Giant of Mesabi

"Into something more comfortable?" she inquired acidly.

"Exactly." His mouth quirked. "I don't generally sit around the house in a suit and tie."

Alanna didn't move from the window as he entered the walk-in closet. Minutes later he emerged. Her heartbeat quickened in alarm.

"Don't worry," his voice laughed silently at her frozen position. "It's quite safe to turn around."

With a defiant toss of her head, Alanna glanced over her shoulder, bracing herself only to find there was no need. Rolt was wearing a pair of brushed denims and a patterned shirt of blue and brown. Amusement glittered in his eyes as he noted the relief that flashed across her face.

"While you unpack your things, I'm going to wash the wedding decorations off the car." Laughter lurked at the corners of his mouth.

With a brief mocking nod, he left again. For the second time, Alanna waited until he was at the bottom of the stairs. Then she picked up both suitcases and carried them across the hall to one of the spare bedrooms. Opening the suitcases, she began unpacking her clothes and putting them away. The first suitcase was empty and the second one had only a few items left in it when she heard the front door open and close. She paused for several seconds, straining to hear the sounds of Rolt's footsteps on the thick carpet. She heard him on the stairs and stiffened for an instant, nibbling apprehensively at her lower lip as he reached the top.

The door to the spare room where Alanna stood was ajar. She knew that when Rolt didn't find her in the master bedroom, he would notice it. A second later he was in the hall. Quickly she busied her fingers with buttoning a blouse on a wire hanger. Although her back was to the door, and the carpet muffled his footsteps, she knew the very instant he entered the room, and prickles ran along the back of her neck.

"What are you doing in here?" As if he hadn't already guessed.

"Unpacking," Alanna made a show of making certain the blouse hung straight, the collar smooth.

"The master bedroom is across the hall," Rolt said very calmly, making it sound as if he thought she wasn't already acquainted with the fact.

"I prefer this one," she responded airily, and walked to the closet to hang the blouse with the other clothes she had put there.

"Is that right?" he asked, his voice dry and low.

Returning to the suitcase, Alanna was forced to let her gaze at least ricochet off his. His features were taut and grim, an unyielding hardness that made her think he would rip her clothes from the closet and carry them into the master bedroom. But she couldn't back down and she wouldn't.

"Do you have any objections?" She kept the air of unconcern in her voice as she took another blouse from the case and began draping it around a hanger. The tension in the air was now electrically charged.

"Plenty of objections," he responded. Then his tone visibly relaxed. "But we'll discuss them in detail later."

Pivoting, he left the room, letting his silent threat intimidate her almost as effectively as his presence had done. She sat weakly on the bed, the blouse rumpled in her lap. It hadn't been exactly a battle, just another small skirmish. She had escaped unscathed so far. She could only cross her fingers and hope that her luck would hold.

Half an hour later, her clothes were all put away and she had changed out of the simple white dress she had been married in and into a scarlet pantsuit. The wide flared legs swirled about her ankles like a long skirt. The draping neckline of the tunic-styled top accented her slender throat.

She stood in front of the mirror, idly flipping the ends of her hair with a brush. She couldn't spend the rest of the afternoon and evening in the bedroom, and there was no longer any reason to stay. With a sigh, she placed the hairbrush on the dresser top and walked into the hall. There hadn't been a sound from downstairs. She had no idea if Rolt was in the house.

At the bottom of the stairs, she saw him out on the sun deck. One foot was on the lower railing running around the edge. An elbow rested on his knee as he gazed down the hill at the lake. Alanna debated whether to join him or to wait in the living room for him to come in search of her.

She was about to decide on the living room, feeling it might not be wise to take the battle to the enemy. She still had to store up her defenses. At that moment, Rolt straightened and turned, looking directly at her, evidently able to see through the window as clearly as she could.

"The view of the lake is excellent from here," he said.

Startled at the clearness of his voice when he was outside and she was in, it took Alanna a full second to realize that the door to the sun deck was open.

She hesitated another second before walking to the door.

Rolt leaned a hip against the railing and waited. The disturbing intensity of his gaze nearly made her turn around and go back into the house. She wasn't afraid, she reminded herself, and kept walking steadily to the rail stopping two feet to his left.

The lake was what he had invited her to see, so that was what she looked at. The sun deck was elevated above the slope of the hill. There had been a careful clearing of trees from the hill to keep the view from being obstructed and still leave foliage on the hillside.

"All settled in?" came his low, amused voice.

"Very comfortable, yes," she nodded, adding coolly, "it's quite a view of the lake."

"I like it," Rolt answered simply.

"Isn't it inconvenient to live in the country, especially in winter when the roads are bad and blocked with snow?" Alanna needed to keep the conversation going. For some reason, she could