Chapter Thirteen

Well, this was awkward.

Tucker had emerged from Betsy’s bedroom, after the little girl had finally grown drowsy and fallen asleep back in her own bed, and he had quietly descended the stairs to find Elise still curled up in the corner of the couch, her head bowed a bit, having obviously fallen drifted off to sleep herself.

The awkwardness clenched his chest… does he wake her? Let her sleep? Try to give an explanation of the night’s events tonight or wait until morning? Or should he just stand here like an idiot, admiring his employee’s beautiful facial features in the flickering firelight?

As though sensing his presence, Elise slowly lifted her head, fixing him with a gaze filled with a number of questions: is Betsy okay? Was she asleep? What the hell happened out there? I wasn’t drooling, was I?

Tucker swallowed, then crossed the room and sat at the other end of the couch. “She’s asleep?” Elise inquired and Tucker nodded. Wordlessly, she unwound part of the quilt from its tangle on the couch and tossed it lightly over Tucker’s legs. He smiled gratefully and tugged it up and over his chest, until they were both cocooned underneath the heavy material, the warmth seeping immediately into his bones.

He liked the idea of sharing the covers with her.

And Tucker Hale didn’t share well.

“She’s asleep,” Tucker replied, swallowing thickly as he tried to erase the image of sharing sheets with Elise crossed his mind. “How are you?”

“Warming up, finally,” Elise replied. “My heart rate is finally back to normal. Looking outside and seeing her…”

Tucker cocked his head to one side. “I’m not sure you said… did you… see anything? Anything at all?”

“Just Betsy,” Elise replied. “I heard a noise that woke me, thought I better look in on Betsy in case she was having a bad dream, when I saw she wasn’t in her bed, I went looking for her. I heard a cry or a scream or something, and that’s what made me look outside, and then I saw her…” Elise squeezed her eyes shut for a long moment, then fixed him with a horrified stare. “What if I hadn’t seen her?”

“I don’t want to think about it,” Tucker replied. “I’m just glad you were there.”

“I’m glad you woke when I yelled. I’m not sure I could have gotten her out of the lake alone.”

“You would have,” Tucker said, his voice full of confidence. “People do extraordinary things in extraordinary circumstances.”

“That’s true,” Elise agreed. “And I would do anything for Betsy. I hope you know that. I know I haven’t been here long, but… Timberline feels like a home to me, already. I’ve never really had a home… like this before. And Betsy… I’m just crazy about her.”

“She adores you, too,” Tucker replied seriously. “I had to tell a Princess Elise story as our bedtime story this evening,” he grinned, and Elise laughed before turning serious again. “It was the only way she would settle down and think about sleeping.”

“Princess Elise,” she repeated then snorted softly. “Hardly.”

Tucker gazed at her, considering, but said nothing.

“Did she say what happened?”

A shadow crossed Tucker’s face, but was gone as quickly as it had appeared. “I think she was probably sleepwalking, and didn’t wake up until she was in the lake,” he said, and Elise wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince her or himself.

“Has she ever been a sleepwalker?” Elise prodded. “That’s highly unusual. And how did she get outside? I know we’re in the U.P. where your nearest neighbor is miles away, but I know you lock your doors to keep scary night time critters out. How did she get outside?”

Tucker shook his head slowly. “I’m not sure we’ll ever know. We just have to… be grateful that you saw her, and that we saved her.”

Elise felt a prickle of ice go down her back, making her shiver. “Are you still cold?” Tucker asked, noticing, and she shook her head.

“The thought of her drowning out there, of us not knowing a thing about it until it was all over…” Elise whispered. “It scares me.”

Without thought, Tucker reached his hand out under the quilt and sought out hers, intertwining their fingers and giving her a reassuring squeeze. “Me too,” he admitted. “But you did, and we did. It’s over now. She’s safe.”

Elise’s heart began thudding in her chest as his warm fingers encircled hers, the pad of his thumb swiping a slow path across her skin as though of its own volition. She didn’t know how to react, but felt her body tense, her belly tighten, and her cheeks flush.

God, she was an idiot.

It was an innocent gesture of solidarity and support, not an invitation for anything further.

And even if it was…

Elise couldn’t even fathom that, no matter how good he looked in faded sweats and bedhead.

Her past history had always precluded her from just hopping into bed with guys, and she wasn’t about to break the streak now with her employer.

And not on a night like tonight, fraught with tension and excitement.

Stupid.

But if she didn’t know better, she would swear that the way he was looking at her…

But no.

Tucker Hale didn’t seem like the kind of man who dated the help.

She gave him an unsteady smile of thanks, and then untangled her fingers from his with reluctance.

He noted the gesture, and hesitated for a moment as though he wanted to take her hand again, but instead pulled his hand away slowly.

“I should let you go to bed,” she said hastily, trying to disentangle herself from the quilt and standing up unsteadily. “You must be exhausted.”

“I’m fine,” Tucker said softly. “I can stay up all night with you, if you want. You still look a bit… well, freaked out.”

Elise bit her lip, knowing it was an innocent offer, but the way he said it… up all night… she suddenly had a flash of stark white sheets on a giant timber bed, of those sweatpants sliding down those thin hips, of his mouth on hers…

Jesus. Get a grip, Blake, she berated herself. “I’m freaked out, but we’re both tired. I… I should go to bed. In case Betsy needs me.”

“I can’t thank you enough,” Tucker said, his voice husky as he rose from the couch and taking a step towards her.

“I’m glad I was awake,” Elise said dumbly, taking an unvoluntary step back.

“You’re glad you were awake,” Tucker repeated with a soft chuckle, advancing another step towards her. She watched him, wary. “Can I at least hug you for saving my niece? It seems like a good night for a thanks more sincere than  ‘hey, good job, yo’ and a high five.”

Elise laughed despite herself at his use of the word ‘yo’ – an echo to an earlier conversation they had had. “Good night, sir,” she said, turning to go, but he reached out a hand and laid it gently on her arm.

“Tucker, not sir,” he said softly, then pulled her into the circle of his arms, the warmth of his body radiating against hers, making her skin suddenly zing to life and her cheeks to flush with confusion and excitement. “Thank you, Elise. Thank you.”

The hug wasn’t in any way suggestive or sexual, but if Elise didn’t put some space between herself and Tucker, things were going to go south – quickly.

She could practically feel fireworks under her skin at his touch, even in just a warm, comforting hug. She shuddered as he ran a single hand down her back, as though stilling a nervous horse, then stepped – albeit reluctantly – out of the warmth of his touch.

“Good night, si—Tucker,” she stammered, then turned and fled. “Sleep well.”

Tucker watched her powerful legs ascend the stairs at speed and cursed himself for being an idiot.

A hug? Really? He had to ask for a hug?

Why not a cookie and a pat on the head?

Or just beg her to, you know, like him. Like him, like him.

Maybe he could pass her a note in gym class…

Ugh! He thought with exasperation, throwing himself back down on the couch. He liked Elise Blake, and now, he was in her debt thanks to her quick action tonight.

But mostly, all he could think about other than Betsy’s safety was how damn good Elise had looked in a man’s shirt and nothing else.

If only it was his shirt, he mused, staring blankly into the fire. Now that would be something else…

Sighing, he slammed his head against the back of the couch a few times, hoping for a return to mental stability, instead of thinking about bedding his employee.

Dammit.

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