Page 20 of Snowed In with her Mountain Men
“You had to start all over, didn’t you?”
My stomach rolled with a wave of nausea. The loss of so much work was a sore subject, and one I was just beginning to get over. Still, it was no one’s fault but my own. I should’ve been keeping a backup, or at least emailing the manuscript to myselfperiodically. You know, just in case my laptop got lost, or stolen, or disastrously melted in a fire.
I let out a sigh and nodded.
“I came to let you know I went after your shithead landlord,” Oakley said. “Unfortunately he left town. Smartest move he could make, really. But when he does come back, there’ll be an assault warrant waiting for him.”
I looked up, hopefully. “So I can go back home?”
“No,” he countered immediately. “That place is a deathtrap, even without the shattered door and piles of wolf shit. There’s no insulation, no water, and barely any electricity. It never should have been rented in the first place.”
Despair crept over me. The tiny motel room suddenly felt even smaller.
“You’re lucky we got you out when we did,” Oakley went on. “If you’d tried to stay the winter, you might’ve been a literal Popsicle by spring.” His voice grew low and serious. “That happens around here a lot more than you think.”
“Okay.”
“So no, you can’t go home,” he said gently. “But you also can’t stay here. Unless of course, this place is growing on you.”
“Oh yeah,” I laughed bitterly. “I love the smell, the mouse shit, the paper thin walls. The magnificent view of that dumpster in the alleyway, and the way the plastic shower curtain sticks to my ass, every time I—”
“That’s why you’re coming back with me.”
I stopped everything. “Back?”
“Yes.”
“Back where?”
“Back to our cabin, of course,” said Oakley, matter of factly. He looked around in genuine disgust. “Because there’s no fucking way you’re saying here.”
I felt my throat constrict, involuntarily. The room went blurry, as my eyes filled with tears.
“You’re not messing with me, right?” I choked. “Please tell me you’re not—”
“I wouldn’t mess with you,” he grinned. “Not on this, anyway. Of course, if you’rereallyattached to that shower curtain, we can probably take it with us. I’m not sure it’ll work with the decor, but…”
Whatever else Oakley might’ve said was lost in a rush of my own adrenaline, excitement, and absolute euphoria.
And before either of us knew it, I was kissing him all over again.
~ 10 ~
CAMRYN
“And you’re absolutelysurethis is okay with Jaxon?” I asked, for the umpteenth time.
The sheriff’s vehicle rolled along, carefully picking its way through the freshly-plowed streets. Oakley’s hand guided the wheel with short, practiced movements.
“Jaxon’s Jaxon,” he said. “He’s never okay with anything.”
“Maybe,” I allowed. “But from the very moment he saw me, he didn’t seem happy that I was there. And that was just for one night.”
I studied him carefully, wondering if there was a little more to Jaxon’s initial reaction. For now at least, his expression was unreadable.
“Yeah, well, you caught him at the end of a long day,” Oakley shrugged, waving me off. “He’s had a lot of those, lately. Usually, Jaxon has more patience than any of us. I’ve seen him sit for ten straight hours with a single client.”
“Ten hours?” I blinked. “What does he do?”
