SUSAN MEIER - Snowbound Baby

Glad for a few seconds to collect himself before he faced Madam Cactus again, Cooper conceded that he had all but told her he had something important in his truck. That meant at some point he would have to brave the storm, get his check and pin it in his underwear for safekeeping because he was absolutely positive that was one place she wouldn’t look.

But after he stepped into her bedroom he forgot all about the check, the temperatures and even nature’s call. He could smell her. He didn’t know if she had special soap or shampoo or maybe perfume that she carried in her purse, but the room already smelled intimately of something light and tropical. Oceans and coconut oil. Suntan lotion.

His mind jumped to a hot beach and Zoe in a bikini and he squeezed his eyes shut. But he forced them open again. He was not attracted to her…well, he was attracted, but he knew he shouldn’t be and he wasn’t giving in to this…this…base instinct.

So, he held his breath as he quietly slid around the bed and into the small bathroom, which—just as she said—was built in the corner of the bedroom. He left as quickly as he could but as soon as he walked into the kitchen, the scent found him again because she was wearing it. As she stood at the sink, with her back to him, his gaze slid down the sleek locks of her pretty yellow hair, down her slim back, along the dip of her waist to her perfectly rounded backside, showcased in tight jeans.

Turning from the sink, she said, “There’s bacon on the table.”

Her silky blond hair curved around her cheeks and chin and then fell in lazy curls to a point somewhere between her collarbone and her breasts. When his gaze reached the bottom of the very last curl, he had to fight his eyes to move upward again.

“You found bacon?”

If Zoe noticed the way he had ogled her, she didn’t let on. “There’s plenty of food in the cupboards. Even meat and bread in the freezer.”

After her reaction to being in someone’s house the night before, that cheerful observation surprised him. “You looked around?”

She sighed. “I have a baby. I have to care for her. I had to see what was available and what wasn’t. Besides, I’ve been up since five. Daphne went back to sleep but I couldn’t, so I explored. You were right when you guessed this was a weekend retreat. But it’s not for hunters. I think it belongs to a family. Though there’s a poker table in the corner of the great room, the games in the cupboard are actually kids’ games like ‘Candy-land’ and ‘Yahtzee.’”

She dried her hands on a dish towel and walked past him. Not giving him a chance to comment on her discovery, she said, “If you don’t like bacon, there’s sausage in the freezer. Make anything you want. I intend to leave cash on the table to pay for everything we use.”

With that she walked out of the room and into the bedroom. She closed the door, effectively shutting him out the way he had shut her out the night before.

He shook his head in wonder, not sure if he was more surprised by her sense of responsibility or by the fact that she clearly wanted nothing to do with him.

Well, whatever. She couldn’t have missed the way he’d taken inventory as if she were the breakfast buffet, so he didn’t fault her for wanting to get away from him. He should be happy she’d removed the temptation of her fabulous face and figure. More than that, he should be absolutely joyful that she was making reparation for the bacon and bread. If she couldn’t take a couple of food items without a conscience flare-up, he didn’t have to worry that she would run to his truck and steal his money.

He grabbed two slices of bread, piled bacon on one and used the other for a lid, making himself a sandwich, and walked to the sink where he looked out the window at the storm.

He didn’t even bother trying to stifle his groan. He could actually see the wind because it was picking up the icy snow pellets and tossing them around, as if the falling snow wasn’t creating enough havoc on its own. That certainly proved there was no need for him to brave the elements to get his check. If there was anybody outside, they weren’t plundering trucks. They were racing for shelter. As long as the wind wailed and the snow fell, his money was safe.

He ambled into the great room. A sofa and chair sat in front of the fireplace along the back wall. He saw the poker table Zoe had mentioned in the far corner. But he was more interested in the television.

He walked over, fell into one of the chairs in front of the TV and grabbed the remote from the end table. He pushed the power button and the screen came to life.

He almost hooted with joy. Not just entertainment, but satellite TV! In a few flicks of the remote he found sports, movies, reruns of old sitcoms. With something to do other than snipe at each other, he and Zoe could be in the same room.

Not that he wanted to be in the same room with her. He didn’t. He simply didn’t want to force her to stay behind a closed door with nothing to do, as if she were in prison.

But he also didn’t want to give her the wrong impression about the two of them spending time together. If he invited her into the great room now, with the promise of television, it wouldn’t appear he had changed his mind from the night before and now wanted to chitchat. His invitation would be to watch TV.

He bounced up from his seat. Sandwich in his left hand, he tapped on her bedroom door with his right. “Hey, the television works. If you want to come out and watch TV that would be cool. I wouldn’t mind that.”

“Thanks, but I’m going to take a shower.”

Shower?

Instantly a vision of Zoe naked popped into his head. He could see her glorious yellow hair cascading around her. Her perfect pink skin. Her shining blue eyes. Her nice round…

He squeezed his eyes shut. He would like to blame that quick mental image on her for saying the word shower. But he knew hormones or maybe his gender were at fault. Still, smart men didn’t chase after every good-looking woman they saw. They reminded themselves they were adults and also reminded themselves of all the reasons they couldn’t act like sex-crazed teenagers. Lord knows, he’d fought this battle before. He’d simply used logic and proper behavior. And this time around he had plenty of ammo.

First, he didn’t want anything to do with this woman. Second, she sure as hell didn’t want anything to do with him. And third, he had TV. There was absolutely no reason to stand outside her bedroom door salivating.

He said, “Okay. Great,” then could have kicked himself because the way he’d said it he sounded as if he thought the idea of her taking a shower was great. Well, too late to fix that. Time to retreat and hope for the best.

He nearly ran back to the great room, shoving the remainder of his sandwich into his mouth before he picked up the remote. He clicked through the unfamiliar stations until he found the Weather Channel then wished he hadn’t.

Staring at the map of the United States, he moaned in frustration. The storm that had stranded them had stalled over the mountain. The forecaster happily expected it to move on by the next morning. But he could be happy about that because he wasn’t stranded with a woman he didn’t know and her baby. The weatherman also didn’t have a check representing every cent he had in the safe of his abandoned truck!

A half hour later, Zoe came into the great room dressed in brown pants and a soft-looking red sweater, holding a happy Daphne. Though Cooper didn’t really want to make small talk, the obvious observation came out before he could stop it.

“Looks like you’re the same size as the woman of the house.”

“I wouldn’t know. There are no clothes in the closet. I keep an extra pair of pants and a sweater in the diaper bag because babies are messy and sometimes I end up needing changing as much as Daphne.”