by Anthology
“Thanks again,” he yelled over the wind, and she gave him a little wave. He pulled his hat down lower over his eyes and was about to turn into the breeze when he saw Josie dart around the side of the cabin, a huge gust practically lifting her off the ground.
Where the hell was she going?
He looked at the road, then back to her cottage. He waited a moment. She didn’t reappear. Dammit. He drove his hands into his pockets and followed her tracks. He caught site of her near a woodpile, half covered by a tarp. He watched her struggle with a few heavy logs, slipping a little on the ice and getting a face full of snow. If he stopped to help her, he’d never make it to the road before dark.
Nice guys finish last, Carter.
She loaded more wood into her arms, until she couldn’t even see over the pile. Mumbling curses under his breath, he trudged toward her.
“Here, let me help.” He grabbed the top logs from her. She blinked those beautiful brown eyes at him and it felt like a fist to the gut. How could anyone be so sweet and innocent, wholesome, and sexy at the same time? She wet her mouth, licking snow from her lips, and all he could think about was leaning forward for a little taste. But the last thing he should be doing is getting wrapped up in a girl who just might want more from a guy who didn’t do emotions. He was on the fast track to making partner at his firm, and she was a complication he didn’t need in his life.
“You shouldn’t be trying to carry so much.” He tore off one glove and brushed the snow from her cheeks. “Where I come from, we call this the lazy man’s load.”
Breathing hard, she followed him inside with the two logs he’d left in her arms. “I didn’t want to have to make too many trips. It’s cold out.” She dropped the wood into the box and brushed the dirt from her small hands.
Carter put his logs on top of hers, but the box was far from being full. “Do you need much more?”
She frowned and put her hands on her hips. “I need to fill it if I want to keep the fire going until morning.”
“Fine, let’s hurry, though.”
“That’s what I was trying to do.”
They went back outside, and after a few more trips, they finally had the box full. He helped her with the tarp, then he glanced at the sky, which was now black. Shit. He looked at her and caught her grinning.
“What?”
“Do you believe me now?” she asked.
“If you’re taking about the legend, and the wolf keeping me here, then no. This is just an unfortunate set of coincidences.”
“Hmmm.”
“What?”
“I didn’t take you for the type of guy who believed in coincidences.”
4
As the morning sun climbed the mountains, Josie tiptoed around the living room, trying not to wake Carter as he slept quietly on the sofa. With his blankets half off, she caught a glimpse of his bare chest and navy blue boxers. She gifted herself with a longer look, taking in his strong profile, long hard body, and the hand he had on Bear’s head, like he’d fallen asleep petting him. For a guy who didn’t like dogs, he sure seemed to have bonded with hers. He might be a badass lawyer by trade, but underneath his wool coat and hard exterior, there was a softer side to him, one he went to great lengths to hide.
She looked at her big Christmas tree. Last night, she’d left the lights on, but sometime after she’d gone to bed, he must have pulled the plug. She plugged it back in then padded to her room. She rooted around inside the closet and grabbed a fresh pair of jeans and a T-shirt, thankful that Jack kept a spare set of clothes at the cottage for when they went snowmobile riding. Walking quietly back to the main room, she placed them on the table bedside Carter. When her coffee maker beeped, she darted to her kitchen and took two cups from the cupboard, leaving one on the counter for her sleeping lone wolf. After doctoring hers, she pulled on her vest and hat and called for her dogs.
They slipped out the back porch, and as Sasha and Bear took off to play in the snow, she lowered herself into her Adirondack chair and sipped coffee as the sun climbed higher in the sky. She lifted her chin, letting the long rays warm her face.
“Hey,” a sexy voice said from the doorway.
She turned to see Carter standing there, raking his fingers through his mussed hair. A burst of heat moved through her as she looked at him, reminding her she hadn’t had a boyfriend since her first year of college. Carter was right. She did spend too much time alone in the woods, and honestly, she really missed being with someone. She’d been studying hard for the last four years, but the truth was, it had been a long time since a man interested her—especially like this one did.
She let her eyes trail the length of him. Dressed in the clothes she’d laid out for him, he looked warm, relaxed, sexy, and it was pretty much all she could do to keep herself from running for the mistletoe. There was no denying that Carter Reed was drop dead gorgeous, and she wouldn’t mind getting to know him better—even though he seemed hell bent on getting out of town.
“I see you found Jack’s clothes,” she said, her breath turning to fog in the cold morning. “I knew they’d fit perfectly.”
“Yeah, thanks.” He drove his hands in his pockets. “Ah, speaking of Jack, is he going to show up here and kick my ass?”
“Why would he do that?”
“You, me, alone in the cabin. I mean if you were my girl—”
She burst out laughing. “Jack is the oldest of my three brothers, and I’m a big girl, City. Who I have for a sleepover is my business, and my family respects that.”
“So you don’t have a boyfriend?”
“No, I don’t.”
“And sleepovers? Do you have a lot of them?”
“That is my business.” She bent forward, grabbed a fist full of snow and tossed it at him. “Now grab a coffee and come on out. You’re making me miss the best part of the day.”
He disappeared inside for a moment, then came back with Jack’s coat and hat on and a steaming cup of java.
Looking sleepy, he sank into the seat beside her and scrubbed his chin. “Why are you up so early?”
She nodded toward the mountain and he followed her gaze. “I bet you don’t get this view from your high-rise.” She exhaled a happy sigh and wondered how anyone could live in the city. When she was away at college those last four years, all she wanted to do was get back to her beloved mountains. “Gorgeous, isn’t it?”
He was quiet for a long time, then he said, “Yeah…”
When she heard something in his voice, something wistful and longing, she angled her head to see him and realized he was looking at her. Her heart gave a little start when their eyes met. Carter cleared his throat and quickly shifted his focus, taking a big drink of his coffee.
“The road’s clear. Looks like you’re free to go,” she said, but since the wolf had stranded him here she had a feeling he wouldn’t be leaving until after the holidays.
“Really? When did that happen?”
“My dad and Jack did it last night. They called earlier to let me know. You must have been pretty tired. The ringer didn’t even wake you.”
“Must be all this fresh mountain air.”
“Oh,” she added, “and they towed your car back to the rental place. Dad has your bags.”
He gave her a puzzled look. “All this happened and it’s only what…” He paused and looked at his watch. “Five in the morning.”
She laughed. “That’s that way it works in small towns. We ask for help. We get help.”
“I guess I should get going then,” he said, but he continued to sit there, watching her dogs play in the distance. She looked him over and noticed that his shoulders didn’t seem quite as tense as yesterday. She liked this relaxed Carter. Liked him very much.
“What’s your hurry?”
“Tomorrow is Christmas Eve,” he said.
She nodded, thinking how she and her brothers all gathered at her folks’ place on the twenty-fourth for food, music, and laughter. “Right, and your fami
ly is probably having a big gathering and are anxious to have you home.”
“I don’t have a family,” he said quickly, too quickly. Then, as if he’d said too much, he began backtracking. “I mean. I had a lot of families over the years…” He stopped and took another drink of coffee.
“Come on.” Josie set her coffee down and jumped up.
“Where?” he asked.
Carter followed her as she rounded the corner of the cottage. “For a ride.” She stepped under the awning and pulled the cover off the snowmobile.
His mouth dropped open. “You mean to tell me this was here all along? I could have used it to get to my car.”
“Oh,” she answered. “I never thought, and of course, you didn’t ask.”
“How could I ask if I didn’t know?”
She nodded. “True.”
He stepped closer, his body crowding hers. “Maybe it’s not the wolf keeping me here, after all. Maybe there really wasn’t a log obstructing the road, and you didn’t plug your block heater in on purpose.”
She laughed and poked him in the chest. “And here you thought I was the one who should be worried about you.”
His hand closed over hers, big, warm, and strong. “So you admit you are holding me hostage, Josie?” His voice deepened. Josie swallowed as the air around them charged, became sexual.
“I not admitting to anything,” she said, sounding completely breathless as his big hand swallowed hers whole.
He dipped his head. “I’m a lawyer. I have ways of making you talk.”
“I don’t know, City. I can be pretty tight-lipped when I want to be.”
“Tight-lipped is my specialty.”
“Maybe, but I bet you’ve never come across someone as stubborn as me before.”
His blue eyes darkened. “You could be right.”
“I’m like Fort Knox.”
“I like a challenge.”
She swallowed against the dryness in her throat as their teasing banter turned sexual. She suspected Carter rarely showed this playful, flirty side of himself, and she had to admit she liked it. She liked it a lot.
“Do you now?” she asked.
“Yeah, because I’d really like to get to the bottom of why you’re holding me hostage.” He leaned closer, and his warm breath washed over her face. “What do you want from me, Josie?”
With his mouth only inches from hers, she was sure he was going to kiss her, and dammit, she really wanted him to, but her dog came running up to them, breaking the moment.
Carter stiffened and stepped back, and as she thought about how close he’d come to kissing her, it raised one very important question. What did she want from him? She’d already decided she’d like to get to know him better, but did better mean intimate? Yeah, she was pretty sure it did.
They both stood there for a second, and when Bear nudged her, nipping at the bottom of her pant legs like he always did when he wanted to play, she said, “We’ll have to save the interrogation for later.” He continued to stand there, poker straight, staring at her. She started the snowmobile and pulled her gloves from her pockets. “Get on.”
He looked a bit hesitant. “You sure you know how to drive this thing?”
“Are you telling me you’ve never been on a snowmobile before?” He nodded. “Don’t worry, City. Tight-lipped is your specialty.” She revved the engine. “This is mine.”
Still looking a bit unsure, he hopped on behind her and slid his hands around her waist, linking them together over her stomach. A warm shiver moved through her, and it became abundantly clear how aware they were of each other and how nice it was to be held by him.
She took off toward the woods surrounding the cottage, the freshly fallen snow clinging to the branches and glistening in the sunlight. Her dogs followed, barking and darting in and out of the trees. She went a little faster, and his hands tightened on her stomach. She climbed higher up the mountain and stopped when she came to a flat area. Tapping his hand, she gestured with her head and they both looked at the gorgeous view below. Then she pointed to the lone set of wolf tracks.
“Do you think that’s your wolf?” she asked loudly over the roar of the engine.
He squeezed her waist. “I don’t have a wolf.”
Laughing, she headed back down the hill and drove to the cottage. She pulled under the awning, powered down the machine, and turned to him. “Fun, huh?”
“Yeah,” he said, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. “Except you drive like a maniac.”
“I have three older brothers, remember. I had to keep up. You can take it for a run tomorrow if you like.”
“I won’t be here tomorrow.”
“Oh right.”
“Why do you say that like you don’t believe me?”
“I believe you.” At least she believed that he believed it.
He climbed off and she followed him inside the cottage. He pulled his hat off and stood there like he didn’t know what to do next. Her heart pinched, because as he glanced around her decorated cottage, there was something very sweet about him, something very vulnerable.
Gathering herself, she said, “I’ll drive you to get your bags and drop you off at the airport. But first, we need to eat breakfast.”
“Do you think your truck will work?”
“I guess we’ll find out.” She flicked on the radio to fill the cottage with Christmas music.
A pained expression came over his face. “Do you have to listen to Christmas music twenty-four-seven?”
“You don’t like Christmas music?”
“Something like that.”
“You really are Scrooge, aren’t you? You don’t like dogs, you don’t music, you don’t like lights.”
“I never said anything about lights.”
“You didn’t have to. I left the tree plugged in last night because I thought you might enjoy it, but this morning, the lights were off.”
“Maybe I couldn’t sleep because they were too bright.”
“So you’re telling me you do like lights.”
“Well, no.”
She laughed and pointed to the bathroom. “Go get a shower while I whip us up something to eat.”
He shot a glance toward the front door and froze when he looked through the windowpane.
“What?” she asked.
“I thought…” He let his words fall off. “Nothing. I probably should just get going.”
She pointed to his hair. “With that hat head? I don’t know, City. They might not let you on the plane looking like that.”
“Oh, you’re one to talk,” he shot back, his hand going to her messy locks. “Have you ever even heard of a comb?”
He raked his fingers through her short hair, and she sucked in a breath, the heat from touch traveling all the way to her toes, stopping at a few erogenous zones along the way.
He pulled his hand back like it had been burned. “Oh…I…sorry.”
Her heart thudded a little faster. “You don’t have to be sorry. If you want to touch my hair, you can touch my hair.” She looked at him and wondered if there were any other places he’d like to touch, because yeah, she could think of a few. It had been a long time since she’d been with somebody, and while she wasn’t the kind of girl to jump into bed with a random man, her heart told her Carter was anything but. There was something very special about him, something very good in his heart.
He peeled off his coat and jerked his thumb toward the shower. “I…ah…I should probably grab that shower.”
“Don’t use all the hot water.”
“I’ll probably just use cold,” he mumbled under his breath as he turned and walked away, his tight ass dragging her focus. Her thoughts shifted direction as she continued to stare, and she couldn’t help but think it had been a long time since she’d asked Santa for something special under her tree. Since she was pretty sure Carter was going to be around for the holidays, she couldn’t think of anyone else she’d rather unwrap.
5
“What?” she asked, a wide smile on her face.
“You sing as well as you drive.”
“Hey.” She wacked him and punched up the volume, just to annoy him, he was sure. “If you think you can do better, let me hear it.”
“Don’t think so.”
“Then zip it.” She ran her finger across her lips, lips that kept drawing his attention, even though it wasn’t in his best interests. He shifted, his jeans suddenly feeling a little too tight in the crotch area.
As they approached town, he grabbed his phone and called up the flights. “Looks like I can get out of here mid-afternoon.”
“Do you want me to drop you off now?” she asked, and again, he couldn’t help but think how she was placating him, because he got the feeling she didn’t believe he’d be going anywhere anytime soon.
He glanced in the back seat at all the food she had for the shelter. It was a lot to carry, and she was such a little girl. With a few hours to spare, he supposed he had time to help. After all, she’d come to his rescue and had given him a place to stay.
“I can give you a hand with this first,” he said.
“Sounds good.”
Her head bobbed to the beat, and before he realized what he was doing, he was tapping his fingers on the dashboard. Shit. He pulled his hand back but caught the smirk on Josie’s face.
She parked along the street. Carter climbed out and noticed the pet store and all the puppies in the window. He could only imagine how many little kids would be asking for one of those purebreds for Christmas, and how many would be left disappointed.
