Page 22 of Between a Rock and a Hard Cowboy

“I always do my research.”

That was not a surprise. That she was researching his family, was.

Anyway, weather aside, the lack of power, and consequently, heat as well, had to be what was agitating her. Because it was clear something had her on edge. She looked about to snap.

He understood. And he felt bad about it. If she’d been down in town in her apartment, Rosie’s big ass generator would have kicked on and she’d have heat and electric. Instead she was here. All because of his dad’s obsession with the Wilder Christmas challenge.

Feeling bad about that, he tried to reassure her. “Don’t worry. We’re not going to freeze to death. There’s plenty of firewood, covered and dry on the back porch. And it’s only like thirty-two degrees outside. It’s barely cold enough to snow—which is why the snow is so wet and heavy and taking down trees, which took out the electric lines.”

She shot him a glare. Judging by her expression, his long-winded explanation didn’t help much.

Reaching for her laptop, she flipped open the lid. He supposed the battery would last for a bit, but it wasn’t going to connect to his WiFi router, which required electricity. She must have discovered that as she moved to her cell phone, tapping on the screen. Alternating between looking at the cell and her laptop.

Hers was probably less a fear of the elements and more that she was in withdrawal from the internet.

He watched and waited. Finally, she sighed and put both devices down in a neat little pile on the coffee table in front of her chair. “Nothing,” she said, accusingly, as if that were his fault.

“Could have told you that. No power, no router.”

She scowled at him. “I know that. I thought I could use my cell phone’s hot spot to connect the laptop. But your cell service inside this pile of stone and logs is shit.”

He could have told her that too. It was one of the things he loved about the cabin. He could go off the grid for as long as he wanted, ignoring calls from everyone, and have a good excuse for it.

“So now what?” she asked, again glaring at him, like it was his responsibility to entertain her.

He shrugged. “Wanna decorate?”

She drew in a breath that raised her modest tits beneath her long-sleeved T-shirt. Finally, she said, “Sure. Let’s knock this out and get it over with.”

“Glad you’re so enthused about it.” Okay, he heard it. He had indeed become a sarcastic shithead, and he was blaming Eva for that.

She pushed out of the chair and headed for the stack of ornament boxes just as the grandfather clock—which had actually belonged to his great-great-grandfather—chimed the quarter hour.

Eva let out a snort. “Glad to see that of all the many things in this place that don’t currently work,thatthing still does. Lucky us.”

Bad mood, much? She was so grumpy it was kind of amusing. He let out a short laugh. When her gaze shot to him he said, “You get used to it.”

She said, “Doubtful,” and bent to reach for the first box.

Amazingly, one hundred and forty-four ornaments didn’t take them as long to hang as he’d assumed. Between the two of them, and since she suggested they bundle them in groupings of two or three, they were done when the clock chimed nine.

After straightening the bow she’d just placed on the staircase greenery, Eva stood back and admired the work. He remained quiet until she’d rendered her verdict.

“Not bad,” she finally said.

Phew. Did that mean they were done? Wouldn’t that be nice?

“It looks great,” he admitted. Even though he’d had his doubts, the whole place did.

Even the deer heads. They all now sported the Santa hats he’d found in Eva’s car and the wreaths he’d bought and climbed the ladder to install while she’d still been lost in her work on the web.

It was her vision, as crazy as it was, but it worked and he was willing to give credit where credit was due… even if it did look like a lunatic who dressed up squirrels in human clothing lived here. It wasn’t like he got visitors.

Darcy was going to love it. At least they’d have her vote.

“Now what?” Eva asked, done perusing their work and now staring at him.

“Um, I have a couple of puzzles,” he told her. The quiet activity had helped still his mind when he first got back from active duty.

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