Snowed In by Cassie Miles

stumbled around the kitchen half-asleep. Need coffee, I need coffee now. She went through the brewing process and waited—as usual—for the coffee to drip into the glass carafe.
    In spite of the familiar routine, she didn’t feel like her everyday self. Outside the windows, dawn scoured the cloudy skies with crimson and maroon. What was that old saying? Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. The snow was coming; there was more trouble on the horizon.
    She should have been worried about the weather and the kidnap attempt and her guests and the million things that needed to be done before the wedding. Instead, she felt an unusual sense of anticipation. Her heart was light. Her feet wanted to dance. She turned on the streaming satellite radio, which had been tuned by Emily to a pop station, and heard Taylor Swift. Sarah’s moccasins tapped in time to the beat.
    As a practical woman, she knew better than to make too much of one kiss, even a very excellent kiss. She shouldn’t forget that Blake was only going to be here for a few days—not long enough to establish a relationship. But nobody said she had to be serious.
    For once in her life, she could have a wild, crazy, passionate fling with a big, strong guy. There didn’t seem to be a choice. He wouldn’t get out of her head. Her dreams last night had been X-rated, and Blake played a starring role in every one.
    She was reaching for the carafe when the Reuben twins tromped through the kitchen door.
    “I told you I smelled coffee,” John Reuben said. “Hi, Sarah. What’s with the music?”
    “Apparently, Taylor Swift is never ever ever going to get back together.”
    “Her loss,” John said.
    Sarah poured herself a cup of coffee. “Any problems last night?”
    “Nothing at all.” The other twin, William, placed the computer screen with the camera views on the countertop. “We spent a lot of time talking to Blake.”
    So had she, but her time had been romantic dream whisperings. “What did you talk about?”
    “Signing up for the military.”
    “We could see the world.” John flung his arms wide. His wingspan from fingertip to fingertip was over six feet. “I always wanted to go to Japan, where they have ninjas and those big, fat wrestlers.”
    William nodded quietly as he poured himself a mug of coffee.
    The twins were identical in appearance but so different in temperament that she never had trouble telling them apart. William was thoughtful and soft-spoken while his brother was bursting with energy. John was a few minutes older and liked to be first at everything.
    Though Sarah was only about ten years older than the twins, she’d watched them grow up and felt motherly toward them. Joining the army was a big decision and shouldn’t be made because they happened to meet a ranger who was a super-cool role model. “William, I thought you were going to college.”
    “I can still do that, and the military gives me benefits that will help with the tuition.”
    “We might as well enlist,” John said. “It’s hard to find a job around here. Dad can’t afford for us to work with him full-time at the hardware store, even if we are the best handymen in the county.”
    “You have a job here until after the wedding,” she said.
    “We’re doing security.” John puffed up his chest. “Do you really think anybody is going to attack the B and B?”
    “Don’t know, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. I want you guys to come back every night until Sunday.”
    Although she hadn’t heard an identifiable sound, her ears pricked up. She sensed Blake’s approach. The homey kitchen atmosphere seemed charged with energy. A shaft of light shone through the window like a spotlight as he entered.
    His hair was still wet and spiky from the shower. The sharp line of his jaw was clean-shaven. And his eyes, his incredible blue eyes, glistened. She wanted to say something clever to show that she wasn’t completely disarmed, but her mouth was too busy gaping. She