Stormbound

STORMBOUND

Vonna Harper

www.loose-id.com

Stormbound

Copyright © June 2012 by Vonna Harper

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eISBN 978-1-61118-888-2

Editor: Ann M. Curtis

Cover Artist: Mina Carter

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This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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I’m not sure how we evolved. What I’m pretty sure of is that no one is in charge. Oh, Kate will say she organized the whole thing, but I’m pretty sure she’s wrong. The important thing—hell, the vital thing—is that we members have a safe place to hang. We’re all published writers, so of course we talk about the business, but we’re much more than that. We have each other’s backs. I’ve given and received virtual hugs, let down my hair, and read while others do the same thing.

Watercooler gang, you’re the best.

Acknowledgement

The storms in
Stormbound
and my previously published
Stormlocked
are, sigh, figments of my imagination. Sorry about that.

It was one of
those
days, an afternoon when Narah Collin’s skin felt too small to contain the energy raging through her. Restless youth should be behind her, right? After all, she was approaching the end of her twenties and was smack in the middle of a project that should occupy her mind and time.

Maybe not so much, she acknowledged as she struggled to concentrate on diagramming the circuit-breaker panel she was replacing at the remote lodge.

A sharp rattling sound pulled her from thoughts of feeder pipe, neutral wire, and NM connectors. She’d heard a wind gust hit the windows before, but there was something different about this one. More energized. Like her.

And bringing with it the storm the radio weatherman had been talking about this morning. Leaving her work, she walked from the storage room behind the industrial-sized kitchen to the lonely-looking main room. Every step took her farther from work and closer to—to what?

Briant or Levi had stoked the woodstove before the carpenters had returned to their work outside, but either the fire had gone out or the chill was seeping into the poorly insulated structure. She wasn’t cold, just restless, needing something different.

Becoming someone different.

After turning the vent and opening the cast-iron door, she added more wood to the coals and watched the flames build. The vibrant colors and potential for danger fed her restlessness. Instead of going back to work, she wandered over to the large front window and looked out at the world beyond Wolverine Lodge. Nothing had changed. The Wolverine River still flowed past while the surrounding mountains closed her isolated, temporary world off from civilization.

Good. She didn’t want civilization; she needed—
something
.

Pine needles swirled and swarmed over the open area between the lodge and river, proof that the wind was picking up steam. The evergreens swayed this way and that, but whether they were dancing with or fighting the approaching storm, she couldn’t tell. The sky had gone from gray to deep purple. If she could fly, she’d soar upward and surround herself with the vibrant hues. Startled by the errant thought, she pressed the palm of her hand against her temple. The next few days were about work, not letting a crazy thought overwhelm her.

What were Briant and Levi doing outside? She placed her hand on the glass and determined it was indeed approaching freezing out there. The two men belonged in a setting like this. They were as determined to prove themselves to the new lodge owners as she was, but could they really work on repairing the wraparound deck with numb fingers?

She was an electrician, not their caretaker. Just the same, it wouldn’t hurt to remind the pair that it was a hell of a lot warmer inside than out—and to have another look at their masculine forms. Trying not to think further, she pushed open the large front door and fought against the wind trying to keep it closed. The fight gave her at least a momentary outlet for her pent-up energy. Then a chilled gust tore at her ponytail and whipped her dark hair around her neck. She suddenly felt wild.

Way too big for her skin.

Wanting to do and see things she’d never done. Experiencing…

“Hey, you two!” she hollered. “I know first aid, but I don’t want to have to deal with your hypothermia. Come on inside.”
Be with me.

Acknowledging the thought, she squinted into the gloom. It was a little after four in the afternoon, but late fall nights came early in the Northwest wilderness, especially with snow clouds covering the sky.

Her ratty old high school sweatshirt was scant defense against the elements, but she nevertheless stepped out onto the porch. The men had started working on the building’s north side, which meant the planks under her tennis shoes weren’t particularly reliable. Something cold splatted on her forehead. The first snowflakes. The blood in her temple pulsed with heat.

“Where are you two?”
I need you.

Teeth clenched, she fought the insane damn thought. She didn’t
need
a man. Unlike her mother and older sister, her sense of worth would never revolve around a male. As she headed toward where Briant and Levi had last been working, she realized her surroundings were in part responsible for her current thoughts. After all, when was the last time she’d been at a place accessible only by air or water, her sole companions two men who epitomized everything she admired in the opposite sex? They worked with their hands. Turned wood, metal, and other materials into enduring structures. They did physical labor, were largely self-taught, strong, determined, independent. Craftsmen in a career she understood and embraced.

And far from hard on the eyes.

Men who might react the same way to the setting and growing storm.

They were where she expected to find them, but they weren’t doing what she’d thought they’d be. Instead of putting up a new railing for the section of porch they’d just replaced, the two stood side by side looking out at something. Levi was a couple inches shorter than Briant, his hair longer than Briant’s near buzz cut, but their stances mirrored each other. Both had shoved their hands into their back pockets and stood on widespread legs—probably so the gusts wouldn’t knock them off balance. Their padded jackets had seen years of hard work and strained over their broad shoulders and hugged lean bellies.

As she stared at them, her mouth dried, then filled again. Her nipples, already hard from the cold and her disquiet, started to ache. Moisture built in a part of her anatomy that had been in hibernation for who the hell knew how long.

It was just the three of them until—when? Obviously the helicopter that had brought the various workmen—workpeople—and supplies here couldn’t fly in this weather. The plumber and a married couple who were redesigning the kitchen had flown out yesterday. Thanks to a month of off-and-on rain, the river was running high, which meant boats were out of the question.

Alone. Surrounded by wilderness. Alive. So damn
alive
.

Fighting light-headedness, she made a stab at chasing off the vague sense of unease that came with acknowledging the isolation. She was being paid double good money for this job, which she really needed. A little inconvenience was worth it.

As if challenging her to ignore the environment, the wind slammed into her back. Most times she was content with her five feet six inches and one hundred thirty pounds, but right now, she could use a little more bulk.

“What are you looking at?” she asked.

Two, maybe three beats passed before Levi looked at her. Briant continued to stare at the river.

“Nothing,” Levi muttered. His gaze seemed to bore into her, and yet she wasn’t sure he was really seeing her.

Her cheeks were chilled, and she tucked her hands under her sweatshirt to keep them warm. Much longer out here, and she’d start shivering. Good, because she needed something ordinary to focus on.

“The weatherman was a little off,” she came up with. They were too close and too far away at the same time, promise and challenge, unreal somehow.
Think, damn it! Break free of whatever this is.
“I know what a winter storm around here feels like. This is the real deal.”

“We’ve lived in the area as long as you have,” Levi unnecessarily reminded her after a pause. “And you’re right; this is the real deal.”

Briant swiveled toward her then. He hadn’t shaved today, maybe not yesterday either. Despite his ultrashort haircut, everything about his features screamed
dark
. Back when the two had been high school seniors and she a lowly sophomore, Briant had worn his black hair nearly shoulder-length. That had gotten him in trouble with the administration, because they’d wanted one of their star athletes to represent the school positively. Like the other girls, she’d waited to see if he’d get rid of the sexy locks. He hadn’t, and because both the baseball and football teams couldn’t get into the play-offs without him, he hadn’t been expelled.

Hell, why was she bringing up the past? It wasn’t as if she were still some silly teenager.

“I fished the river a lot this summer,” Briant said. Judging by his tone, she wasn’t sure whether he was talking to himself or her. Maybe, like her, he was trying to get in touch with some part of himself. “I also did as much river guiding as possible.”

Because there hadn’t been enough construction jobs then was the silent message. She knew, because she’d been in the same position.

“I envy the way you paid your bills.” Though she wasn’t sure she did. Hearing the river roar, she was hard put remembering summer when it hadn’t looked dangerous.

“I loved being out-of-doors,” Briant said. “The unpredictable income that’s part of being dependent on wealthy fishermen is another story.”

Nodding, she fought the pull in Briant’s nearly black eyes.
Oh shit. Alive. Different.
They’d been working under the same roof, so to speak, for the better part of a week. She’d seen him as little more than someone from the past and a temporary coworker, albeit rugged and masculine. Why, today, were his eyes’ hypnotic quality and damn sexy physique getting to her?

“At least you had your boat,” Levi said. “I spent my summer working on a remodel for Charles Hand.”