Chapter Six
Colton stepped back into the cabin half an hour later. His mood had not improved. Ever since Maggie came back into town something had been off with them. He wasn’t stupid. It wasn’t like he expected them to go back to being best friends like when they were kids. Years had passed. But he always thought they were still the kind of friends that confided their problems to each other.
Guess I was wrong.
The snow was still coming down hard outside. He dropped the firewood in the bin by the door. A tarp covered the pile outside from the elements, but the walk to the front door resulted in the logs receiving a decent dusting of snow. They would dry soon enough. Hopefully, the house would stay warm until then. The old heater only did so much in a snowstorm.
Shrugging off his coat, he noticed the cabin was indeed warm, and it smelled delicious. What was that enticing aroma? Following the smell into the kitchen, he stopped in shock. It looked like a war zone. Dirty bowls, spoons, and measuring cup were stacked precariously in the sink. Various food items and spices lined the counter tops. A fine white powder covered almost every surface, and in the middle of all the madness…Maggie.
Singing, very off tune, she stood in the middle of the kitchen holding a large mixing bowl in one hand and stirring the contents with a wooden spoon in the other. She obviously found her clothes where he had set them out to dry, because she was dressed.
She hadn’t noticed him yet, so he watched as she sang, stirred, and shimmied around the kitchen. It was the sweetest thing he had ever seen. Then she swiveled her hips in a little booty shaking motion. Scratch that, it was the hottest thing he had ever seen.
“What in the world have you done to my kitchen?”
The sexy woman screamed, nearly dropping the bowl in her hands. She spun toward him, her expression going from shock to anger in an instant.
“Jeez, Colt. Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
He chuckled. “I didn’t sneak. You just didn’t hear me because you were too busy getting your groove on.”
She blushed. “I was making you a peace offering, but now I’m thinking I might just eat it all myself.”
Maggie was making him something?
“Oh come on, Magpie, don’t be like that. You have a…beautiful singing voice.”
She laughed. “Please, I’m tone deaf and I know it.”
“Yeah, but with moves like those no one’s going to pay attention to your voice.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Round, apple cheeks tinged pink. She had an adorable blush. It turned her whole face slightly rosy. Made a man wonder if the same coloring came out during the throes of passion.
Walking over to the counter where she was cooking, he leaned against it. “So, what are you making me?”
Her eyes narrowed, but she gave in. “Lemon tart cookies.”
“Really? Those are my favorite!”
She gave him a sheepish grin. “I know. I remember.”
She did, huh? Well, that was a good sign. So was the cookie apology. It meant she still cared about him on some level. He wondered, for the first time, just how deep that caring went. He always knew Maggie had a little crush on him, but he had discounted it as puppy love. A schoolgirl-crush. He’d seen her as a friend, a kid.
But she wasn’t a kid anymore, and the feelings he was beginning to have for her were much more than friendly.
“So, how long ’til they’re done?”
She turned to the counter and began scooping out small spoonfuls of batter onto a cookie sheet left by his mother the last time she visited.
“I’ve got a batch in the oven now,” she answered. “Should be done in about five minutes, but they’ll need to cool.”
“Sounds good. I’ll just go hop in the shower real quick.”
He started to go down the hall until a soft voice stopped him.
“Colt?”
“Yeah?” he said, turning back to face her.
“I…could I still use your sat phone real quick?”
“Oh, sure. Let me just grab it for you.”
That wasn’t what she was about to say, he was sure of it. He could always tell when Maggie was nervous as a kid. She would twist her hands together like she had just done in the kitchen. He walked back to the bedroom closet where he kept the phone.
The question was…what the hell did Maggie Evans have to be nervous about?
A few minutes later, the second batch of cookies in the oven and the first cooling on the counter, Maggie clutched the sat phone tight in her hands. She could hear the shower water rushing through the pipes and tried not to imagine what was happening in the bathroom right now. Colton washing himself, naked. The hot jets of water pounding on his bare skin. Sliding over his hard, toned chest and down his killer stomach, all the way down to…
Tried and failed.
Clearing the image of the naked, wet cowboy from her mind—okay trying her best to—she focused on the phone instead. She dialed Jamie’s home number, hoping the girl was at home. It was sad to say, but in the eight months she lived in Peak Town, she hadn’t really made any friends. Sure, people were friendly and nice, but running the cupcake shop took up so much time, she didn’t really make an effort to go out and connect with people.
“Hello?” a soft voice said after the phone picked up.
“Mrs. Thompson? It’s Maggie Evans. Is Jamie at home?”
“Yes, she is.” Her employee’s mother must have covered the phone because she heard a muffled yell. “Jamie, telephone! It’s Maggie.” Then the older woman was back. “Is everything all right? Did Jamie make a mistake at work?”
“Oh no, nothing like that. She’s a fantastic employee and a very smart young lady. I heard about Harvard. You must be so proud.”
“We are.” A beaming smile could be heard in the woman’s voice. “We always knew she was smart, but Harvard! I just don’t see how we could be any prouder of her.”
“I’m sure she’ll give you a lot of opportunity in the future for that. You both did a great job with her.”
“Thank you, Maggie. Oh, here she is.”
The phone was handed off. Maggie heard the younger Thompson thank her mother before she came on the line. “Hey, boss, what’s up?”
“I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor?”
“What’d ya need?”
Opening the oven door, she checked the cookies. Not quite done. A few more minutes, tops. “I need you to go put a sign on the front of the shop saying we’re closed due to the weather. My car got a flat last night, and I’m stuck up here because of the snow.”
“I told you about the storm.”
Teenagers. They thought they knew everything. It didn’t matter this teenager just happened to be right this time.
“I know. You were right, Ms. Harvard.”
Youthful laughter filled the line. “Yeah, that’s why I got in, my uncanny ability to follow the weatherman’s advice. So, your car got a flat. You need me to call Pete and have him come up there?”
Pete Miller ran the local auto body shop and owned the only tow truck in town.
“No. I’m good. I’ve got a spare. I’ll change it once the storm dies down.”
“Changing tires isn’t like baking cupcakes. Plus, it’s a pain in the as—butt—in the snow. You sure you can handle it?”
She smiled at the way the young girl corrected her language. Jamie may be smart and mature, but she was still a teenager. Maggie used to swear up a storm in high school. She didn’t blame her employee for the occasional slip.
“I’m fine. I’m…I’m not alone actually. I got lost in the storm last night trying to get back to my cabin and…well, I came across Colt.”
That wasn’t quite the way it had happened, but no one needed to know that.
“Colton Denning?” The girl’s voice went high with shock.
“Is there another Colt in Peak Town?” she replied dryly.
“Nope. So, you and Colt, huh?”
Was that a suggestive tone from her underage employee?
“We’re friends.”
“Riiiiight.”
Teenagers.
“He took me in last night, and we are just waiting out the storm together. No big deal.”
“Stormy weather. Small, cozy, warm cabin. A man and a woman. Sounds like a plot to a romance novel.” The girl laughed.
“No romance. Just two friends stuck together due to unforeseen circumstances.”
“Unforeseen if you don’t watch the weather channel.”
“Jamie, you are the only person under the age of fifty I know who watches the weather channel.”
“What? I like to be informed. And the morning weatherman is super hot, too.”
Maggie laughed.
“Speaking of hot. Have you seen Colt naked yet?”
“Jamie!”
A chuckle trilled over the phone line. “Oh come on, boss. Colton Denning is hot with a capital H!”
“Maybe,” she grudgingly admitted. “But I already told you, it’s not like that. We’re friends.”
“He flirts with you all the time.”
She sighed. “He flirts with everyone.”
“He teases you,” the persistent teen pressed. “Like a schoolyard boy.”
“Wonderful, he’s immature. Such a fine quality in a man.”
“You know what I mean. He likes you.”
“As a friend.” She refused to believe anything more. It would just hurt too much when she was proven wrong.
“Think what you want, but I think there’s more to it than that.”
“We were friends as kids. There’s nothing more.”
The young girl was silent for a beat. “Haven’t you ever heard of friendship turning into love? Two people who have been friends forever suddenly see each other in a new light and BAM! Love.”
Love? Who said anything about love? She wasn’t sure Colton liked her, let alone loved her. The childhood crush she had on him might be considered love, puppy love maybe. Infatuation definitely. But did she love Colton now? She was afraid to examine her feelings for him. If she did fall in love him and he didn’t love her, or worse, didn’t even like her in a romantic way, what would she do? Better to just stay friends. Less pain that way.
“Go watch a Nickolas Sparks movie and get off my case. And put the sign up at the shop while you’re at it.”
Jamie laughed loudly into the phone. “Sure boss, no problem. You enjoy your time with your friend.”
“Oh, go study for a test or something,” she grumbled.
She could still hear the youthful laughter in her ear as she hung up the phone. Her employee was a sweet kid, but she’d gotten it totally wrong. Colton did not have romantic feelings for her. He flirted and teased her, but in a buddy-buddy way. The way he did to everyone. They were just two old friends stuck in the woods together.
Nothing more.
The ding of the stove timer reminded her about the cookies. Placing the phone on the counter, she grabbed an oven mitt and opened the door. Perfect. The sweet, lemony scent wafted out of the oven and wrapped itself around her. Grasping the tray firmly with her gloved hand, she pulled the cookies out.
“Mmmmmm, smells great, Magpie.”
Startled, she spun, straightening from her bent position at the oven. Colton stood before her with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Gleaming droplets of water still clung to his chest. His hair was a shade darker when wet and slicked back from his face. A drop of water started a trail down his neck, over his pectoral muscle, and down his sculpted abs. Mixing in with his happy trail and making its way down underneath the towel that was currently…tenting?
Holy shit! Colton was aroused?