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He swept his hand out and Lori darted out onto the sidewalk so that she could see past the corner of the house. “Oh, my God! You’re going to let me use it?”
“I am. It’s your bonus, remember? I’m done working for the season, so I thought I’d…” He paused to clear his throat. “You know. Just drop it by.”
“But how did you get over the pass?”
“It’s got a lot of traction. It wasn’t that bad.”
She shook her head, eyeing the snow stuck deep in the backhoe’s tracks. “But isn’t the passclosed?”
“Um…yeah.” He pushed the hair off his forehead and Lori’s heart flipped at the gesture. “I kind of drove around the gate. The snow isn’t that deep yet. And, all right, it was terrifying.”
She laughed, but her nerves were jangling. What was so important that he’d broken through the pass during a storm? Not just the backhoe, surely. Was he here to declare himself over her?
“You can keep it until spring. I’m definitely not trying to go around the gate again. I think I almost slid off the mountain at one point, but it was hard to tell with my eyes closed.”
As she grinned and nodded like an idiot, Quinn crossed his arms and glanced nervously toward the lot. “So anyway, I guess I’ll just…”
Was he leaving? He couldn’t go now! “I’m sorry. I’m being rude. Come in. Please?”
He followed her into the house without a word.
“Do you want some coffee?”
“No, I’m fine. Hey, look at this place!”
Her mouth went suddenly dry as he spun around. Her decorating skills were amateurish. She knew that. But Quinn kept smiling as he turned.
“It’s a bit feminine for my taste,” he said. “But it suits you.” When he finally looked at her, his eyes were warm light. “I thought of yellow for you actually.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. I had a fantasy I might break in and fix this place up for you. But even I knew that would be a bit heavy-handed. See? I’m learning.”
Her fluttering heart paused, frozen with hope, then it beat harder than ever. “Come see the bathroom.”
Quinn laughed out loud at the sight of it. “It looks great.”
“I saved the countertop for you. It’s in the garage.”
“Seriously?” His laugh turned to pure delight. “That’s perfect.” Crossing his arms, he leaned against the doorjamb and met her gaze. “So you anticipated maybe seeing me again someday?”
Her heart shook. “Someday, yes. Just not on the day they closed the pass.”
“I couldn’t wait.” His voice was lower now, soft and deep.
“Is something going on?”
“No,” he said. “I just couldn’t wait anymore, Lori. I’m sorry. I know a backhoe isn’t a grand romantic gesture. Or maybe it is. I didn’t really mean it to be. I just…”
She was sure her heart was responding to that, but she couldn’t feel anything beyond the pull of his hazel eyes. She shook her head.
“I’m sorry,” Quinn said again, “for what I said to you. I wanted to say that in person.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re an amazing person. And you’ll do amazing things when you’re ready, and I know that has nothing to do with my schedule or my ideas or my life.”
Something bubbled up inside her. “I’m taking classes,” she blurted out, then wanted to cover her eyes in embarrassment. But she didn’t. “I enrolled at the University of Colorado. I’m taking online classes.” Her eyes filled with tears, though she wasn’t sure why. And when Quinn’s arms came around her, she didn’t care.
