Page 108 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
“You must be glad to finally be back, huh?” Jason said when she was leaving his office with an armful of files to sort and notes to type up.
Yeah, of course. So grateful to be back.
All the words she should have said died on her tongue, and she only just managed a smile and a nod before she shut the door behind her with a click.
38
Three weeks had never felt so long.
“... isn’t that right, JJ?” Kit said.
JJ looked across the stables to where Kit, Nash, Cody, and Boone were all hanging out.
There were still chores to be done and work to do during the dead of winter—work never really stopped on a ranch—but as this was the down season, there was far more time for the crew to hangout.
Normally JJ loved that about this time of year.
These last three weeks? Not so much.
He’d prefer to be riding the range alone than fending off his friends’ well-intentioned attempts to cheer him up.
“Sorry, what was that?” he asked.
“Bernice is running a pool competition this weekend at the tavern,” Cody said. “We’re placing bets on which one of us will win. You in?”
He shook his head. “Nah. Not this time. I’ve got plans this weekend.”
Not big plans. Notgoodplans. But chopping wood up at the cabin was as good a way as any to tire him out so he could sleep through the night.
Besides, the thought of playing pool only reminded him of that time he’d spent with Dahlia at the bar. The night where she’d cheered on the Rangers and showed him a side of herself that he’d never seen before.
A stupid smile started to form at the memory before he squashed it.
“You sure, man?” Kit said. “You haven’t gone out with us in a while. Your hermit qualities are starting to show. Not sure it’s that good for ya.”
Three weeks. That wasn’ta while, but it felt like an age.
It’d been three weeks since he’d even attempted to have fun. Three weeks since he’d gotten back from showering up and having his hand tended to. Three weeks since he’d walked into the ranch house, set on talking things through with Dahlia, only to find that she’d already left for the airport.
Without even a goodbye.
He headed toward his friends. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re right. Thanks for the offer, but… I’m just not up for it, I guess.”
His friends exchanged glances that weren’t difficult to read.
They were worried about him.
“If you want to talk…” Nash started.
The others all grimaced, which made JJ chuckle. These fellas were the best friends a guy could ask for, but this was not a crew that did touchy-feely chats all that often.
In fact, they typically avoided it like the plague.
“Right,” Nash sighed with a good-natured shrug. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
“Look,” Boone said. “We’re all done for the day, right? Why don’t we head into town for a late lunch at Mama’s Kitchen?”
All eyes were on him. JJ took a deep breath.
