Page 21 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

Shelley welcomed the warmth as Matt wrapped her in his coat and half dragged, half carried her through slush and driving snow up the incline to the Jeep. When they reached his vehicle, he tucked her into the passenger seat, got in on his side, and turned the heater on full blast. She listened as Matt radioed back to the police station and asked the Chief to call Suzie and tell her that Shelley was fine, and that he’d radio again later. After a moment, the chill left her, and she stopped shivering. Somewhat relieved that her family would no longer be worried, she was still bothered by whether the girls knew what had happened. She hoped Suzie had kept that from them. Suddenly, she missed those two chubby faces terribly.

They rode in silence while they climbed in elevation. For a short while, she didn’t think about where they were going until they passed the lodge and pulled off the main road—what she could see of the main road anywhere. She wasn’t even sure if they were on a road any longer.

“Where are we going?”

Matt didn’t respond but concentrated on this driving.

“Matt?”

He finally spoke.

“Your seatbelt latched?”

“Yes.”

“Good. The road is getting worse.”

She stared ahead and burrowed into his lined suede jacket. It smelled like him and she breathed deep. It was a comfort.

“We’re not going back to Harbor Falls. Are we?”

She angled her gaze his way. He stared straight ahead, peering down the road. She noticed that even without his coat, he showed no outward appearance of being cold. In fact, he showed no outward appearance of anything, emotion included.

“No,”

he finally answered.

“Then where?”

“Can’t go back down, the roads are too bad. No way to turn the Jeep around safely.”

“I asked you where, not why.”

He didn’t respond.

It was Christmas Eve and she was going to be away from her children. Tears stung her eyes. Tomorrow would be Christmas morning. And here she was, stuck in God-knows-where with her moody ex-boyfriend.

A sob caught in her throat. Dammit, she would not let him see her cry anymore. Every time he had seen her the past day or so, she was crying. At least she was alive. That should be consolation enough, and there would be many more Christmas Eves with her children.

She should count her lucky stars.

She should thank him. Had she?

“Matt, Th—”

The vehicle lurched to the right, and then back to the left. She didn’t finish her words and grasped at the door handle. He turned the Jeep and she looked in front of them. A security light shone through the falling snow and rested on a small cabin nestled in some pines not far away. The building was barely visible.

Uncertain about this turn of events, Shelley looked at him, and finally he met her gaze with a look of determination.

“Matt, where are you taking me?”

He didn’t blink an eye. “Home,”

he said.

“Where I should have taken you years ago.”

Something both physical and emotional hit her in the gut right then. It almost took her breath away.

****

The second those words were out of his mouth, Matt regretted them. His gaze locked with Shelley’s eyes and he watched as a flurry of emotion swept through them. They misted slightly and her lips parted. She shook her head a little from side to side.

Her words were soft spoken, hushed.

“Matt, I… I don’t know what to say. What do you mean?”

Matt watched Shelley’s chest rise and fall, her breathing a little unsteady. He broke the connection and glanced to her hands, knit into a knot on her lap. He was an idiot. The words shouldn’t have come out of his mouth like that, but they were the words in his head. Sometimes he needed a brain check. Now was one of those times. He studied her face again. This time she was searching his eyes for answers.

“Matt?”

He reached for her hands, clasped them quickly, and then released them. In the same moment, he physically straightened himself as much as possible to provide some distance.

“I shouldn’t have said that. Just forgot it.”

She grasped his shirtsleeve.

“No Matt. Tell me.”

The emotion raking through him with the tug of her fingers and her seeking eyes was nearly his undoing. He wanted to haul her up close and kiss her with all the pent-up hormonal passion of the teenage boy he was when he first kissed her. He wanted to sink himself into her core and make her his again. He wanted to carry her over the threshold of his cabin and never let her go. Ever.

But he wouldn’t.

He reached for the placket of his jacket and pulled it tight snugly around her.

“We need to get inside. Hold this tight and pull it up around your neck and head. I’ll come around and help you to the porch and up the steps.”

He avoided looking into her eyes until the very last second, and then he did. Her feathered lashes fluttered and framed her doe-eyed stare into his face.

She whispered.

“Matt, I’m so confused.”

Her breath was soft against his cheek. Nodding, he replied.

“That makes two of us, sweetheart.”

****

They made it into the cabin by holding onto each other and tripping their way through the growing drifts. Soon, they were inside. Shelley stood in the entry, slithered out of his coat, and held it protectively in front of her. Matt tramped his feet on a rug, pulled off his boots and set them by the door, then moved to the fireplace across the room. He bent to stoke the fire burning there.

In awe, Shelley glanced about.

Not huge by any means, the cabin was warm and cozy, with a clear-cut male influence. The stone fireplace was the focal point, looming large and masculine beneath exposed rough-hewn beams. The walls were bare wood. It looked to be a true log cabin. A dark brown leather couch with a couple of heavy afghans draped over it sat facing the fireplace. Oversized armchairs balanced each side.

She spanned the larger room and noticed an open kitchen to the left, complete with a small breakfast nook tucked back into the corner. It appeared well equipped with all the necessary appliances, and well kept. To the right was a half-closed wooden door to another room. His bedroom?

She was sure she would never find that out.

His statement earlier still rang in his ears. Home. Where I should have taken you years ago. What the hell did that mean? He didn’t have this cabin all those years ago.

No. He built one here for himself. And a fine one.

Without her.

She didn’t want to think about it.

Well, yes, maybe she did. They were young and idealistic years ago. Just out of high school and talking of a future home together. They had even sketched out the plans for a cabin in the woods, with kids and puppies and….

It was what she wanted then. He wasn’t ready for that responsibility yet. They were too young and they both were looking at colleges. But they liked the dream and talked of it often.

Suddenly she knew why that ache landed deep in her tummy a moment ago. Reality. He had built their cabin, even though she had dumped him.

Why?

Her gut clutched. She knew exactly why. Don’t think about that right now, Shelley. Not yet.

So, while he fiddled with the fire she concentrated on the room about her. Yes, that was safe. Furniture, fireplace, things on the wall. What drew her in was the essence of wood. Not only the beams and the walls, but also the intricately detailed carvings that sat about the room. Her gaze landed on first one item, then another. A small black bear cub lay on its back on an end table. An eagle perched majestically on the mantle. A mother deer and twin fawns quietly grazed on a shelf. A carved picture of the mountains, with layers of dimension and depth, hung on the wall next to the fireplace. A set of wooden bowls on the counter graced a lake scene.

“Oh, my,”

she whispered.

Matt looked up and her gaze fell to meet his. He stood and ran his hands down his thighs. Finally, he moved toward her.

“Here, let me take the coat. Slip out of your shoes, okay?”

She nodded and did what he asked, not quite sure why she was so taken aback with Matt’s home. She remembered when they were kids he used to whittle all the time. One time he made her a small heart and put it on a chain. In fact, she still kept it in her jewelry box.

His gaze met hers as he reached for the coat.

“Matt, did you do all this?”

He pursed his lips and glanced about. “Yes.”

“All of it?”

His gaze circled the interior of the cabin.

“Yes. I had help with the cabin, of course, but some of the wooden furniture and all of the carvings are mine.”

He looked back to her.

“Matt, it’s all…breathtaking.”

She reached for the bear cub. “May I?”

He nodded and she lifted it closer to her face.

“You are very talented.”

Slipping the coat over a barstool, he glanced off and perused his cabin, then back to her.

“I had time on my hands.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Bought a little patch of land before Brad Matthews bought the lodge property.”

Finally, Shelley found her feet and moved further into the room. She knew she should be thinking more pertinent things, rather than how Matt had occupied his time for the past few years—like how in the world they managed not to argue thus far, and when they would be able to get back down the mountain—but for some odd reason, she was spellbound, and in awe of Matt’s work.

She turned toward him and caught him staring at her. “Matt, I…”

A muffled crack sounded from somewhere outside, then a lengthy scrape against the side of the cabin. The lights flickered and Shelley kept her gaze on his face. He looked away but she still watched as the lights came back on, briefly flickered again, and finally, thrust them into darkness.