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Sleeping.
Charge your phones in case we lose power. Generators are ready, and propane tanks should be good, so just buckle down and enjoy this break from chores.
Thanks, Houghton – you and Jill stay safe.
Thank you for everything.
Thanks to you both – putting the phones on chargers now.
He peered around the corner to see Lena sitting there, sipping her tea, he shucked off his own wet clothing and changed just out of sight. Slipping into some sweatpants and a t-shirt, he walked barefoot back into the living room and felt her eyes on him.
“Are you warming up a bit?”
“Yes.”
“Next time, you need to wear plenty of layers,” he said emotionally, knowing it was coming off as terse or angry. “I’m in no condition to carry your frozen body out of the snow and we sure don’t need to get trapped in something like this. Wool socks only, woman! Because you have adorable toes, and I’d prefer you kept them – got it?”
When she didn’t answer, he looked over his shoulder at her and saw her knowing smile. The covers were wrapped around her, making her look like a cocoon or a Lena-burrito… and he fought back a smile as she patted the couch seat beside her.
“Got it,” she replied softly.
He sighed, rolled his eyes, and put on this gruff, macho attitude while in truth, that simple little smile, that gesture, and her understanding of what he couldn’t say aloud? Yeah, he was butter in her hands.
Sitting down obnoxiously, he stuck a leg behind her back and put his hands under her arms, trying not to notice that there was no bra strap under the material as he lifted her by her underarms, pulling her closer. She was killing him softly, and he loved it.
“Get over here,” he grumbled and tugged her closer. “Watch your tea.”
As he settled back against the couch, wincing at his side aching slightly, he settled down and felt her lean back against him, treasuring this closeness as they sat there together in the silence of the cabin, listening to the wind howl outside and watching the fireplace as she settled the blanket around her again.
“Jake?”
“Yeah, Lumberjack?” he said softly, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear.
“I wasn’t worried, you know,” she began and glanced up at him for a slight second. “I was cold,bitterlycold, but I wasn’t scared or worried because I knew I had someone on my side, my own special team that I could trust with my life.”
“Yeah, well, don’t trust me quite so much,” he said thickly, feeling himself sinking deeper into that pit of doubt or worry - knowing if she didn’t feel the same it would break him. “I don’t think I can take that much faith, and you scared the bejesus out of me. I’m only human; remember that.”
“My favorite human,” she settled back, snuggling him as his arms wrapped around her, kissing her brow.
“Yeah, I am.”
He turned on the news, listening to the reports, and held Lena against him as she dozed off to sleep.
14
LENA
Lena heard soft snoring behind her and felt so warm and cozy lying here against Jake’s chest. He had been so concerned, so wonderful, and so loving towards her in that grumpy way of his. Even when he was helping her out of her wet things, he’d turned away like a gentleman. Every time she turned around, he was leaving an indelible impression on her heart and soul.
Adjusting slightly, she heard his soft breath hitch slightly as she carefully moved to turn around. Her face felt flushed, and she was embarrassed at this wild streak within her that suddenly came to mind. But she felt so many things within her and wasn’t a thousand percent sure how to handle or define any of them right now. Life had been moment by moment for a few weeks now, and this was just another one of those blips in her memory that she would never forget.
… And she intended to create another one.
She put her hands on either side of his shoulders, bracing them on the loveseat arm where he was leaning back while trying desperately to ignore the fact that she was sitting almost in his lap with something that resembled a swimsuit bottom because she’d been covered in snow.
Leaning forward slightly, she kissed the angular plane of his face where his cheek was then the faint scar in his eyebrow, before moving to drop a slight soft kiss at the corner of his lips. She heard his sigh of contentment and froze for a moment before realizing he wasn’t moving or opening his eyes. He was letting her do whatever she wanted with him and just savoring being the recipient of her unexpected attention.
“You are so bossy sometimes,” she whispered softly, kissing the slight dimple on this chin. “But I know that it’s just an act now.”
