Page 6 of Forever His Brat

It was Nick who opened the door and waved back. He shouted something that Sam couldn’t hear. Sam shouted back, “What?” but he had a feeling Nick couldn’t understand him either, so he waved again and then jumped back in the truck. Turning around was an effort but the plow on the front was a big help.

He moved the truck further in and waited as Nick pulled his battered old pickup onto the road behind him, and then he continued. He kept his speed down so they could stay in his tracks all the way back to the big house. He paused there, wondering if he should lead them straight to the cabin.

In the end he figured Charlie would have a meltdown if she didn’t get a chance to meet them that night. She’d been waiting all day and baking up a storm so skipping past her would be unfair. He parked there and got out, pulling his coat as high as it would go and burrowing into it as he watched them roll to a stop.

Nick got out of his pickup but left it running. “Hey man, good to see you back there. I was afraid we’d miss the turn-off in this mess.”

“Yeah, I figured. Then we couldn’t get your cell. The snow tends to mess up the signal, so I went out to wait for you.” They did the manly hug thing, thumping each other’s backs with mirrored grins. “Listen, the cabin is that way—” He pointed. “—behind the big barn, but I know Charlie is going to want to meet you both. So, I’m going to leave you here for a few minutes while I plow a path. You can introduce yourselves, yeah?”

Sam wasn’t entirely sure it was the best idea. He knew Charlie was nervous and would probably want him by her side, but if he went in with them, he wasn’t going to want to come back out. Limiting the number of times he had to force himself out into the storm was a priority for his flagging energy.

“Sure thing, Katie needs some warming up and I know she’s been nervous about meeting Charlie so a quick introduction tonight will probably be a good thing,” Nick agreed. “Women are like cats. You have to introduce them in short bursts, so they get each other’s scent… so to speak.”

Sam stared at him and threw his head back and laughed. “Nick—” He cut himself off, shook his head and laughed some more before he managed to rein it in. “Do me a favor and don’teversay that in front of Charlie.”

Nick made a choking sound of amusement. “Do I look stupid? Wouldn’t say it to Katie either. She’d murder me.” He grinned. “I’m not wrong though.”

Sam was inclined to agree but he wasn’t going to say it. “I’m pleading the fifth on this one. Anyway, you two go on in and let Charlie fuss over you for a minute while I take care of things, then I’ll be back around to collect you.”

That settled, Sam left them to it. He hopped back into the truck and plowed the road all the way to the cabin. There wasn’t that much to handle.

Charlie had cleaned the cabin thoroughly and done some shopping to tide them over. He’d chopped and piled a load of wood high on the side, so they’d have it if they needed it. But with the storm and temperatures dropping he wanted to shovel the steps and get a fire going for them.

It didn’t take long and then he headed back. To his relief, the introductions looked like they had gone well. Katie seemed like a sweet little brat and Nick clearly doted on her.

Charlie was all smiles, though he could tell she was relieved to have him back. If Nick and Katie hadn’t been so delayed in arriving, they could have sat down together and had a nice evening getting to know each other, but as it was, he wasn’t surprised that Nick wanted to go.

Tiredness hung on the man like an old overcoat. They’d been on the road since early that morning and the afternoon storm could only have made the drive harder.

As much as Sam didn’t want to go right back into the cold… he would. He took a moment to steel himself for one last trip. Luckily the cab of his truck was still warm. It could have been worse.

As soon as he saw them safely into the cabin he turned around and headed for home. His last chore of the night was to shovel the back steps, again, and salt them down heavily. It was probably a waste of energy but the last thing he wanted was a thick sheet of ice under the snow in the morning.

His ass was dragging when he finally stepped into the house and pushed the door closed. His coat was soaked and hung stiffly from the ice that covered the back and shoulders. Wrestling out of it was almost more work than he could manage.

“Need some help, cowboy? You look worn out,” Charlie said as she came in from the living room.

The warmth of the fire called to him. “I am. I’m soaked to my knees, and I think my jeans are frozen to my legs.”

“Let’s strip you down here, so you don’t track ice everywhere. I started the tub filling for you. As soon as we get the clothes off you can jump right in.” She moved to help him off with his coat. Shards of ice crackled and shed as she worked it down over his shoulders and hung it on the hook.

He sighed. A hot bath sounded just this side of heaven right now. “Love you, darlin’. Not sure what I ever did to deserve you.” His cold fingers fumbled at his belt, but she pushed his hands away and undid it for him.

“I seem to recall you spanked me a lot. Told me I was a brat. Said I had to call you Daddy.” She worked his jeans down over his hips and then paused. “Can you kick off your boots?”

“Seems to have worked,” he commented. He leaned heavily against the closed door and attempted to use one boot to push the other off. He was too cold to get far. “Stuck.”

“I’ll get it.” Charlie sat down at his feet and took the boot in both hands, yanking hard. It came free with a splattering of snow that went everywhere. She sighed and wiped drops from her face. “Looks like I’m going to need a bath too.”

“You can share mine. Water conservation and all.” Sam smirked, making it clear that saving water was not on his mind at all. He switched feet, offering her the second boot to pull free.

She laughed as she wrestled it off. “Who am I to waste water? And it worked because it was what I needed. You always give me what I need, Sam, even when it’s not what I want.” Without getting up from her seat on the floor she dragged his jeans down.

It wasn’t the romantic moment it would have been in another situation. He was too cold to enjoy being undressed by a woman at his feet, and she was focused on getting the sodden, clinging clothes off him so she could get him warm.

His socks had stayed dry inside the boots, but now, standing in an icy puddle on the floor they’d soaked through on the bottom. She pulled them off too and then got to her feet.

“Bath time—damn, Sam, your lips are blue!” She shook her head and pointed. “Move it, mister. We need to warm you up stat.”

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