Her Baby's First Christmas

Relief flooded her that he wasn’t angry, but when she realized what he was asking, her blood went cold. “I don’t need your charity.”

“I know that. But I’d like you to think of me paying for the hotel room as something like a Christmas gift.”

She laughed. “You wouldn’t have bought me a Christmas gift if we were still back at Clover Valley. So, no.”

“Why won’t you just accept my help?”

“Because I don’t need it.” Because she didn’t want to become indebted, or worse dependent. Any time she relied on anyone, especially a man, he let her down. She didn’t want to add another name to the list.

“Michael paid me very well to house-sit. For the past six months I didn’t have rent or utilities. So I saved most of that money. Just because I’m frugal doesn’t mean I’m broke.”

She pushed out of the SUV before he could argue and immediately gasped. The air was freezing! The wind howled and the rain that pricked her felt like ice. A Southern California girl who had been raised in North Carolina, she wasn’t accustomed to temperatures this low, or wind this cruel.

She scurried to the back of the SUV to gather her things, but Jared was already there.

“You grab Molly and go ahead in.” He pointed at the hotel doors. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Elise grabbed Molly and ran into the lobby. As he had promised, Jared was right behind her, carrying her diaper bag, suitcase and cooler and his own duffel. Wind followed them inside and he had to put down the baggage to close the door.

“Wow.”

“Yeah, wow,” Jared agreed, but his gaze was on the line at the check-in desk. “Seems like the weather caused everybody on the road to stop. We better get a place in line before all the rooms are gone.” He slid the diaper bag and her suitcase straps to her shoulders. “Take these and go sit.” He nodded at the sofa and chair arranged by a fireplace. “I’ll check us both in.”

She caught his arm. “Don’t pay for my room.”

“I’ll use my credit card to check you in. Then tomorrow you can pay for your room however you want.”

She had expected him to argue. When he didn’t, she was impressed that he respected her and her wishes. She relaxed a bit. “Okay.”

“I still think you’re crazy not to take my help.”

“Whatever.”

The first customer finished and everybody moved forward. Another clerk stepped out from a door behind the desk and called the next customer in the line. Guests were checked in quickly and soon it was Jared’s turn.

Preoccupied with entertaining Molly, Elise didn’t pay much attention until she heard Jared say, “Are you kidding?”

She looked over. She had a sneaking suspicion that the prices had risen sharply because of supply and demand in the storm.

She walked up to the desk. Jared said to the clerk, “Tell her what you just told me.”

The young man smiled ruefully. “I’m sorry, miss, but we have only one room left.”

Because that wasn’t what she expected to hear, Elise blinked.

Jared sighed. “Tell her the rest.”

The clerk winced. “It has only one bed.”

This time, Elise’s mouth fell open. “Are you kidding?”

“Tell her the other thing.”

The clerk winced again. “We’re the last hotel for fifty miles. That’s why we booked up so quickly.”

Elise stood, openmouthed, processing that. Finally she shook her head and said, “We don’t have a choice.”

“Looks that way.”

The repentant clerk said, “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Elise said, smiling at him, though she wanted to groan in misery. Riding in the silent car wasn’t exactly torture, but it wasn’t pleasant, either. She’d been looking forward to being in her own room with Molly for a few hours to simply relax. Worse, she was more attracted to Jared than she cared to admit. There’d be no downtime to remind herself that these physical feelings meant nothing. No time to remind herself that men usually spelled trouble. Especially men she depended on. And like it or not, she was depending on Jared for a ride.

One bed meant they’d either sleep together awkwardly, stiff and fearful all night that they might accidentally touch, or they’d have to flip a coin with the loser sleeping on the floor. But that wasn’t the clerk’s fault or Jared’s.

Smiling at the clerk again, she said, “Can we have a crib for the room?”

The clerk typed a bit, probably checking availability, and then breathed a sigh of relief. “There’s one left.”

“One’s all we need.” She faced Jared again. “You get the key. I’ll gather my things.”

Jared nodded.

As Elise walked away, Molly cooed happily.

“Yeah. You’re going to love this because you’ll drink a bottle and fall asleep in a nice comfy crib that you don’t have to share with a stranger. Things aren’t so simple for adults.”

Molly giggled. Elise rolled her eyes as she reached down for her diaper bag, suitcase and cooler. She didn’t think Jared would make a pass at her or even flirt with her. He also wouldn’t be so disrespectful as to come out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel or to sleep naked. She wasn’t worried that something big would happen. Little things would be the problem. Close quarters would multiply their awareness of each other and that would make the night long and uncomfortable.

Jared walked over to the seating arrangement and took the bags from her. “We’re just around the corner. I’ll go with you and Molly to the room, open the door and then go back and park the SUV.”

He looked so nervous that Elise smiled reassuringly. “Thanks.”

He motioned her to precede him out the door. Elise stepped out into the cold again, tucking Molly’s blanket tightly around her as they ran to the door of the hotel room. Jared let them in, deposited her things in the closet and left quickly.

When he was gone, Elise got a fresh bottle for Molly and sat on the bed. Spending the night in the same room was going to be too awkward for words. But right now her baby needed to be fed, so she occupied herself with feeding Molly, cooing to her as she suckled, putting her fears behind her until she actually had to face them.

When Molly was done eating, Jared opened the door. He walked his duffel bag to the closet and tossed it beside her suitcase. The intimacy of their things sitting together sent nerves thrumming through Elise. She swallowed.

“Do you and Molly need the bathroom first?”

He turned as he asked the question, and Elise’s eyes made an involuntary sweep of his body. Strong thighs encased in his jeans. Tight tummy beneath a T-shirt. Broad shoulders.

A shiver of feminine longing raced through her.

Lord, why had she done that?

She redirected her gaze and her attention to Molly’s diaper bag and began rifling through it for a clean diaper and pajamas. “That would be a good idea. That way I can put her to sleep while you’re showering.”