord.”
“The drift might not be that thick. You could potentially break through sooner than you think.”
“Even so.” She lifted a galvanized tub off a hook on the wall. “I’m taking this, too.”
“That’s not a bad idea. If the water pump stops working, you can melt snow in it.”
“So I could be without water, too?”
“Probably not, but it’s possible in a power outage. Ready?”
“For now. I’m glad we’re going over this. I never dreamed I could end up with no running water and the front door blocked with snow. I can’t just let it melt because I’ll need to feed the horses.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She followed him out of the barn and waited while he slid the bar across. “Maybe it’ll be a polite snow, like we get in the mountains near San Francisco.”
He grinned. “Don’t count on it. You’re in the Rockies, now. Our weather tends to be bigger and bolder than that.”
She shivered, and not because of the temperature. Pete’s jaunty smile sent fire racing through her veins. The weather wasn’t the only big and bold element in her world.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Pete battled his protective instincts as he sat at Taryn’s kitchen table drinking coffee and pretending that he wasn’t the least bit worried. His concern wasn’t logical. Even if they had the storm of the century, she could handle it. She was smart and resourceful.
Yes, she’d be alone out here, but she wasn’t that far away. If she ended up in trouble, he’d get to her somehow. He glanced at his phone lying near hers on the table. His was fully charged. He’d make sure hers was, too.
Then again, she’d never used a rope line to get from the house to the barn. If she lost her footing and let go of the line, she could still get caught in a whiteout with no clue which way to go. What if—
“Have you ever done that?”
He glanced up. What had she been talking about? He had no clue. “Could you run it by me again?”
“I asked what you thought about using the fireplace to cook something, or at least heat water for a sponge bath.”
“I’m sure you could in a pinch. I’ll split more firewood today so you’ll have plenty. We could figure out a place to store it in the house.”
“The laundry room might work.” She gazed at him. “You’re worried about me, aren’t you?”
“Not really.”
“Yes, really. A moment ago you were staring into your coffee mug and scowling. Since there’s no reason for you to be angry, it’s gotta be worry. About me.”
How to answer? If he told the truth, he’d reveal more than he cared to. His fears were more his problem than hers. He was fighting a primitive urge to stand guard against any threat to her safety, no matter how unlikely that threat might be.
“I will be okay,” she said. “After talking it over with you, I’m convinced of it. We can string that line so I can get to the barn if visibility is poor. I’ll have plenty of firewood. I can melt snow if I run out of water. I might be inconvenienced, but my life won’t be in danger. Am I wrong about that? Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“No. You’re right. You’ll be fine.”
“I’m tougher than I look.”
“I know.” But her comment made him smile because her outward appearance was the opposite of tough. She was all soft skin and tempting curves. Someone might be fooled if they missed the glint of steel in her eyes.
“Speaking of firewood, if you’ll split it, I’ll clear a space in the laundry room and stack it there.”
“You’ve got a deal. Let�
�s get on that.” He polished off his coffee.
“I’ll check the weather app. If it’s coming in sooner than expected, we need to hustle.” She picked up her phone.
“Is your battery charged?”
“It is, but thanks for the reminder.” After tapping the screen, she peered at it and began to laugh.
“What?”
“Now they’re saying we might get a couple of inches.”
“Well, damn. Talk about a letdown.”
“I know! Epic anticlimax. I was so looking forward to lugging snow to the bathtub so I could tunnel my way out the front door. Oh, well.” She laid her phone aside. “Back to our regularly scheduled program.”
“Did you ever go through the pictures from yesterday?”
She gave him a startled glance then looked away. “Briefly. Not much there. Tell you what, let’s take care of that wood while it’s on our minds.” Pushing back her chair, she stood.
“We can do that.” Getting to his feet, he took their mugs to the sink. “You’ll probably want to clear out those pictures before Saturday. Between Josh sitting on Santa’s lap and the talent show, you’ll need room on there.”
“Good point. Why don’t I just delete them?” She grabbed her phone.
“I’d like to take a look first, if you don’t mind.”
“Like I said, not much to see.”
He doubted that. She was nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. He kept his voice casual. “I’m just curious. I’ve never seen a picture of me kissing someone.” He held her gaze. “It’s probably good for a laugh.”
“I suppose so. Go for it.” She handed him the phone. “I’ll start shifting some things around in the laundry room to make room for the wood.”
“Okay.” He opened her pictures app. Whoa. Steamy. He scrolled through the shots while she clattered around in the laundry room making a fair amount of noise.
Huh. If he went faster, it was almost a video. A very hot video. Oh, baby. His groin tightened as he rapidly swiped his finger across the screen.
He’d been into that kiss. She’d been into that kiss, too. Had she ever. That moment when he’d slid his tongue inside and she’d opened for him…and that was the last picture. Damn it.
He stared at the final image, heart thumping, body taut. Other than the beat of his heart, it was very quiet. The noise in the laundry room had stopped. He glanced up from the screen.
She stood in the doorway of the laundry room, her color high, her breasts rising and falling with her rapid breathing. “Can I delete them, now?”
He sucked in air. “Um—”
“No reason to keep them, right?”
“Can’t—” He cleared his throat. “Can’t think of one.” Can’t think of anything but kissing you. Again. And again.
“Then I’ll ditch them.” She walked in and held out her hand.
If he took her hand and drew her into his arms, would she go along with that? He searched her gaze. Desire. Confusion. Anxiety.
That last one cast the deciding vote. He gave her the phone. “I’ll go set up a timer for the lights and then I’ll chop some wood.” He left the kitchen quickly, snatched up his jacket and hat, and made tracks for the barn. He’d stored the leftover electric supplies there.
He grabbed a timer, his work gloves and the long-handled axe. After installing the timer, he headed for the woodpile behind the house.
Thank God for chores like this. He placed a thick piece of wood on the chopping block, swung the axe and split it cleanly in two. Nothing complicated about that.
He chose another heavy chunk, balanced it on the stump and swung the axe. Soon he’d found a soothing rhythm and his muscles warmed up. The tightness in his shoulders eased and the clean scent of wood shavings improved his mood.
Clouds drifted in, light gray. Snow clouds. The temperature dropped some, but by now he’d worked up a sweat. He peeled off his jacket and hooked it on a tree where a lower branch had broken off, leaving a perfect spot to hang stuff.
His arms ached, but that was a hell of a lot better than standing in that kitchen aching for Taryn. His uncle’s comment last night about steering clear had sobered him. A wise man listened to hard-earned advice.
Trouble was, the minute he came within five feet of that woman, he became stupid as a box of rocks. He did dumb things like putting his arm around her to point out the issue with the lights. Then he’d insisted on seeing those kissing pictures.
Well, curiosity, or whatever damn-fool thing had been driving him, had resulted in sexual frustration such as he hadn’t experienced in years. He’d bet money that she shared his frustration, but that didn’t help. Made it worse, in fact.
“That’s probably enough.” She came out the back door, a log carrier in one hand. “I can’t fit more than that in the laundry room.”
He leaned on the axe handle and watched her walk toward him. A stiff breeze caught the edge of her hood, flinging it off and ruffling her hair. She didn’t bother to pull it up again.
Her hair was the color of Clifford’s coat. Funny that he’d never made that connection before. Could be why he admired it so much, although she might not appreciate the comparison. Then again, she might get a kick out of hearing it if they weren’t both jacked up about those pictures.
He’d never had his hands in her hair, or cupped the back of her neck, or slid his arm around her narrow waist. He wanted all that and more. “Then I’ll help you carry.” Burying the axe blade in the stump, he went to fetch his jacket.
“I moved some cleaning supplies and laid down a tarp. Next spring I’ll hire someone to add on a covered back porch so I can keep extra wood there.”
“Good idea.” He put on his jacket and loaded up his arms with wood while she filled her log carrier.
“Smells great out here.”
“One of the perks of chopping wood.” He followed her up the steps and through the door into the laundry room. “Smells good in here, too.”
“I threw in a load of sheets. Figured if there was any chance the power would go out, I wanted clean sheets on my bed.”
“Right.” His response came out a little more clipped than he would have liked.
Her breath caught. “Poor choice of topic.”
“It’s fine.” He waited for her to stack her wood in the area she’d designated, in a corner by the door into the kitchen.
The laundry room was narrow, so when she finished, she moved into the kitchen rather than trying to maneuver around him to go out the back door. Normally she would have edged past without worrying about the body contact.
He took his time stacking his armload of wood to see if she’d go out the front door and walk around the house to the wood pile. That would have been silly, but so was hovering by the doorway as he unloaded what he’d brought in.
After he placed the last log on the pile, he turned to her. “I could use another cup of coffee if you wouldn’t mind making some.”
She blinked in obvious surprise. “Sure.” Taking off her parka, she hung it on the back of a kitchen chair before going over to the counter to start the coffee. “Do you want something to eat, too? It’s nearly lunchtime. I could—”
“No, thanks. Just a cup of coffee is fine.” He draped his jacket over the back of the chair he’d occupied earlier and laid his hat brim-side up on the table. “Will you have one with me?”
“I’d better not. I’m feeling a little wired.” She turned on the electric grinder.
So was he, but sharing a cup of coffee was one way to initiate a conversation. He waited until the grinder stopped. “Never mind about the coffee, then. It was just an excuse. I was hoping we could sit down and have a discussion.”
Her movements stilled. Slowly she faced him. “I think I knew that.”
“And you’d rather not discuss anything?”
She took a deep breath and crossed her arms protectively over her chest. “I was willing to postpone it for a while, but since you’re clearly ready, let’s talk.�
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“Okay.” He hated that she felt it necessary to assume that posture, as if his very presence was agitating her. He didn’t know what to do about it. Her presence agitated him, too. “I love this job.”
She nodded. “You’re the perfect person for it. Kendra told me you would be and you are.”
“I appreciate hearing that.” He tucked his hands in his pockets. “Kissing you yesterday was pure pleasure, but it appears to have mucked up our working relationship.”
“It wasn’t just the kiss.” She swallowed. “It was the pictures. I’ve deleted them, but…”
“Can’t delete them from our brains, can we?”
“No.”
“Which leaves us with a situation where we can’t efficiently handle a simple task like transferring firewood into your laundry room. There was room for you to move past me and go out the back door to get another load. That would have saved time.”
“I know. I didn’t feel comfortable doing it. But that’s my issue. I’ll work on it. You make an excellent point about efficiency. While it isn’t super important today, it will be as we go forward.”
“I agree. One of our strengths is how well we’re able to coordinate our efforts, no matter what we’re doing. We’re a good fit.” No sooner had he used that phrase than he wanted it back.
Heat flickered in her eyes and then disappeared. “I made the decision to wait for you instead of squeezing past, but what if I hadn’t? Would that have made you uncomfortable?”
Her body pressed against his, even for a split second? Oh, yeah. Even now, the possibility made his pulse race. “It would have affected me. But like you said, that’s my issue. I’ll work on it.”
“Then I guess that’s where we are. If we want to continue this mutually beneficial relationship, we both have some reprogramming to do. I’m willing to make that effort. Are you?”
“Absolutely.” And it could be the toughest assignment he’d ever had in his life.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Taryn was committed to the new regime, but she didn’t care to test it quite yet. Thanks to her discussion with Pete, it was officially lunchtime, so she chose to fix them some food and hot tea while he brought in the rest of the wood.
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