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In less than five minutes, she’d combed her hair, brushed her teeth and dressed in clothes she would work and later go hiking in, up to the Needle’s Eye. When she was ready, she eased the door open and peeked out, her gaze going to the bed where she’d left Grimm sleeping.
It was empty and neatly made with military corners and the pillows smoothed.
Dezi stepped out of the bathroom, her gaze darting around the empty room. Then she noticed the open door to the balcony. The sun shone through, silhouetting Grimm’s body as he stood outside, wearing only his jeans.
Her heart fluttering against her ribs, Dezi walked softly across the room and out onto the balcony. She slipped her arms around Grimm’s waist and pressed her cheek against his naked back, loving the earthy scent of his skin. “Good morning.”
He covered her arms with his and pressed them closer. “Good morning.”
“I would’ve slept in, but I need to get breakfast ready for some hungry people.” She kissed his back and let her hands fall to her sides.
Grimm turned to face her and drew her into his arms. “Mmm. That’s better. I’d kiss you, but you have the tooth-brushed advantage over me at the moment.”
Dezi laid her cheek against his chest. “I’ll take a rain check.”
“Deal.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Give me two minutes, and I’ll go down with you.”
“No need,” she said. “I can make it on my own.”
He shook his head. “You’d be out of my sight. And you promised—”
Dezi touched a finger to his lips. “Always in sight.” She smiled. “It’s not easy keeping that promise. I’m a busy woman.”
He brushed his thumb across her lips. “Two minutes is all I ask.”
“Go,” she said.
He laughed.
“Now you have one minute and fifty-five seconds.” She clapped her hands. “Chop, chop!”
Grimm grabbed her hand. “You’re coming with me.” He scooped up his shirt and shoes and hurried out of her room and into the one next door. As soon as his door was closed, he ducked into his bathroom. “Don’t go anywhere,” he called out.
“One minute and thirty seconds,” she replied.
A muffled curse sounded from the other side of the door, followed by the rushing water of a toilet flush and the sink faucet running.
Dezi looked around his room, finding it sterile of anything personal or revealing about the man she’d slept with the night before.
His duffel bag lay open on a chair. Inside was a framed photo of men dressed in combat gear, holding military-grade rifles.
Dezi looked closer, picking Grimm out of the lineup. And if she wasn’t mistaken, his construction teammate they called Judge.
A minute later, Grimm flung open the door with his toothbrush in his mouth and a T-shirt hanging around his neck. He pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth and pushed his arms through the armholes one at a time before popping the toothbrush back into his mouth.
Dezi chuckled. “Did you think I’d left?”
He nodded, turned back into the bathroom, spit into the sink and rinsed. He tossed the toothbrush on the counter, scrubbed his hand through his hair and faced her. “Ready.”
“That was more than two minutes.” A smile tugged at her lips. “But I’ll cut you some slack if you help me make biscuits.”
“Deal.” He opened his door and held it for her. The lodge was still quiet in the gray light of predawn in the Crazy Mountains.
Dezi went to work pulling pans and skillets out of cabinets and setting them on the counter and the commercial stove. Before long, she had a huge bowl of biscuit dough mixed. She sprinkled flour on the counter and plopped the dough in the middle. After kneading it several times, she handed a rolling pin to Grimm. “Roll this dough out to about three-quarters of an inch thick.”
While Grimm rolled the biscuit dough, Dezi spread several packages of bacon out on baking sheets and slid them into the oven. She set the temperature and timer, then went to work cracking two dozen eggs into a mixing bowl. Her movements were efficient and effective.
Once Grimm had the dough where it needed to be, she gave him the biscuit cutter. “Get as many biscuits as you can out of this dough. When you can get anymore, knead what’s left and do it all again.”
