Caleb was downstairs in his office when the music belted from the radio. He entered the room and found Ariel and Joshua dancing. Right away he was struck by Ariel’s beauty. When she smiled she was positively stunning.
When Joshua twirled Ariel his way, he hadn’t been able to stop from taking her into his arms.
Now as he spoke with his editor all Caleb could think about was how close he’d been to making a big mistake. He closed his eyes, but he could still see her rosy red lips. They’d been inviting, offering him a taste of their sweetness. But love was only temporary, as Kelly, his ex-wife, had taught him. He couldn’t and wouldn’t trust another woman with his heart.
Of course, one kiss didn’t mean anything, right? It didn’t mean Ariel had won his heart. It only meant he found her attractive. And who wouldn’t find her attractive? Those green eyes twinkling in the light, that silken hair caressing her back, her radiant smile sent in their direction.
Trying to console himself, he listened to the piano in the other room. Ariel was playing Beethoven’s “Fur Elise”. Then she broke into her own rendition of Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire”.
“Caleb, are you listening to me?” His editor poured over the line.
“Of course.”
“I asked you a question. Are you going to be done in time?”
Caleb would have liked to say yes, but he didn’t know if he would ever finish. How could he write a journal entry with technical jargon on weight lifting when all he was able to think about was Ariel?
“Well, can you or not?”
“Yeah, I’ll have it done.” Caleb paused then added, “Are you coming to the family dinner?”
“I guess I have to. How else will I get your manuscript?” he asked.
Ralph was oblivious to Caleb’s private torments. In an attempt to lighten his tone, he asked, “Is that the only reason you’re coming?”
“Well, it certainly isn’t for your cooking.”
“Oh, Ralph I thought you loved my cooking.”
“Humph, I have to go. You need to get to work. You have less than a week to finish. I’m afraid I can’t stall them any longer.”
“Yeah, I know. Rick already told me. But I thought I had two weeks?
“Nope, we need this by the end of January. Is that going to be a problem?”
“No. I guess I should say thanks for the warning.”
“You’re welcome. Now work.”
Caleb hung up the phone. He strode into the den, not wishing to disrupt Ariel and Joshua. Joshua strummed the guitar while Ariel played the piano. Now they were onto “Amazing Grace, My Chains are Gone” by Chris Tomlin.
Caleb watched as Ariel’s slim hands flowed across the ivory keys. His pulse quickened as her body swayed from side to side, and small tendrils escaped from her ponytail. He ached to reach out and put them back in place. As they fell, they framed her heart shaped face. Ariel smiled at Joshua as he laughed.
Caleb went back to the kitchen and set down on a stool. He held his head in the palms of his hands. What was he thinking? He didn’t know anything about this woman. Perhaps it was nothing more than finding her attractive, enough said. Right?
In his heart Caleb knew there was more to it than that. A lot more. Ariel was worming her way into places that he’d never intended. Should he try to keep her out or let her in?
Anguish filled his soul. Caleb looked out the kitchen window as a fresh blanket of snow began to fall. Stars winked at him as darkness covered the sky. Maybe what he needed was a good workout. The sweat and physical exhaustion would free his mind so he could think.
Before he could go downstairs and hit the weights, he needed to tell Ariel his plans. That’s when he noticed the silence. The music had stopped. Going in search of Joshua, he found him standing at the bay window with a frown on his face.
“Joshua, what’s wrong?”
“Ariel left. She just looked outside, saw it was dark, picked up her stuff, and ran out. I tried to tell her it was too dangerous, but she wouldn’t listen.”
“She what?”
“I told you, Dad. She got her stuff and left.”
“Well, why did she do a fool thing like that? Couldn’t she see it was snowing?”
“I told her, but she didn’t listen.”
Caleb said, “Get your coat and shoes and go hop in the truck.”
Joshua didn’t argue or question Caleb. They loaded up and set out to find Ariel. He didn’t go far before he saw a headlight peeping out of an avalanche of snow. It looked like Ariel had driven into a snow bank along the edge of the road.
“You stay here.”
Caleb jumped from the Tahoe and walked to Ariel’s car. His fingers clawed at the snow-covered door. Able to see her through the window, confidence filled him. He knew he could get her out. But as he uncovered one part of the window, more snow from the top of her car would topple down and cover it again. Panic set in.
Caleb’s fist beat on the exposed glass as he yelled, “Ariel, are you okay?”
“Yes. But I think I’m stuck.”
“Thank God,” he whispered, glad she was conscious and able to answer him. What would he have done if she’d hit her head when she ran into the bank of snow? Caleb couldn’t think about that now. Now he needed to get Ariel out of her car and back to the house before all three of them became trapped on the road.
The snow was coming down in quarter-sized flakes, blinding his vision. He’d forgotten gloves in his haste to get to Ariel, and now his fingers were numb from cold. Struggling to work the handle free and open her door, he asked, “Can you roll down your window?”
“I don’t know.”
“Try it for me, would you, honey?”
The car motor was still running, so Ariel lowered the window one inch at a time. After what felt like an eternity, she was able to slide out the narrowing opening with his help. Caleb held her close, her body trembling with cold as she was exposed to the outside air. He placed her in the back seat of his vehicle and headed back toward his home.
“Caleb, wait!”
He slammed on the brakes and slid to a stop. “What?”
“I need to turn off my car. I can’t let the battery die.”
Mumbling, Caleb opened the door and trudged back to her car, turned off the motor, and removed the keys. There was no way to roll the window back up. Her interior would be soaked, but at least it could be dried. As he headed back to the Tahoe he shook with righteous indignation. What made her leave when the weather was treacherous? They hadn’t fought. If anything it had been another perfectly normal day. Almost too normal.
When they arrived back home and walked inside, Caleb was chomping at the bit to ask her why she’d left in such bad weather, but he wanted to wait until Joshua was asleep. He had a feeling the discussion would be done better in private.
Caleb settled Ariel in front of the fireplace in the den, placing a cup of steaming hot cocoa in her hands, then herded Joshua upstairs. “Go take your bath.”
Caleb was on pins and needles as he took Joshua upstairs and helped him get ready for bed.
When he came back down the stairs, Caleb took a deep breath to prepare himself for the coming discussion. A quick look into the den caused his heart to jump into his throat. He didn’t see Ariel sitting where he’d left her. Now where had the girl gone? If she’d left again, she was on her own. There was no way he was taking Joshua back out in this storm. But even as the thoughts of not saving her entered his mind, he was on the verge of hysteria because of her absence. When he turned his head and saw her staring out the window, he released his pent up breath.
Caleb was ready to light into her. They were going to have a talk concerning her stupidity when she turned her face towards him and swiped big tears from her cheeks. Ariel sniffed and he handed her a tissue. He wanted to berate her for leaving. Running her car off the road into a mound of snow was nothing compared to what could have happened to her. But he just couldn’t do it. Perhaps she had been through enough for one day.
Sitting down on the loveseat opposite where she stood, he placed his elbows on his thighs and steepled his fingers under his chin. Even though he wasn’t going to fuss at her, he still needed answers.
Air escaped his lips, the calming breaths meant to relax him. “Why did you leave?”
Afraid Ariel would see the anger in his eyes he avoided looking directly at her, instead allowing his eyes to roam around the room. There were signs that she tried to get warm in his absence. She’d removed her socks and shoes and put them next to the fireplace. A throw had been moved from its regular spot and now laid draped over the back of the couch.
Caleb waited, but Ariel didn’t answer. Becoming impatient he said, “Answer me Ariel. Why did you leave? Couldn’t you see the roads were hazardous?”
She sat down opposite him, still holding the hot cocoa in her hand. “I wasn’t thinking about that,” she said, not looking at him.
“Well, that was obvious.”
She screwed up her face. “You don’t have to scold me. I left because I let it get too dark. I only have one headlight, you see. And, well, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to see to get home.”
“Okay.” Now they were getting somewhere. He didn’t believe for a moment it was the whole story. He was quiet then he asked, “Why didn’t you ask to stay here for the night?”
She cleared her throat, “I didn’t think about it. Besides wouldn’t that have been awkward?”
He leaned back on his seat. “Why do you say that?”
“Well, I, just mean. Oh, nothing. It’s not important.”
“No, I think it is important. If you were willing to get yourself killed on dangerous roads then I think maybe you should tell me why being here would be so awkward.”
Ariel was curled up on the couch, her eyes staring at the flames licking the wood in the fireplace. The wood crackled and sparkled, the rays of light reflecting the green depths of her eyes.
Was Ariel thinking about their almost kiss from earlier? When she didn’t answer him, he said, “When the weather clears, I’ll have your car pulled out of the ditch. But until then, I’d like you to stay here.”
She nodded but didn’t appear happy. He wished he could decipher why she was adamant about leaving. Maybe if he asked questions he could figure it out. “Do you have a cat at home you need to feed?”
“No.”
“Is someone expecting you?”
“No,” she whispered.
He sighed. This was getting him nowhere. He stood up and waited for her to do the same. When she didn’t move he added, “Ariel, if you’ll come with me, I’ll get you settled.”
Caleb stood and she followed him from the room. Without warning he turned around causing her to run into his chest. He grasped her arms to steady her. “Whoa. Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, without moving from his grasp.
He saw her throat move as she swallowed. Cold seeped through his fingers from the sweatshirt she wore. “You need to take your shirt off before you freeze to death.”
Graceful, slender fingers grabbed a hold of the tail of her shirt, and began pulling it over her head. Caleb’s hands still rested on her waist as she held it out for him to take. From this vantage point he could see that the t-shirt she wore underneath was also wet. The thin wet fabric gave him a decent view of the outline of her breast. He felt his pulse quicken with desire. She shivered with cold or desire, Caleb wasn’t sure which.
Placing a hold on his own needs, his voice gruff with restrained ardor, he said, “Why don’t we go upstairs and find you something dry to sleep in.”
Caleb went first, and she followed. Gone was the confident woman from the first day, instead before him stood a woman with sad eyes; a woman who needed his assistance.
When they arrived at his bedroom, Caleb had Ariel wait as he went inside. When he came out, he held a huge t-shirt and a new toothbrush. Then he angled her in the direction of the bathroom and directed her to take a hot shower.
While Ariel was following his instructions, he went to check on Joshua. His son was fast asleep with the television on and a book open across his tiny chest. Caleb turned the TV off, put the book on his side table, covered him up, and slipped from the room.
Placing himself in front of the bathroom, Caleb sat down in the floor to wait. It seemed like a long time had passed and still no sign of Ariel, but he could hear her quiet sounds and a gentle humming as she bathed.
When the door opened steam poured out. Looking up from his position, Caleb found himself staring at a pair of shapely legs. As he moved his eyes upward, he realized the t-shirt he’d loaned her was a little shorter than he thought.
Caleb jumped to his feet and stared at her freshly scrubbed face. A towel was wrapped around her head. Tiny rivulets of water ran down her neck and over her shoulders. His eyes were riveted to her body. She was the most alluring, bewitching, woman he’d ever seen. And she was his…his employee.
His head shaking he took a deep breath. “Follow me, and I’ll show you to the guest room.” Caleb felt awkward. His attraction felt evident in every muscle of his body. His nervousness caused him to babble as they walked. “I’m sure I have some old clothes you can wear somewhere. We’ll dig them out tomorrow. I’m sorry for the state of the guest room. We haven’t had guests in a while and I didn’t even think about having you air it out this week,” on and on he went. It was a relief to open the door and allow her entrance. He turned to go but she stopped him with her hand.
“Caleb?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you,” she said. Then, turning away, she closed the door.
Caleb only had time to nod. As he went back to his room, he contemplated a cold shower, but decided against it. He lay down on his bed seeing nothing but a set of long slender legs. In his mind, those legs were covered with little drops of water. His finger would reach out and grasp one, bringing it slowly to his lips. In that droplet of water, he would be able to taste her sweetness.
Caleb could see her smile as he stood in front of her. Removing the towel from her head, his hands would thread their way through her wet hair. He would take time and enjoy the feel as the silken tresses flowed over his fingers. He would lean forward, catching her lips with his own until they were plump and red from his kisses. Then he would…
An agitated hand tore through his hair. He hopped up from his bed, frustration making his muscles tense and rigid. There would be no sleep tonight, so he might as well go downstairs and work.