Snowbound Sweetheart

“I think we can assume that should say motel,” he said with a chuckle.

“I hope you’re right.” She turned off the road into the parking lot.

Gil studied as much as he could see of the motel and figured they’d be lucky to get a room. The parking lot was almost full.

“There’s the office,” he said, pointing to their right.

She eased the car through the crunchy snow and stopped as close to the office door as she could.

“If you’d like, I’ll go see what they’ve got available. I’ve already got my coat out,” he offered, careful to couch his idea as a suggestion.

“Thank you. I’d appreciate it.”

Surprised by her acquiescence without argument, he hurriedly got out into the storm before she could change her mind.

The cold sting of the snow attacked his exposed skin as he hurried toward the door, trying not to slip.

As soon as he got inside, closing the door behind him, he shook off the snow that covered him and stepped to the counter.

No one appeared to be on duty, but there was a button to push for assistance. After he’d followed directions, he heard footsteps. Then, a door behind the counter opened and an elderly man appeared.

“Evening. Didn’t hear anyone arrive. Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, a genial smile on his face. “We don’t usually do this much business.”

Gil would guess not. So far he hadn’t seen anything in Witherspoon that would attract travelers. Of course, he hadn’t seen much in the snowstorm, so he could be wrong.

“You’re in luck,” the man said. “I’ve got one room left. You want it?”

Gil frowned. “Only one room? We need two.”

“Sorry, young man. But one’s all I got. If you don’t want it, someone else will probably come along.”

Gil felt sure he was right. “Is there another motel in town?”

“Nope. This is it.”

The sound of another vehicle on the road just barely penetrated the room above the sound of the wind. Gil didn’t want to do any more driving in the storm. He hurriedly agreed to the one room, pulling out his credit card.

“We, uh, had to up the price a little, because of the storm, you know. Had to hire extra help to get all the rooms ready.” The man avoided Gil’s cynical gaze.

He wasn’t surprised to discover price-gouging. It happened all the time. In fact, he figured the man had a hard time making a living wage most days.

He waited for the man to run his credit card, thinking about the reaction he was bound to receive when he announced to Lindsay Crawford that they were going to share a motel room.

The man handed over an old-fashioned key. None of those fancy plastic cards that the hotels used these days. Gil almost smiled as he pocketed the key. Just as he put his hand on the door to venture out into the storm, he looked over his shoulder. “This room does have two beds, doesn’t it?”

The man stared at him, and Gil got a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Chapter Three

Lindsay shivered as the wind swirled around the car, making visibility impossible. She was glad they’d stopped, but she wished they could continue on. She wished she had her coat out of the trunk. She wished…A blur of movement stopped her thoughts.

Suddenly the passenger door opened and Gil slid into the car, bringing with him snow and wind. She shivered again.

“Okay,” he said, not looking at her. “We need to turn right. Room number nine.”

Without speaking, she followed his directions, forcing her car to push its way through the snow. They could barely make out the numbers on the doors of the single story structure. There was a parking space in front of number nine and she pulled her car into it.

Then it occurred to her that he’d only given her the number of one room.

“Is this your room or mine?”

Dead silence. He didn’t even look at her.

“Gil? Is this—”

“Our room.”

It was her turn to be silent.

His gaze met hers. “He only had one room left. We can’t go on, and we can’t stay in the car. I didn’t know what to do but take the room. I promise you you’re in no danger from me.”

She believed him. And she should’ve been grateful. She was grateful, she hurriedly assured herself. But he needn’t make it sound so easy.

All afternoon, closed up in her small car, his male aura had kept her aware, tense…interested, no matter how much she told herself she wasn’t attracted to him.

Now she was going to share a motel room with him?

And he assured her that wouldn’t be a problem.

What could she say? He was right. They couldn’t go any farther. And neither of them could stay in the car. He’d done the only practical thing. After drawing a deep breath, she said, “Thanks, I appreciate your assurance.”

He stared at her, as if her reaction differed from what he’d expected. “You mean you’re not going to insist I sleep in the car?”

“And have your death on my hands? Of course not. I can share a room with you for the night.” So he’d be sleeping a few feet away. Maybe she’d have trouble getting to sleep, but she was tired. She’d manage.

“Great. We’d better take these blankets I borrowed from Kathy. We might need them.”

Normal, practical words. So why was he avoiding her gaze? Why was she waiting for the other shoe to drop? Something wasn’t right, but for the life of her, she couldn’t imagine what it could be.

“Okay. Did the clerk mention anything about where we could get supper?”

“He’s got a small grocery attached to the office. Not a lot of selection, but I’ll go back and find something as soon as we get settled in the room. And there’s a microwave we can use, too.”

“In the room?” she asked, surprised by a modern convenience like a microwave in a 1950s motel.

He grinned. “Nope. In the office. The food will probably be cold before I can get it to the room, but hopefully it won’t be frozen. There is a coffee machine in the room, though.”

“I’ll start a pot at once,” she promised. “Can you get the blankets and your bag? I need to get my bag and coat out of the trunk.”