Without looking up, he turned back to the dog. “You look good, boy,” he told Camo. “Thank you for taking care of him these past three weeks, ma’am. We’ll get out of your hair now.”
“Excuseme? Are you joking? First, there’s a blizzard raging outside, and second, he’smydog.”
Arden watched Kyle’s jaw clench. He looked up at her for the first time as he said, “He’s not your dog, ma’am. You don’t know the first thing about Camo. We served…we served…” When his gaze hit hers, the full force of those beautiful icy blues slammed into her chest. And when they did, they took her breath away.
Seriously? Now you’ve got the feels for the guy who’s trying to take your dog away from you? Considering where Camo was right before you got him, that makes you a shallow, horrible person.
Arden looked away quickly before he could see any pain or sign of weakness—or God forbid, attraction—in her eyes. Kyle had stopped talking the second they made eye contact, so he must have seen something there anyway, dammit.
Arden ran a hand down her face. “Look. It’s late, it’s dark, it’s freezing out there. And I didn’t see a car or truck, so how did you even get here?”
“My rental went off the road on that last hairpin turn so I walked the rest of the way.”
“Jesus, that’s almost a mile-walk along the road! You could have gotten lost and then frozen to death out there.”
“I followed the posts. I’ve been in colder water than that, miss.”
Now that she was studying him—really studying him—she saw he was trying his best not to shiver. His hair was soaked, as were his boots, jeans, and the totally insufficient jacket he wore.
“You don’t even have a hat or scarf or gloves. Your hands and nose are bright red, and you think you can just turn around and walk back out there to your car with my dog—”
“He’smydog, miss.”
Arden shook her head. “Okay, right, you’re as tenacious as a SEAL, I’ll give you that.” She threw her hands halfway up in the air and back down. “But you aren’t going anywhere tonight, with or without Camo. Even if by some miracle you did get back to your car, there is no way you’ll get it out of that ditch by yourself in these conditions. SEAL or not,” she added when it looked like he was about to protest. “At best, you’ll turn on the engine to get some heat and sleep out there with Camo. But both of you will be soaked to the bone and how great do you think that’ll be?”
He dropped his gaze and looked at Camo. He scratched the dog’s mottled ears. “We’ve been in worse.”
Her first thought washow much more infuriating can this guy get?But then the rest of her heart and mind caught up and her professionalism kicked in.Oh. She recognized that particular sadness in Kyle’s voice hidden behind the bravado. That sharp edge of desperation. It got to her every time. She changed course.
“I know you’ve been in worse. But didn’t they teach you to take every tactical advantage you can get? Don’t you think staying here and getting warm and dry gives you a huge advantage over your enemy, which is maybe not me, but is actually that storm out there?”
She watched him almost grin as he glanced at the door. “Damn straight that’s my enemy, all fucking day.” She swore she heard him add under his breath, “One of many.”
“Also, I have hot chocolate. And oversized mugs for it. If there is such a thing.”
That got her a genuine smile, though brief. He ran his hand over Camo’s head one more time, then stood up. Yup, he was a tall one, and broad though not muscle-bound. Wide shoulders that tapered into a narrow waist. She tried not to stare at his chest so she looked back up at his face, and damn if those eyes weren’t twice as compelling.
“You’re all right with me staying here, miss? You aren’t,” she watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, “afraid of me?”
It was her turn to smile. “I’m the one who was pointing a sawed-off at you, so I could ask you the same question.”
He squinted at the shotgun leaning by the door. “Sawed-offs aren’t illegal in Colorado, miss?”
“Only if the barrel’s under eighteen inches long, and Nancy there is eighteen and a half. Also, I’m not ‘miss,’ I’m Arden. Arden Volker.”
“Ms. Volker—”
“Try Arden.”
“Arden. We obviously got off on the wrong foot and I’d like to apologize.” He extended his hand and when she took it, her own nearly froze in his grip. “It’s just that,” Kyle looked at Camo, “he’s…it’s been—”
“Kyle. You are literally freezing and I need to get you warmed up. We can talk in the morning, okay? Come on.” She turned and he followed, with Camo right at his heels. This did not bode well for her keeping the dog. She started to lead Kyle into the family room to stand in front of the fireplace when she thought better of it. She stopped and pointed. “The bathroom is right there. Go on in and I’ll fetch you some dry clothes.”
“Not a lady’s robe, I hope?”
She turned to find him looking at her terrycloth one, which suddenly felt about as transparent as silk under his gaze. She didn’t exactly mind. When they made eye contact again, he grinned at his joke.
“No, I’ve got something better in mind than a raggedy old robe.”
