Stranded in the Woods Read online

  “Okay? It’s more than okay. I don’t want you anywhere except in my bed.”

  Still laughing, she said, “Okay. I’m not going to say no to being in bed with you. Let me go put some overnight stuff in my bag and get my Christmas present for you so I can give it to you first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  SO KENT WAS ABLE TO take Penny home to his cabin that night after all. They drank hot chocolate and talked for a while. Then they had sex on the couch and again in the bed.

  Kent took his time on the second round and was able to make Penny come over and over again until she was smothering her loud cries in a pillow.

  He’d never experienced anything as intoxicating as pleasing her so much.

  They were both exhausted afterward, and they fell asleep almost immediately.

  They woke up the next morning—Christmas morning—to find that it wasn’t snowing. It was just a cool, gray, damp day, but it was the best Christmas Kent had ever had in his life.

  They exchanged presents over coffee.

  Penny had painted an amazing portrait of him—of him standing in the woods like in the drawing she’d done during the snowstorm.

  And then Kent got to give her the painting he’d done of her too.

  IT WAS TWO MONTHS LATER when Kent woke up from a deep sleep in his cabin with an urgent compulsion he couldn’t deny.

  Penny was sound asleep behind him, and it was still dark in the room, but he knew what he had to do. What he couldn’t wait another day, another hour, another minute before he did.

  So he shook her awake gently.

  “Wha—” she mumbled, blinking in all her warm, tousled, groggy sexiness. “What’s going on?”

  “Sorry. Sorry. I had to tell you something.”

  “You did? What time is it?”

  “It’s almost three.”

  “Three? What did you have to tell me at three in the morning?”

  Kent knew what he had to do, so he just blurted it out. “I needed to tell you that I love you!”

  Penny had been rubbing her eyes, but she froze at those words. “What?”

  “I love you. I love you, honey. I’ve felt it for a while now, but I’ve been afraid of... of telling you. Of everything. But I can’t wait any longer to tell you. I love you.”

  He saw a succession of emotions pass over her face in the mostly dark room. Surprise. Tenderness. Joy.

  It was joy he saw on her face.

  She giggled.

  “You’re laughing?” he demanded with a scowl.

  She pulled him down into a hug. “Yes, I’m laughing. Only you would wake me up in the middle of the night to tell me you love me.”

  “But I do. I love you.” He wrapped his arms around her, feeling better now that her body was snuggled against him.

  “I love you too,” she murmured.

  “Oh. Good.”

  “Good? That’s what you’re saying?”

  “Yes. What else should I say?”

  “I don’t know. Something really romantic.” She edged a hand up between their bodies so she could stroke his beard.

  “Maybe I could do something really romantic instead?”

  She giggled again. “Okay. I think that’s a good compromise. But just don’t expect me to take my socks off. It’s cold.”

  “You’re not going to be cold for long. I’m going to romance your socks off.” He was trying for a cool, sexy tone, but he was smiling too much to pull it off.

  Penny was smiling just as much. “Okay. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  He did the best he could to show her how much he loved her, and he was thrilled with her efforts in response.

  And he wasn’t even disappointed that she kept her socks on the whole time.

  Epilogue

  One year later

  IT WAS GETTING LATE, and Penny wondered if it would be too early to leave the big Christmas party they were throwing for the Holiday Acres staff.

  They spent a lot of time and money on this party, and the staff always appreciated it. She didn’t want to be rude or appear like she didn’t want to hang out with these people, some of whom had been working at Holiday Acres since before she’d been born.

  But she was exhausted and felt a little queasy, and she really wanted to go home. Go to bed. Close her eyes.

  She’d been sitting in a corner, sipping a hot chocolate and talking to Rebecca, who was seven months pregnant and had given up on standing around doing small talk a long time ago. Penny figured she needed to get up and work the room a bit more since she could hardly leave it all to Laura and Olivia. She was summoning the energy to get up when she noticed Kent across the room.

  He was talking to Chuck, Ed, and Tommy and holding a mostly empty glass of red wine. His beard was just as full as it had been a year ago, although he did spend more time trimming it than he used to. Tonight he was wearing a pair of worn gray trousers (the ones he called his “church pants” and were one of the few trousers he had that weren’t jeans or sweats). He’d paired them with a flannel shirt that had a bit of red in it in honor of the festive occasion, even though it was warm outside and not really flannel weather.

  He looked big and handsome and not quite pulled together. He was laughing at something Ed or Chuck had said. Tommy was gazing up at the men with wide eyes, and Kent reached over to tousle the boy’s hair.

  He was having a good time. He looked happy. And not at all uncomfortable.

  She decided she wouldn’t leave quite yet.

  “Oh God,” Rebecca said, rubbing her rounded belly. “Why does being pregnant make you so tired? I could fall asleep right in this chair.”

  “You do look tired. I’m sure no one would mind if you and Phil wanted to go back to the house.”

  Since Rebecca and Phil spent half the year on the Eastern Shore, they still lived in one of the suites upstairs in the big farmhouse. Penny and Kent had bought a house after they’d gotten married two months ago, so Penny didn’t live in the farmhouse anymore.

  “I can wait a little longer. I don’t want to be antisocial just because I’m pregnant and exhausted all the time.”

  “You’re never antisocial.” Penny was tired too, and she didn’t have a big, pregnant belly as an excuse. “And no one is going to want you to stay here if you’re not feeling good.”

  “I feel fine. Just tired and like I’m lugging around a bowling ball with me all the time.” Despite her dry words, Rebecca’s face was flushed and smiling.

  She was happy.

  Really happy.

  It made Penny happy too.

  “I see Tommy is doing more of his Kent worship,” Rebecca added with a laugh, gesturing over to where Kent was talking.

  Tommy’s look was adoring.

  “He likes Kent’s beard and is always asking him to pick things up to show how strong he is. But it’s just the novelty. Kent isn’t his favorite.”

  “I know.”

  They all knew the man Tommy loved the most.

  “Kent is good with kids,” Rebecca added in a different tone. “Y’all should work on that.”

  “Uh-huh.” Penny stood up. “Thanks for the suggestion.”

  She left a laughing Rebecca and headed over to Kent, who wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his side.

  She made it another half hour before she was finally able to leave.

  THEY’D BOUGHT A THREE-bedroom house on six acres just outside town, about five miles from Holiday Acres. There was no way Penny was going to live full time in Kent’s one-room cabin, and property wasn’t all that expensive in this area. She loved her cute, little house—nothing fancy but with a lot of potential—and Kent loved having enough land that he didn’t feel like he was on top of their neighbors.

  When she got home, she went right into the bedroom so she could take off her pretty clothes and put on her pajamas. Instead of brushing her teeth and taking Raven out to do her business, she collapsed onto the bed.

  Kent f
ound her there ten minutes later. “You okay?” he asked, unbuttoning his shirt and tossing it in the general direction of the laundry basket in the closet.

  “Yeah. Just tired.”

  “Well, go brush your teeth and get under the covers. I took care of everything.”

  In proof of that, Raven trotted in just then, came over to put her front paws on the bed so she could snuffle at Penny’s face to make sure she was all right, and then (after being petted and sweet-talked) went over to her dog bed in the corner of the room and curled up to sleep.

  “Thank you,” Penny told Kent, still watching as he pulled on a pair of flannel pants. “I’m getting up now.”

  She didn’t get up.

  Kent chuckled as he went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and walked over to his side of the bed. “Better do anything you want to do now, or you’ll fall asleep without brushing your teeth and wake up in an hour needing to pee.”

  He was right.

  He was absolutely right.

  Penny groaned as she rolled off the bed and padded barefoot into the bathroom.

  In less than five minutes, she was crawling under the covers. “There. I did it.”

  “Good job.” Kent was grinning as he rolled over onto his side so he faced her. “Are you still feeling sick?”

  “No. I’m not sick.”

  “Did you not have a good time at the party? I thought it was good.”

  “It was good. I had a good time.”

  “Well, something’s wrong.” He was frowning at her and scanning her face. He hadn’t yet turned off the lamp on his side of the bed. “What is it?”

  Penny didn’t know why she was nervous, but she was. “Nothing’s wrong. I just have a present for you.”

  “Christmas is still two weeks away.”

  “I know. But I’m going to give it to you early.”

  His frown had transformed into a tender little smile, one that he only showed her. “I’ll be happy to have a present from you. But you should have gotten it while you were up before.”

  “I don’t need to go get it.”

  “Oh really? So you’ve got it hidden on your person somewhere?” He was chuckling softly as he moved closer and then stroked his hands over her body. “I better do a search for it then.”

  She giggled when his fingers triggered the ticklish skin beneath her arms, and she giggled some more as he did a very thorough search of her body, checking out all possible hiding places from head to toe.

  He was laughing too as he moved over, kissing her and then nuzzling with his beard. “Can’t find it. I guess you aren’t hiding the present on your person.”

  “Well, I am. Kind of.”

  He lifted his head and frowned down on her. “What does that mean?”

  “It means I... I...” Her words trailed off as she gazed up at his laughing face and soft, fond eyes. He loved her. He was happy. And he was no longer the man who’d hidden himself away for fear of what he might become.

  But she didn’t know how he was going to feel about this.

  “What’s the matter, Penny?” he asked gently. “What are you nervous about telling me? I love you, honey. Anything you want to give me is something I’m going to want.”

  Her throat tightened at the words. “I hope so.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I’m... we are... We’re going to have a baby.”

  He froze.

  Froze.

  His expression. His body. Everything about him was perfectly still for several seconds. Then he whispered, “What did you say?”

  “I said we’re going to have a baby. I went to the doctor this morning, and he confirmed it. I’m pregnant.” She reached up to cup his face with both hands. “That’s... that’s okay, isn’t it?”

  “O...kay?” He seemed to be having trouble getting the words out.

  “I mean, I know when we stopped using birth control after we got married, we were both good with the idea in theory. But it’s different to actually know it’s happening. So I guess... I hope...” She took a ragged breath. “You’re happy, aren’t you?”

  She really wished he would move, make an expression, give her some way of knowing how he was feeling right now.

  He’d spent so long being terrified of turning into his father.

  Who knew how hard it would be for him to become a father himself?

  “Happy?” Kent’s expression was finally breaking, twisting with something really strong.

  “You... are, aren’t you?”

  His arms buckled, and his head dropped to the crook of her neck. He was shaking helplessly.

  “Kent?” she asked in alarm, wrapping her arms around him, feeling like she needed to hold him together. “Are you okay?”

  “Am I okay?” His voice was muffled since his face was still hidden.

  “Would you stop repeating what I say and just talk to me?” she demanded.

  At that, he finally lifted his head. His face was still twisted with emotion, but he was smiling as much as she’d ever seen him smile. A smile that seemed to go all the way down to his bones. “Honey, I’m way more than happy.”

  She could see it on his face. Feel it in his body. It was joy, awe.

  Her relief bubbled out in a silly giggle. “Oh thank goodness. I thought you would be, but then I got nervous. I mean, with your dad issues, I was afraid...”

  “I know what you were afraid of, and you don’t have to be. I’m not going to be my dad. I’ll make sure that never happens. And I know you’ll be there to help. I want to be a dad. I want to be a good one. And I think I can do it.”

  “I know you can!” She hugged him tightly. “You’re going to be the best dad in the world.”

  “Well, no need to exaggerate.”

  “I’m not exaggerating. I know you’re going to be the best dad because you’re the best husband. All you have to do is love our baby as much as you love me. If you do that, there’s no one in the world who could be a better dad than you.”

  Her words tumbled out in her earnestness, and they seemed to mean a lot to Kent. He tightened his arms around her and didn’t speak for a minute.

  After a while, Kent reached over to turn off the light, and they repositioned to get more comfortable—with only one of Kent’s arms around her.

  Penny was so happy that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to sleep, no matter how tired she’d been before.

  “I’m going to fix up that spare room so it’s ready to be a nursery,” Kent said.

  “We can paint murals on the walls.”

  “Perfect.”

  “We’ll just have to use paint that’s safe for pregnant ladies.”

  Kent moved his hand so it was resting on her belly. “They make that?”

  “Yeah. They make that.”

  She could hear a smile in his voice as Kent said, “I can’t wait.”

  “Well, the baby isn’t due until September, so you’re going to have to wait for a while.”

  “We’ll have a lot of good stuff to do before then.”

  “Yeah,” she said, closing her eyes and deciding this might be the best Christmas of her life—even rivaling last Christmas. “We have all kinds of good stuff to do.”

  IF YOU ENJOYED Stranded in the Woods, be sure to check out the rest of the Holiday Acres series. An excerpt from Stranded for Christmas, the final story about Laura and Russ, can be found on the following pages.

  Stranded on the Beach (Book 1 about Rebecca and Phil)

  Stranded in the Snow (Book 2 about Olivia and Scott)

  Stranded in the Woods (Book 3 about Penny and Kent)

  Stranded for Christmas (Book 4 about Laura and Russ)

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  Excerpt from Stranded for Christmas

  “THE SNOW IS GETTING bad,” Russ said, turning back to look out the window.

  “Is it?” Laura looked pretty and flustered and breathless. Her shoulder-length brown hair was slipping out of her ponytail, and she must have gotten hot because she’d taken off her sweater. She was wearing a fitted white shirt that gave him a clear view of her slim body, including the luscious curve of her breasts.

  Russ dragged his eyes back up to her face, but that didn’t really help because she looked flushed and tousled, like she might have just gotten out of bed.

  His bed.

  He gulped, remembering how she’d looked that morning in her pajamas.

  He really needed to stop thinking such things.

  Laura would be mad as hell if she found out.

  “Russ?”

  He blinked, trying to refocus on their conversation. “What?”

  “I asked if it was really bad out there.”

  “Oh yeah. Take a look. It looks like the parking lot is mostly empty, so the customers have obviously cleared out. The roads must be pretty bad. You probably should have picked Tommy up early.”

  “Shit.” Laura came over to stand beside him so she could look out the window too. “Well, I better go get him now before it gets any worse.”

  “You want me to drive you?”

  She turned her gaze up at him, her brown eyes big and deep. “I’m capable of driving in the snow, you know.”

  “I know you are. It was just an offer.”

  “I’ll be fine. I’ll take the SUV.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Olivia and Penny have to go out in this too. And I’ve got to stop by Candy Cane Cottage to assess the damage to the bathroom.”

  “Surely that can wait.”

  “We’ve got someone else renting it this weekend. I need to assess it so Ed has time to fix it tomorrow morning.”

  Russ shook his head. “That driveway to Candy Cane Cottage is steep. You’re never going to get up it in this snow. And if you get up, you won’t be able to get down.”