“Do you think there’s something still inside?” Jed asked when she’d settled onto the seat beside him but hadn’t closed her door.
She swallowed the knot in her throat.
Yes. She’d left the feel of his kisses and his hand-holding and touching her breasts. The feel of him being so deep inside her she’d forgotten where she ended and he began.
“Nope,” she said, closing her door, then wiping tears from her cheeks so she could face him with a bright smile. “I’m all set to hit the road.”
To get back to her safe, quiet condo where no paint would charm its way into her life only to leave her embarrassed, confused and alone.
“Great.” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. Did he have any idea how his eagerness to leave shattered the beauty of everything they’d shared? “Let’s go.”
Sure, let’s go… So they could be that much closer to home, where she’d once again nurse her bleeding emotional wounds. Alone…
“SO?” MARTHE ASKED with a big wink. She held a steaming coffee mug in her left hand and nudged Annie with her right elbow. “Did all that by-yourselves time ignite any sparks?”
“What sparks?” Annie asked, hoping her new friend would drop the subject. She scooped Pia from a high chair. The baby smelled like her pink lotion and the sugar-sweetened rice cereal Marthe and Kayla had fed the triplets for breakfast.
“Oh, come on. You two couldn’t wait to get us out of there. Well? Did Jed kiss you? Did more happen? Come on, girl, spill it.”
“Sorry.” Annie kissed the crown of Pia’s downy head. “We just spent a quiet night playing Scrabble.”
“Don’t you believe her,” Jed said, entering the dining room from the kitchen to casually rest his hands on her shoulders. “There was nothing quiet about the way she beat me.”
Why was he doing this?
Pretending everything was great between them when nothing could be further from the truth?
Marthe said, “She ought to play King Murray over in Leadville. As far as I know, no one’s ever beat him. Why don’t you two take a day trip over there? Kayla and I will watch the babies. King’s been off his feet for a few months now. He loves getting company.”
“Who’s King?” Annie asked, thrilled to have the topic off Jed and herself.
“Cantankerous old miner,” Ditch said, doughnut to his mouth. He strolled in from the kitchen through the same door Jed had. “Old guy’ll outlive us all. There’s no real hurry to get back,” he said. “How about it? You can take Marthe’s Jeep. Head over Mosquito Pass. On a weekday, there should be hardly any traffic.”
“What do you think?” Jed asked Annie.
Spending more time alone with him in this idyllic mountain setting—even one more day—was out of the question. Her spirit couldn’t take it, knowing that their ultimate breakup was coming as soon as they got home.
Wishing she could shout her true feelings, she simply shrugged. “Sounds like a good time, but we probably ought to just head home. I’ve got to get my classroom ready and I still haven’t completely unpacked at my condo.”
“You’re right,” Jed agreed, crushing Annie when he didn’t try to change her mind. “I need to get back to work, too.”
“Aw, you guys are no fun.” Marthe held out her arms. “At least give me a few more minutes with this cutie.”
Annie handed Pia over.
Ditch said, “Come on, then, let’s check your oil and tires. When Zane installed your new battery, he said you’d been burning oil.”
Jed shook his head. “Patti and Howie bought the van used, but it’s only three years old. I can’t believe—” He’d been about to rag on his sister and brother-in-law for not taking better care of their vehicle, but stopped himself. No more. As Annie had said the night before, it was time to let his sister go. She was a grown woman. If she didn’t care that her van burned oil, neither should he.
See? He was slowly but surely getting a handle on this control thing.
“Ready?” Jed asked Annie, wishing she’d taken Marthe and Ditch up on their offer to watch the triplets just one more day. Her decision was the right one, but that didn’t make her apparent rejection of him any easier to bear.
While Annie and Marthe checked the house for stray baby items, Jed shook Ditch’s hand and thanked him for all his help.
“Forget it,” Ditch said. “I didn’t do anything you wouldn’t have done for me.” He leaned in closer to Jed. “Marthe’s gonna kill me if I don’t get the inside scoop. Did you and Annie, uh, hook up last night?”
Jed made a face. “Jeez, Ditch, has anyone ever told you that your social skills are sadly lacking?”
His old friend rolled his eyes. “I’ll take that as your wounded male pride telling me not only didn’t you get any, but your odds for the future aren’t looking too good, either. Too bad…” He made a clucking sound. “The two of you are cute together. Annie and Marthe seemed to hit it off, too. I was hoping maybe we’d get to see more of you.”
“Oh, you’ll probably be seeing plenty of me, just not Annie.”
“Ouch.” Ditch winced. “Didn’t even make it to first base?”
Jed slapped his friend on his back. “Buddy, I didn’t even make it on the field.”
NEARLY A HUNDRED MILES from the cabin where she’d allowed herself to fall for an amazing guy who only wanted her for her babysitting skills, Annie slipped off her sandals and propped her feet on the dash.
The heat radiating from the van’s windows grew uncomfortable.
Just like the silence between her and Jed.
“The babies seem to be riding better,” he said in the tunnel through Loveland Pass.
“It’s probably the cereal Marthe fed them for breakfast. Solid foods sometimes help infants sleep.”
“Oh.” Outside the tunnel, he turned off the van’s lights. “How come Patti hasn’t been trying that?”
“She might have, which would explain why they were so put out with us. They wanted a more substantial meal than formula.”
“Oh.”
That’s all you can say? Oh?
Annie gritted her teeth.
How could he stand the tension? That morning, they’d been in each other’s arms, and now, they talked less than when they were strangers.
Had their night together been nothing to him but a quick roll in the hay?
Jed veered the van onto the side of the highway, and parked on the wide shoulder. “Out with it.”
“Out with what?” she asked, traffic whizzing by. A monstrous tractor trailer made the small van shudder. “Is this safe?”
“I’ll tell you what isn’t—this brick wall you’ve been making me bust through all morning. If I ticked you off about something, tell me. Don’t just sit here glowering the whole ride home.”
She crossed her arms. “I’m not glowering.”
“The hell you aren’t. Look, I’m a big boy. Now that you’ve had a few hours to think about it, if last night and this morning were a mistake to you, I can take it. Just tell me. We’ll agree to keep things casual once we get home.”
“Oh, you’re a big boy, all right. Big enough to give me what was obviously nothing more than a thank-you lay for my babysitting services?”
He flinched. “Please tell me you didn’t just say what I think you did, because—”
From the back seat came a whimper. Judging by the low-pitched sound, it was Ronnie. Annie glanced over her shoulder and, sure enough, it was him. She jiggled his carrier, then got a teething ring from the diaper bag.
“Annie? I’m still waiting for an answer.”
“Just stop it, Jed. As you’ve so graciously pointed out, we’re both adults here. I don’t know what I expected from you—if anything, maybe that you’d at least sit and have leftovers with me. But nooooo, you were in such an all-fired hurry to get away, you couldn’t even stand to share a meal, let alone a conversation more meaningful than what we eat for breakfast.”
He dropped his head back. “You�
�ve got to be kidding. That’s what you’re upset about? The fact that I didn’t eat breakfast with you?”
“You wouldn’t have found it a little upsetting if the tables had been turned?”
“Okay…” He reached for Annie’s hand and gave it a squeeze. She wanted to snatch it back to the safety of her lap, but physically, emotionally, she couldn’t. Just this simple touch meant so much. “First off,” he said, “you can’t imagine how badly I wanted to stay in that bed and share leftovers with you. But the problem was, if I had eaten that food, there wouldn’t have been any for you.”
“You mean that’s all there was?”
“That’s what I just said, isn’t it?”
“But there were plenty of ribs left over last night.”
“Three a.m. snacks?”
“Oh.” Now Annie was the one with no comment. How had he done it? The creep. Now she felt bad for scraping her meal into the trash.
“I was trying to be a good guy by leaving you to your feast. And that’s why I now have raging heartburn from the dozen doughnuts I put away at Marthe and Ditch’s.”
“And that’s my fault?”
“Heck, yeah.”
Despite herself, she grinned, although she was far from convinced that altruism was the full reason he’d left her alone in the bed.
“Look at me,” she said.
“Why?” He looked out his side window at a passing red car, instead.
“Because, after all we’ve shared, I think you owe me that much.”
Since he didn’t turn away from the window, he obviously didn’t agree.
“All right, then,” she said with a deep sigh. “You can do it without looking me in the eyes.”
“Do what?”
“Tell me your supposed fear of my impending starvation was the only reason you left me alone in that room.”
“God, woman.” He slammed his palm against the steering wheel. “What do you want from me?”
“The truth.” Every bone in her body urged her to jump out of the van and run when Jed had hit the steering wheel, but she stood her ground.
She was no longer a scared newlywed.
He wasn’t Troy.
When Jed finally looked at Annie, her gaze was solidly on him. The instant their eyes met, she knew she was on the right track. The man was definitely lying. And if they had to sit here on the side of the road until Christmas, she intended to find out what he was lying about.
“Oh, hell,” he eventually said. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
She shook her head.
“Okay, then, the truth is that you looked so damned beautiful…lying there with your hair all messed up and nothing on but my ratty old sheets. I felt I should’ve given you more. That I should be more.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Do I look like it?”
Judging by his down-turned brows and lips—no. Jed still held her hand, and she tightly gripped his.
Annie asked, “Don’t you have a clue how much I’ve come to care for you?” She shook her head again, glancing out the window while swallowing new tears. “I mean, when I first met you with all those crying babies in your arms, I was captivated. But then the more I saw you in action…going off to work, where you save the world one house, one family, at a time. And then how you tried to save your sister…You’re a special breed of man.”
Releasing her to cover his face with both hands, Jed said, “I should’ve just kidnapped you today. Taken you over to Mosquito Pass to give you the pleasure of letting my friend, King, soundly whomp your sweet little butt.”
“I would’ve liked that,” she said.
“Then why didn’t you say so?”
“Because I thought you didn’t want to.”
He groaned.
“What’s wrong now?” Annie asked.
“It’s a good two hours back to the cabin. By the time we get to Marthe and Ditch’s to drop off the babies, it’s too late to get out there today.”
“True. But as Ditch pointed out, now that we know Patti’s okay, and she’s not due home with Howie for another couple of days, there’s really no rush.”
Except that every second she was with him, she fell a little more in love.
Annie suddenly had a tough time finding her next breath. Love? Was that what made her stomach hurt and feel wonderful at the same time? They’d weathered their first fight and Jed had been the one to start the healing. What kind of man did that?
A very special man, just as she’d told him.
A keeper.
He put the van back in gear and did a U-turn at the next exit.
Annie’s pulse hammered a little more quickly.
Granted, Jed’s words had been ultrasweet, but that didn’t mean he was ready for marriage. Neither was she. She’d just recovered from a crushing blow with Conner, and before that, a disastrous marriage to Troy.
Those things pretty much guaranteed it wasn’t love she was feeling, but a giddy, strange mixture of emotions ranging from relief—because this trip had taken her mind off her more pertinent troubles—to a physical yearning for more of Jed’s kisses.
Yes, she should’ve told Jed that the idea of going to meet this King person was nice but that she really ought to head home.
She had things to do.
A bathroom that needed painting.
So why did absolutely nothing in the world sound more appealing than driving over a mountain to play Scrabble with a man who might very well beat her as badly as her grandmother did?
Why? Because all of that would happen with Jed by her side.
Chapter Thirteen
“Aaarrgghhh!” Annie cried. “Slow down. We’re going to crash!”
Jed laughed. “You need to relax. I’ve done this a hundred times. Trust me, we’ll be fine.” She stopped screeching, but still had a white-knuckled grip on the support handle built into the dash.
On this stretch of road before the summit, the ruts in the dirt road were particularly deep—in some places, three or four feet. Jed would never tell Annie, but the drive was proving to be more challenging than he’d expected. But that was okay, because once the day’s diversion was over, he’d have another night alone with Annie back at the cabin.
“Do you see how far down it is over there?”
He glanced in the direction Annie pointed. “That’s nothing. I’ve been on old mining trails up the sides of sheer cliffs.”
“Yeah, well, maybe I’d be better off back at the outlet mall.”
“You didn’t have enough of that yesterday?” They’d stopped off on the way back to the cabin. Jed had told Annie that he wanted to get the babies out of the car for a while, but he’d really stopped for her. Jeez, their first time through, she’d looked at the place like a dog catching sight of a bone—only it wasn’t bones she was after, but bargain-priced clothes and purses.
He’d lost count of the hours he’d spent sitting outside dressing rooms jiggling the babies in their stroller. But looking at the hot little denim miniskirt and tight pale-blue T-shirt she had on today, Jed had to admit that every one of those hours had been worth it.
“A woman can never get enough shopping. Remember that, and any woman will adore you forever.”
What if I don’t want any woman, just you?
He shook his head lightly. The altitude must be affecting his reason. They’d gotten along better than ever since their talk, but they still had some incredibly large barriers between them—his pigheaded need to be in control.
Who knew where the next few days would lead? And when they returned home, she’d probably be asked on a ton of dates by rich single dads who could afford the steep tuition at the private preschool where she worked.
They’d be professional men who never came home reeking of smoke, even after a shower.
Guys who didn’t work twenty-four-hour shifts and didn’t have soot under their nails.
“You’re awfully quiet over there,” Annie said. “Is that a
sign that this road is in worse shape than you’ve been letting on?”
“Nope.” But he was in worse shape. Why couldn’t he just live in the moment and let the future sort itself out? Lots of women liked firemen. Why should Annie be any different?
Because she was.
Different from most women—better—in every conceivable way.
“Are we almost to the top?”
“Yep. And from up there, the view is going to make this bumpy ride worth it.”
“Promise?”
“Absolutely.”
“All right, then, I’ll try to relax. But between worrying that we’re about to slide off the mountain and wondering just how badly I’m going to be beaten at Scrabble, I have to say that this hasn’t been the most peaceful of days.”
“It’s not supposed to be peaceful, remember? This is my revenge for the way you crushed me again last night.” He’d started the game in the lead, but then he’d caught a whiff of the end-of-the-day scent that was all Annie. A little sweat, a little baby lotion, a whole lot of temptation to resist.
“Hey—it’s not my fault you kept drawing bad letters.”
Right. No more than it’d been his fault that he’d kept getting distracting peeks down her shirt. Had it really been less than twenty-four hours since he’d tasted what now he could only dream of?
“Yeah, well, you just wait,” he said. “King’s going to beat you so bad you’ll cry—not that I’m looking forward to that part.”
“You’re mean,” she said, sticking out her tongue.
“Check out that view, then tell me I’m mean.”
He floored it to get the Jeep over the last big rise, then they’d arrived.
For as far as the eye could see, green forests accentuated the snowcapped peaks. Jed had climbed many of the mountains in the area. Others he’d four-wheeled. But none of those adventures meant as much as being here with Annie.
He parked the Jeep next to the wooden sign serving as a memorial to Father Dyer, a man who’d brought not only religion to the mining town of Leadville in the late 1800s, but mail.
Openmouthed, Annie climbed out and slipped on a light denim jacket. Hand to her forehead, she shaded her eyes from the sun. “Oh, Jed, it’s amazing. I feel like we’re alone on top of the world.”
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