“What are you doing?” she asked.
Archer reached for one boot, sliding it off.
“You were traipsing mud through the house,” Doc explained gruffly.
“Oh. Right. Shoot. I was so focused on tidying up I didn’t even notice.” She sighed. “You guys think I’m a total slob, right?”
Well, not a total one. Archer set her boots to one side of the door. Then he stood. Isaac held a hand out to her, helping her stand. Shoot. Her hand was freezing.
“We need to stoke the fire up,” he commented to Archer as he undid the zipper on his jacket, slipping it off her. He barely noticed that his own sweater was soaked through.
A woman’s care always came first.
“Where do you keep your firewood, Caley?” Archer asked. “I’ll bring some in while Isaac helps you get those clothes off.”
“I don’t think so! Nobody is taking my clothes off but me!”
5
She couldn’t believe she’d just said that.
Such a dork.
Then there was the way she’d grabbed hold of her shirt, as though she’d expected him to start ripping it off her.
Yep. Total. Dork.
“Easy, girl. He didn’t mean it like that. But you need to get out of your wet clothes,” Doc told her in a calm voice. She noticed he kept his hands out at his sides. “I ain’t gonna touch you so don’t look at me like that. But I do want you to strip off and take a nice hot shower and don’t come out ‘til you’re warmer, got it?”
“He meant to frame that as a request rather than a command,” Archer said, trying to smooth over his brother’s hard edges. She wondered how often he did that. And why he thought he had to. She saw Isaac’s jaw tense at his brother’s words. And wondered how much that annoyed him.
A lot, she’d bet.
She got why Archer did it. It was likely not everyone could take Isaac’s rather gruff personality. Archer didn’t need worry that he might offend her. If he did, she’d tell him.
Their relationship was interesting and there seemed to be some undercurrent of anger between them. But right now, she didn’t have time to figure it out.
“No. I didn’t. ‘Cause a request means she can say no. And I’m worried about how cold she feels.”
Archer frowned then reached out to lightly grasp hold of her hand. “Yeah, she’s freezing.”
“I’m fine. I’ll quickly clean up, get some wood and find the first-aid kit. Oh, and show you where you are going to be staying. I only have one spare bed. I—”
Doc reached out and grabbed hold of her hand as she flung it through the air, gesturing nervously. “Caley, get undressed. Get showered. Then you might as well put on your PJs. It’s nearly bedtime.”
She blinked at him then looked over at the clock. “It’s only nine.”
“Yeah, and after you’ve had a shower, it will be close to ten. Which should be your bedtime. Now go.” He turned her around.
In what universe was ten p.m. a bedtime? Sheesh. Most of the time, she stayed up until one or two in the morning, especially when on a deadline. She liked to keep going when she was on a roll.
To her surprise, she found herself in her bathroom before she’d even thought about it. Huh. She guessed she might as wel
l shower and get changed. It was a little weird, though. Having two strangers in the cabin.
She made sure her bedroom door was locked. Not that she thought they would walk in…but still…
“This was an idiotic idea, Caley. Should have just driven them into town,” she muttered to herself. She sighed and shook her head as she turned on her shower. She shivered in the cool bathroom air. She really needed to get the heater in here fixed. She put her fingers to her temples and rubbed.