On a Snowy Night: The Christmas Basket\The Snow Bride (23 page)

Reid cut the deck with such frenetic movements, it was a wonder the cards didn't go flying in every direction.

Jenna turned over the top card and flung it down. She hated being put in a situation in which she had to defend Dalton, but Reid refused to drop the matter. “Dalton Gray is one of the most intelligent, sensitive men I have ever known.”

“He seduced my sister.”

“So
you
say.” When she had the opportunity, Jenna would speak to Lucy herself.

Reid stood forcefully as if he could no longer sit still. “I thought you didn't want to talk about Dalton.”

“I don't. Now please sit down.”

He hesitated before lowering himself into his chair. They finished their second game and played a third. Reid won all three. Jenna yawned. She was tired, upset and although she was trying to look on the bright side of her situation, it was difficult.

“I think I'll turn in for the night,” she said.

“I will, too.”

While Reid put the cribbage board away, Jenna stared out the window. It was still snowing hard and nothing was visible outside except swirling white. The wind howled and moaned with the pounding storm.

She closed the bedroom door, secured it with a chair and undressed. The room was bitterly cold; obviously the generator-run furnace couldn't keep pace with the falling temperature. She figured that once she was covered by the down comforter she'd be warm. Snuggling under it, she turned off the light on the bedstand.

Her mother drifted into her mind, and Jenna wished there was some way to reassure her. Then she remembered that Addy had mentioned a phone at the pump station. Turning on the light again, she climbed out of bed and opened the bedroom door. Reid glanced up from his chair, where he sat reading.

“There's a phone at the pump station?”

He looked at her a moment, then nodded.

“In the morning, I want to phone my mother.”

“All right.”

He'd surprised her; Jenna had expected him to argue.

“Thank you,” she said, turning back to the bedroom.

“Jenna…”

She looked over her shoulder.

“It depends on the severity of the storm.”

“I'm going to talk to my mother,” she said with determination. Nothing was going to keep her from making that phone call.

“Let's not borrow trouble. I'll do everything within my power to get you there. You have my word on that.”

He sounded sincere and she desperately wanted to believe him. “Thank you.”

A half smile formed, one of regret. “I apologize for this. It was never my intention to keep you here for more than a few hours.”

“I know.” She didn't blame him entirely. Well, he'd had no right to kidnap her, but his reasons for doing it were obviously sincere; he'd wanted to protect her from whatever fate had befallen his sister, supposedly at Dalton's hands. Not that Jenna's life was any of his business…And she couldn't blame him for the storm. “I'll see you in the morning.”

She started to close the door.

“If you get too cold, you can open the door and let some warm air in. I'm not going to attack you.”

She pondered his words and shook her head. “I'll rest easier with it closed.”

He grinned and she thought he said, “Me, too” but she wasn't sure.

Surprisingly, Jenna fell into a deep sleep soon after she settled back under the covers. She didn't know how long she slept before being startled awake by a loud booming noise. It sounded like an explosion of some sort or something huge crashing down. The cabin shook with the reverberation.

Bolting upright, she screamed.

It happened a second time, closer, louder. Terrified, Jenna screamed again.

“Jenna! Jenna!”

She heard Reid on the other side of the door, which was secured by the chair. The door rattled and just when she'd managed to find the lamp and turn it on, the door splintered, falling open.

Reid stumbled into the room. “What's wrong?”

She stared at him, hardly able to believe her eyes. He wore long underwear and his hair was disheveled.

“What's wrong?” he repeated.

“Something fell on the cabin!” Surely he'd heard the racket himself.

Reid placed his hands on his hips. “You mean to tell me I broke down my own bedroom door because you're afraid of a little thunder?”

“That was
thunder?
” In the middle of a snowstorm? Jenna had never heard of such a thing.

“And lightning. It occasionally happens in snowstorms.”

“I…I didn't know that was possible.”

“It happens,” he insisted.

Jenna was in no position to argue. “I didn't know what it was.” Now she felt like a fool.

Grumbling under his breath, Reid examined his shattered bedroom door.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “The thunder woke me out of a sound sleep.”

“Your screaming woke
me
. Scared ten years off my life. I didn't know what to think.”

“All I can do is apologize.”

Reid paused and wiped a hand across his face. “Want a glass of whiskey to settle your nerves? Personally I could use one.” He leaned over and picked up the two pieces of the broken door and set them aside.

Jenna had never been much of a drinking woman, but as Reid had said, there were times a person needed something to settle the nerves.

“I think it might do us both good.”

R
eid hurriedly pulled on jeans and a shirt. Next he took two shot glasses from the kitchen cupboard, plus a bottle of his finest single malt Scotch. After the fright Jenna had given him, he needed a stiff drink. He wasn't sure liquor would help, but he needed
something
, and from the look on Jenna's face, so did she. Silently Reid cursed himself for ever having brought her to Snowbound. If he came out of this unscathed, it would be a miracle, he thought grimly. But on the other hand, he refused to deliver her or any woman to Dalton Gray.

He poured them each a finger's worth and carried both glasses into the living room. Jenna sat at one end of the sofa, her feet on the cushion's edge, chin resting on her bent knees. She looked small and shaken. A surge of guilt shot through him. He wanted to apologize again, but restrained himself; there were only so many times he could admit he'd been wrong.

“Thanks,” she whispered when he handed her the drink.

Reid sat at the opposite end of the sofa and stared straight ahead. He wasn't good in this kind of situation. If he'd been able to think of some reassuring words, he would've said them. “Lightning during a snowstorm is rare, but like I told you, it does happen.” That was the best he could do. Reid glanced in her direction and saw her squint as she swallowed her first sip of Scotch.

“You do this often?” she asked.

“Drink or hijack women?”

A slight smile played across her lips. “Both.”

“You're the first woman I've ever brought here.” The last one, too. He'd learned his lesson.

“I don't mean to be disagreeable, but I'm not flattered.”

Reid wasn't sure if it was the whiskey or the fight she'd given him, but he found that amusing.

“You're actually quite nice-looking when you smile.” Jenna cocked her head to one side and stared at him. “At least I think you are. It's difficult to tell with your beard.”

Reid's hand went to his face. His beard was so much a part of him he didn't ever think about it. On the tundra, a beard was protection against the elements, as much protection as his hat or gloves. He explained that.

She took another sip, shuddering dramatically. “You
like
this stuff?” she asked.

“I'm not much of a drinker, and I don't often touch hard liquor,” he said. “But there are occasions that call for it.”

“Occasions such as having ten years shaved off your life?”

“Exactly.”

She stared down at the shot glass as if she had no idea what to say next. Reid spent a great deal of his time alone and readily acknowledged that he wasn't much of a conversationalist. He found himself puzzled by the fact that he wanted to know more about Jenna. He couldn't understand why a woman who, from all outward appearances,
was savvy and intelligent would link up with a rat like Dalton Gray. It didn't make sense. But sure as hell, the moment he mentioned the other man's name, Jenna would leap to Dalton's defense.

“Are you enjoying the novel?”

Reid's gaze fell on the thriller he was currently reading. “Very much.”

“I read it a while back. The ending will surprise you.”

Reid held up his hand. “Don't tell me.”

“I wouldn't dream of ruining it for you, but I definitely predict you're going to be surprised.”

“Did you figure it out?” he asked. He didn't mean to be smug, but he'd pegged the killer from the fourth chapter, and all the evidence since that point confirmed his insight. The novel was a courtroom drama in which one attorney's skill was tested against that of another. The case had gone to the jury, and the man being tried was clearly innocent. “Jones did it,” Reid said.

“Jones?” Jenna had the audacity to laugh at him. “He's the prosecuting attorney.”

“I know who he is. No wonder he's working so hard to convict Adam Johnson.”

“Oh, puleeze.”

“That's what all the evidence tells me. Why else would Jones be covering his tracks the way he has?”

She shook her head. “To be fair, I thought it was him, too. At first…”

“You mean it isn't?”

She pantomimed zipping her lips closed.

Reid wanted to reach for the book and turn to the last page to prove her wrong, but that would've been childish. Besides, having already read the story, she was in a position to know.

“Look at you,” she said, sounding absolutely delighted.

“What?”

“You're trying to figure out who else it might be.”

She was right. That was exactly what he'd been doing.

“Tell me about Addy and Palmer,” Jenna said.

They were a thorn in his side and—at the same time—two of his greatest friends. “Addy and Palmer both came up to work on the pipeline a hundred years ago, made big money, blew their wad and then stayed in the state. Pretty soon, they were drifting from town to town. They settled here because they knew Jake and he gave them enough work to keep them occupied and out of trouble.”

“They seem harmless enough.”

Reid nodded. “They are certainly characters.”

Jenna laughed softly. “Did you see the look on Addy's face when I scooped up a ladle full of stew? I thought his eyes were going to bug out of his head.”

“That was just his way of warning you not to take more than your fair share.”

“So I assumed.”

“Anybody else you want to know about?”

“Tell me about Jim and Lucy.” They were the only married couple in town. She'd seen a few men wandering around before the storm hit. Since then, everyone seemed to have hunkered down to wait it out.

“Well, you already met Jim.”

“You wanted me to stay with him and your sister, didn't you?”

Reid shrugged. So much for the best-laid plans. “Yeah, but Lucy was in Fairbanks and now Jim's there, too. What would you like to know about them?”

She looked unsure. “Addy told me Lucy agreed to marry Jim and live here only if she could return to Fairbanks every so often.”

“That's true. Lucy says it's because she's the only woman in Snowbound.”

A one-woman town. “She must be lonely.”

“Nah, Addy and Palmer are company for her—”

“Addy and Palmer,” Jenna repeated, sounding incredulous. “They're
men
.”

Reid couldn't see why that made any difference. “I'm here, too.” She ignored that.

“Lucy must crave female companionship. She's way up here, completely isolated from her friends and everything that's convenient and familiar. I don't know how she does it.”

Reid hadn't thought of it that way.

“No wonder she flies into Fairbanks every chance she gets.”

“She only goes about once a month. She might fly in more often now that she's pregnant.”

“She's
pregnant?
”

“Only a few months. She's got Jim flying in all kinds of equipment for that baby. I had no idea babies needed that much stuff.” Actually Reid was thrilled for his sister and her husband.

“I haven't met Lucy yet, but already I admire her,” Jenna said solemnly.

Now that he considered it, his sister did deserve a lot of credit. Moving to Snowbound couldn't have been easy for her. Lucy invited him to dinner once a week, but he'd never realized how lonely she must be for female friends.

“She obviously loves Jim very much.” Jenna said this with unmistakable awe.

“She does.” The conversation was growing a bit uncomfortable for Reid. He didn't understand women, not even his sister. Romance had never played a large role in his life. Most women seemed mysterious and temperamental—as much a mystery to him as the novel he was reading. Still, he
liked
women; he adored Lucy and he had several female friends, including Susan Webster in Fairbanks, whom he met for dinner every once in a while.
Even his one semi-serious relationship had ended without pain or suffering on either side.

And Reid had to admit he enjoyed talking to Jenna; when they managed to avoid the subject of Dalton, they were able to find common ground without difficulty.

“Care to play another game of cribbage?” he asked. Now that he was awake, he wasn't the least bit sleepy.

“No, thanks. I think I'll go back to bed.”

He didn't let his disappointment show. “I'll put the door in place for you.”

She took another sip of the liquor and blinked away tears.

Reid found it difficult not to smile.

“I am sorry about the door,” she said carefully as she took her empty glass to the tiny kitchen.

“I was the one who tore it down.”

“Yes, I know, but I shouldn't have put a chair under the doorknob. Other than holding me captive, you seem to be an honorable man.”

“Except for that one minor detail.”

“Right.” But she was smiling when she said it.

The oddest sensation came over him. It was as though Jenna's smile had traveled all the way through his body. He actually
felt
it. He wasn't the most intuitive of men, but he sensed that this smile offered his absolution. A forgiveness of sorts…an understanding.

He didn't want their night to end. He didn't want her to go to bed, to leave him alone with his thoughts—and his yearnings. Unfortunately he couldn't think of any way to stop her.

“Don't bother about the door,” Jenna said. “Since it's in two pieces.”

She had a point. “I don't suppose it would help much if someone wanted to break in. Not that anyone's going to.” He hoped to convey that she was perfectly safe with him.

“Night, Reid.”

He lingered in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. “Night.” As he turned away, he heard the mattress shift and realized she was already back in bed. His bed. He tried not to think about that—her hair spread out on his pillow, his blankets covering her…. Reluctantly he returned to his makeshift bed on the sofa, which was less than comfortable. Lying down, he tucked his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

Try as he might, he couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about Jenna and the way her smile had affected him. It was a small thing—and yet it wasn't. Maybe he was going soft in the head. He recalled when Jim and his sister had first met. His friend walked around town wearing a funny grin, and flew into Fairbanks so often people began to wonder how he could still manage his job. Then before Reid understood what was happening, Jim had asked Lucy to be his wife, and his sister was living in Snowbound.

A sleepless hour passed and then he heard Jenna climb out of bed. The mattress squeaked, followed by the sound of her feet shuffling on the floor.

“Jenna?” he called in a loud whisper.

She didn't respond for a moment. “I didn't wake you, did I?”

“No,” he said. “I can't get back to sleep.”

“Me, neither.” She padded into the darkened room. “Don't turn on the lights, all right?”

He frowned. “Why not?”

Again she hesitated. “I don't know…It's more…relaxed with them off.”

“Okay.” He sat up.

“Do you mind if we talk for a few minutes?”

Mind? Of course he didn't mind. “What do you want to talk about?”

She sat on the corner of the sofa in the same position
she'd assumed earlier, feet up, knees bent. “I want to ask you something.”

Reid hoped it wouldn't be a personal question; he wasn't good at answering those. “Fire away,” he muttered.

She didn't speak immediately, and when she did, her question took him by surprise. “Why do you live up here so isolated from the world?”

“You mean in Alaska or in Snowbound?”

“Snowbound.”

That was easy enough. “I work here.”

“Monitoring the pump station for the pipeline?”

“Yes.” It was a good job and he enjoyed his work.

“What exactly do you do?”

“For eight hours every day, I'm at the station monitoring the flow of crude oil. It might not sound involved, but it actually is.”

“Do you have a lot of free time?”

“Some.” He didn't elaborate.

“How do you spend it? Doing what?”

Reid paused. She was right; talking in the dark was more relaxed, but even in the anonymity of the night, there were certain subjects that left him uneasy.

“Is that such a difficult question?” she asked, a smile in her voice.

“No, it's just that I never told anyone—none of my family or friends.”