The Guy Next Door (9 page)

They listened to the weatherman intone the news with ominous warnings.

“Over three inches have already accumulated throughout Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee with up to nine inches now expected. Slick road conditions are being blamed for numerous reports of car wrecks. All along Interstate 75 and 71, cars and trucks are off the road with a few serious accidents that have required air support. The mixture of ice and snow should be considered hazardous. Many areas are under a level-three snow emergency. If you don’t have to be on the road, stay home.”

Natalie frowned at the admonition. She turned to look out the rear window but couldn’t see far with the
snowfall so thick. “I guess there’s no point in turning around?”

Jett glanced at the odometer and shook his head. “We should be about halfway there.” He turned the defroster up even more. “At this point going back wouldn’t be any easier than going on.”

Guilt assailed her. It was because of her plans that they were now out on the road in a possibly hazardous situation. She stared at Jett’s frowning profile. “I didn’t hear anything about a snowstorm.”

He met her gaze for only an instant and then said with feeling, “As I recall, weather reports held little interest for us last night.”

If the heat in his words wasn’t enough to scorch her, the memory of what they’d done certainly was. Natalie stared at him, remembering everything.

Voice low, Jett said, “Babe, when you look at me like that, I feel like I’m already inside you.”

Oh Lord. And now she felt it too. She tightened her thighs. “Whether we heard the news or not probably wouldn’t have mattered. They’re saying it wasn’t expected to be this bad.”

Jett shifted, cleared his throat and allowed her the change of topic. “It’s a little snow—no big deal. Don’t worry about it.”

“Hopefully as we get farther south, it’ll lighten up.”

“Maybe.” He stretched out his left leg, shifting again. “If things start to get too dicey, we might have to stop at a different hotel along the way. You okay with that?”

“Jett, I’m fine with whatever we need to do. Really. But it might be difficult finding a hotel that accepts pets.”

“We’ll see.”

She reached over to touch his biceps. “Your leg is hurting.”

His brows came down and again he glanced at her. “I’m fine.”

The cross way he said it let her know that he was touchy on the subject. “Why don’t you let me drive for a while?”

“Not necessary.” He eyed an exit, but it was buried in snow, nearly invisible.

As he passed it, Natalie scowled. “You don’t trust me to drive?”

“I trust you plenty.” His hands flexed on the wheel. “But I’m driving.”

Exasperated, Natalie let out a breath. “Your leg is bothering you, I can tell. You don’t have to be so macho about it.”

“Macho?” He snorted. “It’s not my leg bothering me, honey. It’s a boner.”

“Oh.” Natalie looked at his lap, saw the truth of his words, and elation rolled over her. Even now, in these less-than-ideal circumstances, Jett wanted her. She was so pleased by that, she couldn’t help but chuckle. “I see.” She started to ask him what she could do to help, but Jett cut her off.

“A change of topic is in order.” He shifted again. “Did my sisters grill you? I sort of got caught up in caring for Buddy and didn’t really think about leaving you alone with them in the outer room.”

Given that his leg wasn’t the reason for his restlessness, Natalie decided to let him off the hook about having her drive. After all, they really had nowhere to pull over to make a switch anyway. “We talked, but
they weren’t intrusive.” She wouldn’t tell him how the women had complimented her. “In fact, they were very kind.”

“I want you for more than convenience, and they know it. Of course they were kind.”

Natalie bit her lip at that. Was that how Jett saw most women, as “convenient”? Normally she’d be up in arms on behalf of her sex, but this time, more pressing thoughts took precedence.

How could Jett possibly expect to keep things casual if he involved his entire family this way? Being too direct left Natalie’s stomach jumpy, but she
had
to know, so she mentally braced herself, then asked, “How much more?”

His expression sharpened, turned a little grim. Keeping his gaze focused on the slick road ahead, he said, “Now there’s the million-dollar question, huh? Especially considering that I had to twist your arm to get anything more at all.”

Talk about evasive answers. Well, Natalie refused to put him on the spot. “I have a suggestion.”

He speared her with a glare then cursed as the car in front of them fishtailed before regaining control. He held the wheel a little tighter. “I’d love to hear it. Shoot.”

“I say we don’t get too serious. We both want to have fun, for now…for as long as it lasts.”

J
ETT SQUEEZED THE WHEEL HARD
.
For as long as it lasts.
Those carefree words pounded through his brain. Her sentiments mirrored his, because he really didn’t know where their relationship was headed, or even where he wanted it to head.

But he did know that once he’d introduced her to his family, things would be trickier. He couldn’t even claim that he’d been surprised by his siblings’ attendance at the vet clinic. He’d known that Natalie would have them all there. It was a wonder his mom and dad hadn’t shown up too.

For years, his family had been on him about settling down. It was payback for all the times he’d played big brother, running off guys he considered not good enough.

But regardless of his siblings’ acceptance of Natalie, he still felt free to make up his own mind about their future, free to guide things as he saw fit. Every woman he’d ever dated had wanted more from him, and he’d been the one calling the shots, keeping things casual.

Not Natalie. She left him feeling indecisive and antagonistic and provoked by her lack of interest. Hell, she looked at him and he got hard—and how did that affect her?

She laughed.

Before he could think of a reply to give her, a small car a few yards ahead of him started sliding again, and this time it didn’t recover.

“Damn it.” Jett did some fancy driving to avoid getting caught as the car swung wildly one way and then swung the other way before going off the road and into the sloping area between the southbound and northbound lanes. It stopped hard, sending up a spray of snow and ice.

Glad that he’d kept so much distance between him and the other drivers, Jett slowed even more.

“Oh my God!” Natalie leaned toward him to look out the driver’s door window.

Jett didn’t want to take his gaze off the road. “Driver okay?”

“Looks like.” Natalie settled back into her seat. Sounding shaken, she said, “I saw a couple of people in the front seat, and the passenger was already on the phone.”

Good. They’d be fine—not that he would have endangered Natalie by stopping on the treacherous road anyway. “Cops are patrolling. Someone will be along soon to…” His words trailed off as they both noticed a semi, bent in half, on its side in the gully. The trailer had spilled its load, and now boxes were everywhere.

“This is nuts.” Natalie put her hands to her face. “I’ve never seen so many wrecks.”

She no sooner said it than a truck zipped past them at a much higher speed. Jett made a sound of disgust. “I have a feeling we’re going to see a whole lot more too, since some drivers don’t have enough sense to slow down.”

Over the next hour they did indeed see more cars and trucks off the road. And at one exit they even saw an ambulance overturned. The police were out in force, but already they’d spotted at least two cruisers also off the road.

Natalie seemed so concerned, Jett went out of his way to keep her occupied. Together, they sang along with an older song on the radio. He shared a few ribald jokes with her that had her both blushing and laughing out loud. Buddy took turns sleeping, leaning over the seat to lick Natalie’s ear and gnawing on his chew toys and bones.

Jett told her more about his family, and she told him
more about her sister’s writing career, especially the movie deal in the works.

They went through some of the snacks they’d brought along, so neither of them was overly hungry. They enjoyed a comfortable familiarity, making slow but steady progress toward the cabin. All in all, it was a pleasant trip despite the weather hazards.

And then Buddy stopped being patient. He decided he needed a break and he needed it now.

Natalie did what she could to calm the dog, but he was not only unused to riding in cars, he wasn’t used to holding it either. He paced the space available to him, howled and put his paws up against the doors and the back of the seats.

He became so frantic that Natalie looked ready to cry over his upset.

“He’s all right, Natalie.”

“He doesn’t understand.” And then, “What if he goes in your car?”

Jett shrugged. “Then I guess I’ll be cleaning it. Just keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t aim for the luggage.”

She went mute before snickering.

“What?”

“Ohmigod, can you imagine if that happened?”

Jett grinned. “If it did, we’d be doing laundry right off. Either way, it wouldn’t be all that tragic.” He felt bad for Buddy too, but at the same time, he appreciated Natalie’s empathy, how hard she worked at trying to soothe Buddy.

Seconds later, good fortune shone on them. “I think I see a clear exit. We can get some food and gas too, but I don’t see any signs for lodging.” He heard her cooing
to Buddy, promising him relief, and Jett smiled. “I’m guessing you could use the break, too?”

“Are you kidding? I needed to go hours ago.”

Jett carefully veered off on the slick exit. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“What could you do about it? Nothing. You had your hands full just keeping us on the road.”

Sensible, considerate, sexy Natalie. Every second with her deepened his feelings.

Jett shook his head and made it off the highway, but just barely. The one and only gas station he saw, attached to a small store of supplies, had a sign offering hot dogs and coffee.

“I’ll pull up close to the building to let you out under the overhang, then I’ll drive Buddy over to that semi-clear spot behind that big metal garbage bin. Wait inside for me, okay? When Buddy’s done, I’ll pull back up front and you can wait with him while I run in.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

He noticed that Natalie had her knees together and bit back another grin. If he’d known things were so dire for her, he could have figured out something. What, he didn’t know, but he could be resourceful when it came to her comfort. Pretty soon, if everything went as he planned, she’d be comfortable enough with him to tell him everything she needed, even outside the bedroom.

Buddy again worried that he was being dumped, so Jett had to take extra time to convince him otherwise. He had to crouch down by the dog as Buddy did his business in ten different locations. All the while, Jett talked to him, rubbed his ear or scratched his back.

By the time Buddy finished and Jett had the gas
tank refilled, his own situation was critical. His jeans now snow-covered up to his knees, his ears and nose red from the cold, Jett again pulled up in front of the gas station.

Natalie had her arms laden with hot dogs, chips and colas. While he stowed the food on the floor of the front seat, she crawled over the seat into the back to dig out food and water for Buddy. The dog hadn’t yet learned manners and he made a mess, and a racket, refilling his belly.

Shaking his head, Jett told her, “Be right back.”

He left the SUV running to keep her warm but locked the doors on his way out. After he finished inside, he asked the cashier about weather reports. Unfortunately, it sounded as if road crews couldn’t keep up with the downfall and shops were closing early so workers could avoid being stranded.

When Jett got back out to the SUV, he found Natalie looking dazed. He used the remote to unlock his door and got behind the wheel, relieved that she’d forgotten all about taking a turn driving. No way in hell would he let her behind the wheel. He did trust her driving ability, but she was far jumpier than him.

He frowned at her expression. “What is it, honey? You okay?”

She had her fingertips pressed to her temples and her eyes closed. Jett touched her chin to bring her face around to his.

“Natalie? What is it?”

She groaned as if in pain then covered her face. “I feel like such an idiot.”

He had no idea why but said, “Not even close.”
Catching her wrists, he pulled down her hands. “Why do you say that?”

Avoiding his gaze, she let out a long shaky breath. “I don’t have my suitcase.”

Jett pulled back. “How?” He’d carried out everything she had by the door—and it was plenty. “I know I put all your stuff in the back. I even double-checked to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind.”

“You didn’t.” She flicked a look at him. “Last night I’d carried my suitcase back into my bedroom to switch out a few things.”

“What things?”

“Pajamas that were…nicer.” She rolled her eyes. “Since you were coming along with me.”

Ah. He opened his hand on the side of her face then bent to see her eyes. “Nicer, as in sexier?”

“Yes.”

Well, damn. Sorry that he’d miss it, Jett stroked her cheek with his thumb.
So damn soft.
“You left it in your bedroom?”

She nodded miserably.

He tried not to smile at her woebegone expression. “Honey, when you’re sleeping with me, you won’t need pajamas of any kind, I promise.”

“I get cold at night—” She held up a hand, anticipating his claim that he’d keep her warm. “Seriously, Jett. I’m not at all comfortable with the idea of sleeping in the…”

“Raw?” Hell, just talking about it was stirring him. Again.

Her shoulders drooped. “The only clothes I have with me are the ones I’m wearing.”

“Doesn’t sound like a major problem from my end.”
He pulled her closer. “I wouldn’t mind keeping you naked for the entire vacation. In fact, that sounds like one hell of a plan to me.”

She groaned. “I’m serious, Jett.”