Page 10 of Christmas at Black Cherry Retreat
First he went tothe cabin next door and dragged Abel Burton away from sitting by the fire with his wife. The older couple were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary this week and Tom hated to spoil their peaceful evening.
‘Don’t worry, son. We’ll lock up real good and won’t do anything stupid.’
Tom smiled at the man’s attempt to reassurehimand took his leave. Now he had to tackle MissWinter who’d probably slam the door in his face and send him away for pestering her again.Tough.He’d protect her whether she liked it or not. Outside her cabin he set his face in his best ex-cop “do not mess with me” expression before rapping on the door.
‘Who is it?’
He heard the annoyance in her voice. ‘Tom.’
The lock clicked back and the door opened a few inches. Hecould just about make out her pale features.
‘Sorry to disturb you but I’ve had a police report all my guests need to know about.’ Hopefully that made it clear he was only doing his job not singling her out.
‘You’d better come in.’
‘I can tell you from here. No problem.’
She sighed. ‘I do havesomemanners plus it’s cold. Get inside and don’t be daft.’
Tom wasn’t sure he’d ever been called daft before. He wouldn’t call it cold but Fee didn’t have a spare ounce of flesh on her so probably felt the chill in the air. He stepped in over the threshold as she opened back the door.Hell.
‘Yes, I was in bed.’
Tom struggled not to stare at the soft pink pyjamas draping her slim frame and her slender bare feet. A soft lemon scent rose fromher skin to fill the air between them. In one instant his traitorous body betrayed him and he prayed she wouldn’t notice. He launched into a straightforward repetition of his father’s story.
‘I’m pretty sure they won’t come here but I’ll be on the alert. Check your locks and let me know if you see anything suspicious.’
‘Of course.’
He caught a slight tremble in her voiceand wished he could reassure her without stepping over the line she’d drawn between them. ‘I’ve never lost a guest yet,’ he joked.
‘Let’s hope the government never sends you on a diplomatic mission. You’d be a miserable failure.’
‘I…’ Trying to stumble out an apology, Tom noticed the edges of her mouth twitch into a half-smile and realised she was teasing him. ‘You found me out.’He grinned.
‘Oh, I found you out alright.’
Her cool, knowing words sent a shiver through his overheated blood.
‘It’s time I went back to bed. After I’ve locked the doors and windows of course,’ Fee murmured.
‘Good idea.’ He’d better make his escape before he made even more of a fool of himself. ‘I’ll stop by in the morning when I check on the other guests.’
‘I’m sure you will. You strike me as a man who’d do a thorough job.’
Tom mentally slapped himself at the unsuitable reply running through his head. ‘I try.’
‘Good night, Tom.’
The way she said his name in that crisp English way tortured him even more. He mumbled good night and hurried back out as fast as he could while sensing her eyes on him all the way. Tom strodeoff into the night, almost wishing a murderous escaped prisoner would finish him off and be done with it.
