just figure I’d have car trouble tonight.”
He reached over, letting his thumb sweep over her jawbone.
Maggie shivered harder, but she didn’t jerk away. “What?”
“You splashed mud on your face.”
“Thanks.” She stared at him. “You missed class this week.”
“I had to deal with band stuff.”
That was evasive.
“Raven didn’t tell you?”
“No, she was pretty enamored with her substitute partner.”
Jon frowned. “I would’ve called you directly to let you know but I didn’t have your number.”
Or you were avoiding me after that steamy kiss Saturday night and the run-in with my brother.
She waved him off. “Doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me. Look, Maggie—”
“Forget it. I’m tired, wet and I just want to go home. I do appreciate you rescuing me tonight, so thanks.”
“No problem.” Jon started the vehicle and paused at the parking lot exit. “Which way?”
“Left. I live out on Burner Road.”
Rain fell in sheets, so heavy at times Jon slowed to a crawl on the city streets. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it rain this hard.”
Maggie peered out the side window. Water was running over the gutters and at least six inches of water covered the city streets. “Me either.”
“My brother would make a crack about the tribe’s rain dances finally working. I’ll bet the creek is running high.”
Creek. She hadn’t even thought about that. “Dammit.”
He shot her a glance. “What?”
“The only way to get to my place is over Burner Bridge and it crosses the creek.”
Jon pulled into a parking lot. “That’s a problem. Too dangerous to try and cross it now, either on foot or by car.”
She knew he was right, but that further limited her options. It’d be rude to show up and Billy and Eden’s place this late, without calling. Chances were high all the hotels were full since they were in the height of tourist season. Her friends lived in Rapid City.
“I know this puts you in a bind. So if you want, you can stay with me. I have an empty guest bedroom. Tomorrow morning I’ll bring you back and maybe I can figure out what’s wrong with your car.”
Alone. With Jon White Feather. All night. This would definitely be a test of willpower.
“If you’re worried I’m gonna tie you up with duct tape, call Eden and Billy so they know where you are.”
That conversation wouldn’t go well since Billy had already warned her off Jon. Plus, Maggie would be mortified to make the call—she was a thirty-two-year-old woman, not a sixteen-year-old girl reporting in that she was breaking curfew. “The phone call isn’t necessary. If you do decide to tie me up, I hope you use something besides duct tape. That gummy residue is a bitch to scrub off skin.”
He was shocked for a millisecond before he granted her that sexy smile. “Good to know.”
They didn’t speak for the rest of the drive, unless she counted him muttering about the lousy visibility and horrible road conditions.
He veered off to the right onto a gravel road outside of Spearfish Canyon. The Black Hills spruce trees formed a canopy above them, softening the deluge. When they reached a big iron gate, he pointed a remote control device at the box on the fence post and the gate swung open.
“Wow. Fancy.”
“It discourages pesky relatives, door-to-door salespeople and bible thumpers who want to save my eternal soul.”
Maggie suspected it also kept out fans, or groupies, or whatever they were called.
Water had pooled in spots in the road, turning it into a mud bog.
Jon dropped it into four-wheel drive and said, “Hang on,” before he gunned it.
They bumped up a hill and when it leveled out she caught her first glimpse of the place he called home. Security lights illuminated a ranch-style log house with a small deck on the front and a two-car garage on the far left side. “This place is so well lit.”
“The security system attached to the gate alerts me if someone enters through it. The
He reached over, letting his thumb sweep over her jawbone.
Maggie shivered harder, but she didn’t jerk away. “What?”
“You splashed mud on your face.”
“Thanks.” She stared at him. “You missed class this week.”
“I had to deal with band stuff.”
That was evasive.
“Raven didn’t tell you?”
“No, she was pretty enamored with her substitute partner.”
Jon frowned. “I would’ve called you directly to let you know but I didn’t have your number.”
Or you were avoiding me after that steamy kiss Saturday night and the run-in with my brother.
She waved him off. “Doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me. Look, Maggie—”
“Forget it. I’m tired, wet and I just want to go home. I do appreciate you rescuing me tonight, so thanks.”
“No problem.” Jon started the vehicle and paused at the parking lot exit. “Which way?”
“Left. I live out on Burner Road.”
Rain fell in sheets, so heavy at times Jon slowed to a crawl on the city streets. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it rain this hard.”
Maggie peered out the side window. Water was running over the gutters and at least six inches of water covered the city streets. “Me either.”
“My brother would make a crack about the tribe’s rain dances finally working. I’ll bet the creek is running high.”
Creek. She hadn’t even thought about that. “Dammit.”
He shot her a glance. “What?”
“The only way to get to my place is over Burner Bridge and it crosses the creek.”
Jon pulled into a parking lot. “That’s a problem. Too dangerous to try and cross it now, either on foot or by car.”
She knew he was right, but that further limited her options. It’d be rude to show up and Billy and Eden’s place this late, without calling. Chances were high all the hotels were full since they were in the height of tourist season. Her friends lived in Rapid City.
“I know this puts you in a bind. So if you want, you can stay with me. I have an empty guest bedroom. Tomorrow morning I’ll bring you back and maybe I can figure out what’s wrong with your car.”
Alone. With Jon White Feather. All night. This would definitely be a test of willpower.
“If you’re worried I’m gonna tie you up with duct tape, call Eden and Billy so they know where you are.”
That conversation wouldn’t go well since Billy had already warned her off Jon. Plus, Maggie would be mortified to make the call—she was a thirty-two-year-old woman, not a sixteen-year-old girl reporting in that she was breaking curfew. “The phone call isn’t necessary. If you do decide to tie me up, I hope you use something besides duct tape. That gummy residue is a bitch to scrub off skin.”
He was shocked for a millisecond before he granted her that sexy smile. “Good to know.”
They didn’t speak for the rest of the drive, unless she counted him muttering about the lousy visibility and horrible road conditions.
He veered off to the right onto a gravel road outside of Spearfish Canyon. The Black Hills spruce trees formed a canopy above them, softening the deluge. When they reached a big iron gate, he pointed a remote control device at the box on the fence post and the gate swung open.
“Wow. Fancy.”
“It discourages pesky relatives, door-to-door salespeople and bible thumpers who want to save my eternal soul.”
Maggie suspected it also kept out fans, or groupies, or whatever they were called.
Water had pooled in spots in the road, turning it into a mud bog.
Jon dropped it into four-wheel drive and said, “Hang on,” before he gunned it.
They bumped up a hill and when it leveled out she caught her first glimpse of the place he called home. Security lights illuminated a ranch-style log house with a small deck on the front and a two-car garage on the far left side. “This place is so well lit.”
“The security system attached to the gate alerts me if someone enters through it. The
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