When Dakota Winslow accepts a teaching position at a prestigious boarding school across the country, the last thing she expects is to seek shelter in a freezer, with a handsome stranger, while a tornado rips the roof from above her head.
She survives the twister, but in the days to come, will her heart survive the emotional twister of Evan, her hot freezer mate, on that fateful day?
Sheltered is a Christian and inspirational romance.
The afternoon replayed at warp speed in her mind, and the
feeling that she had belonged there invaded every cell of her being, as it had
for an instant when she and Jolee had been talking. “Thanks for inviting me.
You have a great family.”
“We think so.”
Gravel crunched under the tires as they coasted to a stop in
front of the dorm. Ranger sounded a couple of half-serious barks toward the
shadows, but quieted down in disappointment when he saw there was no one to
bluff.
Taking in the unusually empty campus and the darkness and
silence emanating from within the usually homey dormitory, he asked, “You’re
not staying alone here?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“I have an extra room at the house. So do Mark and Jolee.”
“I’ll be fine.” She parroted as she pulled her purse from
the floorboard.
“No.” He was insistent, and she stopped gathering her things
to stare as he maintained, “You shouldn’t stay here by yourself. It’s not
safe.”
“The place locks up tighter than Fort Knox, and it has an
alarm–”
“Dakota, why didn’t you say something before?” With a
disgusted shake of his head, he added, “I should’ve known with it being a
holiday everyone would be gone. I just wasn’t thinking. I’m taking you back to
Mark’s.”
Mortified by the thought of inconveniencing his brother and
her new friend, she shook her head just as determinedly. “No! You’re not.”
“Then my house. You shouldn’t stay here alone.”
It was a moot argument because she would rather not sleep in
the huge dormitory alone, but she was certain that there was no question of
safety. Deferring to his wishes threatened her sense of independence and good
judgment. “No. Please, Evan, this is silly. Just stop.” She punctuated that
answer by popping open her door.
There were no further protests, and he didn’t attempt to
continue convincing her of his thinking. Meeting his silent, resigned gaze, she
hopped from the truck and turned back before she pushed the door shut. “I’ll be
fine, but thanks for worrying.”
Simultaneously, as her door closed, his snapped open.
Startled at the sound, she watched him alight from the truck. Wordlessly, he
circled to the rear and dropped the tailgate. At his okay, Ranger jumped to the
ground and began an immediate exploration of the area. “At least take Ranger.”
At her speechless, uncomprehending stare, he elaborated, “He’s a good watchdog
and well behaved in the house. Don’t believe what Mark says. He can sleep beside
your bed.”
Relaxing her rigid demeanor, since she had been prepared for
another confrontation over staying alone, she conceded to the compromise.
As she got ready for bed, she was glad to have Ranger’s
company. Initially, he had been confused when Evan had shown him inside and
after a pat on the head, departed. But, like a good sport, he had loped on her
heels as she made sure the alarm reset, checked the back entrance, and climbed
the stairs.
Closed inside her room, he began to explore as she carried
on her nightly routine. While she was soaking in a warm bath, he hung his head
over the tub and lapped up a long drink of water. As she turned the pages of a
book while settled in bed, he lay on the floor beside her, gnawing at the edge
of one of her newest magazines. When she finally fell asleep, she awoke hours
later in the dark to feel his bulky weight on top of the comforter trapping her
feet.
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Picking Daisy by Kimberly M. MillerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
