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“Hi, Tanner,” Colleen greets me, her smile cheerful.
I smile. “Hi Colleen, do you know where I can find Emma?”
“Sorry, you’ve missed her. She clocked out about thirty minutes ago.” She shakes her head. “I saw her leaving, maybe you can find her at home.”
I glance outside and decide that’s not an option. “I think I better head home before I’m stuck in town,” I mumble absentmindedly. “It’s going to be a big one, you take care Colleen.” Cursing under my breath, I run back to my truck and climb into the warm cab.
Charlotte takes my hands and rubs them between hers. “She wasn’t there?”
“No.” I kiss her cheek. “We need to leave before we can’t.” I reach over and strap Charlotte in beside me before doing my own seatbelt. “You’re about to be stuck on a ranch with me, I hope you don’t mind that?”
She chuckles. “Are you kidding me? I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be stuck with more.”
I quickly squeeze her hand before pulling out of town.
“This weather is really bad, huh?” she says quietly five minutes later.
I glance back at her and see the worry across her face. Clearly she was thinking back to her accident earlier. I turn my attention back to the road, the snow is falling in huge flakes
but the visibility is fairly good so we’re lucky. The weather won’t hold for much longer though. “It’s winter in Montana. This is nothing compared to how it’s going to get very soon.” I lean forward and look up at the sky, my foot pressing down on the gas. “We need to get back before this hits, otherwise, we won’t be able to see the road.”
“My cousins live in Great Falls, and they’ve talked about winters like this, but this is the first time I’ve ever experienced it.” Charlotte burrows into her jacket. “How close are we to your place?”
I make a right turn. “We’re on the road now. Not far. Five minutes.” What I really want to do is rest my hand on her thigh, but, with this weather, I keep both hands on the steering wheeling, until I reverse the truck into the barn.
“How the heck did you do that? I’m struggling to see anything.”
“Practice.” I tug her jacket around her and fasten up the zipper right to above her neck. “Do you have a hat and gloves?”
She nods and grabs them from her purse. “My overnight bag is still in the rental.” She shoves the hat on her head before slipping on the gloves.
“I’ll make sure you get it back.” I squeeze her hand. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
On her go ahead, I run around and open her door, tugging her out and into my arms. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Stop worrying, I’m fine. Nothing a hot bath won’t cure.”
I groan, really not wanting the images of her naked and in a bath in my head, but, of course, that’s where I go. I remember her delicious curves under my hands, and I remember the sight of her in the shower, wet and covered with soapsuds. My body heats at the memory, and when I meet her gaze, I realize she’s remembering too.
Her cheeks flush but her eyes don’t leave my face while mine are doing some wandering of their own. She is so beautiful my heart aches as I drop my forehead to hers. “Make no mistake, Charlotte…as soon as everything between Emma and I is finished, you are going to be mine in every sense of the word.” I cup the back of her head and hold her against my lips as I place a kiss against her forehead, lingering for longer than I should.
Charlotte steps closer and wraps her arms around my waist, pressing her face into my chest. I hold her in place and feel her shuddering against me. We stand like this until the cold starts to seep through my jacket and I feel her shiver. “Let’s get inside and warm up.”
Keeping my arm around her, I guide her through the deepening snow into my home while my brain is scrambling to remember whether or not the place is tidy. To my relief, it is.
I turn her in my arms and unfasten her jacket, her eyes never leaving my face. Just having her standing in front of me spreads heat throughout my body. Her slim figure comes into view and it’s only the wince she tries to hide that reins me in.
“Let me show you to the guest room and then I’ll run you a hot bath,” I suggest, not missing the disappointment on her face.
She turns away. “Okay.”
“It isn’t okay.”
She turns her gaze back to me.
“I don’t want you in the guest room, Charlotte. I want you with me...not just in this house but in my room—in my bed.” I sigh heavily.
