Stowaway by Becky Barker

her would bring him incredible pleasure too.
    What he’d started as innocent teasing blossomed into unexpected longing. Need swelled in him, catching him off-guard and confounding him. He loved to flirt, loved women, but something about this small, sassy one reached right inside him and tugged at his heartstrings.
    Not good, especially in their current circumstances.
    Before either of them could break the tense silence, they heard the sound of a heavy vehicle nearing the cabin. Nick slowly rolled himself to the edge of the bed and stood. He loaded the clip into the pistol and tossed the handcuff key to Keri. He watched as she unfastened it and rubbed her wrist.
    “Whoever it is, get rid of them,” he said, morphing into his cop persona.
    She flashed him an annoyed glance. “We don’t get many visitors up here and we never send them away without an offer of coffee. It’s just not done in these parts, city boy.”
    “Well, get creative, Miss Congeniality, unless you want to be handcuffed to our uninvited guest for the next few days.”
    Expression grim, she turned toward the window, pulled back a curtain and looked outside. “Dwayne,” she said. “The first of many watchdogs my dad will be sending to check on me.”
    Nick remembered meeting her cousin, Deputy Dwayne Merritt. He looked a lot like her brother Jack but carried about twenty pounds more weight. He served as an auxiliary officer to the sheriff’s department.
    When the newcomer laid on the horn, her expression grew more mutinous. After a few long, loud honks, the blaring noise stopped and a truck door slammed. Nick watched from the bedroom window as she threw open the door and stepped onto the porch. Hands on hips, her hair and clothes tousled from hours in bed, she looked and sounded furious.
    “What the hell are you doing, Dwayne? Trying to raise the dead with all that racket?” Her demand for answers rang loud and clear.
    “Well hell, Ker, I didn’t figure you’d be in bed this time of the day.”
    “I’m on vacation!” she yelled to be heard over the wind. “I came up here for uninterrupted rest and relaxation. If I want to sleep twenty-four hours a day, I’ll sleep twenty-four hours a day.”
    “Well, don’t go all ballistic. Your daddy sent me to warn you about some foul weather headin’ our way.”
    Nick could only see the side of Keri’s face, but he knew her scowl deepened.
    “It’s the first of September. Our weather doesn’t get that foul in September.”
    “This is a strange one according to the forecast and it blew up fast. Bad thunderstorms and a couple of tornado warnings. Your dad said you might get blasted with snow here on the mountain. He wanted to make sure you’re prepared.”
    “I heard warnings on the radio last night,” she conceded, lifting her hands to keep her hair out of her eyes.
    Nick noted the gusting wind and occasional whirlwind of leaves. Some of the smaller trees bent low while the sky darkened ominously. The temperature continued to drop.
    “This cabin’s sturdy, I have supplies and plenty of firewood. Go away.”
    “I could use a refill for my thermos.”
    “You woke me up,” she snapped. “I don’t have coffee made.”
    “Well, don’t get your panties in a twist,” snapped Dwayne. “Go back to bed. I’ll tell your dad you’re too damned contrary to listen to warnings. Mother Nature’s bad mood ain’t nothin’ compared to yours.”
    “Goodbye, Dwayne.”
    “Yeah, yeah,” he said, turning to leave. He’d reached his vehicle when she called out to him.
    “Hey, Dwayne?”
    Nick tensed, moving closer to the door in case she forced him to show himself and the gun.
    “Do you have spare gasoline with you?”
    “Sure. Why?” He yelled back at her. “You didn’t go and run yourself dry, did you?”
    “No, I didn’t. I filled up at the bottom of the mountain, but some lousy thief emptied my tank.”
    “A lot of that goin’ on. I’ll tell your dad.”
    “Don’t even think about