on more fiercely, and while she was aware of him speaking, she could not make out the words.
Eventually, Thad took hold of her hands and got her to release him as he eased her into the circle of his arms. “Hey. Hey,” he said softly.
She opened her eyes.
“It’s okay.” He smiled down at her. “I sent them away.”
Dammit. So much for her attempt to be someone different on this trip.
“You are seriously scared of dogs, aren’t you?”
“You think?” She forced a laugh even though her fear was anything but funny.
“What happened to you?” He brushed a wisp of hair out of her face.
“I got bit.” She tried to recall the incident, but it was vague. “I barely remember it because I was so young, but ever since I’ve been terrified of dogs. It’s...incapacitating.”
She looked up and realized—oh, shit—she was fully ensconced in Thad’s big, strong arms, her mittened hand resting on his chest, an affectionate gesture, much like she’d witnessed between Gloria and Dillon an hour ago. While she may have invented a seductive scenario starring Thad this morning, he was a complete stranger, someone she’d known for less than twenty-four hours, and finding herself wrapped in his arms—while very nice—was a little too familiar.
She backed away from his embrace and he let her go.
“You interested in overcoming that fear?”
“Maybe. But...” She was about to say not today when he whistled, a short, sharp sound, and the older dog, who she assumed was Sue, ran over, her offspring following right behind. Though one stopped to sniff, nosing around in the snow before setting in to dig with a vengeance.
“And...that is Digger,” he said wryly.
She remembered the name from last night. In the daylight, the animals were certainly friendlier looking. The one named Humper sat and stared with his tongue hanging out one side of his mouth. Digger, a mostly black dog with white tips on his ears, just kept digging, turning one way and then another, snow and dirt flying out from behind him.
The dog named Sue sat by her master’s leg, gazing up at him with adoration before turning that gaze on Jo. She could see the intelligence in the dog’s face, her eyes rimmed with white fur, like she was wearing a mask, almost appearing human as she blinked at Jolie.
Okay, maybe they weren’t so bad.
“Put your hand out.”
“Huh?”
Thad took her arm, pulled off her mitten and arranged her hand palm up. “Let Sue sniff you.”
When the dog approached, Jo’s automatic response was to pull away, but Thad held her hand in place. The dog sniffed her before resting its chin in her upturned palm.
“Oh.”
Thad knelt down beside the dog, still holding Jo’s hand. With his other hand, he scratched the top of the dog’s head. “She likes it, right behind the ears. Like this.” He gazed up at her, his blue eyes brighter in the sun. “Give it a try.”
I can do this. I can.
Hesitating for only a second, Jo let her hand be guided by Thad’s until she was touching the soft fur on the top of the dog’s head. She buried her fingers into it, scratching gently.
“Now you’ve got it.”
The dog shifted to lean against her leg and Jo jumped. She pulled her hand away, not because she was scared but because the dog’s movement startled her.
She looked at her hand. “Oh, my God,” she whispered. “I touched her. Did you see that? I touched a dog.”
“Did more than touch her. You gave her a real good scratch.”
“I did, didn’t I?” On some level, Jo knew how ridiculous it must seem, that she was overjoyed by the simple act of petting a dog. But to her this was huge, and the result was that she felt invincible. Superhuman. Like she could do anything, anything at all.
So she did. When Thad stood, she turned toward him, put one mittened hand on his cheek while her bare hand gripped the front of his jacket. Then she went up on tiptoe and kissed him full on the mouth.
* * *
HER LIPS WERE cold but that didn’t stop Thad from enjoying City Slicker’s mouth slanting generously over his. She started to pull away, but he stopped her by threading his fingers through her hair—silky soft—and holding her close. He intended to warm up those lips, taste the inside of her mouth, get her to taste a little more of him if she was willing.
Yep. She was willing.
He’d suspected that full mouth of hers was made for kissing, and he was right. While the woman might be apprehensive when it came to animals, her kiss indicated that she’d be anything but wary when it came to messing around beneath the sheets. An image of just such a scenario had Thad adjusting her head so he could kiss her even more deeply.
Suddenly she gasped, sucking the air right out of his lungs and into hers as she pulled away, staring up at him like she was just seeing him for the first time.
“Oh, my God. I kissed you.”
“Yes, you did.” The hand on his chest pushed but Thad held on, not letting her get away just yet.
“I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why not?”
She tilted her head to one side. Blinked. Opened her mouth to speak and then closed it. Finally she said, “I’m not...” then paused. After another couple of rapid blinks, a small smile touched the edges of her wide mouth. “You know what? I’m not sorry.”
“No?” He felt his lips turn up, mirroring hers. “Good. ’Cause I’m not either.”
“I’m glad.” She gazed into his eyes, half smiling, half frowning, as if she couldn’t quite make up her mind about the situation.
“I wouldn’t complain if you wanted to take another shot—”
“Thad?”
Shit. He turned to see Curtis walking across the yard. “You gonna come help finish chores or what?”
“Yep. I’m on my way.” He squeezed Jolie’s hands. “Chores call. You coming?”
Her features still waffled between a smile and a frown. She settled on the frown. “Uh...you know what? I’d better go do some work myself.”
* * *
SITTING AT THE DESK in her room, Jolie tried to work on her article for Travel America, except every time she started typing, she found herself caught up in an instant replay of kissing Thad. She should be embarrassed...except she wasn’t. At all. How could she be when Thad was such a good kisser? The way he held on to the back of her head, tilting her the
