"I'm sorry," Chris said quietly.
But Jessie smiled.
"I'm apologizing to you, McKenna. You're not supposed to say you're sorry. I am."
"Okay." Chris nodded and leaned over to kiss Jessie lightly.
"Thank you. And thank you for last night. It was a first for me, by the way."
"A first?"
"A first to invite someone to my home, to my bed. A first to wake up with someone in my arms," Jessie said shyly. "I liked it."
"Well, you want to try for two nights?"
"Two nights, McKenna? Won't Dillon disown you?"
"Shit! I forgot about him. He probably froze his ass off last night," she said as she stood. "I better get going, anyway. We have a lot of trails to mark today."
Jessie watched as Chris walked naked to the heater and turned it on before bending to retrieve her jeans from the floor. Jessie left the warmth of the covers and walked to Chris, her hands moving over Chris's exposed breasts. She couldn't stop herself as she lowered her mouth to capture an aroused nipple.
"Jessie... oh," Chris breathed, her hands leaving the jeans undone as they roamed over Jessie's naked back before settling over her hips. She pulled Jessie close against her, hearing the low moan come from Jessie. When Jessie raised her head, Chris found her mouth, kissing her hard before pushing her away. If they didn't stop now, they never would.
"Do you have any idea how much I want you?" Jessie asked, but she turned away from Chris and grabbed her robe. "I'm not used to this, McKenna. Sorry."
"Don't be sorry for wanting me. I'm sorry I have to leave."
"How about if we cook something at your place tonight?" Jessie asked as she tied her robe tightly around herself and followed Chris into the living room. She was unusually nervous, she realized. As she had said, she wasn't used to this.
Chris slipped the sweatshirt over her head and tried to tame her hair by running impatient fingers through it. She looked at Jessie, who stood in her bare feet waiting for her answer. Then she smiled and walked closer, taking Jessie's hands in her own.
"You know, Jessie, I'm not exactly used to this either. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to act this morning... but last night was incredible. And I definitely would love to repeat it often," she said before touching her lips lightly to Jessie's. "And I wish like hell I didn't have to leave this morning," she murmured against Jessie's lips as their kiss deepened.
Jessie finally stepped away when she realized she was on the verge of begging Chris to stay. And that, she was definitely not used to.
"I'll tell you what," Chris said. "I'll leave the back door unlocked. You can go over whenever you want, if you feel like cooking. I'll try to make it an early day," she said.
"So, I have free range of your kitchen?"
"Yes. But you've also seen what my fridge has to offer, so..."
"I'll bring the food, McKenna."
"Good. I'll see you soon."
Chapter Thirty-four
Chris listened to her messages while she drove the short distance to her own cabin. Two from Roger. The first reminding her that they were marking trails today and the second demanding to know where the hell she was. The third was from Bobby, wondering if they needed to send out SAR for her.
"Very funny," she said out loud. But she needed to hurry. It was already after nine.
Her cabin was frigid, and she ignored the nearly screaming Dillon while she started the heater in the bedroom.
"I'm sorry, okay, but I forgot about you," she told him. He followed her into the kitchen and watched as she filled his food bowl, then flipped his tail and walked away without touching it. "Spoiled brat," she called after him.
She hurried through her shower, then changed clothes twice before leaving. The sky had been nearly cloudless when she left Jessie's. Now, the clouds covered the sun, and the temperature was still in the low twenties. Silk longjohns went under her jeans, and she put an extra layer under her sweater, too.
She called Roger as soon as she left her cabin. She was hoping to avoid his questions until later, but she didn't know if she needed to go to the ranger station or just meet Matt out on the trails.
"Where the hell were you?" Roger demanded. "Bobby was ready to send out a search."
"You know, I have a life, too, Roger. I'm sorry I didn't check in with you first."
"It's damn near ten o'clock, McKenna," he pointed out.
"I'm sorry. Something... came up," she said lamely.
"Dinner at Annie's last night? What, is she getting to be too much for you?"
Chris was tempted to just tell him the truth, but she didn't know if Jessie was ready for that. For that matter, she wasn't sure she was, either.
"Look, is Matt already out? Should I just meet him somewhere?"
"He and Greg are out doing Ridge Trail. I sent Hatcher out with Bobby to finish up the South Rim."
"Hatcher? Good God, no wonder there's a storm coming," she said.
"Yeah. I'm sure he's plenty pissed at you."
"About damn time he does some field work."
"Well, you'll be happy to know he's asked for a transfer. Apparently, cold weather is not his thing. He's requested Florida."
"Well, good for him. Maybe his daddy can put him on a boat to patrol the Keys or something. I'll be there in a second, Roger."
She hung up without waiting for his response and tossed the phone between the seats. The first flakes were falling by the time she got to the ranger station. A day early.
"What's with the snow?" she asked Roger when she walked in.
"Oh, they gave me some meteorological bullshit about the jet stream dropping and pulling in moisture from somewhere. All their damn computers, and they miss the storm by a day."
She followed him into his office after accepting a cup of coffee from Kay.
"The mountain will be crawling with skiers tomorrow and Sunday," he said. "You're late," he stated as an afterthought. "You're never late."
"I was... busy."
"Busy? My God, McKenna, you're blushing. Get lucky?" Then he lowered his voice. "I hope it wasn't a local, McKenna. Can you imagine the scandal?"
Chris rolled her eyes. A local?
"Want to tell me about it?"
"No."
"Come on," he coaxed. "I always tell you."
"About you and Ellen? Please, I don't need details."
"Jessie?" he guessed.
Chris tried to remain expressionless, but she felt the blush creep up her face. The automatic smile gave her away.
"I'll be damned. Well, come on, out with it. I want details," he teased.
"Roger, please, it just... happened."
"Sure it did. Does Annie know?"
"No! Of course not."
Roger grinned.
"Well, she called here this morning and invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner. When I mentioned that you weren't in yet, she said that you and Jessie had left together last night," he said, still grinning. "She also said that you two had stood outside talking for a very long time. She couldn't quite see through the window, though, to see what was going on."
Chris gave him a humorless smile.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" she asked.