His Forever Family(37)

The lights blinked again before finally going out, but the candles  provided the cabin with plenty of light. Not sure if the temperatures  outside would cause the pipes to freeze, she had run plenty of water in  the bathtub and kitchen sink, and filled every empty jug with water for  them to drink. She'd also found batteries to put in the radio so they  could keep up with any reports on the weather.

"I saw the lights go out. Are you okay?"

Sienna turned around. Dane was leaning in the doorway with his hands  stuck in the pockets of his jeans. The pose made him look incredibly  sexy. "Yes, I'm okay. I was able to get the candles all lit and there  are plenty more."

"That's good."

"Just in case the pipes freeze and we can't use the shower, I filled  the bathtub up with water so we can take a bath that way." At his raised  brow she quickly added, "Separately, of course. And I made sure I  filled plenty of bottles of drinking water, too."

He nodded. "Sounds like you've been busy."

"So have you. I saw through the window when you put all that wood on the porch. It will probably come in handy."

He moved away from the door. "Yes, and with the electricity out I need to go ahead and get the fire started."

Sienna swallowed as she watched him walk toward her on his way to the  fireplace, and not for the first time she thought about how remarkably  handsome he was. He had that certain charisma that made women get hot  all over just looking at him.

It suddenly occurred to her that he'd already got a fire started, and  the way it was spreading through her was about to make her burst into  flames.





Chapter 9

"You okay?" Dane asked Sienna as he walked toward her with a smile.

She nodded and cleared her throat. "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Because you're looking at me funny."

"Oh." She was vaguely aware of him walking past her to kneel in front  of the fireplace. She turned and watched him, saw him move the wood  around before taking a match and lighting it to start a fire. He was so  good at kindling things, whether wood or the human body.

"If you like, I can make something for dinner," she decided to say,  otherwise she would continue to stand there and say nothing while  staring at him. It was hard trying to be normal in a rather awkward  situation.

"What are our options?" he asked without looking around.

She chuckled. "An egg sandwich and tea. I made both earlier before the power went off."                       
       
           



       

He turned at that and his gaze caught hers. A smile crinkled his eyes. "Do I have a choice?"

"Not if you want to eat."

"What about those Girl Scout cookies I found in your car?"

Her eyes narrowed. "They're off-limits. You can have one of the candy bars, but the cookies are mine."

His mouth broke into a wide grin. "You have enough cookies to share, so stop being selfish."

He turned back around and she made a face at him behind his back. He  was back to stoking the fire and her gaze went to his hands. Those hands  used to be the givers of so much pleasure and almost ran neck and neck  with his mouth...but not quite. His mouth was in a class by itself. But  still, she could recall those same hands, gentle, provoking, moving all  over her body; touching her everywhere and doing things to her that mere  hands weren't suppose to do. However, she never had any complaints.

"Did you have any plans for tonight, Sienna?"

His words intruded into her heated thoughts. "No, why?"

"Just wondering. You thought I had a date tonight. What about you?"

She shrugged. "No. As far as I'm concerned, until we sign those final  papers, I'm still legally married and wouldn't feel right going out with  someone."

He turned around and locked his eyes with hers. "I know what you mean,"  he said. "I wouldn't feel right going out with someone else."

Heat seeped through her every pore with his words. "So you haven't been dating, either?"

"No."

There were a number of questions she wanted to ask him-how he spent his  days, his nights, what his family thought of their pending divorce,  what he thought of it, was he ready for it to be over for them to go  their separate ways-but there was no way she could ask him any of those  things. "I guess I'll go put dinner on the table."

He chuckled. "An egg sandwich and tea?"

"Yes." She turned to leave.

"Sienna?"

She turned back around. "Yes?"

"I don't like being stranded, but since I am, I'm glad it's with you."

For a moment she couldn't say anything, then she cleared her throat  while backing up a couple of steps. "Ah, yeah right, same here." She  backed up some more then said, "I'll go set out the food now." And then  she turned and quickly left the room.





Chapter 10

Sienna glanced up when she heard Dane walk into the kitchen and smiled. "Your feast awaits you."

"Whoopee."

She laughed. "Hey, I know the feeling. I'm glad I had a nice lunch today in celebration. I took on a new client."

Dane came and joined her at the table. "Congratulations."

"Thank you."

She took a bite of her scrambled egg sandwich and a sip of her tea and  then said, "It's been a long time since you seemed genuinely pleased  with my accomplishments."

He glanced up after taking a sip of his own tea and stared at her for a  moment. "I know and I'm sorry about that. It was hard being replaced by  your work, Sienna."

She lifted her head and stared at him, met his gaze. She saw the  tightness of his jaw and the firm set of his mouth. He actually believed  that something could replace him with her and knowing that hit a raw  and sensitive nerve. "My work never replaced you, Dane. Why did you  begin feeling that way?"

Dane leaned back in his chair, tilted his head slightly. He was more  than mildly surprised with her question. It was then he realized that  she really didn't know. Hadn't a clue. This was the opportunity that he  wanted; what he was hoping they would have. Now was the time to put  aside anger, bitterness, foolish pride and whatever else was working at  destroying their marriage. Now was the time for complete honesty. "You  started missing dinner. Not once but twice, sometimes three times a  week. Eventually, you stopped making excuses and didn't show up."

What he'd said was the truth. "But I was working and taking on new clients," she defended. "You said you would understand."

"And I did for a while and up to a point. But there is such a thing as  common courtesy and mutual respect, Sienna. In the end I felt like I'd  been thrown by the wayside, that you didn't care anymore about us, our  love or our marriage."

She narrowed her eyes. "And why didn't you say something?"

"When? I was usually asleep when you got home and when I got up in the  morning you were too sleepy to discuss anything. I invited you to lunch  several times, but you couldn't fit me into your schedule."                       
       
           



       

"I had appointments."

"Yes, and I always felt because of it that your clients were more important."

"Still, I wished you would have let me know how you felt," she said, after taking another sip of tea.

"I did, several times. But you weren't listening."

She sighed deeply. "We used to know how to communicate."

"Yes, at one time we did, didn't we?" Dane said quietly. "But I'm also  to blame for the failure of our marriage, our lack of communication. And  then there were the problems you were having with my parents. When it  came to you, I never hesitated letting my parents know when they were  out of line and that I wouldn't put up with their treatment of you. But  then I felt that at some point you needed to start believing that what  they thought didn't matter and stand up to them.

"I honestly thought I was doing the right thing when I decided to just  stay out of it and give you the chance to deal with them, to finally put  them in their place. Instead, you let them erode away at your security  and confidence to the point where you felt you had to prove you were  worthy of them...and of me. That's what drove you to be so successful,  wasn't it, Sienna? Feeling the need to prove something is what working  all those long hours was all about, wasn't it?"





Chapter 11

Sienna quickly got up from the table and walked to the window. It was  turning dark but she could clearly see that things hadn't let up. It was  still snowing outside, worse than an hour before. She tried to  concentrate on what was beyond that window and not on the question Dane  had asked her.