Silver Bells

by Val Daniels

He nodded. "I think you settled into the wrong cabin."

  Jillian sat back, stunned.

  "Don't worry. I'm not going to throw you out." He glanced around. "Especially after all the trouble you went to." There was no question about the mockery in his expression now. "As anxious as I was to escape all of the Christmas routine and spend some time on my own, I have to admit, it's kind of cozy."

  CHAPTER TWO

  Don't panic. Don't panic. Jillian couldn't breathe. No wonder Harrison hadn't arrived. She'd probably sent him to some cabin miles from here. He was probably at the right place—mad with worry— stranded by the storm, and without a key to get in. He'd freeze!

  Did she take the wrong road? Jillian wrinkled her brow. Karen's instructions had been very detailed. Jillian had followed them to the letter.

  "But my key fit!" she suddenly remembered.

  "Maybe the cabin wasn't locked," he suggested helpfully.

  She shook her head, protesting. "Karen said it was the fourth cabin. I counted."

  The man beside her burst into laughter and her bewilderment turned to fury.

  He saw her face redden, tried to stop laughing, and the deep baritone rumble turned to a sputter as he choked. With a terrific excuse for doing something she wanted to do anyway, Jillian closed the yard and a half between their chairs and thumped him wickedly between the shoulder blades with her fist.

  He gasped. She raised her arm to repeat the treatment.

  "No, you don't," he croaked, grabbing her wrist and pulling her down to the footstool in front of him. "I'll be okay in a minute."

  She watched his struggle to draw air into his lungs and readied her fist.

  "Did Karen tell Jim she was lending you the cabin?"

  His question startled her. "You know Jim and Karen?"

  He didn't need to nod. His expression said it all.

  The pieces fell into place. "Jim lent you the cabin." She groaned, huddling toward the warmth of the fire, wrapping her arms around herself. "What a mess!"

  "I'm willing to share if you are."

  She gave him a sidelong look.

  "It might be a little awkward when the boyfriend gets here, but we don't have to worry about that tonight."

  "Why?"

  "We can't go anywhere. And since the boyfriend isn't here yet, he's not coming."

  "Oh, he'll be here."

  He didn't say anything for a long moment, just ran a velvet gaze over her curves. His look seared everywhere it touched, and her breathing became shallow.

  "I don't doubt he'll try." He spoke so softly that she had to lean closer to hear, "but he'll never make it unless he's driving a tank."

  "You made it."

  "Barely. Even though my Blazer has four-wheel drive, the last twenty miles took me more than an hour."

  He stood up impatiently, jamming fingers into the pockets of his jeans. "You still haven't told me your name."

  "Jillian Kemp."

  "I guess we're roomies, Jillian Kemp." He smiled.

  "At least till you can make other arrangements." Jillian wanted the matter straightened out now. The thought of having an observer during her week with Harrison sent cold chills down her spine. She'd talked Harrison out of going somewhere warm to avoid having an audience.

  His answering chuckle wasn't encouraging. But surely he'd leave when the weather cleared.

  The phone rang in the bedroom or she probably would have stared at him in dismay for the rest of the night.

  "It's not for me," Matt said with a shrug. It rang again, sounding off-key in the primitive silence. "No one knows I'm here."

  Jillian wondered whom he was hiding from as she made her way into the dark room and fumbled for the receiver. Karen was already talking by the time Jillian said hello.

  "Oh, Jilly, you'll never guess what we've done! I thought I'd better call."

  "It's okay, Karen. He's here."

  Karen let out a long sigh, then laughed. "I'll bet you've got an interesting situation on your hands. Harrison must be fit to be tied."

  "He probably would be," Jillian replied unhappily, "but he isn't here yet."

  "Oh dear. That's not good."

  "I know. He was supposed to be here around seven."

  Karen didn't say anything.

  Jillian asked hesitantly, "How's the weather there?"

  "That's not good, either. The only way you can still get in or out of town is east on I-70. On the ten o'clock news, they were asking people to take in families who are stuck at the airport. Jim went out there a few minutes ago. I guess we're going to have company for Christmas, after all. I hope it's someone with kids. Then it won't be so bad not seeing my nieces and nephew."

  "Karen." When Karen started working with her two years ago, Jillian had learned that when it was your turn to talk, you had to break in. "Will you call Harrison's folks and find out how long ago he left? Then call me back."

  "Sure, hon."

  "Your friend said he almost didn't make it."

  "Matt said that? Then things must be bad. It really isn't such a terrible mix-up after all, Jilly. It's a good thing Matt's there. What do you think of him, anyway? Isn't he a hunk? He'll take care of you. Believe me, I wouldn't want to be alone at the lake in this blizzard. Which reminds me. Did you have any trouble with the propane? You found the breaker box? I'll bet things were a mess. It always takes me two days to clean up the place after it's been closed for a while."

  "Everything's fine, except the—"

  "Oh, you wanted me to call Harrison, didn't you?" Karen giggled. "Lordy, Jillian, you lucked out. Matt instead of Harrison? Oh, don't get all huffy," she rushed on when Jillian would have protested. "I know women who would kill to change places with you. But you'd better watch yourself. He's a heartbreaker."

  "Oh? He said he came here because he wanted to be alone. Are you sure he isn't the one suffering?" Jillian instantly doubted her own intelligence. Karen had finally gasped for air and Jillian wasted her word-in-edgewise on something that didn't matter.

  "Oh no, Jilly, I don't think so. He's just a loner. Jim asked him to spend Christmas with us, but he was hoping to get some work done. He insisted on going to the cabin. I hope he's not too upset by this. Apologize to him for us, will you?" She chuckled again. "And I'll apologize to Harrison the next time I see him. Especially if you use your time like I would if Jim wasn't such a sweetheart. Sometimes I'm tempted to join the chase for Matt myself. Which reminds me, I'm supposed to be finding out what's going on with Harrison, aren't I? I'll call you back in a minute." She hung up before Jillian could say goodbye.

  The front door slammed and Jillian was suddenly terrified that Matt might have decided to leave her here, alone. She rushed to the other room as Matt came back in, his face ruddy from the bitter cold. His arms were loaded with brown paper bags.

  "Hoping the boyfriend made it after all?" Matt asked as he passed her.

  "Yes," she retorted, following him. She peeked into the bags he set on the counter.

  "You'll be able to see better if you'll hold the flashlight while I unpack them."

  She complied, watching as he tucked a head of lettuce under one elbow and took out a quart of milk and a couple of packages of fresh produce. When the refrigerator light didn't come on, she remembered. "Will everything be all right with the electricity off?"

  "For the night anyway. If it's still off tomorrow, we'll do something else."

  The door wouldn't close and he hunched down to rearrange things. "How about some light down here." He removed a jar of pickles and other assorted condiments and put them in the cabinet.

  Even in a bulky coat—which looked straight from some thrift shop—he moved with an easy grace. It seemed at odds with the strength she'd felt when he embraced her.

  "You must have brought enough to feed an army." He returned her attention to the groceries.

  "We—Harrison and I—are staying until New Year's," she explained.

  "Me, too." His back was toward hers but she heard his grin. />
  "We'll see."

  "I guess we will," he agreed as the phone rang again.

  Plopping the flashlight on the counter, she ran for the other room.

  "Jillian? I'm not going to make it tonight." Harrison's voice competed with static as he answered her greeting. "I'm…" A crackle buried the rest of his sentence.

  "Are you all right? Where are you?"

  "I'm fine," he reassured her loudly. "I'm still at the office. Mom called a minute ago and said I was supposed to call Karen. She gave me the number there. I'm sorry you were worried."

  A shadow blocked the little bit of light feathering into the room. Jillian glanced at the figure by the door. Despite the silence, she lodged a finger against her free ear and turned to face the wall.

  "Are you there?" Harrison shouted.

  "Yes," she answered softly.

  "What?"

  "Yes. I'm sorry, Harrison. I missed what you just said." She sensed Matt moving closer.

  "I asked if everything was okay? Are you snowed in?"

  "I'm fine. I haven't been out since I got here this afternoon, but it looks pretty bad." Matt nudged her, then pushed the flashlight into her hand and left. She breathed easier.

  "You're going to have to speak up, darling," Harrison said.

  She repeated her last sentence, then bit the corner of her lip. Why hadn't she told him about her "visitor"?

  His voice deepened with meaning. "I'll be with you as soon as I can, darling—as soon as the highways are open."

  "You can't control the weather," she said, excusing him. "What happened?"

  "You know how things are. The unofficial office party got under way about two this afternoon, and just when I was ready to go all the senior partners showed up. By the time I could leave diplomatically, they'd closed the airport and were starting on the highways. It would have been foolhardy to try making it all the way out there, so I stayed here."

  Jillian squelched a twinge of resentment.

  "I think I've made a few inroads with one of the partners," Harrison said excitedly. "That should help secure our future. It may not be as long as I figured before I'm offered a partnership."

  "Well, I'm sure your mother will be delighted to have you home after all," she said stiffly.

  "I can't imagine why. I've gone skiing every Christmas since my junior year in high school."

  "Your mother thinks you were going skiing?"

  "She assumed that. I didn't enlighten her."

  You wouldn't have told Grandma these plans, she defended him to herself. You wouldn't be here if Grandma was alive, a tiny voice answered back.

  "I wouldn't miss our time together for anything, Jillian. I'll be there as soon as I can."

  "Maybe it's just as well you didn't make it tonight." She tried to sound cheerful. "Things aren't at all like we planned. The electricity is off." She gulped and plunged ahead. "And did Karen tell you about the mix-up?" She played nervously with the telephone cord. "At least I'm not totally alone," she added when he didn't answer.

  "Harrison?" The line was strangely silent after all the static. "Harrison?" She clicked the switch hook and heard absolutely nothing. Sitting with a dead phone to her ear, she felt a confusing mixture of relief, annoyance and guilt.

  When had the line gone dead? Had he heard about the electricity? And why the hesitation to tell him about Matt? He surely wouldn't worry as much if he knew she wasn't alone. She had to get over this reluctance to share things with Harrison. At least he could call Karen if he wanted the details, she thought irritably. She couldn't do anything about her situation.

  Harrison can't control the weather, her reasonable side explained to her uncharitable self. He'd been trying to get her to go away with him since they met.

  So why wasn't he here? Jillian couldn't help feeling a little betrayed. If he'd left when he was supposed to, he would have arrived before the weather got so bad.

  Then she'd have him and Matt to deal with!

  If Harrison were here, Matt's arrival wouldn't have been any big deal. She wouldn't have felt threatened. She wouldn't have assumed he was Harrison. She wouldn't have kissed him. That kiss… It had felt right, and wonderful… and…

  It didn't make sense.

  Maybe all those desires she'd held in check for so long had surfaced with a vengeance once she decided to come out of the Dark Ages. For the past month she'd been watching romantic movies, reading sexy books and trying to make sure she was "normal." Harrison wasn't the first man who'd suggested she might be frigid. She hadn't wanted him to get here and be convinced he was right.

  She looked down at the silent receiver she still held and hung it up. The wind howled through the tree branches outside. Jillian shivered and went to look. Snow swirled madly. Ice crystals decorated one pane of the quartered window. She pressed a cheek against the cold surface and let it soothe her.

  "I wish you were here, Grandma. You could always make sense out of everything." Then she smiled wryly. The last person she would want here was Grandma. She'd have a fit!

  "I still wish you were here," she murmured to the frozen landscape outside. Her breath fogged the view. It reminded her that she should go and find out what Matt was up to. She refused to let him make her feel like a drop of water skipping across a hot griddle.

  She closed her eyes to think of Harrison, but it was Matt's image that popped into focus. Try as she might, she couldn't seem to replace his face with Harrison's patrician features. It didn't matter, she decided. Matt, the blizzard and getting through the next couple of days were her main worries, and until the outside world became a reality again, there wasn't any point in thinking about it.

  Matt had brought in more wood, she noticed as she came through the living room. He was pulling food out of the freezer compartment when Jillian returned to the kitchen. "Want to hold the flashlight again?" he asked.

  She positioned herself beside him and aimed the light on the box.

  "I take it the call was from the boyfriend."

  "I wish you wouldn't say 'the boyfriend' like that."

  "Like what?" He put the last package of meat in the box.

  She looked at the dark hands splayed across the top of the frozen packages, aware that she was being critical of Harrison right now and probably attributing her own feelings to Matt's innocent remarks. She changed the subject. "Why aren't you spending Christmas with your family?"

  He lifted one shoulder and placed the ice cube trays on the frozen meat. "My mother just left for Europe with her fourth 'new' husband. And my sister wanted me to join her family, but I didn't think I could take her ever-hopeful parade of 'eligible' women, so I used her houseful of in-laws as an excuse and escaped here."

  "What about friends?" He looked like a man any number of women would be delighted to have grace their festivities. She could name at least three of her friends who would include him after one glance.

  "This is fine." His low chuckle spread to his eyes, making them spark wildly. "My sister would love this setup. An isolated cabin, a snowstorm and a beautiful elf from Santa." He'd stopped folding in the flaps of the cardboard box. "I can think of worse ways to spend the holidays."

  Her eyes widened and the pace of her heart picked up.

  "Of course, her version would be a bit more romantic than mine. She'd have us married off on New Year's Day."

  "And your version?" The words slipped out before Jillian could stop them, and she held her breath.

  "My version would never work. I don't think you're the type." He pushed back a strand of her fine, almost gossamer, hair. "You don't look the type to schedule this kind of rendezvous with your boyfriend either, though."

  She flushed.

  "You look as innocent as Sleeping Beauty." He fingered the white lace-edged collar of her jumpsuit; the back of his hand grazed the underside of her chin. "Maybe I should play the handsome prince."

  Her hand loosened on the flashlight. It clattered to the floor and went out. They both bent for it and almost bumpe
d heads. He grasped her shoulder, steadying her, but released her immediately. The imprint of his hand seemed to remain.

  Matt fiddled with the light, switched it back on and returned it to her with a look that warned her to hang on to it this time.

  "What are you going to do with that?" she asked to ease the tension as he finished closing the forgotten box.

  "We'll set it outside."

  "What about wild animals?"

  "Which wild animals do you mean?" She heard his amusement as he carried the box to the door.

  She shrugged. "I don't know."

  He came back and grabbed another, smaller box. "Here. I'll hold the box and you can load the rest of the frozen food into it. Okay?"

  They were finished in a minute and he took both cartons outside.

  "Cold, huh?" he said as he came in and grasped her face between his hands.

  She shivered and returned the favor. "Mine, too. That was frozen food."

  "Which is what will keep scavengers away. No scent to attract them."

  His mustache twitched beneath her thumb, making her skin tingle. A muscle tightened in his scruffy jaw. Warmth emanated from him and she laughed nervously, embarrassed at how long she'd caressed his face. "Your warm skin feels nice on my cold hands."

  "Warm heart?" he murmured, covering her hands with his as she started to draw them away. His lips parted. Weakness seeped into her knees and she sagged a bit. She suddenly wanted him to kiss her again. She swallowed, her heart ticking like a metronome set on allegro.

  "Do you know what you're doing?" he asked quietly, his face moving a smidgen closer, his gaze lingering on her mouth.

  Her heavy eyelids flew open. He knew she wanted him to kiss her.

  "Are you inviting me to step in for the boyfriend?"

  She snatched her hands back, clasping them in front of her. "Are you nuts?" She knew her face betrayed her.

  "Then don't start anything you don't want to finish," he warned mildly, thrusting his fingers into the pockets of his already tight jeans.

  Needing something to do, she grabbed the flashlight from the counter and hurried into the other room to collect their mugs. He hadn't moved when she returned.