She’d struggled into loose pants and had just pulled a sweatshirt over her head when the room plunged into darkness. The wind howled outside, and branches scratched against the roof.
The storm was here and doing all the damage weather stations had predicted. With the power out this early, she was more than grateful for her fireplace.
“Lauren.”
“You can come in.” She braced herself against the bed as she stood on her good foot.
Zach came in, pointing the beam of a flashlight at the floor. “We need to move to the living room.”
Right. The fire would be their only sourceof heat until the power came back on. If the storm lived up to the hype, that could be days.
Zach handed her the flashlight and scooped her into his arms. She held onto his shoulders with her uninjured arm and burrowed her face against his neck.
“You’re so warm,” she said as a shiver raced over her body.
Zach’s hold tightened around her. “Travis said it might take a while before you shake off the cold. He said you need to eat and sleep as soon as you can. Basically, you’re my new baby.”
Eating. Sleeping. All she could think about was Zach holding her like she was a priceless work of art. “You think you’re so funny.”
“Only occasionally.”
In the living room, he knelt on the rug in front of the fireplace and put her down on a pile of blankets and pillows.
“What’s this?”
“Well, you’re going to be hanging out here for a while. I found your blankets and pillows in the hall closet.”
The heat wrapped around her in an instant, soothing her tired body. Her fingers slid over the softness of the blankets. “Wow. While I was freezing my toes off, you were getting ready for the storm.”
Zach’s hands were off her the moment she was settled. “I’m going to get the candles.”
“Candles? Are you setting the mood or something?”
He was already walking away. “We have two flashlights and two extra batteries. I’m not a fan of groping around in the dark.”
“There won’t be any groping in the light either,” she shouted at his back.
Resting her face in her hands, she let the guilt hit her. Running out into the storm was stupid. Zach had been preparing for other dangers, and she’d brought one straight to him. When had he become the rational one?
He returned with three candles and a lighter. After putting the candles on the end table, he sat on the floor with his back propped against the couch—a few feet from her. The dim glow from the fire cast a dancing shadow over everything.
“Why are you sitting over there?” she asked.
“You need to be closer to the fire. I’ll move you to the couch when you get warmer.”
Pushing off the floor with her good arm and leg, she scooted across the floor to sit beside him. The closer she was to him, the more she could pretend things would be okay between them.
Pressing herself against his side, she rested her head on his shoulder.
“You saved me,” she whispered.
After a pause, he whispered back, “I guess that makes us even.”
Lauren lifted her head to look at him. “I didn’t save you.”
“You did.” He kept his gaze on the fire crackling in front of them. “Why did you call me?”
She shrank back from him as the weight of what she’d done settled between them. “I’m sorry.”
