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“Yes, sir,” Londyn said. “I’m Londyn, and this is Nash.”
“Nice to meet you,” Cookie said. He set the flashlight on the ground and slid the backpack off his shoulders. “I brought you sandwiches, a thermos of hot cocoa and some clothes Mitch dug out of his closets. I’d have brought you coffee, but you might want to sleep at least some of the night.”
Cookie pulled a gallon-sized plastic baggie and a thermos out of the backpack. Then he pulled out a garbage bag. “These are the clothes.”
Nash hurried toward the man and took the bags and thermos from him. “Thank you.”
“Helluva storm out there,” the man said, switching the flashlight to his other hand once it was free. He glanced at the ceiling of the barn. “Hopefully, the lights will come back on in a few minutes. But, just in case they don’t, there’s a spare flashlight in the tack room. I’ll get it for you. Hang on.”
Nash wanted to tell the man they weren’t going anywhere in the pitch black.
Cookie disappeared with the light beam into a room in the front corner of the barn. A moment later, he reappeared, carrying something that appeared to be a lantern. “This is even better than a flashlight. It’s battery-powered, so you don’t have to worry about it catching the hay on fire.” He set it on the ground, shined his flashlight down at the base of the unit, located the switch and turned it on.
Light glowed in a warm circle around them, breaking up the darkness.
“There. Hopefully, the battery will last all night or at least until the electricity comes back on.” Cookie grinned. “Need anything else?”
Nash shook his head, willing the older man to leave so they could pick up where he and Londyn had left off. He could still taste her on his lips and wanted more.
Cookie clapped his hands together. “Then I’m off to bed. Breakfast is at six-thirty. You can come through the kitchen door at the back of the house. Be on time so you actually get some food. The ranch hands don’t leave so much as a scrap.” He nodded. “Good night. I hope your horse is feeling better by morning.”
The older man ducked back out into the storm, closing the door behind him and leaving Nash and Londyn in the warm glow of the lantern.
Nash set the bag of clothes in the stall beside the one with Butterscotch. He laid the plastic baggie full of sandwiches and the thermos on top of the clothes.
When he turned, he found Londyn in the stall doorway behind him, holding the lantern. Once she had his attention, she entered and set the lantern on the floor. When she straightened, the lantern glow reflected in her dark eyes as she closed the distance between them.
For a long moment, she stood before him. “Are you hungry?” she asked in almost a whisper.
Though his stomach had rumbled moments before, he’s lost all appetite for food. “I find I’m not hungry for ham, but I have an insatiable appetite for you.”
Her dark eyes flared, but she didn’t walk into his arms. “Can we agree that you have your work, and I have my ranch? They could, in fact, be mutually exclusive?”
Nash’s brow dipped low. “Agree?”
She nodded. “And can we agree that anything that happens between us tonight doesn’t have to mean anything? We’ll go our separate ways when the filming is complete?”
“Is that what you want?” he asked.
She nodded. “What we’re feeling is a product of trauma. It won’t last. Especially when I’ll go back to my ranch, and you’ll go on to your next assignment. We live vastly different lives. Why complicate them?”
He gathered her into his arms. “Sweetheart, it’s too late.”
Her breathing grew ragged as she stared up at him. “Too late?” she whispered as if she didn’t have enough breath to push words past her vocal cords.
He nodded. “Everything about this...” he cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb across her lips, “... is complicated.”
Her lips puckered, kissing his thumb. “It doesn’t have to...be,” she said.
He stood still, holding onto his control by a thread. “The only way to keep from getting more complicated is to stop now.”
Her eyes widened. “Please,” she said, “don’t,” she sucked in a breath, “stop.”
Londyn leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to his.
That thread snapped.
Nash pulled her into his arms and deepened the kiss, taking all she wanted to give and more.
