Page 11 of Snowed In with Three Mountain Men

“Sounds like the kind of shit he’d do.”

He chuckles. “Yeah, maybe this is just his chance to play the white knight,” he agrees. “She comes crashing in on her stallion, and he’s there to pick up the pieces and make it all right…”

“Shit, I feel bad for her if all she’s got is Callum to rely on,” I joke. I know his reputation with women—he’s never exactly been good at the whole dating thing, part of the reason he came down here to be with us.

“She’s got us too,” Chuck reminds me.

I roll my eyes, but nod. “Yeah, yeah,” I mutter, waving my hand. “She’s got us too, I guess.”

“Don’t say it like that,” he warns me. “She needs us, D. And I’m not going to renege on that duty.”

“Duty?” I fire back. “You left the SEALs four years ago, Chuck. Remember?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I forgot how to be a decent person,” he replies evenly. I know he’s calling me out—making sure I know that he’s not just going to let me steamroll over him with my frustration and anger at the way this woman reacted to our help.

“Who do you think is after her?” I wonder aloud, lowering my voice as I glance toward the door. “She seemed pretty stressed about them…”

“No idea,” he admits. “I mean, if I had to go by the wedding dress, I’d say her fiancé. But it’s just a matter of finding out who that actually is, and figuring out whether he’s going to be any real trouble for us.”

“He’d be an idiot to try and take us on,” I laugh. “Especially on our turf. Especially in this weather.”

“Yeah, agreed,” Chuck replies, but a slight furrow appears between his brows. “But people do stupid things sometimes, when it comes to love. Or, at least, when it comes to what they think is love.”

He lingers at the door for another moment, and then shakes his head, as though dismissing the thought.

“Come on, I need help with dinner,” he tells me. I know it’s not true—he’s the best cook I know, and if anything, I’m just going to make a mess of whatever perfect dish he’s thrown together.

But I follow him into the kitchen anyway, because I know this isn’t about me actually helping him cook—this is about keeping me busy so I don’t have time to overthink what’s happening in the next room, or to spend my time wondering just how much trouble this woman might have brought to our door.

It’s been a long time since anyone but the members of our family have been in this place. And that is honestly how I would’ve liked to keep it. This cabin belonged to our great-uncle, who used it for hunting trips, and our father inherited it when we were young, turning it into our go-to vacation spot every summer. When the three of us got together after he’d passed a few years ago and tried to figure out what we were going to do with this place, it all came together—we were all looking for a break from the real world, and this cabin, out here in the woods, gave us the chance to do just that.

We hadn’t intended to stay for long. At least, they hadn’t. The moment I set foot in this place, it felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders, one that I was unwilling to replace by pushing myself back into the rush of the city. When I’d arrived back from combat—when I’d healed enough to be able to walk again, take care of myself, not rely on everyone around me for every little fucking thing like I had to in recovery—even the studio apartment I was living in above the store I worked at was too much for me to handle.

Everything was overwhelming. Every sound, every movement, every flash of light in the corner of my eye, all of it was more than I could take on. The world seemed toobigall of a sudden, and I couldn’t control any part of it, let alone myself.

But out here? Out here, things are quiet. They make sense. The sun rises, you go through the day, the sun sets. I don’t have to deal with anyone other than Chuck and Callum, and I’ve spent somuch of my life with them that they’re known quantities to me by this point.

And now…now, there’s a girl in the next room. A girl I have no idea about. A girl who was part of Callum’s past, but not a part that he decided to share with us. And I’d be lying if I said that doesn’t bother the hell out of me.

But Chuck’s right. Whatever she’s gone through, she needs help. And I’m not going to turn my back on someone in their hour of need.

Even if it means putting the comfortable life I’ve gotten so used to on hold.

And even if I don’t know how long this newfound patience will last.

6

CHARLI

And just like that,as the door closes behind them—Callum and I are left alone together once more.

Alone, in the same cabin where he abandoned me all those years ago. I can still remember it all too well, the day I woke up to find that he was gone—looking around, wondering if this was some kind of joke, waiting for him to emerge from outside fresh from a run or something…

And the time ticking, passing, sliding away until it finally clicked for me that he was really out of here. He’d left me a note on the bedside table, but I was so distracted by searching for him that I didn’t spot it—and when I did, the horror of the situation truly sank in. I can still recall, vividly, the way my tears pooled on the inky letters of his goodbye as I stared down at those words, waiting for them to actually lock into my brain, but they didn’t. They couldn’t.

Because he wouldn’t have done that to me. Not Callum. Not this sweet, strong man who I had fallen for—not this kind, loving soul, who had his demons, sure, but who was more than what he thought he was. He wouldn’t have brought me all the way outhere, I told myself, just to leave me, and I waited there for hours for him to come back and change his mind, but he didn’t.

He didn’t.

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