by Sandra Hill
“Really? Where will Bea and Fred go?”
“They’ll drive with me to Boston, and spend the winter at my sister Mary’s place. She’s married, with three kids, and has a big house. Good thing, too. Neither Jake nor I have the room.”
“Bea and Fred are lucky to have you,” Casey said around a bite of omelet. “I’d hate to think of something happening to them in the winter, with the road closed and no one able to get to them. Are there a lot of storms like yesterday’s?”
“It happens,” Matt said. “We get a good bit of snow in the gorge. Some sort of lake effect thing. When I was a kid, it seemed the road was closed more often than it was open.” He grinned. “Missed a ton of school.”
“What happens if someone gets sick? Or hurt?”
“If it’s a real emergency, we radio out and the hospital sends a helicopter.” He cupped his mug in his palms. “But believe it or not, that only happened once in all my childhood. Jake ran a sled into a tree and broke his arm.”
“Oh, my God! How old was he?”
“Seven.”
“Wow. That must have been scary.”
“Not for me. It was one of the most exciting days of my life. The only way it could have been better was if I’d been the one with the broken arm getting a ride on a helicopter. For years afterward, every time it snowed I tried to break an arm or leg. But I never quite managed it.”
Casey laughed. Amazingly, she was starting to relax. Looking down at her plate, she realized she’d eaten almost everything on it, and her mug was empty, too.
“Your poor aunt,” she said, reaching for the coffee pot. “It sounds like you and your brother—oh!”
Her fingers slipped on the handle. The pot tipped with a thud. Casey watched in horror as the battered aluminum top flew off, sending coffee pouring across the table and into Matt’s lap.
“Ow!” He leapt to his feet, swatting at his pants with his napkin. “F—” He swallowed the curse. “Damn, that’s hot.”
“Oh, God! I’m so sorry. I’m such a klutz!”
Casey was on her feet, too, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her. She came around the table, thrusting her napkin in the general direction of Matt’s groin. He grabbed her hand just before it landed on his crotch.
She jerked back, face flooding with heat. “I’m sorry,” she repeated weakly.
“Wow,” he said, shaking out his wet napkin. The front of his pants was soaked. “Your sister wasn’t kidding. You are clumsy.” He started to laugh. “A freaking disaster.”
Casey flushed hotter than the coffee. Could she just shrivel up and die now? Please?
“My fingers slipped on the handle when I tried to pick it up,” she said lamely.
“That’ll be a lesson to me,” he said. “Never let your cup go empty.”
She covered her face with the napkin. “Oh, God, I—”
“Listen.” He tugged the cloth away. His finger brushed her cheek.
Her eyes flew open.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I’ll live. But I’ve got to change. And then I need to gas up the snow blower and see about clearing a path to the house.”
He crossed to the wardrobe and pulled out clean jeans, shirt, and underwear. Tossing the clothes on the bed, he bent to unlace his boots.
Then his hands went to his belt. “You might want to turn your back.” He met her startled eyes and grinned. “Or maybe not?”
Casey quickly averted her eyes. “You’re going to…” She nearly choked. “…change? Out here?”
“Bathroom’s too small. I’m sure you noticed.”
“Um…yeah. I guess it is.” She spun around, fingers gripping the edge of the table. “Sure. No problem. Go ahead.”
“Thanks.”
She heard him unbuckle his belt. Listened as he shucked off his jeans. Shrugged out of his shirt. Stepped out of his underwear.
And she saw it all, too. In full frontal glory. Reflected in shiny window glass.
She sucked in a breath as Matt turned to grab his clean clothes off the bed. he had an excellent butt. She knew she was acting like some kind of pervert, ogling his reflection. But she couldn’t quite bring herself to look away.
Until he looked up, met her gaze in the window, and grinned.
“So how was your night with Emma?” Matt asked as he and Jake set up the brunch buffet. For the moment, they were alone. Aunt Bea was in the kitchen, mixing up her famous waffle batter. The guests had yet to drift in from the living room.
Jake cut Matt a swift glance. “Fine,” he said with uncharacteristic reserve. “How was your night with Klutzy Casey?”
“Don’t call her that,” Matt said sharply. Then he remembered the way she’d nearly scalded his balls off. “Okay, so she is a bit clumsy. Otherwise, she’s not so bad.”
Jake positioned the bowls of syrup, nuts, and dried fruits, a smirk on his lips. “But not exactly your usual type.”
“Maybe I’m tired of my usual type.”
Matt stacked the plates and lit the gas under the trays of eggs and sausage. He could hear the lodge guests, chatting in the living room. Casey wasn’t with them, he knew. With all this snow, the only path from the cabin was the one he’d cleared to the kitchen door. He’d have seen her if she’d come in that way.
He wondered if she’d even appear for brunch. She’d already eaten breakfast. But that was hours ago. Was she embarrassed about dousing him with hot coffee? Or irritated that he’d caught her eyeing him in the window reflection? He’d tried to flirt a little after that, warm her up, but she’d only snorted and given him the cold shoulder.
Maybe she really wasn’t interested.
“Seriously,” Jake eyed him. “You into Casey? I never would have thought it.”
“Just tell me—will Casey be sharing a room with her sister tonight?” He found himself holding his breath, waiting for Jake’s answer.
“Not unless she insists on it. Emma and I had a great time last night.”
Matt’s chest eased.
“And you know what else?” Jake continued. “Aunt Bea is right. You should call Emma in for a screen test. She’s really something special.”
“I told her I would. After the New Year. Get Emma’s number for me, okay?”
“Will do.”
Aunt Bea came bustling from the kitchen, carrying a large plastic pitcher of waffle batter. She handed it off to Jake. “Ready, boys?”
“You bet,” said Jake. But his attention was on Emma, who had just entered the dining room. He thrust the batter at Matt. “Listen, do me a favor.”
“Another one?”
“Yeah. Make the waffles.”
“Sure thing,” Matt said to his brother’s back.
Aunt Bea smiled. “Jake is sure taken with that actress.”
“I guess so.” Matt just hoped his aunt hadn’t caught on to the revised sleeping arrangements. She wouldn’t be pleased.
But Bea only wiped her hands on her apron and cast a critical eye over the buffet. “Perfect. I’ll just tell the guests to come in.”
An uncomfortable sensation rose in Matt’s chest. As he kept the waffle iron sizzling, his gaze kept returning to Casey’s sister. Emma was flirting with Jake, touching his arm and letting him feed her from his plate. Wasn’t she thinking about her sister at all?
The meal was almost over by the time Casey finally appeared. Matt tried to catch her attention, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. Her eyes were fixed on her sister, her lips pressed into a straight, angry line.
Matt found himself wondering what Casey looked like with a smile on her face. Oh, not one of those tight little grimaces he’d managed to coax out of her so far. No, he’d really like to see a wide, unrestrained grin. And laughter, the kind she couldn’t stop.
And he’d like to be the cause of it.
“Emma,” Casey whispered the instant Jake left the table to clear the brunch dishes. She slid into the seat he’d reluctantly vacated. “What the hell did you think you were doing
last night?”
Emma’s gaze lingered on the doorway to the kitchen through which Jake had just disappeared. She sighed happily. “More than I ever did with Todd, that’s for damn sure.”
“Emma—”
“The man is a dream, Case. An absolute dream.” Emma’s smile was brilliant, and her eyes held no hint of their sisterly spats of the day before. Casey only wished she could forgive and forget as easily. But unfortunately, the night hadn’t worked out quite so well for her as it had for Emma.
“He’s so nice. And funny, too,” Emma went on. “He’s a musician, a keyboardist, did you know that?”
“Great. Sounds like a real stable job.”
Emma ignored the jab. “He lives in Boston, and his band’s called Shake It Up. They play clubs and parties all over New England.” Her smiled widened. “And now I feel like I should thank you for being so nasty to me yesterday. I might never have hooked up with Jake otherwise.”
“You never should have, anyway,” Casey said in a furious whisper. “I still can’t believe you locked me out of our room so you could sleep with Jake. For God’s sake, Emma, you just met the man yesterday, and you just broke up with Todd two days before that. Would it kill you to take a week off between sex partners once in a while?”
Emma blinked, her smile fading. “Why should I? Just to make up for the years you take off between men? No, I don’t think so.”
“Now who’s being nasty?” Casey said, her voice cracking a little. Her throat had gone suddenly raw. She blinked, hot tears pressing her eyelids.
Emma caught Casey’s hand. “Oh, God, Case, I’m sorry. I never should have said that. I love you, you know that. But…you can’t deny it’s been ages since you’ve…well, you know.”
“The trouble is, Emma, I just don’t connect with men as easily as you do. I’m not pretty enough to catch a guy’s attention, and I suck at flirting.”
“Oh, Casey, that’s nonsense. You are pretty, especially when you bother to put on a little makeup. And you have a great personality. You could catch a wonderful guy. What about Matt? He’s hot. And Jake said you spent the night with him in some romantic cabin in the woods.”
“Only because there was nowhere else he could put a paying guest who was locked out of her room by her own sister. Believe me. It’s not like he wanted to spend the night with me.”
“But still,” Emma persisted, “a cabin in the snowy woods? A man and woman forced to spend the whole long, cold, wintery night together? Major romance potential, no matter how it got started. So tell me, how did it go?”
“How do you think it went? Horrible. My computer and iPod both died before midnight, and I spilled hot coffee all over him this morning.”
“Oh, Casey,” Emma said, laughing. “Leave it to you. You got a hot guy practically held captive, and first you ignore him, then you try to land him in the hospital.”
“You don’t have to spell it out for me,” Casey muttered. “I was there, remember? And I looked a fright. It’s a wonder I didn’t scare him into the next county.”
“From what I can tell, he’s still interested, despite the danger. He can hardly take his eyes off you.”
“Probably so he can be ready to duck if I get too close. And how do you know, anyway? You weren’t looking at Matt. You were too busy with Jake.”
“That’s how I know. Jake said Matt’s really into you.”
“Oh, please,” Casey said. “Guys who look like Matt Van der Staappen do not get hot for women who look like me.”
“That’s so not true. I’m telling you, Case, you can hook that man and reel him in. Tonight.”
“Emma! He’s not a fish.”
Emma leaned back in her chair. “Maybe not, but Jake told me Matt wants another night with you. And I want another night with Jake. So don’t bother bringing your duffel back to the room.”
Casey gasped. “No way. You are not locking me out again tonight.”
Emma smiled. “Just watch me.”
Chapter Six
“Snowshoeing? In twenty degrees? I don’t think so.”
Matt ignored Casey’s protest. “You’ll need a warmer coat. But I’m sure Aunt Bea has something you can borrow. She keeps a few things on hand for city guests who don’t know any better.”
Casey settled herself more firmly in the overstuffed armchair, and shook her curls. “No. Forget it. I’m not leaving this room. Or this fire.”
“It’s a long time until dinner,” Matt pointed out. “And everyone else is either ice-skating, building snowmen, or making love.” He smiled as Casey’s color rose. “And you’re only pretending to read that magazine. Come on. Go snowshoeing with me. It’ll be fun. I promise.”
“I don’t see how strapping oversized tennis rackets to your feet and wading though mounds of snow in the freezing cold can be any kind of fun.”
“Don’t knock it ’till you’ve tried it.”
She glared up at him. “No.”
He plucked the magazine from her fingers and tossed it on the floor. Grabbing her wrists, he pulled her bodily from the chair. She stumbled, falling against him, her breasts squashed against his chest. His body tensed as his hands ran up her back.
She found her balance and backed off a few inches.
“Please?”
He held out a hand and gave her his most winning smile, despite the voice in his head that urged him to give up. He had never in his life worked this hard for a woman’s attention. Maybe that was part of the reason he just couldn’t let go. “It’s my job to entertain the guests.”
“You can’t really want to entertain me.”
“Why not?”
“Because…because it’s not necessary. I’m perfectly happy staying inside.”
“You’re perfectly bored out of your skull.”
She eyed his outstretched hand. Then she sighed. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”
“Nope.”
“Oh, all right, then. I’ll go. But if I die of hypothermia, it’s all on you.”
“I’ll take my chances,” he said.
Matt caught Casey’s gaze and held it. “You have to open up your legs a bit wider, or you’ll fall flat on your face.”
He watched the crimson blush creep up from beneath Casey’s borrowed scarf. Ducking her head, she looked down and shifted her snowshoes a couple inches farther apart.
“I don’t know about this.” Her curls peeked from the fur-lined hood of Aunt Bea’s old parka.
Production Title: Inuit Nights. Florida girl gets lost in the wilds of Alaska. Lonely trapper offers to share his fire…
Jesus. He had to get a grip. Now he was casting himself into imaginary scripts. He’d never done that before.
She eyed the snow drifts on either side of the shoveled path behind the farmhouse. “You’re really sure I won’t sink if I try to climb that stuff?”
“Absolutely sure,” he said.
He snagged her hand and tugged her up the snowy incline. The new snow squeaked under their snowshoes, but, as Matt had predicted, held their weight easily. As they reached the top of the drift, she took her hand out of his. He glanced over at her. She was looking down at her feet.
“Wow,” she said, taking another step forward. “It really does work. Like walking on water.”
“Which, I suppose, technically, it is,” he said. “Let’s go, then. Up the valley.” He started walking north. After a brief hesitation, she followed.
“I just don’t know why you asked me to do this with you,” she said after a while.
“I wanted some exercise. And you were bored.”
“We won’t be out here very long, will we?”
He shot her a glance over his shoulder. “You know, you’re always in such a hurry to get rid of me. I’m beginning to think you don’t like me.”
“Don’t like—” She paused, then tucked her chin and resumed her hike. “You can’t be serious. I…I like you just fine. It’s just that…I’m Klutzy Casey, remember? You�
�ll probably spend half the afternoon pulling me out of snowbanks.”
“Hey,” he said, catching her chin with one gloved finger. “I wouldn’t mind.”
Her eyes widened, then she ducked her head. “And I’m worried about Emma,” she continued. “My sister falls into relationships so quickly. I don’t think it’s good for her.”
Matt wasn’t buying it. “Emma strikes me as the kind of woman who has no problem managing her love life.”
A touch of defensiveness crept into her voice. “That doesn’t mean I don’t worry about her.”
“I didn’t mean to imply that you didn’t.”
He forged a trail through the new snow, following the edge of the forest, the mountain rising steeply to his left. In the slice of sky above the gorge, snow clouds were beginning to break up. Blue sky showed through the cracks.
“You’re Emma’s sister, not her mother,” he said. “And she’s a grown woman, not a girl.”
Casey’s next step kicked up some loose powder. “Maybe so, but I’ve been looking after Emma for so long. Our mother died when she was five.”
“How old were you?”
“Twelve.”
“Jesus.”
“So after that, it was my job to take care of her. Dad was really no good at it.”
“But you were only a kid yourself.”
More snow sprayed into the air. “We didn’t have any handy relatives to help out. And we couldn’t afford a nanny. I didn’t mind. In fact, I liked it. It made me feel important, and grown-up.”
“So you still look after her. You’re still the adult, and she’s still the kid. You even moved from Florida to New York because you didn’t think she could handle life on her own.”
“She couldn’t have! Not in New York. Her bank account would’ve been dry in a month.”
Matt ducked between two evergreens, releasing a shower of snow. Two displaced chickadees twittered and darted away. He held back a bough while Casey passed through.
