Page 98 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
He chuckled, shaking his head with a tsk. “Haven’t you realized yet that being disconnected from the rest of the world is the best part of being in the wilderness?”
She pulled her knees up to her chin as she perched beside him. “Yeah,” she agreed slowly. “I think I’m starting to get the appeal.”
The blush that stole into her cheeks as she peeked over at him made his chest ache again.
He rubbed a hand over his heart as he sipped the coffee. This woman would be the death of him.
But what a good way to go.
“How’s it look outside?” he asked.
“Still snowing.”
Her tone gave nothing away. He hoped like heck she was just as happy about that as he was.
He gestured toward the laptop. “You done with work?”
She nodded. “There’s nothing else I can do right now.”
“Good.” He set his mug on the side table and threw his feet over the side. “Then let the learning begin.”
A couple hours later, Dahlia was laughing harder than he’d ever seen as she sat beside him in front of the fire. She held up the mess of twine in her hands. “How is this so hard?”
“Tying knots is no joke,” he teased. “I told you it would be harder than you thought.”
She rolled her eyes, but she was still grinning. “Okay, Bear Grylls, what’s next on the survival training list?”
“Hmm…” He pretended to ponder. There was no real list; he’d been making it up as he went along. But just like he’d suspected, Dahlia thrived while learning new tasks and tackling challenges.
She’d thrown herself into learning mundane things about the cabin, like how the winterizing process worked and how he maintained the old roof. She’d marveled over the history when he’d shown her the places where past inhabitants had marked their kids’ heights against the wall, and she’d grown a little sad as he’d pointed out the place where the family who’d owned it before him were buried.
He’d shown her how to cook the sausages they’d thawed the day before over the fire for lunch, and they’d even braved the snow so she could try her hand at chopping wood. Her ankle had improved enough to attempt the task, but he made sure it was a short session. The first time she toppled over with the ax blade stuck in a hunk of wood, he picked her up and forced her back inside.
Her protests about being carried like a princess were absolutely worth it, and he didn’t set her down until they were back beside the fire and he could kiss her complaints away.
In between it all, they’d drunk too much coffee and settled in for long chats about everything and nothing. They touched on serious topics but also had a hearty debate over the merits ofStar WarsversusStar Trek.
He’d told her all about how his fascination with wilderness and the wild west had come about, and she’d made him laugh his butt off with a story about the time she’d been kicked out of a Rangers game for getting too rowdy.
In her defense, she’d been sticking up for the nice old lady beside her.
By the time the sun was setting and the stars were beginning to show overhead, JJ knew two things for certain.
The storm had nearly run its course…
And he needed to find a way to keep Dahlia in his life.
Not just as Rose’s sister. Not as one of the owners of the ranch. But as his woman.
How he’d make that happen when she was mere days away from leaving, he had no idea.
But as he wrapped his arms around Dahlia again that night and listened to her breathing deepen as she fell asleep against his chest, he knew letting her out of his life wasn’t an option.
He needed Dahlia. He wanted her.
He just needed to make sure that was what she wanted too.
And then he had to figure out how to make that work.
