Snowbound (14 page)

Beth laughed. “That was a silly throwaway
comment, Reed. I can make coffee and learn how to cook Thai food.
Don’t you get it? I was happy there. Happier than I’ve ever been
anywhere. Mostly, that was because of you, but I also liked the
land and the environment. I want the life we can have there.”

After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “You
sure you ain’t just sayin’ that to make me happy?”

“I don’t lie.” Keeping her expression firm,
she said, “You might as well know I’m not budging on this. If
you’re determined to stay in the city, you can have my apartment,
but I’m going back to Alaska.”

Reed pulled her closer for a long kiss. “I’d
follow you anywhere, girl.”

“Then follow me home.”

Epilog

Beth came out of the bathroom, drying her
hair on a towel. She smiled at the sight of Reed standing in front
of the window of their bedroom with Kerri tucked against his chest.
He wore just his boxers, and the baby was in her diaper, so he was
obviously about to give her a bath.

She walked over to her family, kissing her
daughter on the forehead before getting a long kiss from her
husband. “Sorry if she woke you. I’d hoped to slip in for a quick
shower while she was asleep, before she wanted to nurse.”

“It’s no problem. She’s a morning gal, like
her momma, but I can handle it.”

“As long as you have coffee,” she teased.

“With milk.” He squeezed her breast
playfully.

Beth rolled her eyes, holding out her arms
for the baby. Kerri flailed her arms and threw herself forward,
saying, “Milk.”

“You two are so alike.” She carried their
daughter to the rocker, untied her robe, and let the baby latch.
“Mom called to confirm she and Megan will arrive next month for the
celebration. Megan’s bringing some family too. Have you heard from
your sister? Is she definitely coming for Kerri’s birthday
party?”

He nodded. “Marlie confirmed and said Lila
was comin’ too.”

Lila was his niece, and he’d been a little
discomfited to learn she was a year older than Beth, though Beth
hadn’t cared. Reed was almost to the point that he didn’t stop and
chastise himself for robbing the cradle every few days, but he
still had moments where he couldn’t understand what she saw in him.
Beth was pleased that he always told her when he was having
doubts.

Wearing a bit of a frown, he walked over to
the bed to sit near them. “It took a bit of convincin’ to let us
pay her way.”

She smiled, liking “us.” When she’d first
converted all her accounts to joint access, he’d still called it
her money. It had taken him several weeks to use even a penny of
it, and he’d clearly wanted to protest when she’d found his
expansion plans and started setting up appointments with builders
and suppliers. Still, he’d given in as graciously as he could, and
they now had a separate building for housing clients, a better
airstrip, more modern equipment, and a completely self-contained
power supply that didn’t rely on the public utility service.

Their cabin was basically the same, though
they’d knocked out a couple of walls and turned the guest quarters
into a bedroom suite and adjoining nursery. Now that she was older,
Kerri slept in her own crib most nights, where faithful little Aika
acted as her guard, having taken to shadowing the baby instead of
Reed. The two girls were inseparable. “You know, I was
thinking…”

He groaned.

She frowned at him. “What?”

Reed lifted a shoulder. “The last time you
said that, you told me you’d found a private investigator who was
ready to find my sister.”

“I knew you’d been thinking about it, but
sometimes, you need a bit of prodding.” Beth smiled. “And that’s
turned out beautifully.”

“Yeah, but what about the plane? I still
can’t get the hang of flyin’ it.”

That had been an impulsive gift she’d given
him. It had occurred to her that they should have a plane they
could both fly, in case of an emergency. Their instructor flew in
twice per week. So far, Beth was acing everything, but Reed had
been a little less confident and was having some difficulty
mastering the task. She found it endearing that he kept at it with
dogged determination, though he got frustrated during every
lesson.

“Oh, you know I’m full of good ideas.”

“Full of somethin’,” he muttered, but there
was a gleam of interest in his gaze when he looked at her bared
breast that Kerri hadn’t latched onto yet. “Could make you full of
something else too, once she goes down for a nap.”

Beth chuckled, her body tingling at just the
thought of making love with her husband. He could drive her crazy
with just a look. “Would you like to know what I was thinking?”

“Sure, honey.”

“It occurs to me that you must feel a bit
outnumbered with all the girls in the house—me, Kerri, and
Aika.”

He lifted a shoulder. “Don’t bother me
none.”

“Maybe we should get a dog. A big boy named
Rex.” She’d just happened to see a malamute-mix on the Fairbanks
animal shelter’s website the night before, coincidentally named
Rex…

Reed shrugged. “I don’t see no harm in addin’
to the family.” The hunger that abruptly flared in his gaze sent a
rush of need through her. “Matter of fact, I been thinkin’
too.”

“Oh?”

“Kerri’s going to need brothers and sisters,
living all the way up here. There ain’t any neighbor kids.”

She nodded. “That’s true.”

“I was thinkin’ we should start tryin’ again
soon.”

Beth smiled. “Funnily enough, I was thinking
the same thing early this morning, when I was nursing Kerri after
she woke up for a diaper change.” She tilted her head. “It could
take a few months, you know, since I’m still breastfeeding.”

He lifted his shoulder. “Ain’t no rush, and
it sure ain’t a hardship to keep tryin’.”

She giggled. “I love the idea.”

Reed’s expression turned serious, and he
picked up her left hand, his finger rubbing across the plain gold
band there. “And I love you, Beth. I don’t say it near enough, but
I do.”

She turned her hand to squeeze his. “I know,
honey. You show me every day. I don’t need the words.”

He blushed. “You might not need ‘em, but I
need to say ‘em. I like hearing you tell me you love me, so I
imagine you feel the same?” At her nod, he said again, “I love
you.”

She leaned forward to meet his mouth,
whispering against his lips, “Love you too,” before he kissed her.
It was a mark of possession they bestowed upon each other, leaving
no doubt they belonged with, and to, each other.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for taking this journey with me. I
typically write short novelettes, and this is my first longer
fiction. I had many readers tell me they wished my other stories
had been longer, so I hope this will be a welcome addition to my
readers’ libraries. Reed and Beth really grabbed hold of my
imagination and demanded a lengthier story, with more time to
explore their issues. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading about
them.

Kristianna

Continue reading for a sample of “David’s
Baby,” also by Kristianna Sawyer:

Eighteen-year-old Liv may be a virgin, but
she knows what she wants. Ex-Marine David, who is nursing scars
from the wound that ended his military career, is just the man to
make her a woman. Boys her own age bore Liv, and the fact that he’s
sixteen-years-older just means he’ll have more experience. For
David, Liv is temptation itself, but he can’t betray his friend by
sleeping with his daughter. He has honorable intentions until Liv
tells him the one thing guaranteed to smash his self-control. She
wants to have David’s baby…

Chapter One

Liv checked the top button of her sleep shirt
to make sure she had left it, and the next one under it,
unbuttoned. Looking down, she was pleased to see a decent amount of
cleavage displayed by the silky garment. An equally impressive
expanse of her lightly tanned legs stretched below the hem of the
lavender shirt. The set normally included shorts, which she always
wore when her dad was home, but not today. She’d also toyed with
the idea of not wearing underwear, but had decided that would be
too blatant.

David was at the kitchen table, his laptop
opened before him as he sipped a mug of coffee. Typing with one
hand, he held a piece of toast in the other. Completely engrossed
by his task, it gave her another welcomed opportunity to study the
object of her youthful fantasies.

He had let his hair grow out in recent weeks,
and the light-brown locks were an unruly mass of curls that gave
the hardened soldier a softened, somewhat boyish edge. Even after
three weeks as a civilian, he still had perfect posture and seemed
to be awaiting orders to slip from at-ease to full attention,
though he was probably unaware of that. She imagined after sixteen
years in the Marines that on-edge alertness was second nature. No
telling how long it would take the former Master Sergeant to shed
that innate training.

Oh, she would love to give him the order to
stand at attention and prepare for inspection. Her fingers itched
to slide up the T-shirt hugging his muscular torso, to slip inside
his jogging pants and touch the hot length of flesh within. If his
large hands and feet were any indicator, she’d find more than a
handful.

The reality of never having actually touched
a man that intimately did little to detract from the dizzying rush
of adrenaline that accompanied the mental image. How she wanted
David Longe. She didn’t care if he was sixteen years older than
her, or her father’s friend and former subordinate. Boys her age
were boring and inexperienced. She wanted a real man for her first
lover. Her only lover, if David felt even half as strongly for her
as she did about him.

That brought an abrupt, screeching halt to
her fantasies. That was the problem. He’d been staying with them
for three weeks and never gave any indication that he saw her as
more than Denny Monroe’s daughter. She might as well be wearing
pigtails and a short dress for all the notice he’d paid to her
body.

Hmm, maybe that would get his attention, if
he had the stereotypical naughty schoolgirl fantasy. Stifling a
giggle, she padded into the kitchen on bare feet, stopping by the
fridge for a glass of orange juice. “Do you want one?” She lifted
up the pitcher she’d taken from the fridge when he glanced in her
direction. He shook his head, and she turned away from him. On the
off chance he was still watching, she stretched to get a glass from
the highest shelf, very aware of the hem of her silk pajama shirt
riding up several inches to nestle just a little below her
panties.

After pouring a glass, she returned the
pitcher to the fridge and turned toward the table. With what she
hoped was a casual reach, she leaned across David to grab a piece
of toast from the stack, making sure the weight of her right breast
settled against his bicep for a long second. As she straightened,
Liv got a good look at his computer screen, scowling when she
realized he was setting up a profile on an online dating site.

Still feeling annoyed at the proof he was
planning to start dating, she stalked to the chair across from him
and threw herself down. “Why are you doing that?”

He looked up at her. “What?”

Liv gestured toward the computer. “That
dating site. Why would you need to do that? Women must throw
themselves at you.” She’d happily do so if she thought he’d do
anything besides gently pick her up, move her off the table, and
return to his laptop.

The tops of his ears took on a pink tinge of
embarrassment. God, he was adorable.

David cleared his throat. “Uh, well, there
aren’t that many places around here to meet the kind of woman I
want.”

“What kind of woman?” She chewed her toast
with nonchalance, though her heart was racing in her ears as she
waited for a scrap of information she could file away.

“I want to settle down.” He rubbed his side
apparently unconsciously. “Since that bullet forced me to retire
from the Corps, I don’t have much reason to keep pursuing dead-end
relationships. I’ll be in one place now, so I’d like to get married
and start a family.”

She nodded. “You can’t meet marrying women
around here?”

David shook his head. “Not that I’ve seen.
The women at the bars usually aren’t looking to settle down, and
I’m not the church type.”

Liv nodded. “Yeah, me neither. Dad tried
dragging me a few times, but I just don’t buy into any of it. I
don’t think he did either, since he stopped going a short time
later. Mostly, I think it was ‘cause Mom had gone, and he thought I
should too. Or something.”

David nodded. “I remember Denny telling me
about six years ago that he didn’t think Lisa would have approved
of him stopping, but there didn’t seem to be any point in forcing
you to go when you spent the whole time arguing with the pastor or
rolling your eyes. You were…eight?”

“Twelve.” She frowned. “I’m eighteen now. Do
I look fourteen?” It took every ounce of will power not to cross
her fingers and plead aloud that he’d say no.

For just a second, his gaze dipped to her
shadowed cleavage, and a hint of heat flared in his eyes. The next
second, he’d blinked and eradicated all signs. “Sorry. I’m not good
at guessing kids’ ages.”

Liv gnashed her teeth together. How dare he
call her a kid? She wasn’t a kid. She was a woman. Well, not quite,
but there was just one more step to take to officially enter
womanhood. She wanted David to be the one to initiate her, but when
he spoke like that, it crushed her hopes.

With a sigh, she swallowed the rest of her
juice and got up from the table. “Good luck with your dating site,”
she said, striving to sound unconcerned, but afraid she came across
kind of bratty. Pausing by the sink, she put her glass in and
walked out of the kitchen without looking back. It was time to give
up on David—if only she could figure out how.