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.”
JETT 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,
