A Reunion and a Ring

“Sorry I woke you,” he said.

Self-conscious, she swung her feet to the floor and pushed herself upright, trying to smooth her tousled hair. It bothered her to think he’d walked right past her as she’d slept, leaving her feeling uncomfortably vulnerable. That was a little hard to deal with this morning.

Light filtered in through the windows. She could hear rain still falling on the roof, though the height of the storm had passed. She saw no lights burning inside, so she assumed the power was still out. “What time is it?”

“A little after eight.”

Later than she usually slept, but she hardly felt well-rested. “What’s it like out there?”

His response was blunt. “A mess. Lots of limbs on the ground. There’s a big tree over the road a few yards from the house, totally blocking the drive, and I’m sure there’s flooding beyond that. You’re lucky you got here when you did last night. You won’t be leaving for a while yet. No way to get down the hill in your car.”

Not promising. She moistened her dry lips before asking, “Is my car damaged?”

“A few hail dings. You were fortunate. A good-size limb fell only a couple feet away from your hood.”

While she was relieved her car hadn’t sustained damage, she wasn’t sure fortunate was the right word to describe her current situation. “How long do you think it will take for them to clear the tree from the road?”

“Them?”

“The county? Highway department? Whoever does that sort of thing.”

“Highway department doesn’t take care of rural gravel roads. And the tree’s on private property, so the county isn’t going to deal with it. I’m sure they have their hands full elsewhere. From what I saw on my phone news feed, there was quite a bit of damage around this part of the state last night.”

“Oh.” She swallowed, feeling suddenly a bit panicky at the thought of being trapped here with Gavin for much longer. It wasn’t that she feared for her safety—but she couldn’t say the same for her peace of mind. “So, what are we going to do?”

“I’ve got a chain saw in the back of my truck. I was planning to do some light trimming and clearing this weekend, anyway, assuming my shoulder cooperated. I’ll tackle the tree when the rain stops, but it’s going to take a while with only the one sixteen-inch saw. As for the flooding, you’ll just have to wait for that to recede. There’s too much water over the road for you to risk driving through it, even if you could figure out a way to get around the tree. You’d be swept into the river before you made it across.”

Unsurprised that he hadn’t planned to let his injury stop him from the work he’d wanted to do, she twisted her fingers in front of her. “How long do you think it will take for the flooding to recede?”

He glanced upward, silently indicating the still-falling rain. “This county remains under a flash flood alert. It’s going to take a few hours for all the water to drain off once the rain stops.”

“Have you heard from home? Was there storm damage in the Little Rock area?”

He shook his head. “The worst of the storms were confined to this part of the state.”

She was relieved that her family and her business had escaped the brunt of the storms she’d so foolishly driven into, but she wasn’t looking forward to spending several hours alone here with Gavin and their shared memories. “Surely I can get out somehow. Is there a back road, maybe?”

“Look, Jenny, I’m no more pleased about this than you are, but you might as well face facts. You’d be risking your life to try to make it down that hill now.”

She sighed and pushed her hair out of her face, silently conceding his point. At least he wasn’t pretending to be delighted to have her here. If there was one thing she remembered about Gavin Locke, it was that he had always been bluntly, sometimes painfully, honest.

“You had planned to stay for three nights, anyway,” he reminded her. “It’s not as if you have anyplace else you need to be today.”

“True. But I had expected to be here alone.”

“I’ll try to stay out of your way.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m the one who’s intruding.”

He made a dismissive gesture, though he didn’t assure her that it was no bother to have her here. They both knew better.

“At least let me cook breakfast,” she said, deciding to attempt to act as dispassionate as he was about the situation. “I brought a few nonperishable groceries with me. The bags are out in my car. I was going to try to find a market for some fresh food if I decided to stay the full three days, but I...”

“I have food,” he broke in curtly. “The kitchen’s stocked. Help yourself to anything you find in the cabinets or pantry. I doubt there’s anything salvageable in the fridge. I’m not hungry, but I’d take coffee if you want to make it while I wash up. There’s a French press in the cabinet by the stove.”

“Are you still running a fever?” She resisted an impulse to step forward and touch his face. He hadn’t seemed to like that last night. It was probably best to keep the touching to a minimum, anyway, while they were stranded here together.

“I’m fine.”

She wasn’t sure she believed him entirely, but figured it would be a waste of time to argue. Or even to point out that a man with an injured shoulder probably shouldn’t be out in the rain clearing storm debris.

He disappeared into his bedroom. After folding away the sleeper sofa and neatly stacking the sheets and pillows, Jenny rummaged in the kitchen. She filled the kettle with water and when it boiled she made the coffee, then two bowls of instant oatmeal she found in the pantry. A few bananas were turning brown on the counter, so she sliced a couple on top of the oatmeal and set the steaming bowls and mugs on the table. She’d just taken her seat when Gavin joined her again. He hadn’t changed, but he’d tried to clean the mud splatters on his clothes, leaving damp, streaked spots behind. She had to glance quickly down at her oatmeal to hide any hint of the feminine appreciation that flooded unbidden through her again. She was really going to have to put a stop to this, she thought irritably.

“I said I’m not hungry.” He dropped into his chair and studied the oatmeal with a scowl, proving himself to be just as grouchy as she was feeling. Was it possible he was dealing with some of the same unwelcome emotions she was trying to suppress?

She shrugged and answered with outward nonchalance. “Don’t eat it, if you don’t want it. I’ll have yours for seconds. But it’s there if you think you need to fuel up before doing any work outside today.”

After a moment, he heaved a gusty sigh and picked up his spoon. “Fine.”

She smothered a smile by stuffing a spoonful of oatmeal and bananas into her mouth. After washing it down with a sip of the passable coffee, she tried to ease the tension between them with small talk. “When did you buy the cabin?”

“My dad bought it nearly seven years ago. When he died five years later, I ended up with it.”

She replied with genuine sympathy. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know about your dad. He was a good man.”

Gavin nodded. “He was.”

“How’s your mother?”

“She’s well, thanks. Yours?”

“Still working as a nurse in a hospital in Little Rock.” Her mother had liked Gavin, and had been openly disappointed when Jenny broke up with him.

“And your grandmother? Still living?”

Her grandmother, on the other hand, had not approved of Gavin, and the antipathy had been reciprocal. Jenny could still hear the faint edge of resentment in his voice, though the question had been civil enough. She focused on her breakfast when she said, “Still feisty as ever.”

He responded to that understatement with a grunt.

Maybe that subject was a bit too touchy still. She changed it quickly. “How’s Holly?”

“Married to an air force pilot. They’ve got two boys, Noah and Henry, six and four. They’re living in Illinois at the moment. Scott Air Force Base.”

An only child herself, Jenny had always been somewhat envious of the warm relationship Gavin had with his older sister. They’d gotten along amazingly well for siblings. During the time Jenny had spent with them, there had always been friends of Gavin’s and Holly’s around, usually engaged in good-natured but fierce competitions—basketball or softball or flag football, or spirited board games indoors. The memory of all that fun and laughter made her throat tighten as she studied the unsmiling, hard-looking man across the table. It had taken a lot worse than a college breakup to leave those dark shadows within his navy eyes.

“How do you like being an uncle?”

She was pleased to see a shadow of his old grin flit across his firm lips. “The boys tend to think of me as an automatic treat dispenser. Tug at my jeans and candy magically emerges from my pocket. Holly says it’s a good thing I don’t see them often or she’d have to put a stop to it. As it is, she turns a blind eye. She knows I won’t overdo it. And I always get them to work up a sweat to burn off the extra sugar.”