“Don’t move!” Ty said in a stern voice. “Damn it, why do you have to be so stubborn? I want to be here, Kaylee. Let me try to make you something to eat, will you?”
My stomach chose to growl right at that moment. Damn betraying body of mine.
I rolled my eyes and tried to seem put off. “Fine, but just so you know, I’m making you eat whatever you make for me too. I don’t trust you won’t put some hot sauce or something in it.”
The way he was looking at me was exactly how he had looked when we’d first kissed. That night at the Blue Moose. Something in his eyes said he did indeed want to be here. Be with me.
The other thing I saw in his eyes was at war with those feelings. My breath felt shallow, and I swallowed hard.
“It’s a deal. Now, please just lie back and rest for a bit. I’ll round up something to eat for dinner.”
I did what he said, and once I closed my eyes, it didn’t take long for me to drift off to sleep.
Chapter Eight
TY
When I opened Kaylee’s refrigerator, I couldn’t help but chuckle. The girl was a super-healthy eater. I could give her that. She had a ton of vegetables. One quick check in her pantry and I had everything I needed to make my mom’s vegetable soup.
I pushed up my sleeves and got to work cutting up the veggies while the stock heated up with the onions and a few cloves of garlic.
Once everything was in the pot, I looked around her kitchen and found a bottle of shiraz. I’d save that for dinner. Kaylee also had some sourdough bread and fresh rosemary, perfect for when the soup was finished.
Looking into the refrigerator again, I smiled when I saw the six-pack of beer. I opened one and took a drink.
“You want a beer?” I called out.
She didn’t answer me, so I walked into the living room . . . and came to a stop. Kaylee was sound asleep. I shook my head and set the beer on the coffee table as I gently removed the gel pack from underneath her, then laid a blanket over her.
“Ty?” she whispered, opening her eyes only long enough to see me before she shut them again.
“Yeah, baby. It’s just me. Get some sleep.”
Inwardly, I cursed myself for slipping and calling her an endearment. I’d never fucking called anyone baby. But this woman wasn’t anyone, and it was clear my heart was feeling more than I wanted to admit.
She nodded and went right back to sleep, a slight smile on her face.
My heart raced in my chest, and I took a few unsteady steps back until I hit the chair. Sitting, I stared at Kaylee as she slept. When she had fallen earlier, I’d seen the pain on her face, the tears in her eyes, and it felt like my whole world had tilted. I hated seeing her in pain. I hated seeing the way those blue eyes looked at me, as if she was wanting so desperately to tell me something, but couldn’t.
After about ten minutes of just watching her sleep, I got up and checked on the soup. Then I pulled out my phone and sent my father a text.
Me: I came over to Kaylee’s place to make sure she was set for this storm. She fell on the steps and I’m pretty sure she bruised her tailbone.
He replied almost instantly.
Dad: Poor thing. You didn’t leave her, did you?
Me: No. She’s asleep on the sofa and I made her some vegetable soup.
Dad: Have you checked the weather, Ty? It’s gotten worse, the snow is coming down even harder. I don’t know if you want to leave her tonight, especially if she’s hurt.
My eyes widened in shock as I read his text. “Stay the night?” I said with a laugh. “Is he insane?”
Me: I’ll make sure she’s set up with everything, then head back to my place. I’m sure once the ibuprofen kicks in, she’ll be fine.
When my phone rang, I knew I was about to get a lecture.
“Hey,” I said, wincing as I prepared for his verbal reprimand.
“Ty Shaw, you cannot leave that girl there alone with a huge storm coming and a bruised tailbone. You can stay there one night . . . the girl doesn’t bite.”
“That we know of,” I shot back.
He let out a frustrated sigh. “What is it with you two?”
“Nothing. I’ll stay, don’t worry.”
“Thank you. Tell her that your mother will be over in the morning. She has a new knitting project she wants to start Kaylee working on.”
I rolled my eyes. Not only had Kaylee infiltrated all my thoughts but she’d also made my mother fall in love with her. She was actually teaching Kaylee how to knit, getting her prepped for her spring garden, and teaching her to make soap. How she had time to undertake all these projects on top of remodeling this house was beyond me.
“You still there, Junior?”
“Yeah, I’m here, Dad.” I rubbed the instant ache in my neck. “Maybe I’ll run back to my place and grab an overnight bag.”
“No, you can’t risk getting stuck and then leaving Kaylee alone.”
Laughing, I walked over to the back door just off the kitchen. “It can’t be snowing that hard. I just—”
I stopped midsentence as I saw the snow coming down in sheets.
“The power might—”
My father’s voice cut off.
“Dad? Dad?”
During heavy snowstorms, our cell coverage sucked. I sighed and dropped my head back as I gazed up at the ceiling.
A moment later, the power went out.
I closed my eyes and cursed. “Fucking great.”
No power meant no heat. That meant I’d have to keep the fire going and stay in the living room with Kaylee all night.
Glancing over to the stove, I let out a sigh of relief. At least the stove was gas, and that still worked without power.
I turned on the flashlight on my phone and got busy looking for candles. This was going to be one hell of a long night.
I placed a few more logs onto the fire and sat back down in the chair. The one that faced Kaylee. She was out, which was probably good. I knew she was in pain, so the longer she slept, the better.
Taking a long pull of beer, I kept my gaze on her. She was so damn beautiful.
Finally, her eyes opened, and in the firelight I could just barely tell she was looking directly at me.
“Ty?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Why are you sitting in the dark?” she asked, slowly trying to sit up. “Oh, wow, okay, that hurts.”
I stepped over to the sofa and helped her to stand. Once she was up, her body relaxed.
“It’s probably only going to hurt when you go to sit and then stand back up—at least from my experience, that is,” I said.
“Great,” she replied as she looked around the house and pulled a deep breath in through her nose. “So, I have to ask again, why are you in the dark, and what is that amazing smell?”
“The power went out, and that would be vegetable soup.”
She turned and looked at me. The flames from the fire danced in her eyes, and my cock hardened. Bastard.
“We’re going to have to sleep down here if the power doesn’t come back on.”
Kaylee’s mouth opened, then closed. Then she shook her head and asked, “We?”
“I’m not leaving you when you’re hurt, and the snow is coming down so bad I wouldn’t even be able to see to drive back home. Roads are already snowed over anyway, and not a chance in hell snowplows are out in this mess.”