2 #2
“Well, with your financial situation, I figured we’d share a room,” she explained with as much tact as possible. Her budget didn’t allow for two rooms but she couldn’t just abandon him.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” he said. “I can sleep in the van.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She waved a dismissive hand at him. “It won’t cost any more for an extra person. I’ll be right back.”
Jared watched her go, feeling the manacles of Cam’s lie snap shut around his wrists. To tell her the truth was to expose Cameron’s plot, and to perpetuate the lie was to subject himself to the torture of sleeping in close proximity to her. It was a lose-lose situation.
Thumping his head against the windowpane on his right, Jared grimaced. When and if he survived this little excursion, he was going to catch the next plane back to Massachusetts and strangle his old buddy.
The puppy in his lap began to whine as soon as Cat disappeared from sight. No amount of cajoling on Jared’s part would distract the dog from her steadfast gaze on the office door. Jared reluctantly let his gaze mirror that of the dog’s. Thankfully, the dog was the only one drooling.
Cat rang the old-fashioned bell on the counter and waited. When she’d found this motel online, it had been described as quirkily vintage, but she suspected that was a euphemism for old. There was no one behind the desk or in the lobby. She rang the bell again. No one appeared. Huffing out a frustrated sigh, she was about to pound on the bell again when the office door behind the counter opened and an old man shuffled out. He was wiping his chin with a napkin. He was short, skinny, and bald. He reminded Cat of a plucked chicken wearing overalls.
The man squinted at her and Cat smiled. He frowned.
“Hey, mister,” he said. “You only need to hit the bell once. I’m not deaf, you know.”
Cat glanced behind her. There was no one else in the lobby.
“I’m sorry, sir,” she said. “Do you have a room available?”
The old man narrowed his eyes and studied her. “Keep your shirt on, young fella. The sign said vacancy, didn’t it? Of course I have a room.”
Cat bit her cheek to keep from laughing.
“Yes, sir,” she said. No one had confused her for a boy since she was four years old and insisted on dressing just like Cameron.
“We run a quiet place here,” the old man said. “If you want to get drunk and bust up your room, do it some place else.”
“We’ll be no trouble,” she promised.
“See that you aren’t.”
As the paperwork was processed, Cat browsed through the motel’s brochure. On the back in bold type she noticed the words NO PETS ALLOWED.
Not a rule breaker by nature, Cat almost told the man to cancel the room. But as the old codger handed her the room key—an actual key with a plastic tag that labeled her room number— Cat felt herself smile and leave. Lucy was a good dog. No one would ever know she was here.
Cat climbed back into the van, and Jared noted the way she worried her lip between her teeth.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“We have a situation,” she confirmed.
“What?” Jared snapped, fearing the motel was booked solid, and they’d be forced to share one tiny single bed. He’d rather be tied to a rack and stretched to breaking.
“They don’t allow pets.” She frowned. “We’re going to have to sneak Lucy in.”
“That’s all?” he asked.
“Yeah, why? What did you think?”
“Nothing,” he answered, feeling foolish and giddy with relief.
“How are we going to get her in there?” Cat wondered aloud as she steered the van around to the back of the motel.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jared reassured her as he pulled his sunglasses and baseball cap off the dashboard.
“I am worried.” Cat switched off the engine and turned to face him. “I’m too tired to try and find another motel.”
“Not to worry,” he repeated as he fussed over Lucy. “Voil?.”
With her poofy tail thumping against the back of the seat, Lucy tipped her head and gazed at Cat from beneath a hat brim and sunglasses as if pleased with her new attire. Cat glanced up at Jared and burst into laughter. Just the reaction he’d been hoping for.
“No one will ever suspect,” he assured her.
Together they crept through the back door of the motel as stealthily as thieves. As if sensing the precariousness of her situation, Lucy stuck close to Jared until they were safely inside the room.
“We made it,” Cat sighed in relief as she collapsed against their door.
“Of course,” Jared said and dropped her suitcase on one bed and his duffel bag on the other.
While the dog joyously tracked every scent in the small room, an awkward silence fell between her two companions. Jared glanced about the room. He’d crashed in a lot of motel rooms in his life, but this one seemed smaller than any he remembered.
“Are you hungry?” Cat asked.
Jared’s gaze snapped to hers. He was relieved to have the silence broken. “Actually, yes.”
“Do you want to finish the food in the cooler or should we order out?” she asked, brushing by him to get to her carryon.
“We passed a diner on the way in. Why don’t I walk down there and get us something to eat?” Jared offered, anxious to be away from the two beds and the enticing female he was stuck with.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t mind,” he insisted.
“Well, let me give you some money.”
“No,” he refused. “I can handle it. Is there anything special you want?”
“Whatever you have will be fine,” she said, taking Lucy’s water dish into the bathroom to fill it. She paused and gazed at the bathtub with undisguised longing. Jared saw the look and inwardly groaned.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, in what he hoped was a discouraging tone.
Cat watched the door close behind him. Jared seemed awfully tense. It was probably the long day on the road, but she wondered if it had anything to do with her. She supposed it could be the money. He hadn’t been pleased when she’d footed the bill for their lodgings. Maybe if he bought dinner, he’d feel better.
She knew about men and their pride. Her former fiancé, the big dumb jerk, had plenty of pride. He used to spend five hours every Saturday cleaning and waxing his BMW. He was so proud of that car. Cat wondered how many hours of her life she’d spent buffing hubcaps and polishing the dashboard. Ugh! Letting him be the center of her world had been so foolish. She would never make that mistake again.
She unzipped her suitcase and pulled out her night clothes. Considering the close sleeping quarters, she chose summer pajamas, consisting of a navy blue t-shirt and matching plaid shorts. Conservative, but cool.
Any romantic notions she might have about Jared were obviously not going to be returned. It appeared she was the only one who’d felt a spark of awareness at the rest stop. Since then Jared had shown about as much interest in her as a woman as her brother would. Possibly even less. She didn’t doubt for a second that sharing a room with him wouldn’t be any more dangerous than sharing one with Cameron. And she had to admit that having a companion, especially an imposing one like Jared, made her feel more at ease in .
“Everybody decent in here?” Jared called. He entered the room with one hand covering his eyes while the other clutched two large white bags and the room key.
“Lucy’s in her birthday suit, but otherwise I think you’re safe,” Cat answered as she grabbed the bags from him.
“Shucks,” he teased. Removing his hand from his eyes, he smiled at her. “I was hoping for better timing.”
“Yeah, right.” Cat shook her head at him and promptly dove into the bags of food. “What’s the menu?”
“We have lasagna, garlic bread and a tossed salad,” Jared answered as he helped her to unpack.
“Wonderful.” Cat took the seat opposite him at the small table in front of the room’s only window.
“You like lasagna?” he asked.
“Are you kidding? It’s my favorite,” she assured him and scooped up a forkful.
“I figured it was a solid choice,” he said. “It was either that or liver and onions.”
Cat chuckled. It wasn’t the best lasagna she’d ever had, but when you’re hungry enough to eat your shoes anything will do.
Replete with a meal in her belly, Cat eyed the puppy still tracking foreign smells in the carpet. Sleeping all day had stored up her energy. She was going to need a serious run in order to wear her out. Cat picked up her leash and called Lucy over just as Jared finished his meal.
“Where do you think you two are going?” he asked, stretching back in his chair.
“Somebody needs to get her exercise,” Cat informed him over the puppy’s head.
“You can’t go out there alone.” Jared frowned at her. “It’s not safe. I’ll go with you.”
“What you do mean it’s not safe? We’re in a pokey little town in Pennsylvania. What could happen?”
“No wonder Cameron worries about you.” Jared pulled the leash from her hand and led the way out the door. “Don’t you watch the evening news?”
“Of course,” she answered, following him into the deserted hallway and locking the door behind her.
“Then you should know that a woman alone, especially at night, is a walking target for bad guys,” he chided as he hustled them out of the building only to have Lucy stop at the nearest patch of grass.
“I do realize that. That’s why I have a dog.”
Jared glanced at the black furball trying to yank him across the parking lot toward the woods. “She’s not a dog, she’s a puppy. What is she going to do? Eat the bad guy’s shoes?”
“I bet she’d fight off anyone who tried to hurt me.”
“Sure, she would.” Jared laughed. “If she ever came out from under the bed.”
Feeling her temper rise, Cat snatched the leash from his hand and stalked into the woods with Lucy at her heels.
“What kind of a name is Lucy anyway?” he continued to bait her. “That’s a sissy name. You should call her something tough like Butch or Spike.”
“For your information,” Cat answered him in a clipped tone, “my students chose her name. We had a vote and they decided she was either a Lucy or a Bella. I was relieved when they chose Lucy. I just couldn’t see myself yelling ‘Bella’ out the front door.”
“Naturally,” he agreed with a snort.
His laughter didn’t help her temper, and Cat had to fight the urge to kick him.
“I don’t need you to protect me, you know.” She spun around and glared at him while Lucy paused to sniff another tree.
“I know, ‘you’ve got a dog’.” He rolled his eyes.
“More than that,” she protested. “I’ve got common sense. I don’t take stupid risks.”
“Like walking into strange woods in the dark all alone?” he mocked her.
“I’m not alone,” she ground the words between her teeth. “I’m stuck with you.”
Her face felt hot and her chest heaved with suppressed anger. Shoving her hair out of her eyes, she glared at Jared. His smile wavered and dimmed. His steamy blue gaze met hers and then skimmed down her body as slow and tangible as a caress. Cat gasped. This time she knew she wasn’t the only one aware of the attraction snapping between them.
With a deep groan, Jared jerked his eyes away and glanced at the puppy sitting curiously between their feet.
“Look, it’s late and we’re both exhausted. I’m sorry if I was sarcastic,” he apologized. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
When he glanced up, his gaze was neutral, revealing nothing but kindness. Disappointment rocked her. Had she just imagined the attraction? She shook her head. He was right. They were overtired. What were they fighting about, anyway? That a woman had to be careful in this world? Like that was news.
“I’m sorry, too,” she said, following Jared out of the woods. “I guess you just sounded so much like Cameron that it got on my nerves. He’s forever worrying about me. I appreciate it, but sometimes it’s a bit smothering.”
“Well, I’ll try not to smother you.” Jared grinned. “Unless, of course, you snore.”
Cat caught her breath at his smile. A smile like that would be banned in Boston. It was charming and lethal and made her clothes long to fall off her body. Surely, she couldn’t be imagining the spark between them. Could she?
She couldn’t help but wonder, as she crept back into the motel behind him, what kind of worries had etched the tiny lines around his eyes? What painful lessons had he learned in his life that left him mum? And how could she get him to open up?
Jared eyed the room with renewed claustrophobia. He just couldn’t sleep this close to a woman he’d seen practically naked. It wasn’t right. Especially when the urge to share one bed was becoming increasingly tempting.
While Cat excused herself to the bathroom to change, Jared paced the room like a caged tiger. He switched on the television for distraction, but it was no use. Fearing she’d exit the bathroom in something sheer and lacy that would destroy his resolve completely, Jared yanked his bedspread off his bed and rigged it to hang like a curtain between the two beds.
It wasn’t much, but it was something, he reassured himself as he sank down onto his own bed. He heard the bathroom door open and shut and felt his blood thud through his veins while he listened to Cat make her way to bed.
“This was thoughtful of you but unnecessary,” she said as her mop of fiery hair and freshly scrubbed face appeared from behind the bedspread. “I’m not that modest.”
Jared took in her casual pajamas while his brain flashed visions of a sodden cotton nightie, dripping in the glow of morning sunrise. He licked his parched lips.
“Who says it’s for you?” he asked, his gaze latching onto hers. The color in her eyes had deepened to reflect her navy pajamas, and they tilted up at the corners when she smiled.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were so shy.” Her gaze roved doubtfully over his sprawled form.
“Watch that bold look of yours, lady, or you’ll make me blush,” he said.
“On which cheeks?” Seemingly shocked at her own words, Cat clapped a hand over her mouth.
With a laugh, Jared rolled up from the bed, took a step toward her and froze. Desire and his oath to his friend warred within him. The oath won and he spun away from her to trudge through her half of the room toward the bathroom, clutching his toothbrush in an iron fist.
Cat watched him walk away and pondered this new piece of the puzzle that was Jared McLean. It was about as helpful as a round piece in a pile of squares. Shy her foot!
She climbed under the thin covers and waited for him to cross through the room again. He hurried by, actively trying not to look at her, or so it seemed.
She heard the rustle of his clothes as he undressed and wondered what he wore to bed. Was he a briefs or boxers man? She was betting on boxers. She glanced at the bedspread he’d hung up. The creak of his bed signaled he’d climbed in.
“We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow,” he said through the curtain. “We should get some shut-eye.”
“All right,” Cat agreed. She felt the foot of her bed dip as Lucy struggled to leap on it. She reached over and gave her a boost. “Good night, Jared.”
“Good night,” he answered and switched off the light, leaving the room in darkness.
Cat’s eyelids drooped the moment her head landed on the pillow. It was hard and lumpy, but she didn’t care. Exhaustion crept into her limbs, and her legs twitched as they relaxed. Her last conscious thought was how nice it was to have Jared nearby.
She was lost. All around her were barren dunes of sand. They all looked the same. She uncapped her water bottle. It was empty. She was going to die of thirst. The lone cry of a coyote fractured the silence and she spun around with a start.
“Psst, Cat, wake up!”
“Huh?” Cat muttered.
“Wake up!”
Cat blinked. Jared was glaring at her from behind the makeshift curtain.
“If you don’t want us to get kicked out, keep Lucy quiet.”
Cat glanced at Lucy where she was sitting at the foot of the bed. The puppy tipped back her head and began to howl.
“I thought she was a coyote,” Cat said.
Jared looked at her as if she were a few sandwiches short of a picnic.
Bang. Bang. Bang. A fist pounded on their door.
“Hey, open up in there,” a man shouted.
Cat leapt from the bed. “That’s the manager,” she whispered to Jared. “If he sees Lucy, we’ll get booted.”
Jared reached for his jeans while Cat yanked down the bedspread. Lucy tipped her head back to howl again and Jared dropped his jeans and dove across the bed, dragging Cat and the bedspread with him. Down they went in a tangle of limbs and ugly motel blanket. Jared clamped a hand on Lucy’s muzzle. Cat flailed her arms trying to get free of the blanket. When she did, her mouth popped open and she giggled. Jared was wearing boxers with big yellow smiley faces all over them. She knew he’d be a boxer man.
“Smiley faces?” she asked.
Jared opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a fist banging on their door.
“What’s going on in there?”
Jared let go of Lucy and finished pulling on his jeans. He helped Cat to her feet and grabbed the bedspread.
“Just go along with whatever I do,” he whispered.
Cat nodded.
Jared flicked on the TV to a late-night movie. Then he tucked Lucy into the bed with her head on the pillow. He fluffed the comforter, making her look taller than she was.
“Hop into bed,” Jared instructed. “Pretend you just woke up.”
Cat crawled into bed beside Lucy and feigned sleep.
Jared went to open the door. Cat watched him through her lashes. He rumpled his hair and let out a big yawn as he opened the door.
“What can I do for you?” he asked. The wiry little chicken of a manager burst past him.
“I got a call that there’s a dog in here,” he said. “We don’t allow pets.”
Cat pretended to awaken. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“You’re the young fella who booked the room,” the old man accused. Then he squinted at Lucy. “Did you sneak a girl in here?”
Cat had her hand on Lucy’s chest, keeping her still. Technically, Lucy was a girl and they had sneaked her in. She shrugged.
She heard Jared’s snort, but didn’t look at him for fear that she would burst out laughing.
“You need to keep a tighter rein on your boy,” the manager said to Jared. “That’ll be another twenty dollars for the girl.”
“Yes, sir.” Jared fished his wallet out of his back pocket and slapped a twenty into the manager’s open hand.
Just then a howl sounded from the TV. The manager’s head whipped around to look at the screen and Cat clamped a hand over Lucy’s muzzle.
“What are you watching?” the manager asked.
“Werewolf movie,” Jared answered.
“Ah, so that explains it. Turn it down. I don’t want to come back here tonight,” the old man grumped and slammed the door behind him.
Cat and Jared each sagged with relief. Lucy leapt out from beneath the covers and licked Cat’s face.
Jared began to laugh, tried to stop, looked at Cat and laughed harder.
“That old duffer thinks you’re a guy,” he howled. He laughed so hard Cat was afraid he’d injure himself. It wasn’t that funny.
Feeling chagrined, she snapped off the lamp and pulled her covers up to her shoulders.
“Men who wear smiley-faced boxers should beware of being pantsed in public,” she said.
“Huh?” Jared’s laughter abruptly ended.
“You heard me,” she said.
“You wouldn’t,” he protested.
“Keep laughing and you’ll just see,” she said.
A subdued Jared hung up the bedspread and switched off the TV.
“Good night...sonny boy,” he said with a barely muffled chuckle.
“Good night...smiley,” Cat answered with a snort.