He squatted down before the hearth and looked it over. Somebody had cleaned it, laid out kindling, made sure there were two boxes of safety matches within easy reach—and then forgotten to arrange delivery of firewood.
That didn’t make much sense.
There’d been wood waiting, the last time he and Holly had come here. A whole cord of it. Well, no. There’d been some logs stacked here, beside the hearth, but the rest had been neatly stored in a little shed that was built onto the back of the garage…
A grin spread across his face. Hastily, he pulled on his trousers, his shirt and his shoes. Then he made his way through the silent cabin to the kitchen, opened the back door and stepped outside.
Ten minutes later, Nick’s soaked clothing was draped over the back of the sofa. And he had a big, beautiful fire glowing on the hearth.
He held his hands out to the flames and smiled with satisfaction. Then he looked back up the stairs. Holly had all but told him never to darken her doorway again—but she’d change her mind, when she saw the fire.
He ran up the steps, then stood outside her room, listening. At first, he heard nothing but then, after a moment, he thought he could hear something. The sigh of the wind in the eaves, perhaps…
Or the sound of a woman, weeping.
He hesitated, then rapped lightly on the closed door. ‘Holly?’
There was no response.
‘Holly?’ he said, and knocked again.
The noise, whatever it was, stopped.
‘Holly? Are you okay?’
Silence. Nick frowned and put his hand on the doorknob.
‘Holly, answer me!’
‘What do you want?’ Holly said, in a muffled voice.
Nick leaned his forehead against the door and heaved a sigh of relief.
‘Are you okay in there?’
Holly grabbed a tissue from the box on the nightstand, wiped her eyes and blew her nose.
‘I’m fine,’ she said. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she rubbed them away with the back of her hand. ‘Just—just a little chilly.’
‘That’s what I want to talk to you about. Can I come in?’
She hesitated. If Nick saw her like this, what would he think? She’d been crying for so long…her eyes and nose were probably pink and swollen.
‘Holly?’
He’d undoubtedly misinterpret her tears and think they were for him. They weren’t. She’d done with crying over Nick a long time ago. She’d been crying out of anger, that was all. Anger, plain and simple.
‘Dammit, Holly, what’s wrong?’
But he couldn’t see her, not unless he had the flashlight and he didn’t, or she’d have been able to see the beam of its light shining under the door.
‘Nothing’s wrong,’ she said, and sat up. She ran her hands through her hair, fluffing it away from her face. ‘Come on in.’
Nick stepped into the room. Holly’s face was a pale ivory oval against the pillows.
‘Hi,’ he said, and cleared his throat.
‘Hi,’ she said, and smiled.
‘I, uh, I…’ What was the matter with him? He’d come upstairs to tell her that he had a fire going in the fireplace, not to stand at the foot of the bed in tongue-tied oblivion. But it was hard to think straight, when he looked down at the beautiful face of his wife.
‘Nick?’
‘Yes?’
‘You said you wanted to tell me something.’
‘Oh. Oh, right. Right…’ He frowned. ‘Your voice sounds strange. Have you been crying?’
‘Crying?’ She gave a gay little laugh. ‘Me? Of course not. I mean, it’s cold, yes, but I wouldn’t cry over that. I, uh, I think I might be catching a cold.’
She’d drawn the blankets to her chin. And there were so many blankets that her body was shapeless beneath them. But his memory supplied all the details. Her graceful throat, with that place just at the juncture of neck and shoulder that always seemed to smell like spring rain. Her silken breasts, and the way they filled his palms…
Nick’s body clenched like a fist. That didn’t surprise him. What did was the sudden clenching of his heart.
Holly, he thought, baby, where did it all go? What happened to us?
‘Nick? Are you okay?’
‘Sure.’ He smiled. ‘Better than okay. That’s what I came to tell you.’
He sounded pleased with himself. Not smug. Just pleased, and eager to share the pleasure with her. Holly’s heart surged with delight. This was the Nick she remembered. The easy laughter in his voice. The beautiful, tautly-muscled body….
‘On second thought, I’d rather surprise you.’ He moved to the side of the bed and held out his hand. ‘Come on.’
‘Come on, where? It’s freezing cold—’