by Gina Wilkins
“Did I... No, I didn’t break in! I used my key.”
Following his sweeping gesture, she glanced toward the nightstand. Beside the plastic lantern sat a couple of medication bottles, a holstered handgun and a metal ring holding several keys. She swallowed, unable for the moment to look away from the weapon.
“Look, Jenny, I’m running on too little sleep, and I’m fairly pissed that someone got all the way into my bed without me hearing a thing, so maybe you could start explaining. Why are you here?” His voice was a growl underlain with steel. It was deeper than she remembered, but his cranky tone was familiar enough. She’d heard it often during the last few weeks of their ill-fated college romance.
She lifted her chin, refusing to be cowed by his mood. “I rented the cabin from Lizzie, the agent at the leasing company. I paid in advance for the weekend, and I have the paperwork to prove it in the other room.”
His fingers loosened even more in apparent surprise, and she took the opportunity to snatch her arm away and move a step back from the bed.
He seemed to process her explanation slowly. Perhaps his mind was fuzzy from whatever was in those prescription bottles. “Lizzie rented the cabin to you?”
She nodded. “She said there was a cancelation and that it was available.”
“Lizzie is a...”
A clap of thunder drowned out his words. Probably for the best. When the noise subsided a bit, Gavin shook his head, tossed off the sheet and swung his bare legs over the side of the bed. He wore nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. Though she’d seen him in less, that had been a long time ago, and seeing him like this now was not helping to ease the awkwardness of this encounter.
She became suddenly aware that she was standing in front of him with her wet blouse hanging open, revealing the lacy bra beneath. She reached up hastily to tug the shirt closed, fumbling with buttons. Her foot throbbed, she didn’t know where her phone had landed and her hair still dripped around her face. In her wildest imagination, she couldn’t have predicted her retreat starting out like this.
Seemingly unconcerned with his own state of undress, Gavin stood just at the edge of the lantern’s reach. Lightning flashed through the nearby window, revealing, then shadowing, his hard face and strong torso. As inappropriate as it was, considering the circumstances, she still felt a hard tug of feminine response somewhere deep inside her. The years had been very good to Gavin Locke.
She cleared her throat. “If you want to see my paperwork...”
“Come on, Jenny, you know I believe you. Besides, I’ve dealt with Lizzie enough recently to know that your story is completely plausible.”
The wind howled louder outside, so Jenny had to speak up to ask, “Are you saying she rented you the cabin for tonight, too?”
“She didn’t have to rent it to me. I own this cabin now.”
“Oh, crap.” When had he bought it? Why? She had a vague memory of it belonging to an old friend of his family’s, but she’d never imagined Gavin would now be the owner.
“You can say that again.” He shook his head in disgust. “I told Lizzie not to rent the place this week, that I needed it myself. I should have known she’d get it mixed up. She’s new at the job and she’s incompetent.”
“I...” A gust of wind blew so hard she could feel the cabin being buffeted by it. Something hit the roof above them and she cringed, glancing up instinctively. She couldn’t help thinking again of the tall trees surrounding the place. She suspected a branch had just fallen on the roof, and she hoped it wouldn’t be followed by the whole tree.
Gavin looked up, too, and then staggered, as if doing so had made him dizzy. He put out a hand to steady himself and nearly knocked the lantern off the nightstand. Without thinking, Jenny moved to steady him, her hands closing over his shoulders. He flinched away from her grip on his bandaged shoulder, and it was obvious that she’d hurt him. Even as she snatched her arms back, she realized that his skin had seemed unnaturally warm.
Frowning, she reached out again, this time laying her palm tentatively against his cheek. She tried to keep her touch relatively impersonal, merely that of a concerned nurse. “You have a fever.”
He brushed her off. “I was sleeping. I’m probably just warm from that.”
“No, it’s definitely a low-grade fever. Is your shoulder wound infected?”
“I’m taking antibiotics,” he muttered.
“Since when?”
“Since this morning. Saw my doc before I drove up from Little Rock. He said it’s not too bad and the meds will clear it up soon.”
She stepped back. “Have you taken anything for the fever?”
“I’m fine.”
“I’ve got some aspirin in my bag. Maybe you should lie back down while I try to find it. If I could borrow the lantern?”
One hand at the back of his neck, he stared at her. “You broke in here to take my temperature and give me aspirin? Are you sure my mother didn’t send you?”
Oddly enough, the mention of his mother made her relax a bit. She had always liked his mother. “I didn’t break in. And I’m leaving immediately. I apologize for the misunderstanding. Do you want the aspirin before I go or not?”
Looking steadier, he scooped up a pair of jeans from the floor and stepped into them. She noticed only then that she’d tripped over a pair of his shoes. He must have pretty much stripped and fallen into bed earlier. If he’d taken a pain pill beforehand, that could explain why he’d slept so heavily he hadn’t heard her entrance over the noisy weather.
He swung an arm in the direction of the single window in the little bedroom. The glass rattled in the frame from the force of the wind blowing outside, and a veritable fireworks exhibit played across the slice of sky visible from where she stood. Thunder had become a constant grouchy roar, as if the night itself was grudgingly surrendering to the storm.
“You aren’t going back out in that. The way that rain’s coming down, I wouldn’t be surprised if the road is flooded. And the full force of the storm hasn’t even hit yet. We’re in for worse before it passes.”
She thought of the water already creeping over the road when she’d approached the cabin. That frightening moment when she’d hydroplaned. She swallowed. “I’ll be fine,” she said, wishing she sounded a bit more confident.
She bent to retrieve her dropped phone just as Gavin took a step toward her. “Don’t be foolish. The storm is too...”
The collision knocked her flat on her behind and nearly caused Gavin to sprawl on top of her. Somehow he steadied himself, though it involved flailing that made him grunt in pain from his injured shoulder.
Sitting sprawled at his feet, she shook her head. Could this ridiculous evening get any worse? Or was she tempting capricious fate to even ask?
* * *
Gavin was beginning to wonder just what was in those pills he’d taken before he’d turned in. Was he hallucinating? Or had a gorgeous, wet woman with a smoking body revealed by an open blouse really fallen out of the storm and into his bed? A woman right out of the memories he thought he’d locked away long ago, though they’d escaped a few times to haunt his most erotic dreams. Was he dreaming again now?
No. The way she sat on the floor glaring up at him told him this was no fantasy. The dream-Jenny had been much more approachable.
Muttering an apology, he reached down to haul her to her feet with his good arm. He released her as soon as he was sure she was steady on her feet.
“It wasn’t your fault,” his uninvited guest conceded. “I was picking up my phone. I dropped it when I stumbled over your shoes.”
Which made it still his fault, in a way, but he wasn’t going to get into a circular argument with her. “Are you expecting anyone else to arrive tonight?”
Was he unintentionally intruding on what she’d planned to be a romantic, rus
tic retreat? He told himself the possibility annoyed him only because he didn’t want to have to deal with yet another intruder. What other reason could there be after all these years?
“No. I was going to hide out here alone for a few days to get some work done without interruptions.”
He was still having trouble clearing his thoughts. He couldn’t begin to understand why Jenny had come to this particular place to work. What the hell was he supposed to do with her now?
An unwelcome recollection from the last time they’d been together here slammed into his mind in response to what should have been a rhetorical question. He could almost see himself and Jenny, naked and entwined, lying on a pile of their clothes in a secluded, shaded clearing. Laughing and aroused, they’d made good use of the stolen hour. His blood still heated in response to the distant echoes of their gasps and moans.
Shoving the memories fiercely to the back of his mind, he half turned away from her. The storm assaulting the windows made it obvious she wasn’t leaving immediately. He released a heavy sigh. “Maybe you remember there’s another bedroom at the back of the cabin, behind the kitchen. You can crash there tonight, and we’ll get this all figured out in the morning.”
“Spend the night here? With you?”
Pain radiated from his shoulder, and his head was starting to pound. He hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in a couple days. Patience was not his strong suit at the best of times, but he’d lost any semblance of it tonight.
“I didn’t suggest sleeping in the same bed,” he snapped. “The other room has a lock on the door. Use it, if you’re so damned afraid of me. Hell, take my weapon and sleep with it under your pillow, if it makes you feel better.”
She sighed and shook her head. “I’m not afraid of you, Gavin.”
“Great. I’m not afraid of you, either.”
A soft laugh escaped her, sounding as if it had been startled out of her. “You’re in pain,” she said. “I’ll get the aspirin.”
“I had a pain pill before I went to sleep. Probably shouldn’t take aspirin on top of it.”
“Oh. You’re right. How long has it been?”
“Couple hours, maybe. I can take one every four hours, but I don’t usually need them that often.”
“What did you do to your shoulder?”
“Long story.” And one he had no intention of getting into at the moment. “There’s another emergency lantern in the kitchen. I’ll help you find it. I’m thirsty, anyway.”
“Thank you.”
He saw her glance up nervously when something else hit the roof, and he wondered if she was anxious about the storm. He remembered that she’d never been a fan of storms. Yet, she’d been prepared to go back out in it? He shook his head.
Carefully pulling on a loose shirt, he picked up the lantern and moved past her toward the doorway. He heard her pick up her bag and hurry after him, trying to stay close to the light. He retrieved the second fluorescent lantern from the kitchen counter, pushed the power button, then turned to offer it to his visitor. She accepted with barely concealed eagerness.
He could see her more clearly in the double lantern light. She’d been very pretty just out of her teens, but the intervening decade had only added to her attraction.
Her dark hair, which she’d once worn long and straight, now waved in layers around her oval face. He remembered how it had once felt to have his hands buried in its soft depths.
Her chocolate-brown eyes studied him warily from beneath long, dark lashes. There had been a time when she’d gazed at him with open adulation.
She was still slender, though perhaps a bit curvier than before. He’d once known every inch of her body as well as his own, and he noted the slight differences now. He tried to stay objective, but he was only human. And she looked damned good.
Her expensive-looking clothes were somewhat worse for wear after her jog through the rain. He wasn’t one to notice brands, but even he recognized the logo on the overnight bag she carried. Apparently she had achieved the success she had always aspired to.
He hadn’t kept up with her—quite deliberately—but his mother had mentioned a few months ago that she’d seen Jenny’s photo in the society section of the local newspaper. She’d watched his face a bit too closely as she’d commented casually that Jenny had been photographed at some sort of community service awards dinner for Little Rock’s young professionals. She’d added that Jenny was reported to be dating a member of one of central Arkansas’s most prominent and long-established families. He’d answered somewhat curtly that he read the sports pages, not the society gossip, and that he had no particular interest in who his long-ago college girlfriend was now dating. He wasn’t sure he’d succeeded in convincing his mother that Jenny never even crossed his mind these days.
So what had really made this country-club princess choose to vacation at his rustic fishing cabin? As unlikely a coincidence as it was, he had no doubt that she was as dismayed to have found him here as he was that she’d shown up so unexpectedly. The genuine shock on her face had been unmistakable.
He reached into a cabinet and drew out a glass. “Are you thirsty? I doubt there’s anything cold in the fridge, but I can offer tap water. Or I think we’ve got some herbal tea bags. It’s a gas stove, so I can heat water for you, if you want.”
Despite the circumstances, he was trying to be a reasonably gracious host, though he wasn’t the sociable type at the best of times. After all, it wasn’t Jenny’s fault the agency he’d hired to rent out the cabin had recently employed a total airhead. He’d have more than a few pointed words for someone there tomorrow.
Hal Woodman, an old friend of his father’s, had built this cabin on the Buffalo River as a fishing retreat and rental property when Gavin was just a kid. Hal had let Gavin’s parents use it frequently for family vacations. A few years later, Gavin’s dad bought the cabin from his then-ailing friend. Gavin and his sister inherited the place when their father died a couple years ago. His sister lived out of state now with her military husband, so Gavin had bought her portion. To defray the costs, he rented it out when he wasn’t using it—which was more often than he liked because of his work schedule. The cabin was close enough to hiking trails, float trip outfitters and a couple of tourist-friendly towns that it rarely sat empty for long. Yet, had anyone suggested that Jenny Baer would be one of his weekend renters, he would have labeled that person delusional.
Jenny shivered a little, and he realized her clothes were still damp. Hell, she’d likely sue both him and the leasing agency if she got sick. “Go put on some dry clothes. I’ll heat some water. The bathroom’s through that door.”
Jenny hesitated only a moment, then tightened her grip on the lantern and turned toward the bathroom. Grumbling beneath his breath, he filled the teakettle and reached for the tin of herbal teas his health-conscious mom had insisted he bring with him. She was still annoyed with him for taking off to heal in private rather than letting her nurse him back to health from his injury, which would have driven him crazy. He disliked being fussed over, even by the mother he adored.
Jenny wasn’t gone long. When she returned, she wore slim-fitting dark knit pants with a loose coral top that looked somewhat more comfortable than her previous outfit. She’d towel-dried her hair and her feet were still bare, but other than that, she could have been dressed to host a casual summer party. Had she really packed this way for a cabin weekend alone? He had to admit she looked great, but out of place here. No surprise.
He set a steaming mug of tea on the booth-style oak table. A bench rested against the wall, and four bow-back chairs were arranged at the ends and opposite side of the table, providing comfortable seating for six adults. He brought friends occasionally for poker-and-fishing weekends, and the family still tried to gather here once a year or so, but usually he came alone when he needed a little downtime to recharge his
emotional batteries.
Setting the lantern on the table, Jenny slid into a chair and picked up the tea mug, cradling it between her hands as she gazed up at him. “I’m really sorry about this mix-up. And that I woke you so abruptly when I’m sure you need sleep.”
He started to shrug his right shoulder out of habit, then stopped himself at the first twinge of protest. “Not your fault,” he said again. “How long were you planning to stay?”
She looked into her mug, hiding her expression. “I paid for three nights, which would let me stay until Monday afternoon if I’d wanted.”
“By yourself.” That still seemed odd to him. Was she still seeing Mr. Social Register? Or had there been a breakup? He couldn’t help thinking back to the weeks following his breakup with Jenny. He’d dropped out of college and holed up here alone for a couple of weeks, until his parents had shown up and practically dragged him back into the real world. He’d entered the police academy as soon as he could get in after that, putting both the pain and the woman who’d caused it out of his mind and out of his heart. Or at least that’s what he’d told himself all these years since.
Still, just because he’d retreated here after a split didn’t mean Jenny’s reasons for being here were in any way the same.
No particular emotion showed on her face when she spoke, still without looking up at him. “I’ve gotten behind on some business and personal paperwork and I thought it would be nice to have a little time to myself in peaceful surroundings to tackle it all. I needed a chance to concentrate without constant interruptions, and it’s usually hard to find that back at home.”
Leaning against the counter, he raised his water glass and murmured into it, “I know that feeling.”
She glanced at him from beneath her lashes. “You’re getting away from everyone, too?”
“In a way. I, um, had surgery on my shoulder last week and I’d rather hide out and heal alone rather than be hovered over by my mom.”
Her full lips curved then into a faint smile. “From what I remember about you, that doesn’t surprise me at all.”
