Winter Interlude (32 page)

Still holding the poker, Paul faced her
.

Both stopped
—
and stood staring at each other for an
other
awkward moment
.
Neither spoke.

She cleared her throat, smoothing her jeans in a nervous gesture, then walked toward the window and pee
k
ed out
.
“
S
un’s up
.”
The storm had passed, leaving behind a bright blue sky that contrasted sharply against a white background of deep snow
.
She offered a wan smile
.
“I guess skiing’s out.”

“Yeah, no way we can get out to the main road
.
A BMW isn’t built for this much snow
.
Hopefully the electricity will come back on soon
.”
Paul glanced at his watch
.
“I can’t believe we slept over four hours
.”
He placed the poker aside
.
“Thank God for natural gas
.
At least we have plenty of hot water and we’re able to cook
.
We’ll probably have to spend a good part of the day in here to stay warm.”

He started for the door, asking along the way, “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“I’d love one
.”
Kate
followed him out of the bedroom
.
She went over to her bags and pulled out her toothbrush, toothpaste, fresh clothes
,
and toiletries
.
“I’m taking a quick shower
.
I’ll be out in a bit.”

At Paul’s grunt, she smiled
.

Things will work out
.
She’d survive. She and Paul might even be good friends after this.

~

P
aul watched
Kate
disappear and shook his head
.

I can handle this
.
If he could just keep his hands to himself, he’d get through the next twenty-four hours
.
Then he’d go through the process of getting both women out of his system
.
Smiling to himself, he began the task of heating the coffee
.
Since
Kate
knew her way around the kitchen, he’d leave the cooking to her.

An hour later, he looked out the window and sighed, feeling slightly on edge
.
They’d finished a filling breakfast, thanks to
Kate
’s skill, and were cleaning up
.
After washing the last plate and sticking it in the dishwasher to dry, he reached for the coffeepot, now warming on the burner, and poured
.
H
e sipped the hot brew
and
paced, still unable to relax
.
“I hate being cooped up like this.”

Kate
glanced around the room
, hugging her sides
.
“It does feel a little cramped in here
.”

“Why don’t we get into our ski clothes and snow boots and go out for a walk
?”
His nod indicated the window
.
“The fresh air will do us good.”

Kate
’s gaze followed his
.
“Sure
.
Should be fun and give us something to do
.”
She practically ran to her bag, searched through it and brought out snow gear, then started for the spare bathroom
.
“I’ll be right back.”

He grinned
.
“Okay
.
And I’ll do the same,” he said on the way to his room, thankful for a diversion
.
The space inside
felt
too confined, made more so with her unsettling presence
.

A few minutes later, he emerged from the hallway to find
Kate
pacing
, bundled from head to toe in a snowsuit. The picture of her moving back and forth in obvious impatience brought a smile to his lips
.
She looked like an oversized child, except for those noticeable curves
.
No one could mistake her for a kid
.

When she noticed him, her eyebrows shot up
.
“It’s about time
.”

Paul laughed, grabbed her hand
,
and made a quick retreat out the front door
.

On the porch, he inhaled and blew out invigorating puffs of frigid air that stung his lungs
.

“I should shovel a path,” he said, still holding her gloved fingers, as they trudged through knee-deep snow
.

“I’ll help
.”
Her laughter bubbled up and the sound floated past his ears as she plopped to the ground
.
“Let me know when you have the shovels.”

He watched her play in the snow, acting as if she hadn’t a care in the world
.
He stilled the urge to roll with her
.
Instead, he turned toward the garage and punched in the code to open the door
.
Having too much fun would only get him into trouble
.

He grabbed two shovels and walked back outside
.
The sun’s glare bounced off the white background, increasing the temperature to the mid-thirties
.
Without cloud cover
,
i
t
woul
d
probably turn colder once the sun
went
down
, Paul thought
,
as he handed
her one of the shovels
.
Which didn’t bode well for the
chilly
night
ahead
.
It was bad enough in daylight, but in candlelight?

He started shoveling, using exertion to ease the aching need lurking just below the surface.

Together, they spent the next forty-five minutes clearing the driveway, shoveling all the way to the street
.
Next
,
they tackled the sidewalk
.

Their task
finish
ed
, they trudged up the street, picking their way through the deep, fluffy, white stuff
.
On their way back,
Kate
began frolicking in the snow again
.
When she dropped to the ground and made a snow angel, he laughed
.

“Try it
.
It’s fun
.”
She flapped her arms and legs, creating another one
.

He couldn’t resist her teasing dare
.
That sense of fun drew him in…had him falling in the snow like a big kid
.
Following her directions, he waved his arms and spread his legs
.
“Nothing to it.”

“That doesn’t look like any angel I’ve ever seen,” she said,
mocking
his attempt.

“Oh yeah
?”
Paul gave it one more try, which caused her to erupt into giggles again
.
He joined her, and they both fell into the snow laughing
.
He couldn’t remember a time when he’d laughed so hard.

He was still smiling when a snowball hit him square in the jaw
.
It didn’t hurt, but it surprised him
.
Not to be outdon
e, he quickly packed snow into the perfect
sphere
. He then aimed and fired it straight at her head
.
She ducked and the snowball fight ensued in earnest
.

Eventually, Paul tired of the game and quit throwing, but
Kate
wouldn’t let up
.
She kept bombarding him with snowballs, one right after the other
.

“Stop
,”
he said, walking toward her and dodging white missiles. “
Game’s over
.
” He understood her nature to keep pushing, recognizing the trait as one of his
.

She only laughed and hit him in the cheek instead
.
“What’re you going to do about it, Morrison?”

He frowned
.
He’d had enough
.
He did an about
-
face and started for the house.

“Where are you going?” she yelled, still laughing
.

“I’m going in
.
I told you the game’s over.”

“Why
?
B
ecause I was winning
?”

Halfway up the driveway, he turned back
.
“No
.
I quit because it wasn’t fun anymore
.”

“You’re just mad because I clobbered you.” When he ignored her taunt and
continued
walking, she shouted, “I can’t believe you’re serious
.”
She hurried up to him
.
“It was just a stupid snowball fight.”

He stopped and glanced at her
.
His sigh bore infinite patience
.
“We both know this isn’t about snowballs
.”
He watched several emotions cross her face
.