Page 22 of Snowed In with Three Mountain Men

I still don’t know how the hell it actually happened. I keep running it over and over again inside my head, the argument wewere having before we started making out, and that sudden shift that seemed to happen in the same moment between us, when his lips were on mine and all I wanted in the world was more.

I haven’t been kissed like that in a long time. By someone who really seems to want me, desire me, from some place deep down within them. Not since Callum, actually, and that’s screwing with my head even more.

Because why would I want something like that with Dax? Is it because he looks so much like Callum? I’ve been trying to tell myself that’s all it is, my mind getting wires crossed staying here with these siblings, but honestly, I’m starting to doubt that. Because Dax is so different from Callum, so it’s not like I could get the two of them mixed up. I know it’s Dax I want, specifically, and…

And not just him. Being so close to Callum again has made my head spin. Brought me back to those days we spent together when we were dating, when I wanted nothing more than to spend my life with him. Sure, I was young then, but the connection I felt was real. I had to convince myself it was just a fiction I’d invented in my mind in the years that have passed since, but now that I’m back in his presence, I can’t argue with myself any longer. That chemistry is still there, as it always has been, and that’s…that’s kind of a lot to wrap my head around.

And then there’s Chuck. Chuck, who’s sweet and settled here. Who cooks and gardens and generally seems like the most relaxed out of the three of them. I like him a whole bunch too. But is it desire, is it relief, is it something else entirely? I’m not sure I know.

I’m not sure Iwantto know.

Finally, I stab the lace through the last hole, and let out a sigh of relief as I wind it through. I’ve had to re-lace the boots to give them any chance of fitting, but at least now they’ll have a better chance of not slipping from my feet every time I take a step.

I slip the other boot on and get to my feet—they actually don’t feel too bad. And, truth be told, I’ll swallow whatever pill I have to in order to go outside again. It’s been way too long since I’ve been cramped up in this place, and while I know they’re just keeping me here to make sure I stay safe, I want to go out into the world again, just a little.

I open the bedroom door and step out—and Callum glances up from beside the main entrance, offering me a quick smile.

“What do you think?” I ask, striking a playful pose in my new boots.

He chuckles. “Not bad,” he replies. “How do they feel? Are they comfortable?”

“I don’t know yet,” I reply. “I’ll need to wear them out first. Where are you going?”

He glances outside. I can tell he doesn’t want me coming with him, but if he thinks he can get rid of me that easily, he has another thing coming.

“I was going out to check on some of our traps,” he replies.

“Can I come with you?”

He looks me up and down for a moment. There’s something about being under his gaze that makes it hard for me to think straight—I know I shouldn’t let it get to me, but it’s hard not to.

“I don’t know. You’re still healing?—”

“I’m fine,” I reply, waving a hand and trying to ignore the small jolt of pain that runs up my side at the motion. “I need to get out. Please, Callum. Let me come with you, even just for a little while?”

I bite my lip and widen my eyes at him—a dirty trick, since I know this is exactly what worked on him when we were first together. He pauses for a moment, and then sighs, shaking his head.

“Come on,” he tells me. “It’s warm enough out for now. Might as well test those new boots…”

I clap my hands together and grab a spare jacket from the rack next to the door, before following him out into the forest. It’s actually really pretty out here, now the snow has melted—it’s not exactly balmy weather, but it’s sunny, and the light dapples through the leaves to create delicate patterns and shadows everywhere we walk.

“It’s beautiful out here,” I remark as I do my best to keep pace with him. “I can see why you moved out here.”

He glances over his shoulder at me, as though surprised to hear that.

“What?” I laugh, slightly nervous. I still feel out of place here—no matter how pretty this place is, I can’t help but wonder if danger is just waiting for me around every corner, ready to spring out when I least expect it.

“Nothing,” he replies. “Just not often that people say we’re anything other than crazy for coming out to this place by ourselves.”

“Really? I thought it was a lot of people’s fantasy, you know, taking off into the woods, never to be seen again…”

“Maybe in theory,” he replies. “But in reality, not many people can hack it. It takes a lot of preparation. A lot of focus. A lot of effort. Most people get bored of it after a few weeks, maybe a month or two. And they start missing how easy everything was in the outside world.”

“The outside world,” I tease. “You make it sound like another planet.”

“It is.”

He doesn’t sound like he’s joking. He pauses in a clearing between a few trees, and drops down to check a trap—it’s empty, and he replaces and resets it swiftly.

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