CONFUSED AND ASHAMED BY my impulsive behavior, I stepped back.

"Sorry!" he said. "It's not you—it's the oven." He quickly grabbed the pot holder and pulled open the oven door.

Smoke billowed out. Colton fanned the smoke as I ran to open the nearest window.

A rush of cold air entered the kitchen as Colton waved the pot holder back and forth in front of the oven. He reached up and turned the oven off.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized. "I-I got distracted."

The shame melted away, and I burst into laughter. Colton joined in.

"I thought you said you were a good cook?" I asked, giggling uncontrollably.

Leaving the oven door ajar, Colton scrunched his nose and shook his head. "I swear I've never burned anything in my life."

My ribs hurt from all the laughing, but I didn't care. I hadn't laughed like that in ages.

The smoke cleared out, and Colton fished the burnt bread out of the oven. He tossed it into the sink before cocking his head to the side. "Well, that was pretty embarrassing."

"It's okay," I said with a grin.

Colton shivered and rubbed his arms.

Realizing just how cold it had become, I quickly shut the window. "Seventy degrees isn't sounding too bad right now, is it?"

Colton laughed, his dimples on full display. "Fair enough." He looked down, checking his watch. "The pasta will be done in three minutes. What are the odds I can finish the sauce without causing another catastrophe?"

I shrugged. "Slim to none?"

He grinned. "Very funny."

I watched as he turned around and grabbed the jar of spaghetti sauce. Dumping the jar's contents into the mixture of sautéed vegetables, he stirred everything together. His jeans hung perfectly on his hips, and his T-shirt clung to his trim torso.

I shook my head. What was I doing? I'd just met this guy, and I was already kissing him. The memory of his lips touching mine made my knees feel like jelly.

Colton stirred the sauce a few times before draining the water from the pot holding the pasta. In one fluid movement, he dumped the sauce into the pot then stirred.

"And voilà!" he cried.

"I'll grab plates and silverware."

A few moments later, Colton piled two servings onto the plates and brought them over to the small kitchen table.

"Do you want some grape juice?" I asked. "Or I can open the wine? I mean, I can't have any yet, but feel free to have some."

"Juice is fine," said Colton.

I poured two glasses and set the bottle on the table.

"Cheers," said Colton.

I raised my glass and clinked it against his.

Carefully twirling the spaghetti with a fork and spoon, I lifted the first bite to my mouth. I blew on it and tasted. "Mmmmm!"

Colton winked. "Good?"

"Delicious," I said with a mouthful of pasta. Realizing what I had just done, I tried to cover my mouth with my hand.

"It's okay, you can fangirl over my food," chuckled Colton.

My stomach growled. "Man, I didn't realize I was this hungry. Thank you again for making dinner."

Colton nodded with a mouthful of food. "Welcome."

I giggled.

"You have a nice laugh," he said.

I felt the blush creeping up my neck. "Thank you." I took another bite of food. "So, what do you do—like, for a living?"

Colton took a drink of juice before clearing his throat. "Well, I used to work at that grocery store. Then everything happened and it just became too hard. I mean, I can deal with people talking about me, even if it isn't true... but I can't stand hearing them talking about my mom. The things they say... It's just terrible."

"I'm really sorry you have to deal with that."

"I have a few odd jobs now. I clean Dr. Jacobson's office on the weekends and help her out with things around the house. I also do yard work and shovel snow for a few of the elderly in town. Other than that, I pretty much just spend time with my mom and Buddy. Speaking of—I should probably check in and make sure they're okay. Do you mind if I step into the other room for a quick phone call?"

"Of course I don't."

Colton stood up and excused himself from the table, leaving a few forkfuls of spaghetti remaining on his plate.

I finished the last bite of my food and stood up. I walked over to the sink with my dish. The burnt garlic bread had cooled down, so I carefully picked it up with my pointer finger and thumb. I had to toss it outside or else the kitchen was going to stink for the rest of the night.

Holding the blackened bread away from my body, I made my way toward the front door. I could hear Colton talking to his mother from the other room.

Opening the door, I let out a loud gasp. Heavy, wet snow continued to fall from the sky. The wind howled and whipped around the front porch. I threw the toast and hurried back inside.

"Claudia?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was just throwing the garlic bread outside. Listen, Colton, I think we've got a serious problem on our hands."

Colton nodded. "The weather. It's really bad."

I pulled my phone out of my pocket but stopped. I'd forgotten about the broken screen.

"Here," said Colton, "try mine. The weather app is on the front screen."

The moment I tapped it, a red banner filled the top of the screen: Blizzard Warning.

"This does not look good," I said quietly.

"If you're okay with it, we should try to head to my place. We have a generator and loads of supplies."

Should I really go to his house?

I looked around the cabin. I only had enough firewood to last a day or two, and if the heat went out, I would be screwed. "Are you sure?"

"Of course."

"Okay, let me go grab a few things."

I headed to the bedroom and pulled a couple of shirts, two pairs of pants, underwear, and socks out of my suitcase. I slid it into my backpack along with my laptop, charger, and toiletries.

"Ready," I called to Colton, sliding the backpack over my shoulder.

"I'll get the lights. Do you want to turn the thermostat down?"

I nodded and turned it down to sixty.

We left the cabin. I locked the door behind me and headed toward Colton's truck. The wind was blowing so strong we could hardly see.

Colton slid his key in the ignition. When he turned it, his truck made a strange sound.

"No, no, no, no," he said.

I frowned.

"Come on," said Colton, turning the key again.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I don't know," Colton admitted. "Let me check under the hood."

He pulled a small lever releasing the hood. I watched as he trudged through the snow and used the flashlight on his phone to look under the hood of the car.

I shivered.

Colton closed the hood with a loud thump and walked over to my door. He pulled on the handle, sending the wind whipping through the inside of the truck.

"It doesn't look like we'll be going anywhere anytime soon."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Colton frowned. "I'm not that good with the mechanical side of things, but I think one of the belts is messed up."

"Do you think we could take my car?" I asked.

"Your car?" Colton reached forward to feel my forehead. "You feeling okay?"

The back of his hand left my skin tingling.

"Yeah, why?" I asked.

"Your car is at the shop, remember?"

I slapped my hand to my forehead. "Duh."

"Let's get back inside," said Colton. "I'll call my mom and let her know we're stuck here."

Stuck here. My stomach churned with a combination of nerves and anticipation.

We made it back to the house a few moments before the power went out.

"Colton," I said reaching out for his hand. "I hate the dark."

"Don't worry, I'll get a fire going."

Colton switched on his flashlight and brought the bundles of wood over to the fireplace. "Here, can you hold this so I can get the fire built?" he asked, holding out his phone.

"Of course. Where do you want the light?"

"Right here on the bundles of wood for now."

I held the light as Colton split the rope holding the wood together with a pocket knife. "Okay, I'm going to rip some of the bark off and hopefully we can get that to light."

I stood up. "Hang on—I can grab the paper bags from the groceries."

"Good thinking," said Colton.

I went to the kitchen and grabbed the paper bags.

Even though he had to work in the dark, Colton had managed to peel quite a bit of bark off the wood. He had it in a small pile in front of him.

I turned the flashlight on the fireplace as Colton stacked the wood, shoving pieces of bark and ripped paper bags in between the logs.

"Do you have any matches or a lighter?" Colton asked.

I nodded. "There should be some, right on top of the mantel in the ceramic jar."

Colton reached up and grabbed a box out of the jar. He struck one of the matches against the side of the box, the flame instantly coming to life.

The soft glow of the match lit Colton's face in the dark room. I bit my lower lip as I waited for the fire to catch.

Colton leaned forward and gently blew on the fire. Within a few moments, the shreds of paper bag and pieces of bark lit. Flames began to lick the larger pieces of wood.

"Nailed it," said Colton with a smile.

I tried to mimic his expression, but my nerves were getting the best of me.

"What's wrong?"

I exhaled slowly. "I don't like the dark. Now we don't have power until who knows when, and—well, what if it gets super cold and we run out of wood?"

Colton pushed a fallen lock of hair behind my ear. "Listen, I know we just met, but I would never let anyone come into harm's way under my watch. I'll keep you safe, Claudia. I promise."

I turned my head slightly, letting his fingers linger on my face for a few moments longer. "Thank you," I whispered.

Colton brought his other hand to cup my chin. "I bet you didn't picture your day going anything like this, did you?"

I shook my head.

"Me either, but you know what?" he asked.

"What?"

"I'm really glad it did," he said with a grin.

The corners of my mouth twitched as Colton leaned closer. Our lips met for the second time that night.

******

Cliffhangers,

Ooh la la! Looks like Claudia is falling for Colton!

Do you think they'll have a happily ever after ending? 😉😉 Or will something else much sinister happen? 😳

Hearts and Daggers,

Kelly Anne Blount xoxo