Page 31 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
She was losing her mind. That was the only answer. Being in this rural Siberia had made her lose all her wits.
“What I wouldn’t give to know what you’re thinking about right now,” JJ teased. His gaze was so intense and so searching, she feared that maybe he did know.
She turned away from him and cleared her throat. “It’s getting late, and I’ve got to work on East Coast time tomorrow. I really need to go.”
“I’ll walk you,” he offered.
She shook her head, already slipping her feet into the work boots and reaching for the oversized coat. “That’s really not—”
“Dahlia…” His hand on her shoulder had her stopping short. When she went to turn, she realized he was helping her into her coat. His soft, unhurried gaze met hers, and she felt that jarring jolt like it was the first time they’d ever seen each other.
“I know you don’t need me to walk you back to the main house,” he said in a voice so low and rumbly she felt it in her belly. “But I’d like to.”
She opened her mouth to protest. She should argue. But when he smiled, she clamped her lips shut.
“Yeah, okay.” Her voice sounded too breathy, so she turned away to the door. “But only if you want to.”
10
The sky was still pitch black when JJ left the bunkhouse the next morning. The stars shone bright, and the snow seemed to glow in the moonlight. Winter in Montana had its difficulties—especially for a guy who’d been raised in South Carolina—but it had its perks too. This peace and quiet, and the slower pace on the ranch, it made the bitter cold worth it.
He tucked his hands into work gloves as he strode across the snow-covered land. His feet seemed to have a mind of their own as he wandered in the direction of the main house, where he’d dropped Dahlia off a mere eight hours ago.
So why was he already itching to see her again?
He ran a hand over his mussed hair before tugging a cap over it for warmth.
He just wanted to make sure she was doing all right this morning, that was all.
Best not to overthink it.
He let himself in through the back door, where the warm glow of the kitchen beckoned. He spotted Nash and Emma at the kitchen table, each lost in their own business, giving him a quick nod before getting back to it.
Emma was nibbling on the edge of her pen as she worked on what looked to be a lesson plan, and Nash was poring over something on his phone. Probably the news.
There were breakfast dishes stacked near the sink, and the warm kitchen smelled of fresh coffee.
He didn’t typically come here for coffee in the mornings—he and Cody brewed their own in the bunkhouse. But no one seemed to find it odd that he was here first thing in the morning, so he helped himself to a mug.
He heard a voice coming from the living room, but when he glanced in, he saw a smiling Rose talking all soft and sweet on the phone. No doubt she was chatting with her beau, Dr. Dex.
But there was still no sign of Dahlia.
Maybe she was asleep. He grinned against the lip of his mug as he took a sip.
Probably not. He couldn’t imagine Dahlia slept in often, and definitely not on a workday.
He should head out. Get to work.
That was what he told himself as he wandered around the first floor. It was ridiculous to be disappointed at not seeing her this morning. The woman was a friend, that was all. It wasn’t like he had to see her every minute of the day.
But even as he thought that, he couldn’t bring himself to walk out the door and leisurely drink his coffee on the porch, taking in the sunrise before getting on with his chores. And so he headed outside the extra-long way, down a hall that led to the guest bedrooms where Emma and Rose had set up home.
He honestly couldn’t tell anyone what he was up to, but something drew him around that way.
And sure enough, just past Emma’s door, in a little office area that held the home’s printer, he found her.
Or rather he heard her.
