Beyond was a covered back porch with a wobbly, needed-to-be-replaced wooden railing. Sean shrugged deeper into his jacket as he stepped into the icy bite of the wind. Snow. Nothing but snow. It was coming down thick and fast and for one split second, Sean could admit to himself that it was pretty. Then he remembered that the “pretty” stuff was currently blocking his only way out, and it quickly lost its appeal.
“Kate?”
“Over here,” she shouted.
Zipping his jacket closed, he turned toward her voice and ignored, as well as he could, the cold sharp snap of winter. Snowflakes slapped his face with icy stings and the wind pushed at him as if trying to force him back inside.
He paid no attention to the urge to retreat and instead turned to where Kate was bent over a neatly stacked supply of firewood. She had three split logs in her arms and was reaching for another.
“Let me get it,” Sean said, nudging her out of the way.
She whipped her head up to glare at him. “I can handle it.”
“Yeah,” he said, giving her a nod. He’d seen her stubbornness and her determination to do everything on her own all week. “I know. You’re tough. We’re all impressed. But if we both get the wood, we can get out of this cold that much sooner.”
She looked like she wanted to argue with him, then changed her mind. “Fine. Gather as much as you can, then we’ll come back for more.”
She headed into the hotel without another word, leaving Sean to grab as many logs as possible. When he straightened, he took another quick look around. Pine trees stood as tall and straight as soldiers on parade, in spite of the heavy, snow-laden wind pushing at them. The lake was frozen over and snowdrifts were piling up at the shoreline. He tipped his head back and stared up at the gray sky as thick flurries raced toward him. The air was thick and cold, and realization settled in on Sean. If this kept up, he could be stuck here for weeks.
* * *
Kate laid the stack of wood in a neat pile beside the stone fireplace, then grabbed the mantel and leaned on it. “The blizzard couldn’t have waited to hit until after he was gone?”
Of course not. That would have made her life too easy. Way better to strand her here on the mountain with a man who had shaken her nice, comfortable life right down to the ground.
Slowly straightening, she shook her head, hoping to clear out the ragged, disjointed thoughts somersaulting through it. Didn’t work, but she pushed through, pushed past. Bending, she took a few of the logs she’d carried in and set them in the hearth. Then she laid down kindling from the nearby basket, took a long wooden match, struck it and held the flame to the kindling until it caught. Taking a minute to get the fire started would help her settle—she hoped.
She watched the fire catch, licking at the wood until the hiss and crackle jumped into the otherwise quiet room.
“You can do this,” she muttered under her breath. “He’s just your boss.”
Lies, her mind whispered. All lies. Not even very good ones. The sad truth was, Sean Ryan was so much more than the man she was currently working for. He was the first man in years who’d been able to not just sneak past her well-honed defenses but obliterate them. One smile from him and her knees quivered. One glance from his lake-blue eyes and her long-dormant hormones began a dance of joy. Oh, that was humbling to admit, even to herself.
She really didn’t need this.
Kate had a good life now. She’d built it carefully, brick by brick, and damn if she’d allow attraction to ruin it all.
Of course, standing strong against what Sean Ryan made her feel would have been much easier if he’d just been able to leave tomorrow as scheduled. But with the blizzard, they could be trapped together for days.
And that thought brought her right back to the sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. Frowning, she reminded herself that she’d already survived something that would have crushed most people. She could live through a few days in close quarters with Sean.
Nodding in agreement with her silent pep talk, she pushed up from the hearth and turned to get more wood. Sean stalked into the room, arms full of more logs than she could have carried in one trip. He didn’t look any happier about their current situation than she did.
Sadly, that didn’t make her feel any better.
“Just stack it there on the hearth,” she said, waving one hand. “I’ll go out for more.”
“Yeah,” he said, dropping the wood with an ear-shattering clatter. “I’ll get the wood. I can carry more than you, so that means fewer trips.”
She wanted to argue, but he was right. Still, it was hard for her to accept help. Kate stood on her own two feet. And for the last couple of years especially, she’d deliberately dismissed anyone who thought she couldn’t handle things herself.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ve got emergency supplies out in my truck. I’ll get them while you bring in more wood. Get a lot of it. It’ll be a long, cold night.”
“Right.” He paused. “What kind of supplies?”
“Blankets, lanterns, coffeemaker—the essentials.”
He gave her a wide smile. “Coffee? Now you’re talking. I’d give a hundred bucks for a cup of coffee right now.”
Why did he have to smile? Why did that smile have to light up his features, sparkle in his eyes and cause her already-unsteady nerves to wobble and tip dangerously? This whole adventure would be so much easier on her if she could just hate him. Damn it.
“A hundred dollars for coffee?” She nodded. “Sold.”
His eyebrows shot up, and that wicked curve of his mouth broadened. “Yeah? Well, I’ll have to owe you since I don’t have that much cash on me.”
Just too much charm, she thought. And he turned it on and off like a faucet. Her breath caught a little. “That’s okay, I’ll send you a bill.”
“No problem.” Amusement drained from his face, but his eyes glittered with promise. “We’ll settle things between us before I head back to California. You can count on it.”
Oh, boy. Kate watched him go, then turned up the collar of her jacket. She headed for the front door, giving herself a silent, stern lecture as she went. She couldn’t believe how that smile of his had affected her. Honestly, he’d been hard enough to resist when he was miserable and complaining about the snow. But a smiling Sean Ryan was even more dangerous.
She stepped outside and welcomed the blast of cold wind and the stinging slap of blowing snow. If anything could put out a fire burning inside, it was a Wyoming winter. But even as she thought it, Kate had to admit that the slow burn of attraction, interest, was still glowing with heat.
She trooped across the wide front porch, down the steps to where she’d left the truck. Snow was already filling up the bed and stacking against the tires. If she left it sitting out here, by the end of the blizzard she and Sean would have to dig out the truck before they could leave. Jumping into the cab, she started it up, then drove around the edge of the old hotel toward the four-car garage standing behind it. She had to jump out of the truck back into the snow to open the door, but once she had her vehicle parked, it was a relief to be out of the wind.
Kate reached over the side of the truck to the metal box in the bed. Unlocking it, she dragged out her stash of emergency supplies. A heavy plastic craft box that she’d commandeered for the purpose, along with a sleeping bag and the two blankets she kept there in case she was ever stranded in the snow.
Heading out of the garage, she closed the door behind her and paused for a moment to look up at the hotel. Sean