It wasn’t the worst room he’d ever rented, but it lacked the luxury of where he would have taken Allie if he’d had a choice. It was warm, had a television and a big comfortable-looking bed. The warmth and bed were more inviting than anything after hunching over that damn steering wheel for what seemed like hours.
“I’ll take that trash can and go get supper,” he said. “I’m going to fill it up so if you’ve got a preference, holler right now.”
“Vending machine?” She removed her gloves and warmed her hands over the wall heater.
“That’s right, darlin’. Big juicy hamburger will have to wait until another night. This date has changed course,” he said.
“I don’t care. Bring me some of all of it and I’ll be happy. I’m so glad that we’re safe in a room. Oh, I’ve got to call Mama. I didn’t even tell her which way we were going,” she said all in a rush.
“You call. I’ll be back soon as I spend all my money.” He grinned.
Katy answered on the third ring and started talking before Allie could say a single word. “Where are you? If you went north, then find a place and hole up until this horrible storm passes. I swear to God, I’ve never seen anything like this in our part of the world. It’s so bad out there I can’t even see the edge of the porch from the window.”
“I’m in Archer City and we’ve gotten a motel room. It took forever to get this far, but I’m safe and warm and Blake has gone to buy out everything in the vending machine so I’m not going to starve,” she said.
“Stay put and…” The line went completely dead.
When Allie looked at her phone all she got was a no service signal. Evidently, the wind had played havoc with the towers between Archer City and Dry Creek. She laid the phone on the nightstand, removed her coat, and hung it in the closet. An extra blanket, tucked away inside a zippered bag, rested on a fold-up luggage rack. She removed it and tossed it on the bed. Then she kicked off her boots and wet socks and set them under the desk.
A shiver running from her backbone to her toes let her know that the legs of her jeans were every bit as wet as her socks. She undid her belt buckle and shimmied out of the jeans, hung them in the closet, and caught her reflection in the mirror across the room. White cotton bikini underpants when she knew she was going on a real date; she slapped her forehead with her palm.
“Allie, open up, my hands are full and I can’t knock,” Blake called out.
She did double time from heater to door and slung it open to find the abominable snowman on the other side. The wet snow had stuck to Blake’s eyelashes and his black cowboy hat had an inch lying on the brim. She grabbed his arm, pulled him inside, and slammed the door shut, but not before a gust of wind blasted her with a face full of cold white snow.
She took the trash can full of vending machine goodies from his arms and set it on the desk. “Get undressed. Hang everything in the closet. I’ll put a towel on the floor to catch the drip. Then get under the covers, Blake. You have to be chilled to the bone. Even your jeans are soaked.”
His teeth chattered as he reached inside the closet and brought out the rest of the hangers. “I’ve got a better idea. I’ll get undressed in the bathroom and hang all my wet things in the shower, but I will take your advice and get under the covers. I don’t think I’ve ever been this cold and I’ve ranched through cold winters my whole life. But I do like that outfit. Did you bring it special in your purse in case we had to stay in a motel tonight? This is some first date, Allie.”
“I bet we don’t ever forget it.” She smiled.
The black hat came off first and he hung it on the showerhead. Allie fought the urge to hum the stripper song as he removed one article of clothing at a time. When he pushed his jeans down over a bright pink ass, she gasped and he laughed.
“Didn’t want anything to slow us down in case I got lucky on our first real date so I came commando,” he explained.
“How did the butt of your jeans get wet?”
He talked on his way to the bed where he threw back the covers and crawled in between them. “It’s slippery out there and the soles of my boots don’t have the traction that my old work ones do. When I was going to the vending machine, I fell twice.”
“Are you okay?” Dammit! What if he’d cracked his head on something and died out there in the snow and she’d been too stubborn to tell him that she was in love with him? He would have died without knowing and she would have never forgiven herself.
“Nothing hurt that a sexy woman cuddled up next to me in this big bed wouldn’t heal.” One hand came out from under the covers to pat the place beside him. “I need body heat so you really should take off those cute little panties and that sweater and the bra.”
“Who says I’m wearing a bra?” she asked. “Maybe I’m going commando in case I get lucky on this first real date.”
“I can see the line of a bra under that sweater, but the picture in my mind is damn sure warmin’ me up,” Blake said.
In seconds the rest of her clothing was tossed toward the desk and she was shivering in his arms. “You could have told me the sheets had been stored in the freezer.”