Page 15 of January's Bad Boy: Shane

Instantly, the pit in my stomach that I battled all the way home before Atlas’s wedding is back.

"We’ll make it work. But we have to talk to Atlas before this goes much further." Then that pit becomes a crater filled with lead. Suddenly, I remember the way Atlas tried to warn me away from Shane less than a week ago.

"Talking to Atlas has never scared me. Not when I told him I'd been arrested, but not why. Not when I caught his girl cheating on him in high school. But now? Fuck, I'm terrified," he says before turning to get out of bed.

"You aren't the only one. But we can't move forward without getting this out of the way." I pull the covers tightly over me because there is still a chill in the air.

"I know, and we will. The snow has stopped. I think we should make our way back to the main house while we can," he says.

I nod in agreement, knowing we can't put off the inevitability of joining the real world again any longer. We both get dressedand put the serious talk on hold, even though tension is thick in the air. While I clean up the little mess we made and remake the bed, he makes sure the fire is out.

"I'll come back out when the weather is better. I’ll stock up on food, bring the blankets, and change the sheets," Shane says, as we head out and settle on the four-wheeler.

The four-wheeler rumbles to life as we set off through the snow-covered ranch back towards the main house. I wrap my arms tightly around Shane's waist, pressing myself against his strong back. Despite the chill in the air, his body radiates warmth.

As he drives, he rests one of his gloved hands on top of mine. The return trip is more relaxed than yesterday. We are soaking in each other and happy to be this close.

He takes a different way back to the house. I'm assuming it's a more direct path because while it's still lengthy, we aren't driving for nearly as long as we were yesterday.

When we pull into the barn, he checks the horses’ feed and water before turning to me.

"Let's go into the house and get warmed up. I think I have what I need to make some hot chocolate," he says, smiling tenderly at me. Then, taking my hand, he leads me back to the house.

When we walk in, we are so lost in each other, we both jump when we see Atlas. He is sitting at the dining room table fuming mad.

"What the hell?" I ask placing my hand over my heart to try to calm it down from the scare he just gave me.

"That’s what I want to know," he says, glaring at Shane.

CHAPTER 9

SHANE

"What are you doing here?"I step between him and Caitlin. Instinctively, I want to protect her from the angry man in front of her. I don’t care who he is. Even though it’s her brother and I know he wouldn't physically hurt a hair on her head, she is still mine and I'm not willing to chance it.

“Last night, I called to check on Caitlin to make sure she was okay with the unexpected snowstorm. When her phone kept going to voicemail, I pulled up the location sharing app and saw she was here. I left it but her phone was still off this morning and then so was yours, so I got worried and drove over. I saw you guys coming in on the four-wheeler, so I waited," he says.

He doesn't say it, but I'm guessing he also saw the kiss in the barn before we started walking this way, holding hands.

"Yesterday, she came over to talk about plans for the bunkhouse and see how it was progressing. I offered to show her around the ranch while I checked on the back acreage like you suggested. When the snow started, we were at the very back of the ranch. So, last night we camped out at the cabin. We turned our phones off to save the batteries since the service was next to nothing, and hunkered down."

"There is more to the story than that. Don't treat me like I'm stupid," he growls, crossing his arms.

If I hadn't grown up with this man and seen him cry like a baby when a snake slithered over his bare foot the summer before going into third grade, I might be intimidated. But knowing him since we were kids kind of makes it hard to take him seriously when he's this angry.

Still, he won't let it go until he gets the truth from us and knowing I have to admit my feelings about Caitlin causes something to click into place.

"Yeah, there is. I've fallen completely in love with Caitlin." I look directly into Atlas's eyes without flinching.

He explodes like I thought he would.

"Are you kidding me? She is my little sister!"

Ignoring him, I turn to face Caitlin. Her eyes are wide, and there’s confusion clearly written on her face. But I decide to tell the truth.

"I love you," I tell her, reaching for her hand.

"Before you answer, Caitlin, maybe you should ask Shane what is in this envelope," Atlas says.

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