Brianna hopped out of the car, glad she’d worn warm boots when she sank to her knees in the snow. Reaching for her briefcase, she turned and trudged to the porch. Jake followed, carrying both their bags.
Nestled in the lee of the mountains to the west, the cabin was already in shadow. Dusk would follow shortly. Opening the door, Jake stood aside as Brianna stepped inside. She looked everywhere, curious to see how he’d decorated it. It was Spartan, the furniture sturdy and practical and looked imminently comfortable. To the left of the doorway, she saw a long sofa placed in front of a stone fireplace with a couple of easy chairs flanking it. To the right, a large, scarred pine dining table sat surrounded by wooden chairs. Beyond was the open kitchen. A closed door split the back wall.
There were no curtains, no rugs, nothing to soften the stark lines. And nothing on the windows to interfere with the spectacular view.
Brianna itched to bring a little color to the room, to warm it up with curtains flanking the windows, comfortable pillows piled on the sofa, and a thick rug on the floor.
But it wasn’t her place to do so.
Neither, apparently, was it any other woman’s place. For that she was grateful.
“It’s wonderful,” she said, smiling at him.
He looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time and shook his head. In comparison to the warmth and color of her place, it was barren, almost bleak.
“Still not finished. But I’m not much on curtains and such. Maybe you have some suggestions.” He closed the door and deposited their cases beside it. “I’ll get a fire going. That’s the primary method of heat. Don’t take off your jacket just yet.”
As Jake moved to the fireplace, Brianna dropped her briefcase on the sofa and went to gaze at the view through the front window. The cabin sat on the slope of a hill, with a small valley beneath it. The sunlight still shone on the opposite hill, the snow reflecting the late-afternoon colors of gold and pink. The worries about the break-ins seemed surreal in such a serene setting.
Brianna sighed with pleasure and turned to watch Jake build their fire.
“You could almost commute from here,” she observed, perching on the arm of the sofa. The trip had taken only a couple of hours.
“No, I need to live in town. If I’m needed, I want to be right there. This is fine for weekends and vacations.”
“Yet you said you don’t come very often. Why not? I’d think you would come up all the time and bring loads of friends with you.”
“It’s not big enough for load of friends.”
“Then a special friend,” she said as if probing a sore tooth.
He looked up and met her gaze. Slowly he stood, his eyes never leaving hers.
“I’ve never brought another woman, if that is what you’re hinting at,” he said pointedly.
Pink washed up through her cheeks as he answered her not-so-subtle question. She should have been embarrassed, but her relief that he did not habitually bring up other women was too strong. She was the first!
She wished she had had a hand in building it. Dare she take him up on his request to help decorate it?
She cleared her throat. “Why not?” she whispered.
He smiled and stepped closer. “There is only one bedroom.” Reaching out his hand, he rubbed the back of his fingers over a heated cheek.
Her eyes widened at that. Did that mean…?
“Fortunately, the sofa opens out to a bed.” Teasing lights danced in his eyes as he studied the myriad expressions dancing across her face.
She wished she were as brazen as she sometimes was in her dreams. She'd love to be bold enough to step into his arms and say not to bother with the sofa bed, there'd be plenty of room in his bed for both of them.
But while wanton fantasies were fine for dream time, they didn't have a place in real life.
He dropped his hand and shrugged out of his jacket.
The fire had started, and already Brianna could feel some of its warmth.
“There are things in the freezer and cupboards. Let’s see if we can find enough for dinner or if I have to go back out for some food.”
Brianna trailed after Jake, shivering a little in the cold cabin, the temperature almost matching that of outside. How long before it warmed up enough to be comfortable? With the fire, the stove and the oven, it should be toasty warm quickly.
She knew a shortcut. If he’d just kiss her once…
Even thinking about a kiss warmed her ten degrees. She unbuttoned her jacket and let it hang open.
Her eyes tracked Jake as he rummaged around in the cupboards and pulled out some cans and boxes. Then he moved to the freezer and searched through the frozen packages. Curling her fingers, she shoved her hands into her pockets to keep from acting on the urge to thread her fingers through his thick, dark hair. She spun around and gazed out the window over the sink, lest every private longing be revealed when he looked at her.
“That’s it. Frozen steaks, boxed potatoes, canned corn.” He looked up, a trace of uncertainty in his eyes.
Brianna met his gaze, touched. Was he worried about what she thought about dinner? She smiled.
“I can pan fry the steaks, make gravy and biscuits to go with it,” she offered, turning to take off her jacket.
He was right there, easing the thick coat from her shoulders, tossing it across a chair, raising her chin with the edge of his hand.
“I remember your gravy and biscuits. They were always great.”
“I’m glad you liked them. Men are so easy to please. Cook them a hearty meal, plenty of everything, and presto, instant satisfaction.” She smiled saucily up at him. Feeling alive for the first time in two years, it was glorious.
“I remember you saying that once before, when we had that barbecue.” He hesitated a moment, then murmured, “I remember every word you said.” His eyes searched hers, roaming over her face as if memorizing her features.
Brianna was struck dumb.
He remembered everything she’d said?
Then why—
“And I remember how mouth-watering good your cooking was. So I’m accepting that offer before you change your mind. There’s another fireplace in the bedroom. I’ll build a fire there so the room will be warm when you go to sleep tonight.”
“I’ll take the sofa,” she said.
“You’re my guest. You get the bed.” He strode from the room before she could muster any arguments.
Brianna turned to the counter and began to prepare for dinner. She didn’t really mind sleeping in his bed. It would probably be the only time she'd get the chance.
She was in the midst of cooking when Jake returned. She put him to work cutting out the biscuits and placing them on the baking sheet. While she kept a careful eye on the gravy, he whipped the potatoes. They worked well together, almost as if they’d worked in harmony for years.
Moving around each other as they performed their tasks, Brianna felt as if she were participating in an intricate dance. She and Jake passed, reached around each other and sidestepped out of the way, each time drawing closer and closer. Once she stopped dead and he bumped into her, carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses. If her hands hadn’t been full of plates and forks, she would have reached up to touch his cheek. He stood so close his breath caressed her cheeks.
“You must be warm enough. There’s color in your cheeks and your eyes are bright blue,” he murmured, refusing to move. She had stepped in his way deliberately. If she didn’t want to be there, she could step around him.
“It’s the heat from the stove. Though the room seems to be warming up.”
She leaned ever so slightly forward. Deliberately she ran her tongue over her lip and dared him to ignore her.
“If we do this very carefully, neither one of us will drop anything,” he said, encircling her with his arms, holding the wine bottle so it didn’t spill. The empty wineglasses clinked gently as his arms drew her in and his face lowered to hers.
His lips were warm and firm, moving across hers in a lover’s caress.
Brianna sighed as she melted into his embrace, afraid to drop plates yet unwilling to step away. She savored his touch assailed by tremors that consumed her. She'd lived in a desert of emotions for so long. The glorious feelings that shimmered through her were thirst-quenching.
She'd never known such love before and knew she would never again experience this with another. Jake was the only man for her. She wasn’t sure what had gone wrong between them, but it had nothing to do with this. Nothing could compare. In this they were as compatible as two people could ever be.
Slowly he raised his head ending the kiss.
Brianna was pleased to note his breathing was as erratic as hers. At least she wasn’t the only one feeling something. Could she get him to admit as much? Get him to explain why he’d dropped her? Get him to consider some kind of relationship with her now?
“Is the meat burning?” he asked.
“Oh!” She whirled and slammed the plates on the counter, then snatched up the pan and pulled it from the stove. Great! Just when she needed to make a good impression, she scorched the steals. Gingerly lifting the edge with a fork, she noted it was only slightly scorched. Salvageable, at least.
Was her relationship with Jake equally salvageable?
In short order, they set the table and she served dinner. Jake ate as if he hadn’t eaten in a month, steadily, without talking.
“Were you that hungry?” she asked at one point. He could put away as much food as either of her brothers.
“I was hungry, but more for your cooking than anything else. I get tired of eating out or eating my own attempts.”
She toyed with her wineglass, the deep red burgundy reflecting the flickering firelight.
“So what have you been doing these past couple of years?” she finally dared to ask. Heart pounding, she hoped he wouldn’t refuse to answer. She longed to know everything he’d done, everyone he’d met, every place he’d gone.
“Working mostly. Built this place.”
“But no vacations.”
He shrugged. “I took time off to build this.” And he’d been glad to have this project. “Though I know it doesn’t look finished. Any ideas about curtains and things?” he asked.
She glanced around the large, open room. “I could make some suggestions. Don’t you have someone else you would rather have a hand in this?” What of Diane? she wanted to ask. Just who is that woman and what's she to you?
“Your house is a good example of what I’d like. It’s—welcoming, I guess is the best way to describe it.”
She smiled, pleased he liked her home. She’d spent a lot of time fixing it up to suit her. She hadn’t had much else to do.
“A weekend doesn’t offer enough time to do a lot, but I’ll think about it and try to come up with some ideas,” she said.
“Decide what you think it needs. Next week I can go shopping and bring everything out next time I come,” he said.
Her heartbeat sped up. He planned to go shopping, maybe she could suggest she go with him. And come back when he did to see how everything looked once curtains were up, rugs laid out and pillows tossed on the sofa.
“Okay.” She could scarcely contain her excitement at her idea. Now to convince him.
“I could help with the shopping, too,” she offered.
He looked at her for a moment, then shrugged. “We'll see.”
She knew better than to push the issue.
There was time enough if she was spending the next couple of days here.
As recently as her drive back from Jase and Shannon’s, she'd never expected to see Jake again. She’d been reminded this past Christmas of all she was missing when in the presence of her older brother and his petite wife. Now that they had a baby on the way, Brianna was even more envious.
Jake and Brianna did the dishes companionably; she washed while he dried and put away. It didn’t take long for the two of them to finish. When he handed her the dishtowel to dry her hands, she grabbed each end and tossed the towel over his head, pulling him toward her. His arms went easily around her as if they had been embracing for years.
“What do you want?” he asked huskily, backing her against the counter, holding her securely in his arms.
She opened her mouth to tell him exactly what she wanted, what she had wanted for two years, but nothing came out. Heat stole up into her face, and butterflies danced in her stomach. She swallowed hard and squeaked out, “Coffee?”
“In front of the fire?” he asked, his voice low and sexy, his eyes dark and intense as he gazed down into her flushed face.
She nodded, her hands gripping the towel, resting against his solid chest. Held in his arms, she felt the tug of love as before.
He towered over her, an uncommon event in her life. Except for her brothers and one of the ranch hands on the family spread, Brianna usually met most men eye to eye.
“Do you still like sugar in it?” she asked, slowly releasing one end of the towel and pulling it from around his neck.
He nodded, releasing her. Taking one hand, he separated her fingers and held one up. “Just dip this in the cup and it’ll sweeten it enough.” Then he kissed the tip.
Brianna leaned against the counter, thankful for its support. Her legs felt like jelly, her heart thudded and heat engulfed her. It made the fire in the fireplace superfluous. Tears stung her eyes.
He’d said that so many times before. She’d forgotten. How could she have forgotten? It had been such a special joke between them.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, one thumb rubbing just beneath her lashes, capturing a tear.
“Nothing, I just was remembering.” She tried a wobbly smile. “You used to say that a lot.”
“You were always the sweetest thing I ever knew,” he said so softly she almost didn’t hear him.
When Jake planted a damp kiss in the center of her palm, she instinctively closed her fingers over the spot, sheltering it. Turning on shaky legs, she reached for the coffee. His mouth grazed against her hair. He gently pushed it aside and she felt his lips brush her neck.
“You’re making it somewhat difficult to concentrate,” she said, her voice shaky. “Do you want coffee or not?”
For an endless moment, he didn’t answer. She longed to turn and see his expression, but too afraid of what her own might reveal, she refrained.