Hummingbird Lake (14 page)

Colt tugged a tissue from the box atop the lamp table
beside the rocking chair. He set it within reach of her hand, then continued his tale. “My aunt and uncle were with us that day, and Uncle John had just climbed back into the boat and begun to towel off when Jason called out, ‘I caught one.’ He’d hooked a six-inch sand bass.”

He saw her fingers snag the tissue, and she brought it up to her face and wiped her eyes. Colt smiled. “Jason held his rod up out of the water and he was turning the reel, winding in the line, when all of a sudden that fish turned on him. Started swimming right toward him. Jason let out a yelp and started paddling backward, backstroking with one arm and holding the fishing pole out of the water with the other.”

Sage held out her hand and wiggled her fingers, and he handed her another tissue. As she blew her nose, he said, “The fish swam right up his swim trunks and got wedged inside because of the life vest. Jason squealed and my mom hollered. Uncle Johnny laughed so hard that he fell out of the boat.” Colt grinned at the memory, then added, “That was a great day.”

A half minute of silence ticked by. Without lifting her head from his chest, Sage spoke in a soft, slightly peeved tone. “Why in the world did you tell me that story?”

“I don’t know.” He combed his fingers through the auburn curls that spilled down her back. “Just seemed like the thing to do.”

“You were trying to distract me.”

Of course
. “Maybe.”

Following another half minute of quiet, she added, this time with a bit of petulance, “With a fish story.”

He stroked his fingers up and down her arm. “A good fish story, you have to admit.”

He continued to rock her, and she remained snuggled up against him, limp and relaxed and awash in a fragrance
that smelled of springtime. In that moment, Colt wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else in the world.

Eventually she said, “Last time I sat in your lap and cried you kissed me.”

“Yeah.” His smile widened at that particular memory. “Unfortunately, the last time I kissed you, you screamed.”

“I apologized,” she said, stiffening a bit.

“Yes, you did.”

“I wouldn’t do it again.”

He trailed a finger along her arm. “Well now, that sounds like an invitation.”

She didn’t respond, but he sensed her anticipation. It would be so easy to sink into that mouth, but following a moment’s thought, and with a full measure of regret, he said, “As enticing as I find the idea, I think I’ll choose a different direction today. I don’t want to be predictable.”

She sniffed with disdain, and seeing a little of her starch return only made him want to kiss her all the more. While the devastated Sage touched his heart, the prickly woman stirred him farther south, so to speak.

Colt liked puzzles and he loved challenges. Sage Anderson was both, all wrapped up in a gorgeous package. His sojourn in the snowdrifts promised to be more interesting than he’d expected.

He also liked women. A lot. He’d been involved in two separate long-term relationships since his “starter marriage” ended. He’d cared deeply for both women, and each time he’d believed they were headed for marriage. He had a few scars from the subsequent breakups, but nothing that had turned him off the idea of marriage.

Following that twinge of envy he’d experienced in the Callahan kitchen, he’d just about decided that in addition to that home and dog he wouldn’t mind having, he
might like a wife and children, too. Once he returned to Washington, maybe he’d step up his participation in the dating scene.

In the meantime, since he wasn’t dating anyone seriously back home, he could consider making a play for the intriguing bundle presently in his arms. Yet he held back. She obviously had some issues to deal with. He didn’t want to do anything that would make her situation worse.

Although sometimes a carefree, no-strings-attached fling improved a person’s outlook. Maybe that was the medicine she needed.

He picked up a strand of her fire-streaked hair and let the silken curl slide along his fingers. “So, are you dating anyone right now?”

“No.” Again she sniffed. “If I was, it’d be pretty scuzzy of me to be sitting here like this. I may be the Wicked Witch of Eternity Springs, but I’m not scuzzy.”

Wicked Witch of Eternity Springs?
“Why aren’t you dating?”

“It’s not really any of your business.”

He expected her to push out of his arms at that point, but she remained right where she was, which pleased him. “Now, see, I can’t agree with that. Look at it from my perspective. Say the reason for your, um, distress was a fight with your boyfriend, and you broke up, so you aren’t lying when you tell me you’re single. Say said ex realizes what an idiot he’s been and comes rushing out here to beg your forgiveness. He might see your car stopped in the drive and your footsteps in the snow and follow you to my cabin. If he looked in the window and saw you in my arms, he might burst in and brandish his rapier and challenge me to a duel.”

“Have you been talking to Ali Timberlake?”

“What?”

“Nothing. You’re ridiculous.”

“Made you smile, though, didn’t I? I felt it against my strong, muscular chest.” Her only response was a snort, but since it was a sleepy sort of snort, he allowed the silence to continue. Soon her body relaxed even more and he knew she’d fallen asleep.

Colt would have been content to hold her for hours, but when his phone rang and he recognized his brother’s ring tone, he knew if he didn’t answer, Jason would continue to call until he did. His brother was annoying like that.

Rising, he carried Sage to the sofa and gently laid her down. She stirred but didn’t awaken. He covered her with a woolen throw and moved to answer the phone.

He saw that Jason had left him a voice mail, but rather than answer it, he returned the call.

Jason answered on the first ring. “Hey, bro. Did you get my message?”

“Didn’t listen to it. What’s up?”

“I’m headed your way tomorrow for a meeting at the Pentagon. Gonna be there a couple of days. Are you gonna be around? I’d love to see you.”

Regret washed through Colt. “I’m not in Washington.”

“Well, shoot. I knew my chances of finding you in town were slim, but I had my hopes up. We missed you at Christmas, Colt.”

He closed his eyes. He’d been on call at the office and unable to get back to Texas. “It was a damned lonely holiday.”

“So where are you this time?”

Colt hesitated, uncertain whether he wanted to share his professional frustrations with his family. Every Rafferty in the clan would feel the need to weigh in on the matter. The Raffertys were like that.

On the other hand, his relatives were smart, savvy, and for the most part happy with their lives. He could
use their guidance. “I’m in Colorado. Actually, Jason, I’m in Eternity Springs. Wait until you hear why.”

Warm and relaxed and oh so comfortable, Sage drifted awake slowly, an unfamiliar scent teasing her nose. Citrus, sandalwood, and musk—a masculine scent. A man. Her eyes flew open.
Oh, dear
.

A man’s bed.

Colt Rafferty’s bed.

Yesterday’s events roared down upon her thoughts like an avalanche and made her want to burrow under the covers and never come out. The snit she’d thrown at quilt group. Sobbing on Colt Rafferty’s shoulder. She’d been embarrassed the last time she’d done it. This time she was mortified.

She didn’t remember him carrying her to bed. He’d taken off her shoes, but nothing else, thank goodness. How long had she slept? An hour, maybe? Two?

At that point, it registered that the light in the room was coming not from a lamp, but from the sun. Sage rolled over and sat up. Sunlight? She’d slept the whole night?

“I slept the whole night,” she said aloud.

No wonder she felt so deliciously comfortable, so wonderfully rested. She’d almost forgotten how great sleeping through the night felt. Glancing around the bedroom for a clock, she spied one on the dresser to her right, read the time, blinked, then looked again. Eight-thirty? She’d slept, what, twelve hours? Wow. Just wow. If she hadn’t been so mortified about the circumstances, she’d have leapt up and shouted hurrah.

She did allow herself a silent fist pump before throwing back the covers and quietly rising from the bed. With any luck at all, Colt would already be out and about for the day, and she wouldn’t have to face him. Or he’d still be asleep in one of the loft bedrooms upstairs.

After a quick stop in the master bathroom, she took a deep breath and opened the door. The aroma of frying bacon swirled in the air. She probably wouldn’t be able to slip out unseen. Okay, then. No big deal. She could handle a little mortification after twelve hours of sleep. Sage squared her shoulders, braced herself, and walked toward the living area—where she encountered a sight that took her breath away.

Wearing nothing but gym shorts and sneakers, Colt Rafferty sat with his back to her on a weight bench doing biceps curls with dumbbells. For a long moment she stood and stared. Heavens, he was gorgeous, the scars on his back notwithstanding. Old scars. Burns, she realized.
Wonder how he got them?

Colt’s muscles bunched, then released, bunched, then released, and Sage stood mesmerized. She wished the owner of this cabin weren’t such a fitness buff that he’d outfitted his vacation cabin with exercise equipment.

She thought she might have made a little strangled sound, because Colt turned and gave her a slow grin that displayed those faint dimples of his to perfection. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

She swallowed hard. “Good morning.”

“Do you feel better?”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure what I feel is mortified.”

“Don’t be.” He set down the weights, then stood facing her. Sage swallowed hard a second time. The man had a six-pack.

To her relief, he grabbed the T-shirt draped over the handle of a treadmill and slipped it on. “Last night was the nicest evening I’ve spent in a long time. Nothing to be mortified about.”

The nicest evening? Warily she said, “All I remember is crying on your shoulder.”

“You were soft and warm and you smelled delicious. I enjoyed holding you.”

The wicked glint in his eye compelled her to ask, “And that’s all you did? Hold me?”

His expression went innocent. “What? You think I’d do something rude like cop a feel once you’d fallen into an exhausted sleep?”

She narrowed her eyes but decided to drop it. It was a no-win situation for her. “Well, I need to get home. Thanks for your patience, and I promise not to bother you like that again.”

“Stay and have breakfast with me, Sage. It’s ready, and I waited for you.”

Under the circumstances, she couldn’t bring herself to be boorish enough to refuse, though she had little appetite. “I’m not hungry, but I wouldn’t mind a cup of tea,” she conceded.

“Bacon and biscuits are ready. How do you like your eggs?”

“I don’t—”

“I’m having mine scrambled. That okay with you?”

Why did everyone in town persist in fixing breakfast for her? Did they think she didn’t eat?

“I have a jar of homemade raspberry jam that Nic gave me for the biscuits,” he added.

Sage surrendered. “Scrambled is fine.”

The tea was strong and hot and hit the spot and, to be honest, the food did, too. She expected to sit down to bacon and the third degree. Instead, to her surprise, he took the conversation in a completely different direction. “I talked to my brother last night and told him I was here and why. I realized my stress level already has dropped significantly. From the time I hit the city limits sign, I’ve hardly worried about my work. I’ve spent my time visiting with old friends and catching up on local news. It’s been great. Just what I needed. I’ve decided to go do some Taylor River fishing today. The weather
looks good for it, and maybe this time of the year, it won’t be combat fishing out there.”

“Combat fishing?”

“Battling for a fishing spot. Too many fishermen on the river in the summer anymore to be any fun. Anyway, the guys at the outfitters shop fixed me up with some Gore-Tex waders and the other cold-weather gear I’ll need. I’m excited. It’s hard not to relax when you’re fishing. So what are your plans for the day?”

She thought about her explosion at quilt group and knew she probably should make the rounds to apologize, but she needed to think through what she wanted to say first. “It’s a workday for me today.”

“I need to stop by and see your gallery while I’m here. I’d have stopped in yesterday when I visited Gabe’s building, but you had a Closed sign hanging on the door.”

“The gallery is open by appointment only this time of year,” Sage replied. She almost mentioned the remodeling that would begin today, but stopped herself just in time. She didn’t need him wandering over for sugar of any sort while he was renting the house next door. “There’s nothing to see there now, anyway. I send most of what I exhibit to another gallery during the off-season, although now that Angel’s Rest is open and so well occupied, I don’t plan to do it again next year.”

Which was why she’d decided to remodel this winter.

He kept the conversation to small talk as they finished breakfast. She helped him clean up, then eyed her coat, which was hanging by his front door. “I need to get to work, and you need to catch some trout.”

“Absolutely.” He wiped his hands on a white flour-sack dish towel, then slung it over his shoulder and shot her a friendly grin. “You know, the spot I’m fishing is strictly catch and release, or I’d invite you over to dinner tonight for a fish fry.”

While she searched for something noncommittal to say, he continued, “Although I’ll bet there’s a restaurant in town where we could get trout. My mouth will likely be watering for it after a day on the river hauling them in. How about it?”

“Thanks, but I already have plans,” she replied, smiling weakly.

It wasn’t strictly a lie. Tonight she had reserved for a chick flick DVD marathon.

“All right.” He flashed an easy grin. “Maybe another time.”

Sage slipped into her coat, reached for the doorknob, and paused. “Colt, I … um … about last night. I … well … you were very kind. Thank you.”