On a Snowy Night: The Christmas Basket\The Snow Bride (27 page)

Addy and Palmer loved it, slapping their knees and laughing with glee.

“What's so funny?” Reid demanded.

“You,” Addy told him.

Grumbling under his breath, Reid glanced at his watch. “Isn't it time for you to go home?”

“It's not even nine,” Addy protested. He propped his hand against the small of his back. “Then again, maybe we should.”

Palmer helped Addy on with his coat.

“You might have to take the top bunk tonight,” Addy told his friend.

Palmer frowned in confusion. “I get the top bunk every night.”

Addy chuckled. “Oh, yes, I guess you do.”

“I think we should pack up and head out,” Jake said. “Mighty fine dinner, Jenna.”

“Best meal I've had in months,” Pete muttered as he filed past, his fiddle back in its case. “If you change your mind about staying in Snowbound, you can always move in with me.” He jiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Jenna's leaving as soon as the storm dies down,” Reid said from behind her. His voice was as cold as the air that blew in through the open door.

“Can't blame a man for trying,” Pete said with a shrug. “The winters are long and lonely in Alaska.”

“Longer and lonelier for some than others,” Jenna added with meaning.

“'Night,” Jake said.

As soon as the last man was gone, Reid closed the door. He turned to look at Jenna. “What was
that
all about?” he asked.

“What?” she asked, putting on an air of innocence.

“That last comment, for one thing.”

“Oh, you mean about long, lonely nights?”

“You know damn well what I mean.” Reid stared at her as if he'd never seen her before. “What the hell is the matter with you?”

“I think the question should be reversed.
You're
the one who enjoys misleading people.”

“I've never misled you.”

She gave a short, mirthless laugh. “I'm going to bed.”

“Go right ahead,” he snapped. He pointed toward the bedroom with its cracked door. “Be my guest.”

“I have been your guest for three miserable days.”

“Well, you don't need to worry, because we're out of here the minute it stops snowing.”

Angry now, Jenna stormed into the bedroom. Just so he'd know how upset she was, she slammed the door, which was a mistake. Reid had repaired it earlier, but it wasn't up to this kind of abuse. The instant the door hit the jamb, it came apart and fell inward in two pieces.

She gasped and leaped out of the way to avoid being hit.

Reid rushed in and stared at the door in horror. “You're a crazy woman.”

“Then you'd do well to be rid of me.”

“Yes, I would,” he said, stepping over the broken wood and marching into the other room.

A sick feeling attacked her stomach. She was being ridiculous, and all because she was jealous of some unknown woman. Reid was right—there
was
something wrong with her!

D
alton staggered into his hotel room and fumbled for the light switch. The storm had been raging for nearly two full days, and the only solace he'd found had been in the hotel's cocktail lounge. He was charging the booze to the company, although it wasn't official business. His bar tab was likely to be higher than the bill for his room, but he didn't care. It wasn't as if Larry was going to fire him, since Dalton was half owner, anyway.

The light came on with an irritating brightness. Dalton squinted and rubbed a hand down his face. He saw that the red light on his phone was flashing. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he searched for the message button and listened.

“Dalton, it's Larry. You're gonna want to call me back. I got news on that ladyfriend of yours. The one you've been looking for.”

Dalton replaced the receiver. “Ladyfriend?” he said aloud and then remembered that all his troubles could be
attributed to one Jenna Campbell. She was the reason he was trapped in Fairbanks—although he'd been stuck in worse places.

Dalton had done his utmost to find her, to no avail. The airlines hadn't been any help, since he wasn't a relative. With security as tight as it was, even in Alaska, he hadn't gotten a word of information out of them. In his frustration he'd turned to alcohol, and that had seen him through the worst of the storm.

He squinted at the bedside clock and dialed Larry's home number. Larry answered, sounding groggy. “Hello.”

“What did you find out?” Dalton asked.

“That's a fine way to greet me after dragging me out of bed.”

“As you might've guessed, I'm anxious to find out what I can about Jenna.”

“Worried, are you?” Larry pressed.

He wasn't—in fact, he was ready to forget the whole Jenna Campbell mess—but his partner didn't know that. “Of course I am.”

“Her mother called.”

“Her mother?” This wasn't news Dalton wanted to hear.

“Yes. Apparently she heard from Jenna.”

“You mean Jenna phoned her mother and not me?” This could be a problem. Jenna was turning out to be way more of a headache than she was worth.

“Aren't you curious about what she had to say?”

He was more than curious and frankly a little concerned. He didn't like the mothers of his women friends having access to him. That might cause serious trouble later on. Mothers tended to protect their little darlings.

“Dalton, have you been drinking again?”

“What else is there to do in the middle of a blizzard?” Dalton demanded. “I'm stuck here, you know.”

“All right, all right.”

“Just tell me what mommy had to say.”

“She's on her way up to Fairbanks.”

“What?”
This had to be a joke. “Jenna's mother?”

“Yes, like I said, she heard from her daughter and—”

“Where the hell is Jenna anyway?”

An uncomfortable pause followed. “You're not going to like this.”

Nothing was working out the way he'd planned. Just how hard was it to figure out what to do when he was a few minutes late picking her up at the airport? Couldn't she wait? “Tell me,” he growled.

“Remember how you suspected Jenna might've met up with someone on the plane?”

“Yeah.” He'd done everything he could think of and hadn't managed to get that information.

“Well, she did.”

“Who?” He breathed the question.

“Reid Jamison.”

Dalton slammed his fist against the wall, shaking his fingers to lessen the pain. He couldn't believe that of all the people in the entire state of Alaska, Jenna would link up with the one man who'd do anything to thwart him.

“Where are they?”

“At his place in Snowbound.”

“He took her
home
with him?”

“Yes, and damned if I know why.”

Dalton knew. He'd have done the same thing had the situation been reversed. “So Reid was on her flight?”

“I don't know, but that's my guess. A friend of mine said he goes down to Seattle every so often.”

Dalton released an expletive that was best not repeated.

“Either that or—”

“She hired Jamison to fly her into Beesley,” Dalton said, finishing the thought. When he was late, Jenna had imme
diately taken matters into her own hands. Dammit, you just couldn't count on a woman.

“Why's her mother flying up?”

“I didn't get around to asking. The lady's something of a talker, if you catch my drift.”

“From what Jenna said, her mother wasn't keen on the idea of her coming up here.”

“Yes, well, she didn't sound all that upset when I spoke to her.”

“Really?”

“No, in fact she sounded downright excited.” Larry himself sounded puzzled. “I don't know what Jenna told her, but she said she's landing in Fairbanks in the morning.”

“She's coming here?”

“Yes, and I told her she should connect with you.”

“Why?”

“Well, because she needs someone to fly her into Snowbound.”

So Jenna's mother wanted a ride to Snowbound. This might work out, after all. Jenna was with Reid, who had as much finesse with the ladies as a bull moose. Jenna was probably more than ready to leave the isolated town, and if he were to arrive with her mother, he wouldn't have any difficulty in getting her to leave with him.

“Did she give you her flight information?” Dalton asked.

“She did.”

“Good,” Dalton said, searching for a pen to write it down. Yes sir, this could be very interesting indeed, he thought, wincing as he clutched it with his sore fingers. He'd sweep Jenna off her feet, and if he was lucky, he could have a fling with her mother, too. That way, potential problems became a bonus instead.

 

Reid was too angry to sleep. He hadn't heard a sound from the bedroom since Jenna had destroyed the door for
the second time. Okay, technically he was responsible for the original break, but she was the reason the door had gotten busted in the first place.

With nervous energy, he started picking up clutter in the house, making as much noise as possible. For the life of him, he didn't know what had gotten into her. They were all having fun and then, out of the blue, she'd turned on him. He couldn't understand it.

Filling the sink with hot water and soap, he washed the dishes and set them on the counter.

“You have a lot of nerve,” Jenna said from behind him.

Reid glanced over his shoulder and was gratified to see her looking furious. Her hands were on her hips, her stance was aggressive and her eyes glittered dangerously.

“What's wrong now, Your Highness? Is there a pea under your mattress?”

“You kissed me!”

“Big mistake.”

“You're telling me.”

“No, actually you were telling me.” He did his best to sound bored, when in reality he'd lost his sense of annoyance and was fast becoming amused. “Instead of throwing insults at me, why don't you just say what's wrong and be done with it?”

“I am not insulting you.”

“Okay, you're not insulting me.” He could tell his being agreeable irritated her even more.

“You're the one who's insulting
me
.”

Reid reached for a kitchen towel and dried his hands. “Forgive me for being dense, but would you kindly explain how I managed that?”

“I already did. You kissed me like you really meant it.”

The flicker of pain he saw in her eyes surprised him. “I did mean it, Jenna. It wasn't the right thing to do, but—”

Her only response was a groan of frustration.

“You're still upset about that kiss? You kissed me, too, remember?”

“Yes—but that was before I knew about your woman friend.”

“What?” All at once everything was making sense. He sighed. “Who told you that?”

“Pete, but don't blame him. I asked.”

“He tell you anything else?”

“He mentioned that your mother left your father when you were a child.”

Reid frowned. “Pete's got a big mouth.”

“He saved me from acting like more of an idiot than I already have. I…it mortifies me now to think of the way I confided in you.”

“If it keeps you away from Dalton Gray, I can only be grateful.”

“That's just fine and dandy. Go ahead and have your fun. You must find me a joke—a diversion between your sojourns in Fairbanks. And Seattle.”

“Come on, Jenna.”

“You keep telling me what a creep Dalton is, but you're no better.” She marched back to the bedroom.

A knot formed in Reid's gut. He'd never viewed Jenna as vulnerable and insecure, but he realized she was. He hadn't meant to hurt her.

The room was dark when he strolled past. “Jenna,” he called from the doorway. His eyes adjusted to the lack of light, and he found her sitting on the side of his bed. She ignored him.

“Listen,” he said, “Susan's an old friend. Nothing more. We have dinner when I'm in town on business, but that's it, I swear.”

A pause and then, “Does she know you're an artist?”

“Like I said earlier, no one knows about that—other than you.”

“Oh.”

She might as well hear it all. “I don't make a habit of kissing a lot of women, either, if that's what you're thinking.”

“What about your trip to Seattle? Why did you go there if not to meet a woman?”

“If you must know, I took a week-long art course.”

“Oh,” she said again, her expression rather sheepish.

A moment later, she said, “You didn't tell me about your mother.”

He wasn't ready to delve into that. “You didn't tell me very much about yours, either, although you've mentioned several stepfathers. If you want to know about mine, I don't really have all that much to tell you. She died when I was sixteen. A car accident in Houston.”

“She left your father, though—and she left you and Lucy.”

“Yes, but that has nothing to do with you and me.”

“Oh…you're probably right,” she whispered.

He waited a moment and then asked, “Friends?”

“Friends,” she repeated. After a short hesitation, she said, “I feel like even more of an idiot, if that's possible.”

“You're not. If I heard there was a man you were serious about, I'd wonder, too—considering the way you kissed me.”

“I think I should just leave…. I'm not good with relationships. I mess them up every time. I apologize. You must think I'm insecure and silly and…worse. Good night, Reid.”

He wasn't sure he wanted the conversation to end here, but if they continued, he was afraid they'd just end up kissing again. Which wouldn't be a good thing, since this was not a relationship with a future. “Good night, Jenna.”

He made up his bed on the sofa and lay down with his head on the pillow. A half hour must have passed. He thought he heard Jenna tossing and turning, and called out in a husky whisper, “Are you awake?”

“Yeah.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I'm so embarrassed.”

Reid chuckled. “Actually I'm flattered. You were jealous and I loved it.”

“I feel a whole lot better now,” she muttered sarcastically.

He nestled his head against the sofa arm and closed his eyes. The attempt to sleep didn't last long. “Are you still set on meeting Dalton Gray?” He suspected he wasn't going to approve of the answer.

“Yes.”

“I thought so.” He closed his eyes again but the images that came to mind distressed him. His eyes flew open. “Is there anything I can do to persuade you not to?”

“Probably not.”

At least she was honest. “Then I won't try.”

A few more minutes passed.

“Reid, the picture you drew of me, can I have it?”

“I don't think so. I'd prefer to keep it myself.”

“Why?”

He didn't have an answer, at least not one he was willing to share. All he knew was that he wasn't giving it up.

“I checked with the weather people,” he told her. “The storm will be gone by morning.”

“How early will you be flying me out?”

She didn't say anything about Lucy, and because of everything that had happened, he wasn't going to use his sister as an excuse to delay their departure. “Addy and Palmer will have the runway cleared by first light. We'll leave soon after that.”