everywhere, already being swallowed by the drifting powder. Collar up against the wind, Jesse tried to blink the blowing snow out of his eyes and clamber around the mess as best he could.
Blindsided 29
Smooth , he told himself wryly as he slid across a log at least thirty inches in diameter. That last little moment inside had been quite smooth. Of course, he hadn’t meant anything even remotely suggestive when he’d mentioned them going to bed. He had every intention of sleeping on the couch and keeping the fire going so they wouldn’t freeze to death overnight with the generator off.
But damn if the lovely doctor’s eyes hadn’t widened in a betraying fashion, letting him know just exactly where her mind had shot when he’d said the words. He’d been unaccountably embarrassed for something not at all his fault and the feeling was irritating. He was a grown man and certainly had held his share of conversations ripe with sexual innuendo. That was not what had happened.
Perhaps what threw him was the fact that he’d never before been around a woman so patently uncomfortable in his company. He simply couldn’t shake the feeling that Kerin Smith, Dr . Kerin Smith, was frightened and somehow vulnerable.
The question of the hour, he mused as he began to pull logs from the top of the neatly stacked row under the shed roof, was why? Some concern in an unusual situation was understandable, but for a very attractive and self-possessed young woman, she seemed a bit too much on edge.
It took him a good thirty minutes to carry what he thought enough wood to the back door. By then his fingers were numb in spite of his gloves, and his hair and clothes coated again with snow. The temperature was dropping still and his cheeks stung as he opened the door and stepped back inside. Shedding his coat and gloves, he shook the moisture from his hair.
She had moved from the stool to the leather couch by the fireplace and quietly sat there, the soft lamplight touching the smooth sheen of her honey-colored hair. He’d brought two logs in, and without comment, he carried them to the large hearth and deposited them both into the grate. The basket of dry kindling he kept on hand proved useful, and the welcoming spark of fire helped a little as he held out 30
Kate Watterson
his frozen fingers to the flame.
“Here.” The soft voice right behind his shoulder almost startled him. Still crouched by the hearth, he glanced up to see that Kerin held out a towel.
Her smile was sweet, a little apologetic, and to his surprise, seemed genuine. She said, “I know how you feel about snow all over your floor so I thought I’d better get you this.”
“Thanks.” Accepting the olive branch, he stood and dried his hair and face, then used the damp cloth to wipe the snow from his jeans and mop up what had dripped and melted on the floor. During this time, he was aware Kerin returned to her seat on the leather couch, sitting gracefully with her legs folded underneath, one slim hand holding her half-empty glass of wine.
The fire licked up and the wood began to hiss and crackle.
Satisfied it was going to start, Jesse went back to the kitchen, tossed the soiled towel into the small laundry room next to the built-in pantry, and then retrieved his own wine. Eyeing the level in the bottle he’d left sitting on the counter, he guessed that perhaps it was being on her second glass that had made his reluctant guest relax a little bit.
If so, he’d be willing to pour as much expensive booze down her lovely throat as it took for her to not look right through him with those blue eyes. He took the bottle with him back into the living room and sat down on the hearth, making a pretense of needing to poke at the growing flames.
To his surprise, it was Kerin who spoke first. “I’ve been sitting here wondering what kind of occupation would allow someone to live in such a remote place.”
As an offer to exchange personal information, it was a little
Blindsided 29
Smooth , he told himself wryly as he slid across a log at least thirty inches in diameter. That last little moment inside had been quite smooth. Of course, he hadn’t meant anything even remotely suggestive when he’d mentioned them going to bed. He had every intention of sleeping on the couch and keeping the fire going so they wouldn’t freeze to death overnight with the generator off.
But damn if the lovely doctor’s eyes hadn’t widened in a betraying fashion, letting him know just exactly where her mind had shot when he’d said the words. He’d been unaccountably embarrassed for something not at all his fault and the feeling was irritating. He was a grown man and certainly had held his share of conversations ripe with sexual innuendo. That was not what had happened.
Perhaps what threw him was the fact that he’d never before been around a woman so patently uncomfortable in his company. He simply couldn’t shake the feeling that Kerin Smith, Dr . Kerin Smith, was frightened and somehow vulnerable.
The question of the hour, he mused as he began to pull logs from the top of the neatly stacked row under the shed roof, was why? Some concern in an unusual situation was understandable, but for a very attractive and self-possessed young woman, she seemed a bit too much on edge.
It took him a good thirty minutes to carry what he thought enough wood to the back door. By then his fingers were numb in spite of his gloves, and his hair and clothes coated again with snow. The temperature was dropping still and his cheeks stung as he opened the door and stepped back inside. Shedding his coat and gloves, he shook the moisture from his hair.
She had moved from the stool to the leather couch by the fireplace and quietly sat there, the soft lamplight touching the smooth sheen of her honey-colored hair. He’d brought two logs in, and without comment, he carried them to the large hearth and deposited them both into the grate. The basket of dry kindling he kept on hand proved useful, and the welcoming spark of fire helped a little as he held out 30
Kate Watterson
his frozen fingers to the flame.
“Here.” The soft voice right behind his shoulder almost startled him. Still crouched by the hearth, he glanced up to see that Kerin held out a towel.
Her smile was sweet, a little apologetic, and to his surprise, seemed genuine. She said, “I know how you feel about snow all over your floor so I thought I’d better get you this.”
“Thanks.” Accepting the olive branch, he stood and dried his hair and face, then used the damp cloth to wipe the snow from his jeans and mop up what had dripped and melted on the floor. During this time, he was aware Kerin returned to her seat on the leather couch, sitting gracefully with her legs folded underneath, one slim hand holding her half-empty glass of wine.
The fire licked up and the wood began to hiss and crackle.
Satisfied it was going to start, Jesse went back to the kitchen, tossed the soiled towel into the small laundry room next to the built-in pantry, and then retrieved his own wine. Eyeing the level in the bottle he’d left sitting on the counter, he guessed that perhaps it was being on her second glass that had made his reluctant guest relax a little bit.
If so, he’d be willing to pour as much expensive booze down her lovely throat as it took for her to not look right through him with those blue eyes. He took the bottle with him back into the living room and sat down on the hearth, making a pretense of needing to poke at the growing flames.
To his surprise, it was Kerin who spoke first. “I’ve been sitting here wondering what kind of occupation would allow someone to live in such a remote place.”
As an offer to exchange personal information, it was a little
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