Wrapped in a towel, Natalie took a deep breath for courage and opened the door. Yep. It was as bad as she'd expected. She darted back to the bedroom and made a beeline for the dresser. After yanking her undergarments on, which wasn't easy--she was shaking more violently than a single leaf in an autumn breeze--she found her warmest pair of wool pants.
Next, she piled on four shirts, a sweater, and a coat that didn't want to fit over the bulk of her cleverly "layered" clothes. The only shoes she'd brought were not going to cut it, and she was kicking herself for that now. Her toes were going to turn black and fall off with frostbite before this Montana adventure was over.
Once she'd clothed herself as best as she could, she moved over to the blasted furnace, which was really just a glorified space heater. Not knowing what else to do, she slammed it hard with palm of her hand and stood there shaking as she waited for a miracle.
Nothing happened.
"All right. Time to go shopping."
She'd never thought she'd be the type of woman to wear hopelessly unattractive long underwear, but if she was going to survive a Montana winter, she'd dang well better get used to the things. She didn't even care what color they were, just as long as they kept her warm.
Rushing outside, she gazed at her "new" car, a small blue Toyota probably from the Pleistocene era. It had most certainly seen better days, but it was hers and the heater worked, and nothing at the moment was more beautiful than the thought of a burst of warm air blasting from the vents. It took the old metal heap about five minutes before the heat actually began flowing, but once the warmth hit her, she smiled in delight.
"Not so bad," she muttered. It occurred to her that maybe she was talking to herself just a little too much. "Oh well."
Driving into the almost comically small town, Natalie was surprised by the lack of traffic. No one seemed to be around. What was going on? These people had to be used to driving in the snow. But all she'd seen on the roads were big plows clearing the streets.
She reached a stop sign and tapped on her brakes, and in the blink of an eye everything began to go wrong. Though her taps were growing urgent--hell, they were stomps now--the car wasn't responding, and in front of her was a gigantic black truck.
"No. No. No!"
Nope. That didn't work. Her car kept on going, and she crashed into the back of the behemoth. And even though she was going less than fifteen miles per hour, her tiny Toyota had no chance of surviving.
Her car went beneath the truck's bumper. Her hood crinkled, and steam flew up into the air as her radiator was impaled. The impact jolted her head forward, but the small car's air bags didn't deploy for some reason and she felt the sting of her forehead connecting with the steering wheel.
Dammit! She hadn't even insured the car yet! Now what in the heck was she going to do? Tears sprang to her eyes, but with a will borne of hard times, she blinked them away and stepped out of what was once a running car. At least she hadn't suffered more than a couple of bruises and a huge dent to her pride. She really hoped the bulk of the physical damage was only to her car and not the other vehicle.
"What in the hell are you doing out on the road if you can't even do as simple a task as stopping at a big red sign? Did you decide that today would be a great day to plow into a complete stranger?"
Instant fury filled her. Natalie's eyes burned as she watched Hawk Winchester stalk toward her, his face a mask of irritation.
"Yeah. I just learned how to drive. I thought, what the hell--I'll go screaming through this incredibly small town, and then I'll blow through a stop sign and kill my car on the back of some idiot's butt-ugly truck!"
Sure, she might regret her quick temper later, but right now, she was ready to throw a kicking, screaming, and gleefully adolescent temper tantrum. Too much had happened in the last fifteen hours, and this was just the icing on a very frozen cake. At least her fury was masking the fact that she was still freezing. There was nothing like an exploding temper to heat the blood.
"Why would you be driving a car without snow chains in this weather?"
"I just moved in last night, as you well know, and I haven't had time to buy chains, not that it's any of your business!"
"Well, maybe you should have walked. Of course, that's another disaster waiting to happen in those absurd shoes you're wearing."
Natalie had been mad enough before, but his disdainful look made her want to smack the crap out of the man. She had never, ever had the urge to close her fingers into a fist and slug anyone, but at this moment her mind was urging her to do just that.
Too bad her fingers were freezing and incapable of forming a fist.
"You are the most pompous, self-absorbed man I have ever met in my life." She'd thought of him as gorgeous the night before, but now he counted as monstrous, like his truck. "Just bill me for the damage." She spun around and did her best to storm off. Not easy in heels and all that snow, and without a working car. But she was so done with this conversation, done with speaking to this man, and done with a ridiculous town that didn't even have an open store on a freaking Thursday, for goodness' sake.
"You can't just go off like that. We haven't even exchanged insurance information yet!" he yelled, but she wasn't listening.
"Call the cops on me, then!"
She was feeling pretty damn good about her exit until her feet decided they weren't going to cooperate. She didn't even have a chance to stop the fall.
"Natalie!"
He couldn't catch her this time. One minute she was walking away. The next, everything went black . . .
chapter 3
Hawk reached Natalie just in time to see her head slam into the ground and her eyes roll back in her head. Damn! Possible concussion. He lifted her in his arms and raced back to his truck, where the heater was still running. "Come on, Natalie. Open your eyes," he commanded.
She began to stir. "What happened?" Her eyes fluttered open, then widened when she saw him only a few inches from her face.
"You fell down and hit your head," he said, and then he ran his hands over her ankles and wrists.
"Ouch!"
"That's what I thought. You bruised your wrist, too."
Dammit! It was Thanksgiving and he was already running late. His mother was going to kill him.
"I'll take you to the doc. Give me a minute to move your car out of the road."
Leaving her on the front seat of his truck, he jogged back to her car. She'd crushed her radiator, and there was no chance that the heap of metal would start now. After he put the car in neutral, it took him a few tries for his feet to gain traction on the ground, but he managed to roll the car to the curb before jogging back to his truck. He found Natalie there huddled in a ball, her entire body shivering.
"It's okay. Don't worry about the car," he told her. "But the doc should look at you." He knew he didn't sound very reassuring. Normally, it was his job to reassure people who'd been in accidents, as he was a damn fine paramedic as well as being fire chief. So why was he so tongue-tied all of a sudden?
"I'm fine. If you can just drop me off at my house . . ." she said, her voice alarmingly quiet.
"Not gonna happen."
He didn't say anything else. He threw his truck into drive and headed out of town. The doc didn't live far from his parents. Maybe he'd even get a piece of the doc's wife's sweet apple pie. That woman had the best pie in the county--hell, maybe the country--though he'd never say such a thing to his mother, or he'd be banned from her table.
Hawk's gaze strayed repeatedly over to Natalie as he cruised the snow-covered country roads. Forcing his eyes forward, his thoughts strayed to the conversation he'd had with the town meddlers.
We have a perfect tenant for your house. That should have been Hawk's first clue that the women had been up to no good. When he'd received a phone call from his mother demanding that he make the new teacher feel welcome in their little town, he'd been suspicious, but apparently not enough to say no to letting her use his rental house.
What in the hell did his mother and her best friend, Bethel, think? That he was going to make Natalie some blueberry muffins and show up on her front porch carrying a basket? Hawk didn't do that. And he certainly didn't mingle with fiery-tempered red-haired schoolteachers. Not ever.
Hawk liked women. That's women, plural. He never dated anyone like the schoolteacher, who was really rubbing him the wrong way right now. She was the sort of woman who would want commitment--he could see that clearly from the moment he'd met her in her uptight clothing.
Hawk dated a woman for only one night. Okay, he wasn't rigid about it. If she was truly spectacular, then he'd make it two or three nights. Third time, however, was the charm. It would only go downhill from there, so he chose to avoid any further contact after that.
This was a prime reason he never, ever dated women from Sterling. It was too small a town and he couldn't run and hide from them. He'd had several false fire calls from eligible women and their mothers, just to get him to their house. He'd been forced to get a little stern once or twice to stop all that from happening again.
The last such call that had come in had been from a mother who'd purposely set her trash can on fire. He'd lectured her for an hour about the danger she'd put her home, family, and pets in. As he'd walked out the door, the woman had still had the gall to slip her daughter's phone number into his pocket.
Women! He just couldn't figure them out.
Arriving at Dr. Holo's house, throwing the truck in park, and rushing around to Natalie's side of the vehicle, he lifted her into his arms before running up the walkway to the front door.
"Hawk, what are you doing out on Thanksgiving? And with such a pretty young woman?"
"Hi, Maybelle. This is the new schoolteacher, Natalie Duncan. We had a slight fender bender, and then she fell and hit her head. Wrist seems bruised, as well."
"Oh, darling," Maybelle gasped. "That's not a very good welcome to our town." Ushering them both inside, Hawk set Natalie on her feet and then Maybelle wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Alfred just finished his Thanksgiving dinner and was getting ready for dessert, but he'll certainly take care of you first. Hawk, you just sit on down and I'll dish you up a piece of pie," she added, and then led Natalie away.
Hawk felt much better when a juicy slice of pie was put before him, and he began devouring it.
His grumpiness had almost completely dissipated. A smile even appeared on his lips as he sat back and waited for Natalie. That smile vanished when the doc came back into the room with the new schoolteacher and Hawk heard the tail end of their conversation.
"I'm so sorry about ruining your holiday, Doctor. I didn't even realize it was Thanksgiving."
Hawk was baffled. How could she not have known it was Thanksgiving? It was Turkey Day. Well, turkey and his favorite, pie. And family, and of course football. How could anyone forget about this particular day? Didn't she have a mother to call? A family to go home to?
Of course, she had just arrived for her new job, so she didn't know anyone here yet. But why wouldn't she have come on Friday or Saturday instead, so she could spend Thanksgiving with her family?
Hawk caught himself worrying about her, but he didn't want to know about this woman. He certainly didn't want to be concerned about her. He wasn't going to be interested in her. That was for damn sure!
"She has a slight concussion. Nothing too serious, but I don't want her alone for a straight twenty-four hours," Doc said, looking meaningfully at Hawk.
Dammit!
"Of course not."
"I'm fine, really," Natalie said, shifting from foot to foot. "I just need a ride home."
Because she refused to meet Hawk's eyes, she didn't see the withering look he sent her before he turned back to the doctor. "I'll take her with me to my parents' place for dinner and then make sure she's not alone."
Finally looking up, Natalie gaped at him, but he just turned back to Maybelle instead.
"Thanks for the pie. It really is the best in the county," Hawk said, kissing her cheek.
"You come back anytime. I always have a fresh pie for visitors," she said, a rosy glow where he'd kissed her.
"You know that you're both more than welcome to come on over and eat at my mom's," Hawk said. His parents always had a few extra people at their table. They couldn't stand the thought of anyone being alone on a holiday.
"I'm going to turn the game on in a few minutes and focus on digesting," Doc said with a laugh. "Serious work. You just take care of my patient and I'll rest easy."
"I can assure you that she'll be well looked after," Hawk told them as he ushered Natalie toward the front door.
"That's a good boy," Doc said, and Hawk felt as if he should bend down so the doctor could pat him on the head the way the man used to do years back. Instead, Hawk said good-bye and led Natalie outside.
When they got back inside the truck, Natalie turned toward Hawk with nervous eyes. "It's really okay for you to leave me at my place. I promise to not go to sleep right away." She spoke bravely, but she was almost shaking.
Hawk was now even more curious. Why was she so determined to get away from him? Sure, they'd been less than pleasant to each other after the wreck--they'd both lost their tempers--but he wasn't a monster. It hadn't gotten out of hand. Besides, he wasn't used to women trying to avoid him. Women running after him, yes. Women giving him their number, also a big yes. Women who would rather suffer from a concussion alone than be with him? That was a new one.
"I said I'd take care of you, and that's what I'm going to do." As far as Hawk was concerned the subject was closed. "I hope you're hungry, because my mother's made a feast."
"No. I can't intrude on your family," she gasped.
"What's your problem?" When she flinched, he felt a twinge of guilt about the way the words had come out, and he was careful to speak more gently now. "Sorry. It's just a meal, though. You don't need to get so worked up."
"I'd just rather be at home," she mumbled, her arms folded across her chest.
"Well, tough." So, his vow to be gentler had lasted ten seconds. It was the thought that counted, right? With no more conversation, he headed toward his parents' sprawling raised ranch house. Half the county's pastureland surrounded it.
His mom was so going to read this the wrong way. Hawk had never brought a woman home before, not even for a brief visit, and definitely not for a holiday. His heart pounded as he pulled down the long drive.
It was time to get his game face on. His mouth had better be faster than his mother's brain, because if she saw a matchmaking opportunity, he was screwed.
chapter 4
Natalie could barely hold herself together. Her entire body was shaking as she sat huddled by the door of Hawk's huge truck. She couldn't do this, couldn't go into his parents' house and act as if this was normal for her.
This was so far from normal she didn't know where normal began. It had always been just her and her mom. Her father had left them both before Natalie was even born, and her mother had never remarried.
They'd struggled throughout Natalie's childhood, never having money, never having much time together. Her mom worked two jobs just to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. Then, the time they were together had been . . . she couldn't exactly describe it in words.
Her mother had led a difficult life and she'd had the right to be bitter, to be angry over the cards that had been dealt to her. She'd warned Natalie not to fall in love, that it only led to heartache, and certainly not to end up getting pregnant.
Natalie didn't hold any ill will toward her mother, choosing to focus only on the good memories, though they'd been few and far between. And Natalie had promised her mother that she wouldn't settle, wouldn't accept less than the best for her life.
When Natalie had lost her mother during her freshman year in college, she'd wanted desperately to quit, to just give up, but because she'd loved her mom in spite of it all, she'd pushed through the grief. She'd tried that much harde
r.
As they arrived at Hawk's parents', she felt as if she was betraying her mother. Her mom had never gotten to celebrate a holiday, had never been welcomed into somebody's home with open arms.
"I really can't do this."
Hawk turned and his intense gaze held hers. It was unnerving--she felt as if he could actually see what she was thinking.
"You can, Natalie. My family doesn't bite." His voice was soft, almost a caress.
"I'm sure they won't appreciate an uninvited guest," she pointed out. Surely he'd see reason.
When he laughed, that really got her hackles up. She didn't like to be laughed at.
"I'm sorry," Hawk told her when he saw her veiled outrage. "I'm not laughing at you, but as soon as you meet my mother, you'll realize how untrue that is. The more people, the better--that's her motto."
Unless Natalie wanted to create a scene, she was stuck. She found herself being helped from the truck just as the door to the large house in front of her opened. She turned and lost her balance and of course, fell right into Hawk's arms.
"You seem to have trouble staying on your feet," Hawk said with a smile as his arms tightened. Before she could respond, a female voice rang out.
"Well, I guess you're forgiven for your monumental rudeness in being so late."
"You can . . . um . . . let me go now," she said, her voice little more than a squeak.
"Oddly enough, I don't want to," he blurted out. His words made her head snap up in surprise. Nothing he seemed to say or do was consistent from one moment to the next.
"Dang, Hawk. Would you quit groping the girl and introduce us?" Natalie peered nervously upward, looking for the speaker. About ten people were looking down at her. How could she climb the steps onto the wraparound front porch without disgracing herself again?
Hawk slowly--reluctantly? She couldn't be sure--released his hold on Natalie, only to place his arm behind her back. She refused to read anything into the gesture. It had to be his way of ensuring he wouldn't have to catch her again if she tripped.
If she didn't get some good boots, and soon, her ass would be grass. Correction. Her ass would be snowbound.
"Sorry I'm late, Mom. We had a little accident in town. This is Natalie Duncan, the new third-grade teacher. Natalie, my family. There are too many names for you to even try to remember them all," Hawk said with a wink.