Page 26 of Two Times the Mountain Men
My mouth dropped opened. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” Brock growled. “You’re not being smart right now. You’re too interested in being stubborn and proving that you don’t have to listen to anyone than to listen to reason.” With a huff, he stormed from the room leaving me alone with Tyler.
Tyler sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “Okay. I think what we need to do is calm things down a bit here.”
Waving my hand in the direction of the door, I responded, “Brock is the one that started it!” As the words left my mouth, I cringed. It sounded very childish. They were trying to protect me and I’ll admit to not being the most co-operative. But at the same time, there was no reason for him to have come at me hot like he had.
“Genevieve…”
My jaw clench as I stared into his blue eyes. He was tired. No doubt they both were. They’d spent most of the day in the cold ensuring everyone was safe. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not the one that needs an apology. After last night I’d have hoped we’d have been able to get over the childish bickering.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks as flashes of last night came into my mind. Lacing my hands behind my neck I groaned and let my head fall back, giving in to the delicious feel of the stretch. “You’re right.” With a nod, I walked past Tyler and out into the main cabin, finding Brock in the kitchen making a sandwich.
Walking up to him I stopped a few feet away from him; his back was turned to me. “Brock…” I noticed his entire body stiffen as I said his name. “Can we talk for a minute?”
With his back still to me, he nodded. “Okay. We can talk,” he said turning, the ham and cheese sandwich in his hand. The sight of the sandwich momentarily made me forget the task at hand and I was struck by a hunger pain. I hadn’t eaten much at breakfast and it was now well past supper time at this point. But first things first.
“I’ll just say it. I’m sorry that I didn’t lock the door.”
He remained silent for a moment, his green eyes boring straight into me. “The issue isn’t just the locked door, it’s the fact you’re very foolhardy with your safety. And you’re too stubborn to realize it.”
I inhaled sharply. Perhaps I was more combative then I needed to be, but this wasn’t the time to start psychoanalyzing myself. “I recognize the issue and I’ll be sure to be more cautious. I am sorry.”
We stared at each other for another moment and I felt the tension between us begin to change to something raw and primitive as a rush of desire flow through me.
He finished the sandwich in a few bites and nodded. “Apology accepted. I shouldn’t have snapped. I’m tired and I was concerned. I don’t want anything to happen to you that could have been avoided.”
“Thank you.” An awkwardness began to settle between us. I didn’t know if I should go back to my room or close the distance between us and kiss him with the passion that was brewing inside of me.
Coming up behind me, Tyler casually slung an arm over my shoulders. “Hey, now that we’ve got that settled how about we go for a walk? We have some snowshoes. We can build up a good appetite and have a big supper to end off the day.”
Looking up at Tyler, I grinned. Despite being hungry, getting out for a walk, albeit a cold one, would do me good. “I’d really like that.” I looked over at Brock. “You’re coming too.” It was more of a statement then a question.
“Yeah. It’s safer if we all go.”
Mr. Worrywart. I refrained from groaning and rolling my eyes. I had to remind myself that he was the way he was because he cared…. Or at least cared as much as a person could who just met me a few days ago.
