Page 58 of Love in Tandem
Now, clean and dressed in black sweatpants and a cut-off sweatshirt, she looked slightly saner. Is that what their kiss had been for her? Temporary insanity?
“Sorry again about the clothes, Zach.” Mary Lou, the ranger’s mother, entered the kitchen. “I got rid of all my husband’s clothes last summer since they weren’t doing anything but collecting moth holes. Doubt any of them would have fit you anyway. He was built just like my son. Never could fatten either of them up with my cooking. More sauerkraut?”
Zach held up his hand. “I’m stuffed. Thank you.”
Charlotte’s cheeks flushed with repressed humor. She was just having the time of her life, wasn’t she? “I’ll take some more.” She would too. Apparently she loved sauerkraut the same way she loved cheesecake.
He glanced past her shoulder to the mudroom, where the washer and dryer hummed with the task of cleaning their clothes. “So how long have you and your son lived here?” Hopefully a little conversation would distract Charlotte from his ridiculous getup. And distract himself from wanting to lean across the table and kiss her again, sauerkraut breath and all.
She might not be the only one suffering from temporary insanity.
What had happened back there? Every time he had tried leaning away from her to ask, she kept pressing forward to kiss him. He finally gave up and let her. Then might have taken over and done a little pressing and kissing himself.
He half listened to their host talk about the history of the house. He tried nodding his head at the right moments to show he was listening, but his eyes wouldn’t stop wandering to Charlotte. Her lips.
Why had she kissed him?
He gripped the edge of the table. Probably just caught up in the moment. The storm. The yelling.
But that was another thing. What had she been going on about? Almost like she’d wanted to start a fight. Why get mad at him for trying to keep things neutral between them? Didn’t she know it was killing him to live in close proximity to her day after day and pretend he wasn’t a frog slowly cooking in a pot of boiling water as his feelings for her continued heating up?
He looked up from the scars on the table to find both women staring at him. Charlotte nudged him with her foot under the table, raising her brows. He stared back, slightly shaking his head. “Uh . . .” They were clearly waiting for him to say something, but he had no idea what.
Mary Lou smiled. “I think we caught him zoning out.”
“It’s been a couple of very long days.” Charlotte met his gaze with an almost panicked expression. “She asked if we don’t mind sharing a bed since she only has the one extra bedroom.”
“Oh.” Zach swallowed. Sharing a tent was one thing. Sharing a bed? Rain pattered against the windows.
“I figured Russel could sleep on the couch in the living room,” Mary Lou said, clearing the dishes from the table. “Of course, if you’re not comfortable with that arrangement, Zach and Russel can share the bed, and Charlotte could sleep on the couch. Have to warn you though, Russel’s a snorer. I have to sleep with a sound machine just to drown him out from my bedroom.”
“We’ll be fine with the arrangement.” No way was Zach sharing a bed with Russel. And no way were he and Charlotte going back out in that storm just to get all muddy again. He’d eat a plate full of sauerkraut before that happened.
No, they were staying the night here. Beneath a roof. Warm. Dry. Clean. And together.
“Well, good.” Mary Lou stood and excused herself for bed. “Russel usually gets home sometime after ten. I already told him to plan on taking the couch. Your clothes should be done drying soon. I can’t promise a fancy breakfast tomorrow, but you’re welcome to help yourself to the bananas and whatever you find in the fridge.”
Zach nodded with gratitude. “Thank you. And we’ll try to be out of your hair first thing in the morning.” Tomorrow was day five. Halfway point. They needed to do at least sixty miles, hopefully more.
“We can’t tell you how much we appreciate this,” Charlotte added. “Thank you so much.”
“Not a problem. Don’t mind in the least.” Their host patted her thigh and four corgis shot up from their spots on the ground, scampering behind her as she disappeared down the hallway to her bedroom.
Charlotte scraped her thumb against the surface of the kitchen table. “I can wait down here until the clothes are done drying and get them folded and packed for tomorrow.” They’d dragged their tent and belongings into the mudroom, trying to dry them out as best as they could.
“We can get it in the morning. You’ve got to be as wiped out as I am. Let’s just call it a night.”
She sighed, staring down at where her nail scratched. “Zach, I don’t think I can share a bed with you.”
Not after the way they’d kissed, they couldn’t. “Don’t worry. I was planning to sleep on the floor.”
“That’s still too close. I don’t think I can sleep in the same room with you at all.” She lifted her gaze, a smirk dancing on the edges of her lips. “Not with you looking so sexy in that Ebenezer nightgown. You might have to sleep with Russel.”
He dipped his head to hit her with his most lethal glare. “I’m not sleeping anywhere near a snoring Russel. You’re stuck with me and the sexy gown.”
She giggled. “Then I guess you’re stuck with me and my sauerkraut breath. Because I have no idea where my toothbrush is, and I don’t even care.”
“You’re really embracing this troubadour lifestyle, aren’t you?”
