Be Mine (12 page)

“Yes.”

“Where’s your brother?”

“Jack’s in Bangor, Maine.” She smiled before adding, “We both moved far away. My parents don’t seem to notice.”

“Do you keep in touch?” Chad asked curiously. He spoke with his own parents in Phoenix several times a week. They picked up the telephone as casually as if the other person lived on the opposite side of town.

Sabina’s voice was devoid of emotion. “Mother calls every month or six weeks. She and Dad are immersed in their careers. Neither of them writes letters.” She knew he couldn’t comprehend that kind of relationship. Would he believe she had never before thought it unnatural? “Jack and I keep up with each other. We’ve always been close,” she added defensively.

Translation: You’re all either of you have.
.
No wonder she was so prickly and independent. She’d never known anything different . . . unless . . . “What about your ex-fiancé?”

She lifted both hands, running them through her hair and lifting it above her head. The shining strands returned obediently to a smooth bell. She sighed. “I was always idealistic. Causes and issues, like conservation, attracted me, maybe because we talked about them at home.

“I made friends with people who felt the same way. We protested . . . or whatever we felt had to be done. John and I became good friends. After graduation, it seemed logical to plan marriage, so we could continue to make a difference. We were very idealistic,” she defended.

His gaze fixed on the ceiling, Chad nodded encouragingly. He supported numerous worthwhile causes, and he had seen the zealous intensity of those who lived their beliefs. Perhaps if he hadn’t, at an early age, accepted responsibility for the people who depended upon him for their livelihood, he might have been the same.

Sabina was grateful he wasn’t looking at her. She couldn’t explain her broken engagement face to face. “We used different approaches. He was an activist, catching the public eye. I wanted to work within the system. He was gone more and more, sometimes even in jail. I . . . didn’t even miss him.” She swallowed nervously. “There wasn’t any magic.” The sentence flew from her lips before she could stop it.

Sabina glanced sideways to assure herself Chad was still inspecting the ceiling for possible cracks. “In the end, I realized we wouldn’t have much of a marriage.”

There. She’d said it. Jack had never liked John, and had made no secret of his estimate of her intelligence for considering marrying such a loser. She risked another sideways glance.

His head propped in the wing of the couch, Chad was staring at her as if he’d never seen her before. It was several moments before he spoke, and when he did his voice was the dangerously quiet level she’d heard the day before when he’d dissected Jonas for allowing her to drive the front-end loader.

“Let me get this straight. That wimp neglected you. He disappeared on little jaunts where he expended what little emotion he had on protests. I suppose when he came home he blamed you for anything that went wrong?”

She glared at him. “I
did
figure out the problem before I did anything serious, like marry him! Not every family in the world is like yours. I’m not accustomed to people who really
care
about each other. They even seem to care about
me
.
”

“Why not? Is there something wrong with you? That selfish . . . He really did a number on you, didn’t he.”

Where was the cool, analytical thinking she prided herself on? She couldn’t admit Chad unsettled her so completely she was ready to bite her fingernails. “I’m here to inspect Calico, so I expected everyone to be distant. Instead, they treat me as if they’ve known me forever.”

She frowned. “I could get in big trouble for becoming involved with you. It might look as if one of us were trying to . . . to subvert the other.”

“The attraction between us is real. There’s no reason we shouldn’t see if there’s something more, now that your inspection is finished.” He reached for her hand, capturing it as she tried to pull away from him.

 Sabina shrank into the pillows at her back. The more than talked, the more confused she became.

He remained where he was, his eye alight with skepticism. “You horrified poor Jonas yesterday when you showed up at the office. He watched you take off that `city’ coat and snap on your chains. Your efficiency gave him such a fright he called the site to hedge his bets. You switched gears on him too fast, but you’re not too fast for me.”

“He called me `Missy.’ If he’d been younger I’d have punched out his lights.”

Chad’s grin widened. “Why didn’t you do that to me when you realized I fudged on the weather report?”

“By the time I knew, I wasn’t as eager to leave.” She ducked, knowing he would lunge for her, then rolled beneath his arm and slid to the floor. “That was a major mistake. I should have been on the road before you got here this morning.”

She didn’t rise quickly enough. Chad levered himself off the couch in one fluid movement, landing next to her. His arm anchored her to the braided rug and he kissed her. She felt the solid thud of his heart.

The power of her response astonished her. His eyes, deep amber, dancing with deviltry, were inches from her own. Sabina couldn’t look away. When his strong fingers finally threaded through her hair to cup the back of her head, he whispered softly, “Don’t look so scared. I haven’t done anything yet.”

“So the man says,” she murmured before he kissed her again.

“Smile for me.”

Confused, she stared at him blankly.

“I said smile. Please?”

Sabina smiled.

“That sneaky dimple of yours is . . .”

“Woof!”

The sound brought Sabina back to reality. Sock advanced several paces into the room to repeat his demand. There was no doubt of his need.

Chad groaned and rested his forehead briefly against Sabina’s shoulder before raising his head and looking ruefully into Sabina’s eyes. “He wants out. Now. I know that bark.”

Sabina looked at Chad’s tousled hair glinting gold in the dying firelight. Regret, mixed with near-relief at the interruption, filled her. “You’d better let him out. I . . . should turn in.”

He stood, holding out his hand to help her to her feet. “Maybe you better. Sleep well. I’ll see you in the morning.”

* * * *

“Time to rise, Sunshine!”

Chad chuckled as Sabina growled and burrowed more deeply beneath the fat comforter. He stared at the motionless mound on the bed, weighing several options. Then he acted.

Sabina shrieked as the comforter disappeared. “Get out of here!”

“I could have wakened you with a kiss, like the prince in Sleeping Beauty.” Righteousness was not a role Chad wore well, and he knew it.

“Maybe you should go bury yourself in a snow bank.”

“The sun’s been up for three hours, and so has the temperature. Those snow banks are already shrinking.”

“So go play in one before it melts,” Sabina said reasonably.

“You really are testy in the morning, aren’t you.” Chad wrapped the comforter around her shoulders. “Do you cross country?”

“My track shoes are at home,” she grumped.

“Ski, my sweet.”

She nodded irritably, her eyes still closed.

“You shouldn’t frown like that. Causes wrinkles.” He warned. “I dug out skis and a set of boots that should fit you. If you hurry, we can get out before the snow melts.”

“You woke me for that?”

“We don’t have a lot of big time treats available for you city girls. Of course, if you’re out of shape, we won’t bother.”

Sabina pulled the cover closer around her shoulders and curled into a ball. “Wake me when the roads are clear.”

“Suit yourself, but Aunt Clara’s making Eggs Benedict.”

* * * *

As she pulled the covers over her head, she heard him leave. She counted to ten. His dig about her physical condition rankled. She’d show him a thing or two about cross country skiing. Besides, she would kill for Eggs Benedict. Sabina crawled from her warm nest and staggered to the shower.

Twenty minutes later, she glowered at Chad as he greeted her with a bowl of fresh fruit in one hand and a steaming coffee mug in the other.

“You two must have had quite an evening if you’re still tired after sleeping this late,” Erica commented cheerfully.

Sabina nearly choked on a piece of pineapple.

“I never heard you come upstairs, Chad.” Clara commented.

“I was out with Sock. He didn’t want to come in.”

Eyeing her nephew, Clara observed, “I ‘spect you both needed a snowdrift to roll in.”

“You may be right, Aunt Clara,” Chad responded sunnily.

Sabina was becoming accustomed to hearing virtual strangers discuss her private life in her presence. She couldn’t get angry at Clara; she’d allowed herself to like her too much . When she left here she would miss her and the twins . . . and Chad.

The realization was like a physical blow. Talking about her past with Chad had made her realize how restricted her life had been.

“Turning me down on the skiing?”

“I’m not out of condition,” she parried.

“Good. Then you’ll come. I waxed the skis just in case.”

Sabina pretended reluctance, but she would never have turned him down. She wanted the memories.

In no time at all she was trudging alongside Chad through the heavy snow toward the edge of the little town.

“We can’t ski till we cross the main drag. The plows have cleared it,” Chad explained as they started out.

Sabina followed close behind him. In spite of her dark glasses, the bright March sunshine made her eyes water. Snow transformed the buildings into frosted gingerbread structures straight from Hansel and Gretel. The sun’s laser-like rays reflected diamonds from the white landscape as far as she could see. “I can’t believe this all happened in such a short time.”

“Look your fill. The snow will disappear just as quickly. It’s March.” Chad helped her over a split-rail fence. “We can put on our skis now.” He knelt to clean the slots on the soles of her boots before slipping the skis into place.

Moments later she followed him across the rolling expanse of white, quickly remembering to coordinate the rhythm of poles and skis. Chad needed no such adjustment period, and he drew ahead effortlessly.

They flowed across the field until Chad gestured for her to stop at the top of a small rise. “This is as good a place as any to catch your breath. Listen to the quiet.”

Total peace surrounded Sabina. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so cut off from the world. She glanced over at Chad. Her voice low, she observed, “You do a lot of this.”

Although his eyes were unreadable behind dark lenses, she saw his mouth tighten. “Those are Marie’s skis and boots you’re wearing. The three of us used to ski a lot. Now I get out whenever there’s snow; it seems to bring them closer. Sometimes I come at night in the moonlight.” He adjusted the strap of his pole. “Being out here reminds you you’re not the center of the universe, that you can’t control everything that happens.”

Her throat tightened at the resignation in his voice.

 “Zack and I were closer than most brothers. He’s gone, but the sun still comes up every day. There are still surprises.” His lips quirked irrepressibly. “Sometimes even a state inspection is serendipity.” He looked across the field below them and pointed. “Follow me. I’ve something to show you.”

Minutes later, flushed and exhilarated, Sabina glided to a stop at the edge of a ravine. The sound of rushing water drew her eyes, and she glanced downward at the icy stream already swollen by melting snow. “Can we get down there?”

“We’ll have to take off our skis to get through the undergrowth.”

She was releasing her bindings when Chad’s shout startled her. As she straightened, she saw him slide down the steep slope on his back, grabbing for branches on either side of him as he hurtled toward the frigid water. Her heart pounding in her throat, she fumbled with the recalcitrant skis. Her hands shook even more than before, but they finally swung loose.

At the lip of the ravine she peered down. He was sprawled, unmoving, against a large bush not three feet from the edge of the stream. She called his name, her voice echoing in the sparkling silence. Squelching panic, she grasped a sapling to keep from falling as Chad had, then reached ahead to another tree, shifting from tree trunks to shrubs and back to trees as she negotiated the steep incline. Fear for him made her blood pound so loudly in her ears she couldn’t hear the rushing water below her.

Chad lay partially on his left side, his eyes closed. Sabina knelt beside him and reached for his wrist to check for a pulse, her lips forming his name over and over. Her skin felt dead and numb with fear. “Chad, talk to me.”

His hand gripped her arm and her feet left the ground. For a moment Sabina thought she would land in the freezing water, but she underrated Chad’s control. A dexterous twist of his wrist turned her in midair. Chad’s hands cushioned her descent.

The unexpected takedown held Sabina quiet long enough for Chad to murmur triumphantly, “I told you I’d surprise you.”

“You faked this whole thing just to prove you could catch me unawares?” The little voice she usually obeyed demanded that she protest, but the voice had no sense of humor.

CHAPTER NINE

“This wards off frostbite. The tips of your ears were a little red,” he whispered.

He pulled her head down and kissed her.

 “Chad . . .?” She leaned forward and kissed him back, then sighed, a small, disappointed sound. Sabina had a mental picture of the two of them lying in the snow while the icy stream burbled merrily alongside. Sanity returned, and she drew away from him. “This is
so
unprofessional. Until my report is filed, I’m here officially.”

“What if I told you we’d crossed the county line and you were no longer near my place of operation?”

“I’d say you were trying to sell me Grant’s Tomb.”

Chad rose, drawing Sabina with him. With exaggerated precision, he tugged her toboggan over her ears and rested his forearms on her shoulders before lowering his forehead to hers. “This isn’t over.” His breathing was quick and light, his voice deadly serious. “We need time together. Away from my family, from our jobs.”