Page 7 of Mountain Gift

"W-what are you doing here?" she asks with a wary look.

Suddenly, I hear Callum's booming voice echoing from behind the door.

"Boone, you made it. I was starting to think that you froze to death in the shop."

"Callum," Caroline whispers. "Um, what's going on?

She bites at her bottom lip nervously.

"Sorry, sis," Callum says sheepishly. "I got so caught up with the dinner stuff that I forgot to tell you. Boone needs a place to stay for a few nights. He's taking over that abandoned auto body shop on Smith Street, but a pipe burst. It's basically a skating rink in there."

Somehow, Caroline's eyes get even wider. "Youlivehere now?" she whispers.

"Yep," I reply with a wink. "Drove all the way from Texas."

"Why in the world would you want to move to Wyoming from a gorgeous town like Barton Beach?”

Because of you.

"Boone won't be too much trouble," Callum says, slapping me hard on the back. "Plus, he can take a look at your Buick while he's here."

I quirk an eyebrow at her. "Something wrong with your car?"

"There is nothingwrongwith my car," Caroline replies, glaring at Callum. "It just has a little rumble to it, that's all. Perfectly normal."

I frown. "I'll take a look at it in the morning."

Caroline sighs and presses a finger to the spot between her eyebrows. “Fine. You can take a look at it,” she says after a long moment.

Callum grins. "So, I guess that means he can stay?"

For some reason, Caroline's face turns another shade of pink. But she smooths her sweater and steps to the side to let me come inside.

"Of course, he can stay," Caroline says like it's no big deal. "Come on in. We were just about to sit down and eat."

As she turns, I try to ignore the shapeliness of those hips and the way that their curves beg for my eyes.

Jesus.

I'm starting to think that this might be harder than I thought.

When I get into the dining room, the entire Walker family is sitting around the table. I see Carter with his wife, Natalie. Colt is sitting with his wife, Sophia. I also see Cody and Daphne.

Caroline, meanwhile, starts walking down the hallway.

"Let me just grab an extra chair from the basement," she says.

"I'll help," I reply, following behind her.

Caroline glances at me over her shoulder, her eyes twinkling with appreciation. "Thank you, Boone," she says softly, her voicebarely audible over the festive holiday music playing in the background.

The stairs creek under our weight as Caroline and I descend down the steps.

The basement is like stepping into another world, one that's stuck in the past. There's an eclectic mix of stuff down here: furniture shrouded in sheets like sleeping ghosts, boxes stacked in precarious towers, and an old ping pong table leaning against one wall. The air is thick with a musty scent and a single bulb hangs from the ceiling, casting long, dramatic shadows.

Caroline walks up to a large side chair in the corner and bends over to lift it up by its arms. I come up behind her and place my hands over hers.

"Let me do it, sweetheart," I murmur in her ear.

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