Taming His Montana Heart(35)

“It is?” she whispered.

Yes, he told her by inclining his head. Yes, he reinforced by drawing her closer. Her shivering stopped, and she looked up at him with her lips parted and soft, so soft. Alive.

He was going to kiss her. Out here where people might see and talk because he had no control over his behavior. With the night growing colder by the minute and the ice on the lake groaning.

Because this was the only thing he wanted from life.

Her eyes were big and her expression uncertain. Then they closed the scant space left between them and she went out of focus. Their bulky coats prevented their bodies from truly connecting, but she wasn’t holding back and that was what mattered. She wanted this as much as he did.

Needed.

He’d been wrong, her lips weren’t just soft. Behind their chilled surface promise waited. Much as he wanted to explore the depth of that promise, he wanted to give her the same even more. He couldn’t open his past to her, wasn’t sure they’d ever reach that point, but right now was perfect.

Now was all anyone ever got.

She made a sound, something between a whimper and a sigh. He pressed his lips against hers, held onto her slight frame, lost something of himself and took a small piece of her for safekeeping. He hadn’t had anything to drink, but he felt dizzy and off-balance. As if he was starting over.





Chapter Twelve




“I saw Shaw and you together last night,” Daron told her. “I just, well, I thought you should know.”

Even though Haley shrugged and smiled, she didn’t feel lighthearted. Not only was she still trying to wrap her mind around what had happened between her and Shaw, she had no idea what to say. So much for having this being an adult business down.

Daron wiped his hands on a rag. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, no. That’s all right. I don’t want you thinking you have to keep anything from me.”

“I wouldn’t have been there if I wasn’t returning some baking pans to the kitchen for Mom. Uh, I think I was the only one out in the cold. Didn’t see anyone.”

That eased her mind a little, but she couldn’t expect Daron not to talk about it. She’d be surprised if his mother didn’t already know.

“Shaw and I’d had an incredible adventure yesterday,” she said. “He doesn’t get out of his office as much as he wants to. The conditions were perfect and well—we were celebrating an amazing day.”

“Hmm.”

Instead of trying to come up with a comment he’d buy, she wondered if Shaw had gotten more sleep than she had. Of course it wouldn’t take much to beat her two hours for the simple reason that she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. They’d conducted themselves like professionals while they were in the restaurant. Then they’d walked into a winter night turned magical and all that professionalism had evaporated like her breath had as it drifted toward the sky.

To her relief, Daron didn’t appear interested in pursuing the whys and wherefores of the relationship between the two people responsible for him having a job. What teenager cared what adults did? In between dealing with the day’s first guests, the two of them speculated about what kind of snowmobiles Robert had purchased and when they’d arrive. However, even as she tried to keep up with the teenager’s enthusiasm for the subject, she kept wondering what Shaw was doing and whether she was on his mind.

Maybe he was trying to make sense of what was taking place between them. If he had it figured out, hopefully he’d let her know.

*

Shaw called a little after ten while she was waiting for a gas delivery. When his number appeared on her cell phone, she briefly pretended she hadn’t heard the signal followed by assuring herself that she’d return his call once she had her nerves under control.

But that was the coward’s way out and she’d vowed to never be that person again.

“How are you?” he asked in response to her hello. “Hopefully you weren’t cold all night.”

“No. My electric blanket did the trick.” He didn’t need to know that being warm hadn’t shut off her mind. “You?”

“Fine.”

Fine didn’t tell her anything.

“About why I called,” he said. “There are a couple of things.”

“All right.” Daron was within earshot.

She wished she could be sure her body language wasn’t giving her away. Despite the spitting snow, she felt flushed. Hearing from Shaw was—all right, exhilarating and nervous-making.

Shaw kept his explanation brief. Terron and another member of the construction crew planned to come by later today so they could draw up plans for expansion of her office. In addition, Robert had sent Shaw a copy of the invoice for three top of the line snowmobiles and two compactor-tracksetters designed to be pulled behind snowmobiles.

“Maybe the compactors aren’t what you had in mind for grooming the trails,” he said, “but going by the picture, it looks to me as if they’ll do the job and then some.”

“I’m sure they will.” She gave Daron a thumbs up. The teenager looked confused. “I know someone who’ll love trying them out.”

Shaw chuckled and told her he wasn’t sure when the new equipment would be delivered, maybe before the end of the week. “Tell Daron he’ll have me to deal with if he runs the new machines into a tree or off a cliff.”