Instinctively wanting to help, he reached over and caressed her cheek. “Who hurt you?” he asked gently.
For a fraction of a second she seemed to be lost, caught up in the tenderness of his touch. Then she blinked away a faint sheen that might have been the start of tears and backed away. “We’ll take the truck,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’ll drive.”
“We’ll take my car. I’ll drive.”
Garrett scowled. “Mr. Ames, this isn’t some test of wills here. We’re expecting more snow today. Your car won’t be able to handle it.” She directed a scathing glance at the convertible. “What on earth possessed you to rent something so unsuitable?”
“I like convertibles.” He dropped his voice to a seductive murmur intended to play across her senses. “Haven’t you ever ridden in one with the top down and the wind blowing through that long blond hair of yours, whipping it into your face?”
For an instant she looked almost wistful, then she said dryly, “Not when the windchill factor sets the temperature twenty degrees below freezing and there’s snow in the air.”
He shivered at the reminder. “You have a point. Okay. We’ll take the truck, but I’ll drive.”
“It’s straight shift.”
“That’s the only kind we rich playboys drive,” he mocked, finally getting a smile from her.
She handed him the keys. “You win, hotshot, but when the blizzard starts, don’t beg me for help.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. Besides, the prospect of a blizzard raises all sorts of interesting possibilities for tonight.”
“You must have a really rich fantasy life, Mr. Ames.”
He smiled. “It’s getting better all the time.”
* * *
They saved the shopping for last. It was probably just as well. Garrett wasn’t at all certain she was going to survive the impact of seeing Joshua emerge from a dressing room in jeans, a Western shirt and boots. It didn’t seem to matter that the boots had a spit-polish shine or that the jeans were still stiff. If the man had been perched on a barstool in Angel Dawson’s saloon, she’d have labeled him a cowboy. A devilishly handsome cowboy, she admitted ruefully, as whipcord lean and hard as any one of the hands at the ranch.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“You’ll do.”
“That’s the best you can come up with?” he retorted, sounding genuinely disappointed.
Garrett found herself grinning. He reminded her of the five-year-old Casey dressed in one of Garrett’s fancy Sunday dresses, lipstick smeared across her face, her tiny feet tucked into Garrett’s high-heeled shoes. That same hopeful expression had been in her eyes when she’d said, “Mommy, how do I look? Am I as pretty as you?”
Remembering that, she patted Joshua’s arm. “You’re very handsome,” she conceded. “There’s just one thing missing.” She walked over to a display of cowboy hats, picked out a black one and brought it back.
“I thought the good guys wore white,” he responded.
“They do,” she said, standing on tiptoe to settle the black one on his head at a rakish angle. As she leaned into him, her breasts brushed his chest and her breath snagged in her throat. Breathless, she felt herself trapped by the intensity of his gaze and the utter stillness that fell over him. Expectation pulsed between them. With the hat in place, she suddenly seemed unable to figure out what to do with her hands. As if they had a will of their own, they dropped to his chest, lingering for no more than a heartbeat, just long enough to feel the thudding of his heart, to take in the vitality and warmth his body promised.
As if she’d taken a dare, only to discover that the price was way too high, she jerked her hands away. “We’d better be going.”
Regret shadowed his eyes, but he nodded agreeably. She was so busy being thankful because he didn’t argue that she wasn’t prepared to have him hurry her from the store straight down the sidewalk and into a restaurant they’d passed earlier. She balked at the door, but the scent of spices, the cozy warmth of a fireplace and Joshua’s hand firmly on her back propelled her inside.
“We should leave now, before the snow gets any worse,” she said.
It was a sensible suggestion, but she delivered it so mildly she couldn’t really blame him for ignoring it. The real truth of the matter was that she didn’t want to go. The air of anticipation that had been flirting with her senses ever since Joshua’s arrival the previous afternoon was having an odd effect on her. After all these years, she was remembering what it was like to have her blood run wild and feverishly. She was rediscovering the thrill of being desired. And, she admitted, she wasn’t ready for it to end quite yet. A nice restaurant seemed like the perfect place to indulge herself in Joshua’s attention without any threat of an intimacy she couldn’t handle.
She flirted outrageously, watching the flare of heat in his eyes with feminine satisfaction. When his fingers skimmed across hers, she tried to analyze why such an innocent touch could make her pulse race, then gave up and simply enjoyed the effect. With every sip of wine, she became less cautious. It had been so long since Garrett had played with fire, she’d forgotten the risks of getting burned. They were halfway home when it came to her exactly what kind of trouble she’d gotten herself into by permitting the lingering, provocative dinner. The wind was howling. The snow was falling in billowing, blinding whirls, coating the road with windblown drifts. It might have been beautiful, if it hadn’t been so dangerous. Tension immediately replaced her mellow mood.
“Have you ever driven in snow like this before?” she asked, noticing that Joshua’s knuckles were white as his hands gripped the steering wheel.
“No.”
“Then let me drive the rest of the way.”
For an instant she thought he’d say no just to prove how macho he was, but he glanced over at her and nodded. “You’re probably right. You know more about handling a truck in this stuff than I do.”
He pulled to the side of the road and traded places with her.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?”
“For not being a jerk about this.”
“I’m not interested in getting the two of us killed just to prove some ridiculous point.”
Just then the truck skidded wildly. Garrett fought against every instinct and turned into the skid. Once the truck was under control again she risked a glance at Joshua. He looked perfectly calm.
“No sarcastic comments?” she asked disbelievingly.
“We’re still on the road, aren’t we? I’d have had us in the ditch.”
“Don’t give me too much blind trust. We’re still twenty-five miles from home and this storm is getting worse by the minute.”
Joshua peered out the fogged-over windshield. “I don’t see how you can tell where the hell we are. It all looks the same to me.”
“That’s because you’re used to watching for street signs instead of landmarks.” She pointed toward a faint shadow on the left. “That’s Bear Claw over there. Just up ahead you’ll be able to see a stand of cottonwoods. They’re right alongside Horse Creek.”
“All I see is white.”
To be perfectly honest that was nearly all Garrett could see, as well, but she figured there was no sense in both of them panicking. If she could make it another three miles or so, they’d be within hiking distance of an old line cottage on the edge of Tom Rutgers’s ranch. If they had to, they could stay there for the night. It wouldn’t be fancy, but it would be stocked with provisions and wood for a fire. They’d survive. With the snow this bad, no one at home would be expecting them anyway. If she hadn’t been so muddleheaded with wine and other distractions, she would never have left Cheyenne in this weather.
Just then, she noticed the headlights bearing down on them, coming far too fast for a road this slick. She pressed lightly on the brake as she steered toward the shoulder of the road, trying to give the idiot room enough to pass. For an instant she thought they’d be just fine.
Then,
suddenly, the truck lost traction. They hit a rut and skidded straight toward a ditch.
“Hang on,” she warned tightly. “It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
She heard Joshua’s low chuckle. “Seems to me Bette Davis once said that.”
“Yes, but she wasn’t about to crash into a ditch.”
Garrett struggled with the steering wheel, but it was apparent that the truck wasn’t going to stay on the road. She eased up on the brakes, figuring the best she could hope for now was to lessen the jolt when they skidded to a stop. Fortunately they were in no real danger of smashing into anything. Nor was the ditch so deep that they were likely to flip.
With one last jarring bounce, they rocked to a stop. Her arms tense and aching from trying to maintain control of the truck, she leaned forward and rested her head against the steering wheel.
She felt Joshua’s fingers against her cheek, the touch gentle and comforting. “Are you okay?”
“Just embarrassed.”
She risked a glance in his direction and discovered he was grinning. Either he was oblivious to their plight or he was just plain nuts. Maybe he’d hit his head.
“If I’d known how badly you wanted to spend the night alone with me, I’d have suggested a room in Cheyenne,” he teased.
“This is no time to be joking. We’re in a mess of trouble. People freeze to death in weather like this.”
“Surely not cowgirls.”
“I’m serious, Joshua. We’re a long way from the nearest shelter. We can’t stay in the truck with the heater on. That’s a good way to suffocate, too.”
“Maybe help will come along.”
“The only people on the road tonight are idiots, like that guy who ran us off.”
“Or like us.”
She frowned. “Like I said, idiots.”
“Hey, we made a bad call. Now we’re stuck in a ditch. Moaning about it won’t save our necks. Maybe we can get the truck out. I’ll check it out.”
Garrett didn’t want to admit that she was impressed with his totally unflappable attitude. It might be foolhardy, but it was certainly better than the hysterical accusations he might have been flinging in her face. As he climbed out of the truck, Garrett shivered in the blast of icy air. She knew what he was going to find, but if it made him feel better to see that they were well and truly stranded, so be it. It was no time at all before the door opened again. Joshua’s expression was grimmer now.
“Can you find your way to that shelter?”
Garrett nodded halfheartedly, realizing that she’d been hoping against hope that she was wrong about their plight. “I can try.” She took a deep breath, then added somberly, “If we get lost, Joshua, we could die of exposure. That’s a very real risk on a night like this.”
“And the odds of us dying right here?”
“Depends on how long the storm lasts or whether somebody finally does come along.”
“I vote we try to make it to the shelter. You?”
Still amazed that he wasn’t casting blame, she decided if they ever got out of this fix she might have to re-evaluate her impression of his gumption. “Let’s go. There are flashlights and blankets in the back. I’ll leave a flare in the snow, so if anyone does come along and see the truck they’ll call for help.”
“Too bad this truck doesn’t have a radio. I’d think anyone driving the distances you all do out here would find that a necessity.”
“We do,” she admitted ruefully. “This one’s in for repair. There’s probably one in Rutgers’s shack, though. Once we get there, we’ll be able to let everyone know where we are.”
She saw him smiling at her. “What’s so amusing?”
“Not amusing. Impressive. Now that we’ve made the decision, you have no doubts at all that we’ll make it, do you?”
She turned the bravest smile she could manage on him. “With what we’ve got ahead of us, doubts could be a real killer.”
Joshua held out his hand. “Then let’s go for a hike in the snow, sweetheart. I can’t think of anything more romantic.”
Garrett scowled. “Doesn’t your mind ever veer away from sex?”
“Doesn’t yours?” he challenged. “I was talking about romance, not sex.”
“Sure you were.”
The argument might have gotten even more heated if they hadn’t needed every single whisper of breath just to go on.
Chapter Four
The killer was the bitter, biting wind. It cut through all their layers of clothing, aided by the dampness of the snow that clung to their faces, to their hair, to their coats. Drifts, some already hip-high, hampered their slow, tedious, slippery progress along the roadway.
They’d been walking for nearly an hour and it was virtually impossible to tell how far they’d gone. Surrounded by endless whiteness, they could barely see to take the next step. By staying carefully on the road, they’d cut the risk of getting lost or wandering in circles. However, with fresh snow filling their tracks almost the instant they’d moved on, it was as if they’d gone nowhere, as if they’d never been at all. Joshua had to wonder if anyone finding the truck would even be able to track them.
“You look like a snowman,” Garrett observed with a thready laugh that hinted she was near hysteria.
Joshua stopped and drew her into a tight embrace meant to comfort and warm, if only slightly. Surprised that she didn’t resist, he gazed into her eyes. Almost at once he became caught up in the unexpected vulnerability he found in the blue depths in that one unguarded instant. The woman in his arms at this moment was a woman he could love, a woman he could cherish and protect always. The realization stunned him.
Drawn to Garrett as never before, he pressed his lips to her cold, wet cheek, to her forehead, her eyelids, then her cheek again before settling inevitably on her trembling mouth. She tasted of snowflakes, but the heat that raged through him felt as if he’d stirred the embers of a dying fire. Though only temporary, he prayed it would be enough to keep them both going.
“You look beautiful,” he whispered, staring into eyes now shining with unshed tears.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her gloved fingers against his face.
“For what? Dumping us into a drift?”
“No. For thinking…” Her teeth chattered uncontrollably. “For thinking you were a jerk.”
“Sometimes I am.”
She shook her head adamantly. “No.”
“Something tells me you won’t think quite so kindly of me once you’ve had a chance to get warm again and come to your senses. If it weren’t so damned cold out here, I’d be tempted to take advantage of your attitude while it lasts.”
She shivered, but managed a faint smile. “Once a lecher, always a lecher,” she said with a sigh that feathered against his cheek.
“If you wanted a gentleman out here with you, you came with the wrong guy.”
She tilted her chin and examined him thoughtfully. “Mrs. Mac thinks you’re a gentleman.”
“Hey, no fair,” he said, tucking her arm through his and beginning to move ahead again. “Women always throw around compliments like that just to trap a man into behaving the way they want him to.”
“What?”
“You know exactly what I mean. I know how much you respect me; I just know I can trust you. What man would dare to try seducing a woman who’s just said that? It would make him into the worst sort of sleeze.”
“I’ll have to remember that,” she said softly, the words slurring slightly.
She stumbled over a thick branch buried deep in the snow and fell to her knees. Joshua lifted her up and prodded her on. The weariness in her voice terrified him. Surviving in a blizzard was beyond his experience, but he knew he didn’t dare let her fall asleep. “Come on, lady. We have miles to go before we sleep.”
“But I’m so tired,” she protested. “Couldn’t we rest for just a minute?”
“I’m tired, too, but I don’t relish a snowbank for a pillow. Look around. See any of those famou
s landmarks you recognize? We’ve been following the road for over an hour now. On a good day that would mean about four or five miles at least. Tonight it’s no more than a couple. Is there anything closer than the shack you mentioned?”
She shuddered so hard, her whole body shook. “No-o-o. No-o-thing.”
“Then we’ll keep going. Why don’t you tell me about Chicago? I’ve always liked it there. Why on earth would you ever leave?”
Her expression altered at once. An unforgiving chill turned her eyes as icy as their surroundings. “I—I h-hated it.”
Sensing that he’d touched on a nerve that could stir her blood with anger, he pushed. “Why?”
Her gaze skittered away evasively. “I—I just did.”
“But the drive along Lake Michigan is beautiful. There’s so much to do—theater, art, restaurants, shopping in the Loop or Watertower Place. All women love to shop. You left that behind for this?” He waved his hand at the snowy spread of lonely emptiness.
She glared at him and to his relief he could practically feel the heat rising inside her.
“Mind you, I’m not thrilled with the fix we’re in right now,” she said, “but I’d take this over Chicago any day. The skies are endless washes of blue. There’s no crowding, no city crime, no deep-down dirt. Life here is so uncomplicated. The people are honest and decent and hardworking. When I was a little girl, I used to dream of places like this. I couldn’t wait to come.”
“Casey said you worked in a diner when you first got out here.”
“I waited tables, did a little cooking until the customers rebelled at my burnt toast. The couple who owned it were kind. They didn’t ask a lot of questions about my past.”
Joshua and the Cowgirl Page 4