Before she could protest, he’d disappeared into the bedroom. A moment later, he reappeared with a stack of sheets and blankets.
“Oh, thanks.” She reached for the blankets. “The couch is fine. I’ll just—”
Liam batted her hands away. “I’m not going to let you make up the bed while you’re staying as my guest. You kidding me? Shoo.” He shooed her away from the couch along with Lucky, who followed her, tail wagging. Liam pulled out the bed with one smooth movement. The metal frame hardly made a sound.
“I can’t believe that thing didn’t creak,” Mina blurted. “You know, foldout beds usually have all those rusted parts, and old bolts—”
“Old bolts?” Liam arched an eyebrow at her and snapped the sheets above the mattress. “I keep this baby in excellent shape. Or—I guess Cade did, before I came around, and I picked up the baton from him, if you will.” In seconds, he had the bed made up and a thick quilt spread over the sheets. “You’ll be warm in here, and safe.” He stood up tall and looked her in the eye. Mina had the strangest urge to ask him to sit with her until she fell asleep. No way. She needed to lie down before she made another bad decision. “I’ll be in the bedroom, just there. If you need anything, holler.” Liam left her there, in his own clean clothes. “Goodnight, Mina,” he said from the door of the bedroom.
Then he closed it gently behind him, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
6
Mina lay under the quilt on the surprisingly nice mattress that came with the pullout couch, staring at the ceiling of Liam Wells’ little cabin.
He was sleeping a few feet away.
Well—she wasn’t sure if he was sleeping. He was definitely in the next room. But she wasn’t picturing him lying alone in bed. She was picturing him as the father of her child. She’d let the fire burn low, so the room was only lit by the embers. The wind still buffeted the house. They had to be getting feet of snow. Her car might be buried by the time she got out of here. But her thoughts didn’t stick on the car, either. Only on Liam as her baby daddy. Even if she used his sperm at the clinic, she’d still know it was him. There was no mistaking it now.
Mina squeezed her eyes shut tight and counted to a hundred. That had been an old trick from her grandmother, back when she was in high school and too hyped up to sleep. She usually conked out around sixty or seventy. At a hundred and twenty-five, she gave up.
The truth was, she couldn’t very well choose any of the other sperm donors. That would be the obvious solution. Mina knew that. But it was also true that she’d kept coming back to that profile again and again. Something inside her had resonated with what kind of child that person would help her have. It hadn’t been the same with any of the other profiles. Mina pictured, in vivid detail, what it would be like to select another donor. She visualized the process of telling Jennifer her selection so they could prepare in advance. She imagined confirming it with Dr. Humbacher. And she imagined the moment of the procedure, when another truly anonymous man would become the father of her baby.
It made her stomach churn.
That was an old trick her grandmother had taught her, too. Picture waking up the next morning after making a decision. How do you feel? Horrible, that was how. Then again, she couldn’t exactly go ahead with Liam’s donation, could she, if she knew it was from him? That wouldn’t be anonymous in the slightest. There could be all kinds of other issues.
Her thoughts went around and around, like a slow-moving carousel of IUI and Liam’s eyes and the way he’d picked her up from the floor. Each one felt like a flashbulb. It kept her awake. Minutes ticked by—Mina wasn’t sure how many—and the fire faded even farther into the hearth. Oh, this was bad. It was good that she was here, because that meant she was still alive. But it was so bad. So bad. If Liam knew what she was thinking—
Something woke her.
Mina snorted in a breath. When had she fallen asleep? Gray light poured in through the window, and a new fire burned brightly in the fireplace. She felt like she’d melted into the mattress beneath her. It was comfortable, which was not the norm for a pullout couch. Especially in daredevil Liam’s home. She never took him for the kind of man who’d put much thought into guests.
For now, she pulled the quilt up to her chin and closed her eyes again, trying to get her bearings.
Liam Wells’ cabin. From the light she’d seen in the window, the storm was still going strong. He was awake. But what had woken her? A minute later, her brain registered the sound—someone talking. Liam talking.
Her heart beat faster. Nobody else was in the cabin, were they? No. Couldn’t be. The storm was too incredible for anyone else to make their way out there. Maybe he was on the phone.
Mina slipped out of bed and padded over to his bedroom. The door was open, but when she peeked in, Liam wasn’t there. She followed the sound of his voice across the main room and down the narrow hall that led to the bathroom. Light streamed into the dim hall from where the door was cracked open. Yep—he was definitely in there. And was that water splashing?
She crept to the door, her heart pounding in her ears, and pushed it open another inch.
Mina stifled a gasp. Liam was in the bathroom, and he was talking to someone. That someone was Lucky. Water covered every inch of the floor, because Liam was giving Lucky a bath.
“You’re such a good buddy,” Liam said smoothly, working his hands through Lucky’s fur. “What were you doing out there in the snow? Did you have some kinda plan that got messed up by the storm? Lord, I know about that.” He reached for the bottle of shampoo and added a bit more to Lucky’s back. “Things don’t always go according to plan. But that’s all right. We learn to roll with the punches. But this isn’t a punch—this is just a bath. Gotta be clean if you’re gonna stay in here with me.” Liam laughed. “Which you are. Where else would you go? Snow’s still coming down something fierce outside, and there’s no way I can put you back out in that.”
Mina backed up against the opposite wall, her hand over her mouth. Her heart had gone soft, like a fluffy pillow that could be torn to shreds with a fingernail. Lucky whined a bit, and Liam answered him. “No, no. It’s all right. You don’t even have to dunk, if dunking isn’t your style. I’ll just pour a little over on your head. See? Not so bad.” Lucky shook and a new layer of water droplets coated the bathroom. The dog turned in the tub, butting his head up against Liam’s hand, and then stopped. Stiffened. Looked right at Mina.
With a tremendous splash, Lucky launched himself out of the tub. Liam tumbled backward onto his butt. Lucky’s tail wagged furiously, and he stuck his nose into the open crack of the door, then slipped out. He barked a jubilant bark, swept his wet body across the front of her knees, and went tearing out into the main room.
Mina ran. Lucky was too excited—he’d get everything wet if she didn’t stop him. This turned out to be easier said than done. “Lucky, wait!” She chased him around the foldout couch, but he only jumped on it and sprinted across. “How can you go that fast and still shake yourself off every five seconds?” Lucky stopped and shook, then took off like a rocket. He flew up into the armchair and thundered back through the main room, then rounded a corner. Water sprayed onto a bookshelf. Then he was in the kitchen, circling the table legs and barking.