Page 28 of Ten Mountain Men

Luke is grumbling about something. Ash is nodding in agreement. “It’s a big problem.”

“What’s a big problem?” Rose-Gold Locke asks.

“It’s notyourbig problem, so don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” Luke says.

She raises her eyebrows. What I know about women could fit in a thimble, but I’m gonna bet this one doesn’t appreciate his dismissive tone.

“What’s a big problem?” I ask. I don’t particularly want to know—because it’s probably something I’ll get stuck dealing with, which happens a lot when you’re the youngest—but if Rose-Gold Locke wants to know, I want her to know. Deep down, I know I should listen to Luke and keep my guard up, but…she just seems so sweet and innocent, not threatening in any way.

“It’s gonna snow,” Ash says. “Tonight.”

Rose-Gold Locke shakes her head and all those damp curls shimmy around her shoulders. “Wrong. There is absolutely no way it’s going to snow tonight or any night this week. I listened to the forecast before I left, then again on the way up. The meteorologist said there would be a zero percent chance of precipitation for the next seven days.”

Everyone stares at her for a moment. Partly mesmerized by her shimmering hair, and partly surprised because no one would think to contradict Ash. My brother knows clouds, and if he says it’s going to snow, then it’s definitely going to snow. You can bet your money on it.

“I know clouds,” Ash says to her with a smirk, and her cheeks go pink in the prettiest blush. “If I say it’s gonna snow, it’s gonna snow. At least a foot.” He pauses and sniffs the air. “Probably more.”

I don’t want her to keep looking at Ash with those big, bright blue eyes and rosy cheeks and lips that have parted, her tongue giving them a little lick, so I grasp for something to say.

Sadly, the best I can do is state the obvious. “We’re not gonna have time to finish the roof.”

“Well, we have no choice,” Luke says. “That kind of load and it could cave in on us.”

“Your roof is caving in?” Rose-Gold Locke asks.

I start to say that this whole place is falling apart, but from the look on Luke’s face, I’ll probably fare better by keeping quiet, so I do.

“Not your problem,” he tells her, downright dismissively.

“We’re just gonna have to patch it up as best we can for now, get out the tarps, and hope for the best,” Ash says. His gaze flits to Rose-Gold Locke and he shoves his hands in his pockets. “I suppose I could be wrong, I guess…”

“You’re never wrong,” Luke sighs. Sometimes he looks like he has the weight of the world on him and it makes me feel uncomfortable in my belly. He’s sacrificed so much for us all. Maybe I should have pushed the guys harder to let him have his way and make Rose-Gold leave… “Okay. Ash and I’ll deal with the roof. Buck, Range—”

“Garden, we know. We’re on it,” Buck says. He and Ranger put Goldie’s bags down.

“We took the liberty of pitching your tent for you, miss,” Ranger tells her. “So you don’t have that hassle when you head back that way.”

“No way is a tent gonna withstand the snow,” Ash says. “Might need to go take it back down so it doesn’t sustain damage…”

“We don’t have time for that. Besides, I thought we decided she was not going to be camping on the mountain,” Luke says. “She won’t need a tent if she goes to the Wilderness Haven Retreat and Lodge, where she belongs.”

“She wasn’t on our property,” Ranger says, which gets him a glare from Luke. “She wasn’t.”

Ranger is nothing if not honest to a fault. He can’t help himself.

“Thank you guys so much for doing that. I really appreciate it,” Rose-Gold says. “I promise I’ll be out of your hair and into my tent first thing in the morning.”

“I doubt you’ll want to camp out in the snow, and like Ash says your tent won’t hold up to it, anyway,” Luke says. “Wilderness Haven is about three miles due north. You best go there.”

“Well, I doubt it’ll be safe for me to drive right after a snowstorm on the twisty roads out here, either,” she shoots back without skipping a beat. Oooh, this one is a spitfire. I didn’t think a woman existed who could hold her own with Luke like this. I fight a grin and thankfully win, beating it down before Luke can notice. “So I don’t really have much of a choice.”

Luke harrumphs. She has a very good point. But he has one too, of course. “You have a choice if you leave the mountain right now.”

Lynx shakes his head. “She needs to keep her weight off that ankle and she does not need to be behind the wheel with that head injury. Could black out at any moment, which would be dangerous for her and anyone else on the roads.”

Luke huffs. “Rusty, you’re going to keep Goldie company, right?” he asks, even though we’ve already been over that.

Trying not to come across as too eager, I nod.

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