Taming His Montana Heart(17)

He seemed to draw out the act of getting to his feet. Maybe he was as sore as she now felt but maybe she wasn’t the only one who’d keyed into how close this space was. How intimate it felt.

“I almost forgot the most important thing,” he said. “About the sled dog races, how do you feel about having them held here?”

Instead of being less on edge now that he was getting ready to leave, she wished he’d sit back down. Wishing she was less keyed into his body, she struggled to give him the answer he deserved. As he’d pointed out, their relationship was purely professional.

“I think the best thing would be to have the event start near Noble Fir Campground,” she said. “There’s a lot of relatively open space there. The land south of Noble Fir is level for about a mile before it slopes down. As for laying out a route that meets the competitors’ needs and doesn’t call for cutting down any trees…”

“I agree. The Noble Fir area makes sense for the staging area. What if—I’ll try to break free for a while tomorrow. I’ll ask Terron to cover for you again. That way the two of us should be able to determine if our thinking has possibilities.”

“Tomorrow?” Swallowing was hard.

“The organization needs an answer as soon as possible. I wouldn’t be considering something with such short notice if I didn’t believe the event would financially benefit the resort.”

“Of course.” She tried swallowing again but the second time wasn’t any easier. “I’ll wait to hear from you.”

She could have remained behind her desk as he left the office. Certainly he didn’t expect her to wave him off. Just the same that was what her legs wanted to do. She didn’t try to dissuade them.

The flood lighting that lit up the front half of the building reinforced what she’d surmised. Not only had the storm hit, but the wind was blowing with such force that the snow was coming at them sideways. She pulled her hood over her head.

“You aren’t staying are you?” he asked with his back to the storm.

“Not long, but there are a few things I need to do before I lock up.”

“Do them tomorrow. I’m serious. The way the snow’s piling up, soon you’ll have trouble getting out of here.”

Her impulse was to tell him not to worry about her. Next to what had happened when she was fourteen, a snow packed road was nothing, but he was right. There was no point in risking getting stuck. No reason to worry him.

“Lock up,” he said loud enough to be heard above the wind. “We’ll make a run for our vehicles together.”

“You don’t have—”

“We already had one adventure. I’m game for another. How about you?”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve had to face—”

“Argue later. Close things up now.”

Knowing he was right, she returned to her office to turn off the heat and lights. After securing the several doors, not that anyone with a lick of sense would be out tonight, she placed her keys in her coat pocket and rejoined him. He stood in the glare of the light she kept on all night, his hair and shoulders buried under a growing layer of white. Much more and he’d resemble a snowman. She couldn’t help but laugh.

“What?” he asked.

“You could pass for the abominable snowman.”

“Thanks. Not.” He wiped his forehead. “Ready to attack Mother Nature?”

“We’re the ones under attack. Mother Nature is doing just fine.”

“I can’t argue that.”

He extended his hand toward her, moving slowly enough that she could have kept distance between them if she wanted, but she didn’t. They’d shared several lighthearted moments today and she wanted more. Wanted a lot of things that had nothing to do with him being her employer. His arm settled around her shoulders and he drew her to his side. Putting her arm around his waist for support made all the sense in the world as did laughing as they dug their boots into the snow and pushed forward. Because they were walking into the wind, she could barely see where she was going and concluded it wasn’t any better for him.

How wise he’d been to insist she not wait to leave.

She tried to match her stride to his, but his legs were so much longer that she would have fallen behind if he hadn’t tightened his hold until he was practically pulling her along. She felt small and protected, almost as if she was flying. With him next to her, she was in no danger of getting cold let alone being assaulted by the elements. No matter how fierce the storm became, he’d protect her. Be what she’d never had.

All too soon she was within a couple of feet of her SUV. Instead of relaxing at the sight of dependable transportation and protection, she resented its presence. Because of how Shaw had parked, she’d have to lead the way out. That was fine since she wanted to show him what she was capable of. He continued to stand as buffer between her and the elements while she fished out her keys and wiped the side of the vehicle until she exposed the key hole.

“Don’t drop them. We’d have a devil of a time digging anything out of the snow.”

We. She liked the sound of that. Liked a lot about what was happening even if she didn’t understand.

“I’m glad I’m not responsible for keeping the roads plowed,” she said. Now that her door was unlocked, she should get out of the storm but it wasn’t that simple. Too bad they couldn’t travel together with their bodies’ heat keeping them warm. “Crazy hours and conditions.”