Page 33 of Dr. Alaska
“Kenai is a keeper. Also, she’s middle-aged.”
Lee tilted her head up. “What’s that mean?”
“A keeper means that she can eat two kibbles and still gain weight.” He grinned. “As for her normal attitude, I would call her standoffishly able to tolerate other humans, but notaffectionate.”
Lee cupped the dog’s head and gazed into the soulful brown eyes. “Girl, same. I identify with all of you.”
Maverick chuckled and cupped an elbow to help Lee stand. He studied her, paused, started to smile, then pressed his lips together. His blue eyes twinkled.
“What?” she said.
He shook his head.
Lee patted her dense clothing. “What? Too much?”
“How are you not roasting in all of that?”
She looked down at the bunched-up rolls of insulated layers upon layers. Itwasa little difficult to move. “I might look like a marshmallow, but I’m warm.” Wiping her damp brow, she said, “Fine. You’re right. It’s too much clothing. I didn’t know what to wear. If we’re not going out right away, I might peel off a few layers.” Lee unzipped the polar fleece jacket and shrugged it off.
“Need help?”
She whipped her head around.
A tilt of his chin and rueful expression warmed her more than snuggling into a thick coat. “With balancing.” He grinned. “While you peel.”
“Hmmph.” After a few more hops and shimmies and Maverick’s solid supporting arm, Lee made it down to the base layer of thick fleece leggings, a Capilene long-sleeve top, a lightweight synthetic vest, and wool socks.
Maverick’s blue gaze swept over her, narrowing as his scrutiny drifted down to her legs. She wasn’t indecent. Heck, she was more clothed than her mom’s Lululemon-clad friends brunching after Pilates class.
That flash of desire in his eyes triggered a heat building low in her abdomen that had nothing to do with being overdressed.
Actually, it had everything to do with being overdressed.Shoo wee.
Quit it. What her ovaries wanted, what her temporary situation necessitated, and what her heart could handle were three very different things.
What if her situation became permanent? The minute that thought hit her brain she squashed it. Yukon Valley was a financial means to an end, plain and simple. And a temporary one at that.
“Come on, then. I’ll give you the grand tour.” He motioned for her to precede him.
Lee and Kenai followed.
Chapter Thirteen
Mav watched Lee’sreaction as they strolled into the great room. Damn it, but her opinion mattered, more than he wanted to admit.
He tried to view the lodge through her eyes, but all he could see were past memories and current issues. He pictured Christmastime with Mom and Dad and with Dee and her husband from years ago, all sitting on the couches and recliners, enjoying a brightly lit tree, the warm fire, and comfortable conversation. A pinch in his chest refocused his attention to the brown and blue patterned rug between two couches. The once-thick fabric had become worn, frayed on one edge. One of the west-facing windows had fogged, its seal broken. Needed to be replaced. On the back corner of the great room, a river rock stone had fallen out of the mortar of the fireplace and Mav hadn’t had time to reset it.
That hollow space in the stonework resonated in more ways than one.
Lee hadn’t said anything. He didn’t need her to be impressed, just accepting.
“Wow,” she breathed, her head tilted back to take in the high ceiling and hand-carved wood railing of the loft above them.
That one word resuscitated Mav’s hope.
She walked straight ahead to the soaring windows on the side of the fireplace, Kenai sedately tagging along. Lee lifted her hand but didn’t quite touch the glass. “This view is amazing. The meadow, the woods behind it, and those mountains. Gosh.” As if to herself, she said, “It’s so pretty, it doesn’t seem real.”
He rocked back on his heels. Why didn’t he think she would appreciate it?
