Free Snowbound with a Stranger by Rebecca Rogers Maher Page B

in an emergency. She couldn’t have said why, but it was pretty much the sexiest physical object she’d ever seen.
    Dannie began rummaging through it, trying to ignore any personal items she found there. Mostly it was gear—matches, ponchos, bungee cord, water bottle—except for a faded photo of a smiling family and a beaten-up journal with a waterproof pen attached. She would have liked nothing better than to sit by the window and examine that photo, to read every word of Lee’s private thoughts. But she restrained herself. One day, perhaps, he would share them with her, and if not, the information contained there wasn’t hers to know.
    She found what she was looking for stashed in a side pocket. Although it was what she was after, the grimy orange rubber made her heart sink. A part of her had hoped that it was lost.
    The walkie-talkie.
    With the batteries taken out.
    * * *
    Lee lay asleep on the bed, an arm stretched over his face to block out the morning sunlight. She set two coffees on the table beside him and pressed her hand to his hip.
    “Lee.”
    He groaned.
    She gave his hip a little shake. “Lee.”
    His hand snaked around her wrist, and before she could react, dragged her down beside him. He threw a leg over her thigh and pulled her against his chest. “Mmph.”
    “Dude. Wake up.” She tried to infuse her voice with authority, but it was difficult to do so with her mouth full of chest hair. One of them needed to be practical, though. One of them had to broach the subject of leaving.
    If it wasn’t her, eventually it would be Lee.
    “No. You come back to sleep.”
    Dannie sat up. “Lee. I found the walkie-talkie.”
    His eyes opened. “Yeah?”
    “Yeah.”
    He rubbed a hand over his face and squinted up at her. “I took the batteries out.”
    “I noticed.”
    “There’s a radio in the pack too. Did you find that?”
    “A what?” Dannie climbed off the bed and stared at him, her hands on her hips. “Are you kidding me?”
    He hoisted himself up and blearily reached for a cup of coffee. “’Fraid not.”
    “Lee.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Were you going to tell me?”
    A grunt of approval emerged from the side of his cup. “Good coffee.”
    “Um. Thanks?” Dannie’s foot tapped against the wood planks of the floor. “Were you?”
    “Eventually.” Lee rubbed his eyes. “I’m almost sure of it.”
    He sipped the coffee she’d made for him—strong, as she knew he liked it, as she liked it—and despite his scratchy beard and bare shoulders and his almost unbearably sexy chest, she made a valiant effort to be angry. She really did. Honest to God.
    It was just that, despite his cowboy looks and his sleepy attempt at playful banter, he looked vulnerable to her this morning. Like something was troubling him that he was determined to push aside.
    She sat down beside him. “You okay?”
    “Sure.” He stared into his cup. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
    “I don’t know. You tell me.”
    Lee was silent. Something crossed his face that Dannie couldn’t quite name.
    “You should have told me about the walkie-talkie.”
    “You never asked.” He swallowed the last of his coffee and with a clatter, set the mug on the table beside the bed.
    “They’ve probably cleared the roads by now.”
    “Probably.” She didn’t know why Lee refused to look at her, but she barreled on.
    “Dr. Stevens might even be on his way already.”
    “He might.”
    “We could listen to the radio, check the state of the highway, head on down to our cars. It would take a while in the snow, but—”
    “How about we just stay?” He leaned back against the pillows and gave her a pained look that totally confused her.
    “Lee. What’s going on?”
    His smile slipped. “Nothing. Nothing’s going on.”
    “We can’t stay.” She faltered. “This has to…to…end sometime. We can’t—”
    Lee laid his hand over hers. “We’ll radio Stevens and tell him we’re spending a few more days. It’ll be…it’ll be