Needed: One Convenient Husband(35)

Chapter 7

After putting on the snow boots he kept at the cabin, Dane made his way  out the doors, grateful for the time he wouldn't be in Sienna's  presence. Being around her and still loving her like he did was hard.  Even now he didn't know the reason for the divorce, other than what was  noted in the papers he'd been served that day a few weeks ago.  Irreconcilable differences...whatever the hell that was supposed to  mean.

Sienna hadn't come to him so they could talk about any problems they  were having. He had come home one day and she had moved out. He still  was at a loss as to what could have been so wrong with their marriage  that she could no longer see a future for them.

He would always recall that time as being the lowest point in his life.  For days it was as if a part of him was missing. It had taken a while  to finally pull himself together and realize she wasn't coming back no  matter how many times he'd asked her to. And all it took was the receipt  of that divorce petition to make him realize that Sienna wanted him out  of her life, and actually believed that whatever issues kept them apart  couldn't be resolved.

A little while later Dane had gathered more wood to put with the huge  stack already on the back porch, glad that at least, if nothing else,  they wouldn't freeze to death. The cabin was equipped with enough  toiletries to hold them for at least a week, which was a good thing. And  he hadn't wanted to break the news to Sienna that the meat in the  freezer wasn't chicken, but deer meat that one of his clients had given  him a couple of weeks ago after a hunting trip. It was good to eat, but  he knew Sienna well enough to know she would have to be starving before  she would consume any of it.

After rubbing his icy hands on his jeans, he stuck them into his  pockets to keep them from freezing. Walking around the house, he  strolled over to her car, opened the door and found the candy bars,  chips and... Girl Scout cookies, he noted, lifting a brow. She hadn't  mentioned them, and he saw they were her favorite kind, as well as his.  He quickly recalled the first year they were married and how they shared  the cookies as a midnight snack after making love. He couldn't help but  smile as he remembered that night and others where they had spent time  together, not just in bed but cooking in the kitchen, going to movies,  concerts, parties, having picnics and just plain sitting around and  talking for hours.                       
       
           



       

He suddenly realized that one of the things that had been missing from  their marriage for a while was communication. When had they stopped  talking? The first thought that grudgingly came to mind was when she'd  begun bringing work home, letting it intrude on what had always been  their time together. That's when they had begun living in separate  worlds.

Dane breathed in deeply. He wanted to get back into Sienna's world and  he definitely wanted her back in his. He didn't want a divorce. He  wanted to keep his wife but he refused to resort to any type of  manipulating, dominating or controlling tactics to do it. What he and  Sienna needed was to use this weekend to keep it honest and talk openly  about what had gone wrong with their marriage. They would go further by  finding ways to resolve things. He still loved her and wanted to believe  that deep down she still loved him.

There was only one way to find out.





Chapter 8

Sienna glanced around the room seeing all the lit candles and thinking  just how romantic they made the cabin look. Taking a deep breath, she  frowned in irritation, thinking that romance should be the last thing on  her mind. Dane was her soon-to-be ex-husband. Whatever they once shared  was over, done with, had come to a screeching end.

If only the memories weren't so strong...

She glanced out the window and saw him piling wood on the back porch.  Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought her day would end up  this way, with her and Dane being stranded together at the cabin-a place  they always considered as their favorite getaway spot. During the first  two years of their marriage, they would come here every chance they  got, but in the past year she could recall them coming only once.  Somewhere along the way she had stopped allowing them time even for  this.

She sighed deeply, recalling how important it had been to her at the  beginning of their marriage for them to make time to talk about matters  of interest, whether trivial or important. They had always been attuned  to each other, and Dane had always been a good listener, which to her  conveyed a sign of caring and respect. But the last couple of times they  had tried to talk ended up with them snapping at each other, which only  built bitterness and resentment.

The lights blinked and she knew they were about to go out. She was glad  that she had taken the initiative to go into the kitchen and scramble  up some eggs earlier. And she was inwardly grateful that if she had to  get stranded in the cabin during a snowstorm that Dane was here with  her. Heaven knows she would have been a basket case had she found  herself up here alone.

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."