by Anne Conley
The rumble of an engine broke through her angry haze, and she turned to see a Land Rover bumping up the road to the cabin. Her heart soared as she realized Drake had come back.
Surely, he’d brought her food and firewood.
He hadn’t dropped her off in an old, beat-to-hell Land Rover. He was driving a brand-new Hummer, so who was this?
Looking across the yard, she noticed the sky was casting a weird pall on everything. Was a storm brewing? Looking up, she saw more clouds, but the sky was still blue behind them.
Shading her eyes against the sun, she watched warily. Then she gasped. It was Jude.
He jumped out of the car with his arms full of bags and a wide grin on his face. “I’m sorry, this was supposed to be done earlier, but I got called away on a job.” The black curls on his head waved hello in the breeze, his blue eyes sparkling.
Relief filled her, and she felt her returning grin. “I have never in my life been so glad to see someone.”
Giddy, she practically ran to the Land Rover to help him carry in groceries, all of their awkward moments from the past week suddenly forgotten.
When she got inside with the load, she noticed Jude was looking around. “Drake’s not here?”
“No, he dropped me off this morning. He’s coming back Friday.”
Disbelief etched Jude’s features. “He left you here alone?” He dumped his grocery bags on the counter. “I can’t believe that guy. You had no way to leave?”
“Nope. I was out gathering wood instead of painting, and I was getting plenty pissed off about it. I’d just realized I didn’t have any food, and if he had shown up, I probably would have killed the bastard.” She’d certainly worked herself up and needed to calm down fast. “But now, you’re here, and I’ve got food. So I’m feeling much more optimistic about things.”
The pity that stole over his features warmed her a bit. “Why didn’t you light the fire?”
Annette shrugged. “I wanted to save it for when I was nearly frostbitten, if that’s all the wood I was going to get.” She managed a chuckle. “I’ve already gone around the house to decide which pieces I will burn first.”
An eyebrow quirked up. “Which was?”
“The end table by the bed.”
He clutched his chest as if mortally wounded. “Not my tenth-grade shop project?!”
She giggled in response and went over to the kitchen counter, rummaging through sacks. There was a ton of food, and she didn’t have to worry about that anymore.
“I’m going to go cut some firewood for you after I get this going.” Jude was crouched down in front of the wood stove with a lighter in his hand.
“Oh good. I’ll put these away and start working, I guess. Are you staying for lunch?” She actually wanted him to; she was so glad he’d shown up. Things were looking dire there for about twenty minutes. She was feeling plenty stupid about it all but still wouldn’t mind the company after her desolate thoughts.
He stood and eyed her, his eyebrows lowered over those shocking golden eyes. “I can, if I’m invited.”
If he had any idea how grateful she was to see him, he wouldn’t have asked. “Of course you’re invited. Please. Eat lunch with me.”
He smiled at her, a heart-stopping grin that sent a shock of something hot and fiery straight through her insides. “Sure.” He bent back to the fire and blew on it a minute. “There. That’s catching. I’ll go outside and split some wood for you for the rest of the week.”
Annette puttered around, putting away groceries and starting a pot of soup. She didn’t know what else to cook on top of a fire without burning it. She might make dumplings, since Jude had brought an entire chicken. That could last her several days, at least.
Once she got the pot of soup on to cook, Annette stood in front of her easel. She’d placed it in front of the living room window for the best light, but the view was breathtaking and more than a little distracting.
The various shades of green that dotted the landscape, streaked with black and white and blue, were a color palette only Mother Nature could design. But the sweating man chopping wood was a sight to behold.
Annette had done her best to put Jude and his all-consuming kiss out of her mind. Now, with him here in the flesh, she couldn’t stop her imaginings. Her stomach did a strange, swoopy thing as she watched him work, her breath leaving blobs of condensation on the window as she panted. Jude was tall, dark, and god-awful handsome. He had the physique of a man who worked his muscles every day of his life, and as he chopped wood, she knew he worked them with a grace and agility that was pure sex.
He’d driven up wearing a parka over a flannel shirt but had stripped those off and now wore a thermal undershirt that clung to every muscle. His sweat made it translucent in places, showing off rippled curves she longed to explore more closely.
He worked intently, solely focused on his task. He was efficient, stacking the wood methodically as he busted them into chunks that fit inside the stove. He stopped and looked up, drawing Annette’s eyes upward as well.
The clouds were darker.
Jude went back to cutting wood with renewed purpose. It must be fixing to snow. Annette allowed herself to mentally correct herself. People here didn’t say “fixing” like they did in Texas. It must be about to snow.
She didn’t know how long she stood there watching Jude cut wood and stack it by the house, but she did it long enough to wish she belonged here—with him.
Giving herself a mental shake, she looked back at her canvas. It was almost finished but was a bit stale. Something was missing from it. But she was anxious to finish it so she could start another one—one inspired by the beauty of the nature surrounding her. She may still be pissed at Drake for leaving her here alone without checking to make sure there was food and wood, but he was brilliant bringing her here to work. There was inspiration everywhere.
Especially outside cutting wood.
With a sigh, she turned back to her work, getting lost perfecting the final touches. With no idea how much time had passed, she looked up when the rhythmic thumping turned to something louder.
Jude was stacking the wood he’d cut in neat rows against the house, and it was snowing. With a squeal, she ran outside.
“It’s snowing!” Arms outstretched, she spun in a circle like she was in a movie. Spinning and looking up at the sky just made her dizzy, so she stopped. “It’s awesome!”
Jude stopped what he was doing to watch her. Wiping sweat off his face with the hem of his shirt, he was exposing abs Annette had no business seeing.
“First big storm of the year, and it looks like this one’s going to be a doozy. I’m glad I finished before it got started good.” He watched her with interest, but she didn’t care right now. She never got to see snow like this in Texas. The flakes were fat and round and big enough she could feel them melt on her tongue. In Texas, most of the frozen precipitation came in the form of hail or sleet—painful, pounding, and needle-sharp.
“It’s beautiful!” She turned her face up to the sky.
Jude leaned against the side of the house and watched her with a smile on his face. “You’re beautiful,” he said softly.
She turned to him. “You can’t say stuff like that to me.”
He kicked off the house and stood up straight. She was afraid he’d invade her space again and kiss her, but he didn’t. “Why the hell not? It’s true. I think you’re beautiful. You don’t want anything romantic, fine, but I’m still going to admire the view. Sorry for being a pig like that.”
Now she felt bad and knew exactly why. She reciprocated the feelings in a big way. She just didn’t have any intention of following through with them.
Shuffling her feet in the quickly accumulating snow, she murmured, “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Is lunch ready?
I need to eat and head back.”
Spurring into motion, Annette was flustered. “Yes, it should be. Let’s go eat real quick so you can get back.” She needed him gone or she’d mess up. She told herself the panic threatening to invade at the thought of being up here alone was unwarranted. He would leave, and she would be fine, able to get tons of work done.
He followed her in. Grabbing his coat and flannel shirt on the way, he hung them up on a hook behind the door. She stirred the pot, smelling the soup.
“It smells good. I’m starved,” Jude murmured behind her.
“I was going to make dumplings.”
“Is it okay without them? It looks like blizzard conditions are coming, and if I don’t get out of here in the next hour, you’ll be stuck with me.” He grinned, and sonofabitch, it did things to her insides. “Unless you want me to stay.”
She had no idea what to say to that. Annette wanted him to stay, but Jude’s presence around her was just a reminder she was an all or nothing girl. She knew if she started something will him, she’d lose all of herself. It was a given. He would accept nothing less. She didn’t know how she knew this, but she just did.
Still, she was grateful for his presence, even though it would be distracting, and she had just kicked Drake out for the same reasons. She didn’t want sex this week. She wanted to work.
“It’s your cabin,” she managed with a nonchalance she didn’t feel. At all. “Blizzard conditions?” That was terrifying if she thought about it too much. This Texas girl, who’d never seen any amount of snow, was suddenly in a blizzard. Alone. On a mountain.
He studied her, his hands on his lean hips. His shirt was pushed up to the elbows, revealing veiny forearms from wielding the axe. Her mouth went dry at the sight of him staring her down. She swallowed, suddenly incapable of speech.
Jude exhaled a puff of air, and Annette knew he was frustrated with her.
“You’ll be fine as long as you stay inside. The wood is stacked on the porch, and it should be plenty.” He spun and went to the kitchen area to get some bowls and spoons and returned, fishing some soup out and handing her a bowl. They sat on the couch to eat since there wasn’t a kitchen table in the small cabin.
“This is good,” he murmured as he took his first bite.
“Thanks,” she responded, suddenly uncomfortable. She felt like she’d hurt his feelings but didn’t know how to fix things. Annette was in Pamona Gulch for herself, not man-hunting. She’d put others before herself her entire life, and now was the time for her. She couldn’t get into a relationship where she would lose sight of that. That’s what she told herself, anyway, as she turned her face to the window only partially blocked by her canvases.
Annette watched the snow fall outside, completely mesmerized by the huge, white flakes and quickly fogging glass. When Jude interrupted her reverie, she was startled.
“So … nothing going on between you and Drake?”
Annette studied Jude. He was one of the only people besides Drake she’d really spoken to—outside the square where she hawked her paintings and the banquet where she’d met half the town—since she moved here. She couldn’t help but compare the two. Drake was taller, leaner, and definitely handsome but in a suave, conscious way. Jude’s body was pure power, and he was dangerously attractive. He was darker, both physically and otherwise, for as much sense as that made. His brows were ample and very expressive—crashing down over his eyes when he was upset or focused on something, lifting up to his hairline when he needed questions answered, and melding together when he was thinking. Those impossibly topaz eyes contrasted with every other part of his body—dark features and light eyes.
“No, not at all. I told him the same thing I told you, although you were right. This was supposed to be a romantic week, in his eyes. He was a little peeved.” Feeling the need to reinforce her position, Annette repeated, “I’m not looking for romantic entanglements here.”
“I get it, I guess, but I still can’t believe he left you up here without checking to make sure I’d left food and firewood.”
“Well, I guess I thwarted his plans.” Annette couldn’t stop the giggle that fell out. Drake had been mad when she’d reiterated her position, telling him she would work better alone up here. He’d slammed his fancy four-wheel-drive, leather-interior Hummer into park and gotten out, practically throwing her things onto the bed before leaving in a huff. He’d get over it though.
Surely.
Chapter Eight
Jude was stuck watching her eat, with nothing else to say. She daintily blew on her spoon, then scraped the chunks from the soup off with her teeth before putting the whole spoon in her mouth. It wasn’t erotic per se, but that mouth lent itself to all sorts of erotic fantasies.
When she turned those green eyes on him, he nearly lost all air in his lungs. Every damn time. It was disconcerting when having a conversation with her. Conversations dictated eye contact. Yet he had to concentrate on his breathing at all times. It was bizarre.
But he wanted to keep talking to her.
“Truth or dare?” Jude scraped his bowl clean before going after more.
She choked on her spoonful of soup. “What?”
Sitting back next to her, he repeated himself. “Truth or dare?”
“Why?”
He shrugged, unable to answer. He wanted to know more about her, and as juvenile as the game was, she seemed like a rule-follower, someone who would do what she was supposed to do, answer his questions or face the consequences. And he might get another kiss out of it.
“I don’t know. It’s a dumb game, but can be very …” He paused to consider his words. “…enlightening.” Jude smiled at her, wondering if he was making her mad. But she flushed and flashed him one of her shy smiles instead.
“Okay, truth, I guess. I feel like I’m thirteen again and at a pajama party.” Lurid images of Annette and pillow fights made Jude temporarily incapable of speech.
He cleared his throat. “Why are you scared?” Women didn’t just declare themselves a no-romance zone if nothing had happened. Jude knew he’d get mad about whatever she was about to tell him, so he tried to soften his features.
“Um, I’ve never really seen more than two inches of snow, much less been in a blizzard before?” she answered hesitantly, as if she knew that wasn’t what he was asking. Sure as shit, he was mad, but at Drake because the douchebag deserved it for leaving her up here.
“Not what I meant, but okay. Your turn.” He leaned back on his dad’s old sofa. He didn’t have to work until two days from now and would totally stay here if she asked him to weather out the blizzard with her. It wouldn’t be a hardship at all.
“Truth or dare?” She bit her lip as if she were afraid of his answer, so he went easy on her.
“Truth.”
“Then why don’t we just answer each other’s questions? Why play games?” She sounded exasperated, and he chuckled because she was cute when she was irritated.
“Because that’s not as much fun, and I might want to do a dare later. My turn. Truth or dare?”
“Wait! That wasn’t my truth!” She bounced on the sofa in her huff, and Jude grinned at her, unable to stop himself.
“You asked a question you wanted an answer to. That’s a truth. My turn. Truth or dare?”
“Truth.” She leaned back and crossed her arms, still mad.
He clarified his question this time. “What do you have against relationships?”
Annette pursed her lips and chewed on the inside of her mouth as she thought. “I have goals and dreams, and I’m tired of them taking a backseat to a relationship. My goals are every bit as important as some man’s and they don’t deserve to be cast in a shadow.”
That made perfect sense, and Jude wanted to know what asshole had done this to her. Clearly it had been bad enough to mov
e her to Pamona Gulch from somewhere else, if her soft twang and lack of snow experience were anything to judge by. But he got the impression she didn’t want to go too deep, so he was saving that question for later.
“So why not just find a man who won’t make your dreams take a backseat to his? Why do you have to disavow all relationships period?”
“Uh-uh. My turn. Truth or dare?”
He grinned at her, loving the way her lips parted unconsciously when he did it. “Dare.”
She looked around the cabin, biting her lip in thought. God, it was hot. Her eyes settling on the stove, she finally said, “I dare you to go outside and bring in more wood.”
“That’s lame. I would have done that anyway.” He laughed. “You want to make it harder, like … making me do it shirtless or something?” He was feeling shameless. Jude knew there could be more to them than just friendship, as much as she refused to admit it right now. He’d seen heat in her eyes when she looked at him. He knew she’d been as affected by those kisses as he was.
“No!” She laughed away her discomfort, but he saw her imagining it, nonetheless. “Just go get more wood.”
Without another word, he pulled on his jacket and went for more wood, bringing in as much as he could in one armload. The temperature had dropped, probably to the twenties, and the snow looked like it wasn’t stopping soon. He already saw several fresh inches on the ground. He went back outside for more so Annette wouldn’t have to go get it.
Shit. If he didn’t leave now, he might not be able to, and he was torn about that. He didn’t want to leave her alone up here, as much as she didn’t seem to want him to. Any number of things could happen.
Of course, as soon as he thought that, the lights flickered inside the cabin and went out.
“Electricity’s out,” she stated as soon as he walked in with more wood. Her voice was breathless as if she were a little scared. He grabbed a couple of logs and opened the firebox on the stove.
“I’ve got candles.” Walking over to the kitchen drawer where they were kept, Jude continued with the game, ulterior motives all over his brain. “Truth or dare?”
