His gray raincoat, creased trousers and dress shirt of the day before had been replaced by jeans, a T-shirt and a leather jacket. He looked younger and more relaxed. So handsome she wasn’t surprised when the hotel desk clerk gave him a quick once-over or that her own heart stuttered in her chest at the mere sight of him.
As he approached the little table where she and Molly sat sharing a bowl of hot cereal, her nerves tingled with the attraction she’d felt the day before when they’d accidentally brushed hands. She once again reminded herself that being attracted wasn’t in either of their best interest but this time it didn’t work. How could she not be attracted to him? Incredibly male in his jeans and leather jacket, he took her breath away. If they accidentally touched again, she knew she’d shiver.
Still, she didn’t let any of that show as she offered him the empty seat at her small table. To her surprise, he not only took it; he actually made baby talk with Molly as he ate. Luckily, when they got into the SUV, he didn’t talk anymore, except to suggest they stop for lunch when Molly awakened after sleeping away the morning.
Back in the car after their quick lunch, he once again stayed silent until Molly awakened from her afternoon nap and they stopped for dinner.
They traveled another two hours after supper. Then it began to rain again and Jared suggested Elise look for a hotel. She found one almost immediately, but when she wrapped fingers around the handle to open her door, Jared grabbed her forearm.
“Before we go in, let’s have a chat.”
The unexpected touch of his fingers on her skin sizzled through her. Then his serious tone penetrated, and the heat evaporated.
“Chat” was the word her mom had used when she sat Elise down to explain that her father had left them. When Elise finally found Patrick after he hadn’t come home from his supposed job search, he had also said it was time for a chat. His “chat” revolved around the fact that he hadn’t loved her for some time and included his complete horror at becoming a daddy. Then he’d kicked her out of the apartment of his new girlfriend and in what felt like seconds she was suddenly on her own. Alone and pregnant.
“Chatting” never worked out well for her.
“Why do we need to chat?”
He drew a long breath. “I know you don’t have a lot of money and I do, so why don’t we let this trip be totally on me?”
Relief flooded her that he wasn’t angry, but when she realized what he was asking, her blood went cold. “I don’t need your charity.”
“I know that. But I’d like you to think of me paying for the hotel room as something like a Christmas gift.”
She laughed. “You wouldn’t have bought me a Christmas gift if we were still back at Clover Valley. So, no.”
“Why won’t you just accept my help?”
“Because I don’t need it.” Because she didn’t want to become indebted, or worse dependent. Any time she relied on anyone, especially a man, he let her down. She didn’t want to add another name to the list.
“Michael paid me very well to house-sit. For the past six months I didn’t have rent or utilities. So I saved most of that money. Just because I’m frugal doesn’t mean I’m broke.”
She pushed out of the SUV before he could argue and immediately gasped. The air was freezing! The wind howled and the rain that pricked her felt like ice. A Southern California girl who had been raised in North Carolina, she wasn’t accustomed to temperatures this low, or wind this cruel.
She scurried to the back of the SUV to gather her things, but Jared was already there.
“You grab Molly and go ahead in.” He pointed at the hotel doors. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Elise grabbed Molly and ran into the lobby. As he had promised, Jared was right behind her, carrying her diaper bag, suitcase and cooler and his own duffel. Wind followed them inside and he had to put down the baggage to close the door.
“Wow.”
“Yeah, wow,” Jared agreed, but his gaze was on the line at the check-in desk. “Seems like the weather caused everybody on the road to stop. We better get a place in line before all the rooms are gone.” He slid the diaper bag and her suitcase straps to her shoulders. “Take these and go sit.” He nodded at the sofa and chair arranged by a fireplace. “I’ll check us both in.”
She caught his arm. “Don’t pay for my room.”
“I’ll use my credit card to check you in. Then tomorrow you can pay for your room however you want.”
She had expected him to argue. When he didn’t, she was impressed that he respected her and her wishes. She relaxed a bit. “Okay.”
“I still think you’re crazy not to take my help.”
“Whatever.”
The first customer finished and everybody moved forward. Another clerk stepped out from a door behind the desk and called the next customer in the line. Guests were checked in quickly and soon it was Jared’s turn.
Preoccupied with entertaining Molly, Elise didn’t pay much attention until she heard Jared say, “Are you kidding?”
She looked over. She had a sneaking suspicion that the prices had risen sharply because of supply and demand in the storm.
She walked up to the desk. Jared said to the clerk, “Tell her what you just told me.”
The young man smiled ruefully. “I’m sorry, miss, but we have only one room left.”
Because that wasn’t what she expected to hear, Elise blinked.
Jared sighed. “Tell her the rest.”
The clerk winced. “It has only one bed.”
This time, Elise’s mouth fell open. “Are you kidding?”
“Tell her the other thing.”
The clerk winced again. “We’re the last hotel for fifty miles. That’s why we booked up so quickly.”
Elise stood, openmouthed, processing that. Finally she shook her head and said, “We don’t have a choice.”
“Looks that way.”
The repentant clerk said, “Sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Elise said, smiling at him, though she wanted to groan in misery. Riding in the silent car wasn’t exactly torture, but it wasn’t pleasant, either. She’d been looking forward to being in her own room with Molly for a few hours to simply relax. Worse, she was more attracted to Jared than she cared to admit. There’d be no downtime to remind herself that these physical feelings meant nothing. No time to remind herself that men usually spelled trouble. Especially men she depended on. And like it or not, she was depending on Jared for a ride.
One bed meant they’d either sleep together awkwardly, stiff and fearful all night that they might accidentally touch, or they’d have to flip a coin with the loser sleeping on the floor. But that wasn’t the clerk’s fault or Jared’s.
Smiling at the clerk again, she said, “Can we have a crib for the room?”
The clerk typed a bit, probably checking availability, and then breathed a sigh of relief. “There’s one left.”
“One’s all we need.” She faced Jared again. “You get the key. I’ll gather my things.”
Jared nodded.
As Elise walked away, Molly cooed happily.
“Yeah. You’re going to love this because you’ll drink a bottle and fall asleep in a nice comfy crib that you don’t have to share with a stranger. Things aren’t so simple for adults.”
Molly giggled. Elise rolled her eyes as she reached down for her diaper bag, suitcase