Chapter Sixteen
Three evenings later, Aria’s eyes flew open. The eerie sense of someone watching her, persisted. She jerked upright on the couch and glanced around the room. Apart from the crackle of the glowing fire, nothing stirred. Exhausted from an activity laden Saturday with Prisha, she’d welcomed Kelly’s idea of a sleepover when Laney insisted Prisha stay the night. With just herself to cook for, Aria opted to indulge in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When the remnants of her milk slid down her throat, she’d sunk into the sofa intent on reading. Instead, sleep claimed her tired body within minutes.
Now, the howling wind swirling around the cabin signified the storm Kelly predicted the day before was on the rise. Something woke her from her nap. Her body shook in an unexpected shiver. She checked the room once more.You’re paranoid.Yawning, she stood and stretched to circulate her blood. She glanced at the clock. Barely eight. Rolling her neck, she headed for the kitchen.
Her gaze on the open window, Aria raked a hand through her hair in puzzlement.I’m sure I closed it.Maybe not. Shaking her head, she closed it and rinsed off her dirty dishes. Cuddling under the blanket with a good book seemed like the perfect plan for the cold weather. First, she needed to feed the cat.
“Hootie.”
The large gray Scottish Fold reminded Prisha of an owl. Aria laughed when her daughter named him after the sound an owl made. They’d rescued him from a tree the year before. And while Aria considered him ugly, her daughter cherished the animal like a favorite toy.
“Hootie,” she called again then proceeded to search the rest of the house. Bottom lip between her teeth, Aria stopped in the living room. “God, I hope he hasn’t gone outside,” she muttered and remembered the open kitchen window. Annoyed, she reached for her coat.
The animal possessed an uncanny ability to climb up trees, yet never learned how to get back down. Aria had to rescue the animal often. At times the fire chief was called in to help reach the higher branches and frustrated the crap out of her. Irritated, she unlocked the door. As her hand turned the knob, a blast of cold wind shoved the door open and sent her sprawling on her butt. Cursing, she stood, rubbed her sore behind, then grabbed a flashlight from the drawer near the door, and stepped out. Dark iciness enveloped her instantly. This was no ordinary blizzard.
Ice storms were as destructive as tornados. The first time Aria experienced one, it left her and Prisha trapped in the pick-up for almost two hours after she’d stopped to let a moose pass. The rules of the road here were simple. Animals held right of way if you valued your life and your vehicle as Buck warned when they moved into the cabin. You never honked or shouted at a moose or a bear for that matter. You waited until the animal moved. She’d followed the precise instructions. Only, her pick-up stalled and the weather turned icy quickly. If Buck hadn’t decided to brave the roads home after too much brandy, she and Prisha would’ve frozen to death. Thank God for small favors.
Now, she burrowed her hands into her pockets and hurried the short distance between the porch and the shed, hoping to find the cat there. The animal sometimes wandered in to explore. Inside, she flipped the light switch. As the place illuminated, she glanced around the small wooden structure used to house firewood and tools.
“Hootie,” Aria yelled. When she got no response, she flicked the switch on the flashlight, flipped off the shed light, and took a deep breath. She stepped outside. Icy wind smacked her face and slammed into her chest.
“Hootie,” she called out. A useless effort. The intensity of the wind swallowed her words. Sleet stung her eyes and pelted her body. She gripped the lapels of her coat tight with her free hand and ran. “Oof!” she cried out as her body smacked into something solid. Rock or wood, she wasn’t sure. Squinting, she looked up as strong arms embraced her tightly and shielded her face from the storm. “Reece?”
“What are you doin’ out here,” he yelled and ducked his head close to hers.
“I’m looking for Prisha’s cat.” As lame as her answer sounded, her daughter would be upset if something happened to her pet.
“What?” he shouted. “Go inside the cabin. I’ll look for the cat.” Reece took the flashlight from her hand.
“No.” She couldn’t ask him to freeze out here for her stupidity.
“Dammit, Aria, don’t fight me, just go in,” he yelled once more.
Nodding, she ran back up the path and mounted the stairs quickly. When she reached the door, Reece gestured as if to say ‘go in.’ Glimpsing Buck’s Chevy, she hadn’t heard come up the driveway, Aria turned, went in, and closed the door. Although her body shook from the intense cold, she immediately moved to the window. Her gaze scanned the darkness for Reece’s tall frame amid the pounding hail. The single beam of light dimmed and disappeared out of sight. Aria was tempted to run outside and tell him to abandon the animal. She sighed in frustration. It would be cruel to leave the cat out in this weather.
While heat seeped into her cold body, she slipped into a thicker jersey. Rubbing her hands together, she sent up a silent prayer for Reece. Tonight was the first time she’d seen him since their dinner date. She wondered about his visit to Jackson. Maybe he’d met someone hence the extended stay.Oh, stop it, woman.It was the last thing she needed to think about right now while Reece sacrificed his warmth for her foolishness to let the cat escape. Done with her admonishing, she paced the living room.
****
“SO MUCH FOR A ROMANTICevenin’,” Reece muttered. He turned up the collar of his jacket to shield his neck from the cold. Sleet beat mercilessly down on his body. The damn cat put a damper on his evening of planned seduction. Over the last three days, thoughts of Aria and her nightmarish past persisted. The urge to comfort and reassure her of his friendship grew steadily.
How in the hell had it come to this? The disgusting devil on his left shoulder aptly named the ‘wham bam thank you mam’ had vanished—destination unknown.
“Fuck.” Almost losing his balance, yanked him out of his reflections. As he slipped and slid his way over the ice-covered ground, he wasn’t sure what angered him more, recalling Aria’s past or being out here in the damn cold freezing his balls to search for a cat. He needed to show her how much she meant to him, and it wasn’t only sex he was after. If seducing her was the only way to get her attention, then he’d damn well do it.
Abruptly, his body shook, reminding him of his whereabouts. The jacket, now soaked, allowed the cold to seep through to his bones. If only he’d had the foresight to wear his thick waterproof one instead of the light windbreaker. The weather turned rapidly; he hadn’t thought of anything heavier.Who the hell told you to be so frickin’ gallant?He couldn’t let Aria wander around in this damn weather. Thank God, he arrived on time. Even as the thought materialized, something told him Aria would’ve braved the darkness for a frickin’ animal.
Silently cursing, he fought the numbing iciness, stopped, and shone the flashlight up into the trees. Given the pitch-black darkness and pounding sleet, the beam radiated little light. The cat couldn’t have climbed any of the trees. It was too damn cold and slippery. Weren’t animals supposed to sense drastic weather changes? Considering this cat looked more like an owl, maybe he was short on the senses too. Despite his predicament, Reece laughed.
