Page 100 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
He lowered his mug as a slow, sexy smile slid over his face. “How do you do it?”
“Do what?”
He took a step toward her. “How do you look more beautiful with each passing day?”
Her lungs hitched, and what came out was half laugh, half sob.
She didn’t know what it was. All she knew was that this look of reverence in his eyes, the way he was staring at her like she truly was beautiful, like she was the center of his world and always would be…
She looked away with a hard swallow. For the first time in ages, she felt flustered around him. Nervous, even. “I, uh… I started packing,” she said. “I’m guessing it won’t be long before help arrives.”
He was quiet for a beat too long. “You’re right about that. I’d bet Cody’s already on his way.”
She nodded, still not looking at him. “I’ll, uh… I’ll start cleaning up the kitchen so we’re ready to leave when he gets here.”
“Your ankle okay to do that?”
“Yeah.” She held out her foot, rotating it back and forth for him. It still hurt just a touch at certain angles, but it was healing quickly, and she was confident she’d be strutting around in heels soon enough. “I’m all good.” Her voice was raspy, and she swallowed, shuffling past him to get busy. She needed the work to keep her sane and had a feeling the cabin’s kitchen would be near sparkling by the time she was done with it.
He didn’t say much of anything after that, but they worked together in companionable silence. Every time she peeked his way, he seemed just as lost in thought as she was.
Was he sad to see this little adventure come to an end?
She shook her head as she washed some dishes and put them away.
That was likely wishful thinking on her part. But even if he was disappointed, it didn’t mean anything.
Cody arrived even sooner than either of them expected. The crunch of his truck’s tires could be heard long before he pulled into view, parking next to JJ’s truck.
Dahlia opened the door for him, and Cody greeted her with a warm, if shy smile. “Dahlia, it sure is good to see you. Your sisters have been awfully worried. Kit and Nash have had to work overtime trying to reassure them you were in good hands, but…” He paused to shake JJ’s hand as he strode into the cabin. “Well, they’ll all be relieved to see you healthy and well.”
Surprise had her lips parting, and she wasn’t sure how to respond. All of them? She’d thought maybe Rose would worry about her, but it was a shock to hear that Emma and Lizzy were worried too.
“Why would anyone worry when she was with me?” JJ feigned offense. He turned to Dahlia with a wink. “Guess they haven’t seen how handy I am with an ax.”
She gave a snort of amusement. “Your ax skills? Please. Just wait until they get a load of my knots.”
He grinned, and they shared another goofy smile that faded much too fast.
“Well…” Cody looked between them, obviously picking up whatever vibe was pulsing in the air. “I think they’ll all just be happy to know you’re safe.” His smile turned impish. “And that neither of you killed the other.”
“Well, things got real dicey there for a while,” JJ drawled.
For a second, Dahlia thought he was going to tell Cody about the tree limb and her ankle. But then he added, “Turns out our dear Dahlia is not keen on losing at poker. Can you imagine?”
Cody laughed. “You know, I can.” He turned to her with a wink. “I’ve seen her play darts.”
“Exactly,” Dahlia added. “He knows I’m a natural born winner. I never lose.”
“Except at poker,” JJ mumbled loudly enough for them to hear.
Dahlia pretended to be mad, and the teasing continued as they followed Cody out to his truck to get the parts.
The teasing felt a little forced, like it was for Cody’s sake more than anything, but Dahlia was still a little relieved. Having Cody around broke the tension and made her feel like she could breathe when she went back inside to finish cleaning up while the guys worked on the truck.
When her chores were done, and the kitchen was sparkling, she went back out. But the sight of JJ working under the hood was too enticing. Was there anything this man couldn’t do? And while Cody’s presence took the edge off, it was still too hard not to think about what had happened. Or what was to come.
Goodbye, that’s what’s to come.
