Something Wild by Patti Berg

Author:Patti Berg [Berg, Patti]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

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Mike gripped the steering wheel, fighting the storm battling the truck and trailer. Driving home in a blizzard wasn’t the most foolish thing he’d ever done, but it ranked fairly high on the list. Once too often the truck and empty trailer had hit black ice and he’d nearly lost control. If that wasn’t bad enough, three hours driving through blinding snow had mesmerized him and a few times had nearly put him to sleep.

But he’d made it. Hungry, dirty, and exhausted, he fully intended to forget about writing his sermon and wing it tomorrow morning. Right now he wanted to do nothing more than climb into bed and try to sleep. It usually eluded him, his mind haunted with guilt or spinning over too many things to do. Tonight, with any luck, would be different.

Near the barn he unhitched the trailer, glad he’d left the horse with the vet so he didn’t have to deal with an invalid mare. Then he pulled the truck into the garage. It wasn’t until he plugged in the engine to keep it from freezing that he realized the power had gone out. What more could plague his night?

He went around to the back of the garage and started the generator. In no time at all, lights popped on in the house. Odd. He was pretty sure he’d forgotten to lock the barn door, but he rarely forgot to turn out the lights. The energy bill he got each month was enough to make him remember to flip off switches.

Pulling his hat low on his brow and tucking his chin into the warmth of his coat, he made his way to the barn, thankful to see that the bolt was latched, quickly checked the horses inside, then sprinted through the pounding snow to the back porch.

It was halfway warm inside. Had he been so preoccupied that he’d left the heater running as well as the lights? Deal with it tomorrow, he told himself. Right now he just wanted to sleep.

He stripped out of his coat, hanging it over the back of a chair, and dropped his hat on the table next to a plate heaped with cookies and cake. Rubbing his hand over his whiskers, he stared at the sweets, thinking about Charity, as he’d done far too often on the drive home. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t get her out of his mind.

The cookies and cake were her obvious handiwork. She must have dropped the plate off when she’d checked the barn. The burning lights and running furnace were probably Charity’s handiwork, too, although the reason why she’d wander from room to room turning on lights escaped him.

Then, again, Charity never did what was expected.

In spite of his fatigue, he smiled. She was a thorn in his side and she claimed she didn’t want to see him again. But the craving that had gnawed inside him all day told him things weren’t over between them.

Trudging up the stairs, he stripped out of his clothes and tossed everything into the hamper in the closet.

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