Page 27 of Wild Bliss

Chapter Five

Sabrina closed the door to the bedroom she would be usingwhile stuck in this cabin. This room. Not Sawyer’s. What the hell had she beenthinking? “Hey, sis. I’m fine. I didn’t understand how quickly the storm wouldget bad and I tried to run an errand before I went home.”

“Run an errand?” her sister asked. “On Sawyer’s mountain?There’s not much up there. Did you get lost? Did you forget the turnoff toDad’s place?”

She knew exactly how to get to Mel and Cassidy’s. “No. Itturns out Sawyer is my landlord.”

“He is? Huh. I thought Marie handled it for you.”

Her sister didn’t know everything about Bliss. “She’s onlythe agent and she’s out of town. I really wanted to get the electrical systemlooked at.”

“I told you Hale would do it. He’s not going to charge you,”Elisa insisted.

“He shouldn’t have to,” Sabrina countered. “My landlordshould do it, and he should pay Hale if he does the work. It’s not fair. He’sagreed to let Hale look at it. They can sort it all out when the storm’s over.”

“Wyatt said you had an accident.” Elisa sounded concerned.

“It’s minor.” If she didn’t convince her sister, she wouldtry to get up the mountain. “I wasn’t going very fast, but my tires slid and Iended up hitting a tree and getting stuck. I had to walk to get to Sawyer’splace. Though I didn’t know it was Sawyer’s place. I mean, I knew it wasSawyer. I just didn’t know Sawyer was Sawyer.”

“Oh, no. What did he do?” Elisa asked. “You’re talking likeyou did in high school when you had a crush but didn’t want Mom to know becauseshe would inevitably talk you out of trying to date because all men are eviland no relationship ever works out.”

Did? What had Sawyer done? Well, he’d awoken her sleepingbeast because she’d kind of thought she was done with sex. Even as she’d goneon her last date, her heart hadn’t been in it. Sex was awkward and so far notworth the embarrassment. She’d had exactly two lovers, and neither of them hadbeen the stuff of romance novels. She wasn’t sure why she thought it would bedifferent.

But she did.

“I’m flustered. It’s been a rough day, but I’m fine and theguys are nice. They said I can stay here until the storm passes. I need to callDel. She’s going to have to open the school on Monday. Sawyer told me we likelywon’t be able to get off the mountain until Tuesday.”

“That’s what Nate told me, too,” Elisa admitted. “I can tryto get up there on a snowmobile if you need me to.”

She wasn’t going to risk her sister’s life because she’dmade a fool of herself. “I’m fine. Like I said, I’m safe and warm. I will admitit’s awkward to be here with two strangers.”

Elisa was quiet for a moment. “So I haven’t talked aboutthis because I didn’t think anything would come of it. Sawyer’s not exactlyyour type.”

“Do I have a type? I kind of thought my type was only foundin fiction.” It was what she feared.

“Fair,” Elisa conceded.

“What haven’t you told me?” She wasn’t sure she wanted toknow.

“There are a couple of times I’ve heard people talk aboutwhat happened last year at the Christmas party,” Elisa began.

She knew this story well. “He was an asshole to me.”

“He behaved out of character,” her sister countered. “Idon’t know the guy well, but he’s always calm. I’ve had to go out to Hell onWheels and handle a few situations. Sawyer’s not exactly friendly but he’s asolid guy, and he’s not rude without provocation. Everyone in town still talksabout how he reacted to you.”

She had no idea the people were still talking about thatnight. She’d thought only she and Nate and Callie had noticed. “He told me it’sbecause he’s attracted to me and he doesn’t want to be. So he’s not merelyrude. He’s cruel.”

Now her sister seemed genuinely taken aback. “I’m surprised.He’s not known for lying. Quite the opposite. He’s brutally honest. What’sgoing on up there?”

She shouldn’t have said anything at all. Except she kind ofneeded advice. “He kissed me.”

“Sawyer did?” Elisa asked with a gasp, and Sabrina couldhear her boyfriend Van say something in the background. “Van wants to know ifWyatt’s there, too.”

“He was in the kitchen.”

“Van thinks that was a dirty play on Sawyer’s part becauseWyatt’s been following you for months,” Elisa said. “Really? And you didn’tmention that to me? Sabrina, according to Van, Wyatt makes puppy-dog eyes yourway, and he got sad when he saw you out with the Creede boys. Hang on.”

“Hey, Brina,” Van’s deep voice came over the line. “So whenyou come into Trio and Wyatt’s there, he always gets the server to change histable so he’s closer to you. However, when he saw you on your date, he sat atthe bar and talked to me all night about this woman he’s interested in buthasn’t been able to approach yet. He didn’t say your name, but I knew who hewas talking about.”

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