“Why were you honored?” she asked, needing to understand what had happened to him during those missing seven years.
“I did what had to be done. End of story.”
“Does everything have to be some sort of deep dark secret? Or is it just me that you refuse to be honest with?”
Pain reflected in his eyes, but in a blink, it was gone—hidden behind an impenetrable wall. Regret for snapping at him rolled over Kara. She hadn’t meant to make him defensive. She truly cared about what had happened to him.
“I’ll get you some tea.”
“You don’t need to bother.” She didn’t want to be even more of an imposition. “I can just wait in here, out of the way, until the snowplow digs us out.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“It’s for the best. This way we don’t have to get in each other’s way. You can go about your business like I’m not even here.”
“This room isn’t very warm. You’ll be a lot more comfortable in front of the fireplace.”
“I could just bundle up in a blanket.”
Why was he being so difficult when she was trying to make this awkward arrangement as tolerable as possible for both of them? Surely he wasn’t any more interested in spending time with her than she was about spending it with him.
“Suit yourself.” He shrugged. “But you should know that as soon as I get your tea, I’ll be in to get my shower. And with the bathroom being a bit cramped, I tend to strip down in the bedroom.”
Heat scorched her cheeks until she thought for sure her hair would go up in smoke. So much for her idea about keeping distance between them.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” she said. “You wouldn’t have a comb handy, would you?”
He pulled one out of his rear pocket and tossed it to her before walking away.
She turned back to the dresser, catching sight of the box containing his medal. She hated that he refused to open up to her. But he wasn’t the only one keeping secrets. She had things in her past that she preferred not to discuss—especially not with him. Maybe he was right. Nothing good would come of them opening up to each other.
After doing what she could with her hair, she walked into the living room to find the fireplace crackling with a decent-size blaze. The glow of the burgeoning flames filled the room with dancing shadows.
A movement on one of the chairs drew her attention. A black cat stood and stretched, arching its back. Kara stepped forward. The cat poised at the edge of the chair, ready to scamper away.
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”
The cat sent her a wide-eyed stare, as though trying to make up its mind about her. Finding her not to be an immediate threat, it sat down.
“Well, aren’t you a cutie? I’m surprised you’d live here with Mr. Scrooge. You know, he wasn’t always so grouchy.”
Kara glanced around, making sure they were alone. A clank followed by a thud assured her Jason was still in the kitchen. Now would be a good time to contact her family.
“I’ll be back,” she told the cat, whose golden eyes followed her every movement.
With her outerwear wet, Kara borrowed Jason’s far-too-large boots and a dry blue coat that was hanging on a wooden peg by the door. She rushed out into the driving snow to retrieve her belongings from the SUV. She hoped and prayed her cell phone hadn’t been damaged in the accident. Once back on the covered porch, she dropped her stuff on one of the rockers. A quick search of her tote revealed her phone had survived the accident. The lights twinkled across the screen and displayed a weak signal. It’d have to do.
Her parents would be anxious to hear from her. She always called when she was going to be late, and she refused to take advantage of their generosity. Only tonight, there was no way she was going to make it home. She hit the speed dial and pressed the cold plastic to her ear.
Crackle. Crackle. Ring.
By the fourth ring, she began to worry. Surely her parents hadn’t done anything foolish, like heading out in this storm to hunt for her. She paced back and forth. Please let them be safe.
As though in answer to her prayer, her father’s voice came over the line. “Kara? Is that you?”
“It’s me, Dad.”
Crackle. “...been so worried.”
“Dad? I can hardly hear you.”
“Kara...” Crackle. “...and Samantha are all right. Where are you?”
“I’m at the resort.” The answer was close enough to the truth without having to get into the sticky explanation about spending the night with her ex-fiancé. “The roads are impassable. I’ll be home tomorrow.”
“Okay, be...”
Crackle. Crackle. Silence.
Time to deal with Jason. What in the world would they discuss? Her mind raced as she rushed back inside to warm herself by the fire. There had to be some sort of casual conversation they could make to keep the tense silence at bay.
The weather? A mere glance outside pretty much summed up that depressing subject.
The resort? It was bad enough being snowed in with the new owner. If firing her was part of his reorganization plan, she didn’t want to find out tonight.
The past? The mere thought soured her stomach. That subject was best left alone.
Perhaps in this case silence truly was golden.
* * *
Jason reached into the far corner of the cabinet above the stove. Luckily, a neighbor had presented him with a welcome basket containing some tea bags. Not knowing what to do with them, he’d stashed the bags in the back of the cabinet. He never imagined he’d be serving Kara, of all people, some chai tea.
His mind was still reeling from the news that she was now a mother. As he placed the mug of tea on an old tray, an image of her with a baby in her arms filled his mind. Uneasiness settled in his gut. Years ago, when he’d proposed marriage, he’d been too young to think much about kids, other than someday they’d have two. A boy and a girl.
Even though he’d wanted her to move on, he’d never thought he’d be around to see her again. And he’d certainly never imagined she’d end up a single mom. A fiery rage slithered through his veins and burned in the pit of his stomach. The guy who’d abandoned Kara and her little girl better hope Jason never crossed his path.
Jason opened the fridge, removed a jug of milk and banged it down on the counter. What excuse did this man have for walking away from Kara? Sure, he himself had done the same thing, but there hadn’t been a baby involved. He’d left in order to protect Kara from what he’d learned about himself. At the time, he’d been in shock, and repulsed by the ugly words his drunken father had spewed at him. Emotionally wounded and in trauma, he’d needed to get away from everyone he knew, including Kara.
The memory of the tears streaking down her cheeks, dripping onto her new green Christmas dress, still bowled him over with self-loathing. His jaw clenched. He’d totally botched the entire situation. Now he deserved her contempt, and anything else she could throw at him. He was a mature man, a soldier, he could shoulder her wrath. Besides, she couldn’t say anything about him that he hadn’t thought at some point.
“Do you need any help?” she called out from the other room.
“I’ll be right there.”
He gathered his thoughts while retrieving a big bag of sugar from the cabinet. With everything balanced on the tray, he headed back to the living room, expecting to find Kara on the couch, snuggled under one of his grandmother’s quilts. When he found the cushions empty, he paused.
“Hey, sweetie,” Kara’s soothing voice called out.
The tray rattled in his hands. Sweetie? Every nerve ending stood on high alert. Had he heard her correctly?
“Come on over here,” she crooned.
His heart careened into his ribs with enough velocity to leave
a big bruise. Where was she? In the bedroom? A flood of testosterone roared through Jason’s eager body, drowning out the pleading strains of his common sense.
“Hey, big boy. You know you want to. I promise I won’t bite.”
CHAPTER FIVE
JASON SNAPPED HIS gaping mouth closed. His jaw clenched, grinding his back teeth together.
The tray in his hands tilted. The tea sloshed over the rim of the cup, while the sack of sugar slid to the edge. He righted the tray before the contents could spill onto the floor. In haste, he safely deposited the armload on the table.
“Kara?” He cleared the hoarseness from his voice. “Where are you?”
“Over here.”
He scanned the couch and the two easy chairs, but saw no sign of her. “Quit playing games.”
“I’m down here.”
His gaze fell to the floor, and in the corner, behind the easy chair, he spotted the most enticing derriere sticking up in the air.
“Come on, sweetie,” she coaxed. “A little closer.”
His heart rate shot into the triple digits and showed no signs of slowing down. He reached for the back of the couch to anchor himself. His ears must be playing tricks on him. She despised him...didn’t she?
“Please,” she crooned. “I promise to be gentle.”
“Kara,” he said. “What are you doing?”
“There’s the sweetest kitty under this chair.”
“You’re talking to the cat?”
She raised her head to look at him. Amusement danced in her green eyes. “You thought I was talking to you?”
Her lips bowed and a peal of laughter danced through the room, making him all the more uncomfortable.
“It’s not funny!” The air grew uncomfortably warm and he yanked at his shirt collar. He shouldn’t have built that fire up so much. “Leave the cat alone. She’ll come out if she wants to. Your tea’s on the table. I’m going to grab a shower.”
He headed for the bedroom, needing a cold, cold shower to set him straight. On second thought, he’d be better off to go outside and roll around in the mounting snow. He could just imagine the steam billowing off his body. How was it possible that woman could still drive him crazy, like some hormonal teenager?
With the door firmly closed, he raked his fingers through his hair. He sucked in a ragged breath. The cat. He shook his head in disbelief. Wow, he’d been alone way too long.
Maybe once he got the resort back in operation, he’d consider spending an evening or two with a cute snow bunny. The problem was when he closed his eyes and sought out the ideal woman to spend time with, his mind automatically conjured up Kara’s image.
Jason groaned. Boy, he was in deep trouble. If he couldn’t keep his feelings for her in check for this one evening, how in the world would they work together?
* * *
Kara got to her feet, giving up on her attempts to befriend the cat, for now. Still chilled, she grabbed the red-white-and-blue patriotic quilt from the back of the couch and draped it over her shoulders. She made her way to the scarred oak table, where her now lukewarm tea waited. A smile pulled at her lips as she thought of Jason preparing her tea.
She pulled out one of the ladder-back chairs and made herself comfortable. The table was strategically placed in the room, giving the occupants somewhere to dine while admiring the landscape, which at this moment was hidden beneath a fluffy white blanket of snow. Coldness radiated through the windowpanes, sending goose bumps cascading down her arms. She clutched the quilt tighter.
Some hot tea would help warm her up. She dug a teaspoon into the five-pound sack of sugar and ladled out three even spoonfuls. All the while, her mind replayed the moment when Jason thought she’d been calling out to him and not the cat. She couldn’t help but notice the flame of desire that had burned in his eyes. Knowing he was still interested in her unfurled a ribbon of excitement within her. Long-ignored needs swept over her, making her weak in the knees.
The spoon clanked against the mug a little too hard, jarring her attention back to stirring the tea without making a mess. They weren’t meant to be, she reminded herself. She’d learned that unforgettable lesson the hard way. She didn’t need a repeat. Someday she’d find the right man. He was out there somewhere.
Still, she was intrigued to know that beneath Jason’s grouchy, war-hardened veneer was a kind, caring heart—one capable of opening up his home to a stray cat and an old love. She thought of mentioning her observation to him—but what was she thinking? She needed to stop dwelling on her sexy host. But being stuck with him in this cozy log home, she had no way to avoid him.
What she needed to do was keep herself busy. But doing what? She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been faced with having to find something to occupy her time. Usually there weren’t enough hours in the day, to help Samantha with her homework, do the laundry, cook dinner...the list went on and on. But here in Jason’s home, Kara felt out of sorts.
She had just lifted the warm mug to her lips to savor that first sip of tea, which was always infinitely better than the rest, when Jason entered the room with his hair still damp from the shower. His scowl was firmly in place. In fact, the only time he’d appeared the slightest bit at ease was when he’d thought she was flirting with him. Not going there, she reminded herself.
“When did you get a cat?”
“I didn’t.”
She glanced across the room, finding the aforementioned feline sitting on the coffee table. Kara couldn’t help but smile as the sleek feline let out a big yawn, showing off its pink tongue. “Are you going to try to tell me there isn’t a black cat sitting across the room, staring at us?”
His forehead creased. “Of course there’s a cat. But I didn’t get her. She just made herself at home.”
“So it’s a girl. And let me guess, she was hungry and you started feeding her.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Something like that.”
So the curmudgeon wasn’t as hard-hearted as he wanted to let on. “What’s her name?”
“Sly.”
A kitty with a name was a kitty with a permanent home. “Sly? Hmm...what kind of a name is that for a girl cat?”
“For a person with a stuffed bear named Bubbles, I wouldn’t be casting any stones.”
Kara, feeling childish, stuck her tongue out at him. His blue eyes grew round and his pupils dilated. All the blood swirled in her chest and rushed up her neck. Obviously, that wasn’t the right move to make around a man who’d just moments ago thought she was flirting with him. She inwardly groaned, wondering if she’d ever figure out how to act around him.
“Do you think Sly will ever let me pet her?”
“The way to make nice with that cat is through her stomach. If you feed her, you’ll be friends for life.”
Kara paused at the mention of friends for life. She wouldn’t be around after tonight. In fact, she had no idea where she’d be this time next year, after Jason replaced her at the resort. Not that she intended to give him any reason to fire her. When she left she wanted it to be on her terms—with a stable job waiting, to support her and her daughter.
“How about I fix us some food?” she asked, anxious to do something—anything.
“Dinner’s already taken care of,” he said, getting to his feet while keeping his gaze averted. “You’ll have to make do with leftover stew.”
If he was anticipating an argument, he wouldn’t get one. “Sounds good. Anything I can do to help?”
“No, it only needs to be warmed. Shouldn’t be long. Then you can feed Sly. She eats when I eat. Keeps her occupied so she isn’t stealing my food.”
Kara laughed, trying to imagine such an innocent-looking thief. “Just call if you need me.”
Of course he wouldn’t need her. He’d made that abundantly
clear seven years ago.
* * *
His plan was working. He’d made it through that conversation like a true host. No errant thoughts or overtly awkward moments. He just had to keep his cool a bit longer.
With the bread buttered and the stew ladled into bowls, Jason returned to the living room. He couldn’t help but notice how Kara looked at home. Her hair was in disarray, and her cheeks were rosy, as though they’d just spent a lazy afternoon making love. His gaze drifted downward, catching sight of his plaid shirt with just enough buttons undone that when she leaned toward the cat he caught a glimpse of her lacy white bra. His mouth grew dry.
In some distant part of his brain, Jason knew he shouldn’t be staring, but the sight was too delicious to turn away. He never would have imagined that old flannel shirt could look sexy on anyone, but he doubted Kara could look bad in anything.
Every muscle in his body grew rigid and he swallowed hard. This wasn’t right. She shouldn’t be here. It would be way too easy to slip back into an old, comfortable routine with her. His gaze continued to drink in her beauty, impressing it upon his memory, because that was as much of her as he’d allow himself.
When she cleared her throat and straightened her top, his gaze jerked upward, meeting her jade-green eyes. He resisted the urge to tug on the collar of his T-shirt to let out the steam coming off his heated body.
“Here, take this,” he said, his voice gruffer than normal. He held out a bowl of hot stew. “I’ll— It’ll warm you up.”
“Thank you. Smells good.” She sat up, tucking her feet beneath her and reaching for the bowl and plate. “Is this homemade bread?” She sniffed it and ripped off a healthy chunk.
He nodded. “Just bought a bread machine.”
Sly leaped onto the sturdy coffee table and plopped down in front of him. Her piercing gold eyes seemed to question him about why she didn’t have her dinner, too.
“You’ll get yours in a sec,” he muttered, before leaning over and holding out a spoon for Kara. “Here.”
“The stew smells so good. I can’t wait to try some.”
Snowbound with the Soldier Page 5
