Page 61 of Roaring Fork Wrangler

JUNIPER

It was so cold outside that my nostrils froze, which meant crying would be a terrible idea. If water ran down my cheeks, it would probably freeze there, and I’d end up with frostbite.

Before I put on the helmet Beau had handed me, he also gave me a face mask. “Sorry, should’ve brought this inside. Snowstorms are somewhat new to me.”

“Somewhat?”

“Yes, Miss Chance, this is my first. It’s Sam’s as well, so be sure to tease her about it equally.”

I’d smile if I didn’t feel so sad. Why did I have to meet someone like Cord, who I’d be willing to stay snowed in with for the rest of winter, only to know that, a year from now, he’d be halfway across the country with no plans to return to the East Coast?

Life wasn’t fair. Actually, as far as I was concerned, right now, it sucked. No one I’d ever dated did it for me the way Cord did. I enjoyed his company and ourconversations. Then there was the heat factor, which was off the fucking charts.

When he said I had a full life here, I wanted to tell him I didn’t. In fact, outside of my parents and the restaurant, I didn’t feel like I had much of a life at all. Except maybe the reason he’d said that was because he was trying to tell me that, even if we spent “every minute of the next few months” together, it didn’t mean he’d ask me to go to Colorado with him. To even be thinking about it was ridiculous.

By the time we reached the main house, which only took a few minutes, I’d talked myself out of worrying about Cord. I could stay here, with Sam and Beau, until the roads were clear, then Gray or my dad could come get me. I had no reason to return to the cottage since I hadn’t brought anything with me other than my purse and the clothes I was wearing. Thankfully, I hadn’t put them in the washer yet.

“Hi,” said Sam, walking over when I came inside after shedding my snow clothes in the mudroom—which Beau referred to as the place where dirty winery clothes would go.

“Hey. Crazy storm, huh?” I said.

She smiled. “My first blizzard. Beau’s too.”

“He mentioned that. I lost count a long time ago,” I joked.

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

“Starving, actually, and I’d literally get down on my knees and beg for a cup of coffee.”

“I’ve got a fresh pot that’s almost finished brewing.” Sam pointed to the coffeemaker. “Miss Cena must’ve loved the stuff. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that fancy. Maybe Beau has.” She looked around the room. “Wherever he ran off to.”

“I think he was heading back to the cottage to, uh, help Cord with something.” Just saying his name brought the hurt I’d tamped down back to the surface.

“Am I out of line if I ask what’s happening between the two of you?”

“Not at all because it’s nothing at all.”

She raised a brow.

“As I said to my mom, his time here is finite. He’s a nice guy and certainly fun to flirt with, but that’s theextent of it.”

She nodded, then held up a cup. “How do you take it?”

“A little cream if you have it. No sugar.”

“Same as Cord,” she said under her breath.

I thought back to the day we’d met at Charlie’s Diner for breakfast, and I’d noticed the same thing. It seemed so long ago.

She handed me the cup and motioned to the dining room table, where there was a platter of fruit and slices of coffee cake.

“I can make something more substantial if you’d like,” she offered.

“This is perfect.” I’d already popped a grape in my mouth and was reaching for a strawberry.

The kitchen didn’t look much different than it had when I was here over a year ago, but it felt like it was. Miss Cena’s energy had been replaced by Sam’s and Beau’s. I hadn’t realized the depth of her sadness until I contrasted it with their happiness.

“Have you been reading the journals?” I asked.

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