Free What She Wants by Jenna Byrnes

has been upgraded to a blizzard. As of now, Denver International Airport is closed, with no flights arriving or departing this evening. Please see the clerk at the closest ticket counter about hotel reservations. The airport will be shuttling guests back and forth to nearby hotels, but it’s unlikely there’ll be space for everyone. Priority will be given to families with children and senior citizens.”
    Kelsie ’s jaw dropped open, and she looked at her companion. He shook his head with disgust, glancing at his group. “I wonder if we qualify as a family with children? You and I could be the parents, and the rest of those Bozos could be our kids.”
    She gulped and shook her head quickly. There was no way she ’d go anywhere with that group, especially a hotel. “Um, no thanks. I’ll just hang out here until the weather clears.”
    He stared at her, obviously surprised. “Why would you want to sleep in an airport? You can’t really sleep, you have to watch your stuff all the time. They might give you a blanket, but these seats won’t be comfortable.”
    She settled her backpack on her lap and looked at him evenly. “I’ll be fine.”
    “ Kelsie—” he protested, but she cut him off.
    “ I’m not going anywhere with a bunch of drunken men I don’t know,” she said through tightly gritted teeth.
    His eyes sparked understanding and he chuckled. “Oh Jesus! I’m sorry. You’re right! Here I was, thinking about taking care of you, and you don’t know me from Adam. My name’s Tom—” he hesitated, then added, “Smith. Tom Smith.”
    Nodding, she said, “I’m happy to meet you, Tom. I’m not going anywhere with you, but it’s nice to meet another Kansan.”
    He put a finger to his lips and grinned. “Shh. I’m from Oklahoma.” He nodded to his friends. “They hate Sooners worse than they hate Wildcats.”
    “ Everyone hates Sooners,” she agreed, referring to the Oklahoma mascot. “But how can you hate Willie the Wildcat?” K-State had a friendly looking cat mascot.
    He made a face, waved her off and stood. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Tom took a step and turned to look at her. “Will you wait here?”
    “ Sure,” Kelsie agreed, not sure what he was up to. There was no way she’d go to a hotel with him and his friends, no matter how nice he seemed. Or cute. He was very cute.
    Tom disappeared in the crowd, and she wondered what to do. She needed to call Cheryl in Florida for one thing, then her mother. Thank goodness for cell phones. She could stay in constant communication with them if she felt nervous.
    The group of guys seemed to have worked out hotel arrangements. They gathered their things and headed out, but there was no sign of Tom. He probably left, she decided, with a touch of disappointment. She’d made it clear she wasn’t leaving with him. Maybe there was a girl somewhere around here who would.
    She needed to use the bathroom. Standing, she looked for the one nearest.
    “Hey!” Tom reappeared, a backpack slung over one shoulder. He carried two small pillows and two airline blankets. “Where are you going?”
    Kelsie was surprised to see him. She was astonished  to see how tall he was standing up. She was no shrimp at five-ten. He must be at least six-foot-one. “Oh, hey. Your friends left, I thought you went with them.”
    He set the pillows and blankets down in the seat next to her. “They wrangled a hotel room. Two beds for ten guys. I said thanks, but no thanks. I thought I could stay here with you. As soon as the airport reopens, I can call them.”
    She crossed her arms and looked at him suspiciously. “Why would you want to do that? At least in a hotel room you wouldn’t have to hang on to your stuff so tight.”
    He shrugged. “I told you, ten guys in one room are more than I want to deal with. Besides, if we’re together, we can watch each other’s backs…and backpacks. Maybe we can sleep in shifts or something.”
    She stared at him, amazed. “I