“Looks like we’re going for a longer ride, Lily,” she informed her dog.
Lily was lying on the bed next to Randi’s backpack, watching her mistress carefully, trying to surmise what was about to happen.
At the mention of a ride, Lily bolted to her feet and leapt agilely and happily off the mattress to the carpeted floor, whining her doggy joy.
“I’m glad you’re happy,” Randi told her pup as she closed the zipper on her pack. She wasn’t exactly thrilled about leaving her home, even if it was for just a day or two. She jumped as she heard somebody hammering on her front door.
Evan?
Her heart skipping a beat, she tried not to picture him pinning her body against her vehicle and kissing her breathless.
“Coming,” she yelled as Lily began to bark.
She opened the door and every bit of air left her lungs in one enormous whoosh, a sound she couldn’t conceal as she looked at the man on her doorstep. There was Evan Sinclair in his fancy wool coat, looking as handsome as ever, and she had the same breathless reaction to him that she always did. He had a cream scarf tucked into the neckline, but his head was bare. “I need to unload some stuff,” Evan said bluntly, his windblown dark hair whipping around in the brutal storm.
Randi was mute for a moment, her gaze lost in the depths of his blue-eyed stare.
“Um . . . no need,” she finally informed him, hating her own body for its volatile reaction to Evan. “I have to go into town. I lost power.”
“You don’t have a generator?”
“Not working,” Randi replied. Just like my brain right now. Sweet Jesus! The weather might be frigid, but she was suddenly roasting in her jeans, sweater, and ski jacket.
Evan reached out and took the backpack out of her hand, an item she’d forgotten she was clutching.
“Let’s go. The roads aren’t good, and the second storm is about to hit. I don’t think they’ll be passable for much longer,” Evan demanded. “I’ll take the groceries with us. You’ll need them.”
Randi snapped out of her haze of lust, telling Evan quickly, “I just need to get my car out of the garage.”
“You’re not driving. I have a vehicle twice the size of that miniature SUV of yours, and I barely made it through. Let’s go. For once, no arguing. We don’t have the time.” Evan’s eyes drilled into hers, his stern expression demanding she relent.
I don’t have to argue with him. What he’s saying makes sense. He’s been on the roads; I haven’t.
What Evan suggested was perfectly logical. She just wished he wouldn’t say it in such a high-handed way. It made her want to go on the defensive immediately.
“Fine,” she answered briskly and went to get the rest of her winter gear and her laptop. She had promised Hope she would try to be nice.
Randi scooped up only what she’d need for the next day or two and put Lily on her leash.
“You’re taking the dog?” Evan frowned at her as she met him at the door. He’d stepped inside, but just barely. Just enough to close the door and prevent the heat from escaping.
Randi gaped at him. “I have to take Lily. How would she eat? How would she drink? How would she stay warm?”
Evan gave her a puzzled look, but he took her laptop and the leash from her hand, after slinging the heavy pack to his shoulder to let her lock up. Randi could feel how much the wind had strengthened since she’d plowed out the driveway. “It is getting bad,” she yelled at Evan as she locked the front door.
Taking Lily’s leash back from Evan, she sprinted with him to Hope’s large SUV, letting him grasp her hand as they trekked through ankle-deep snow that had fallen or blown into the driveway. It hadn’t been that long since she’d cleaned it, and it was already starting to pile up again.
Breathless from the shock of the wind and cold once she settled into the luxurious SUV, she leaned back against the leather, relieved. It was her first winter alone in Dennis and Joan’s home. She hadn’t been looking forward to experiencing it without power for a few days. Being there was both a comfort and a trigger for her melancholy moods when she was missing them. Without power, she’d started feeling downright gloomy.
“Thanks,” she told Evan as he put the vehicle in motion, and Lily found a comfortable position sitting between her legs on the floorboard.
Evan frowned at Lily as she whined and squirmed with excitement before focusing his attention on the road.
“You don’t like dogs?” Randi asked just to make conversation. She might only be ten miles out of town, but it was going to be a long ride, since the roads sucked. They looked like they’d been plowed, but the wind was blowing a massive amount of snow, making visibility a nightmare.
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had one,” he answered flatly.
“Cats?”
“I’ve never had any type of animal,” Evan said shortly. “I travel too much.”
Randi’s heart sank, remembering that Hope had once told her that her father had hated animals and hadn’t allowed any of the kids to have a pet. She sank her fingers into Lily’s silky coat. “Well, Evan, this is Lily. She was my college graduation present from my foster parents. She’s four years old and is generally very well behaved. She just gets excited because she loves to go for rides.”
“Will she need to go to the bathroom?” Evan asked, sounding concerned.
Randi chuckled at his serious tone. “No. She can hold it. Just keep moving or we might get stuck.” She hesitated as she looked at the road in front of them, the visibility so bad that she could barely make out the road. “Can you see okay?”