Page 13 of Merrily Mine
Fuck.Of course, Mom would send me over there. I’d mentioned that I’d run into her at the bar the other night,though I hadn’t told her I’d found her stunning. I smoothed a hand over my face.
Somehow, she knew it anyway.
He raised an eyebrow at my lack of response. “What’s that about?”
“She’s just meddling,” I explained, rolling my eyes. This was just like her. I’d lost count of how many women she’d introduced me to since moving home.
“Well, she’s probably right—if she’s really alone, go make sure she’s ready. She has horses too?”
I nodded. They didn’t have a ranch, but they had their own stable, and I could just picture Emily going out to the barn in a blizzard.Dammit.Had she seen the warning? I didn’t even have her phone number to text her and make sure she knew.
Without another thought, I shot out of my chair, rushing over and grabbing my coat.
Guess I was heading to the Sullivan house.
5
emily
Emily, this might be the dumbest shit you’ve ever done,” I muttered to myself, tightening my arms around my waist as I headed back to the house. Well—hopefully. I felt like I could barely see in front of me, hoping I was at least going in the right direction. The snow was coming down thick—thick enough that I could barely see. Plus, I hadn’t grabbed my snow boots, which had better traction. I hadn’t even grabbed my jacket, just running out to check on Smokey without thinking it through fully.
She was fine, though I could tell the high winds battering against the sides of the barn had made her extra skittish. I tried to soothe her, talking in a low, calm voice while stroking her muzzle and neck. Once she was calm enough, I filled her food, swapped out her water, and put a blanket on her. I was grateful the stable was structurally sound and heated—my parents had spared no expense—so I didn’t have to worry about my horse if the snow continued to get worse.
My foot hit a patch of ice, and I slipped, ending up on my ass. “Ouch.” I winced, rubbing my back. I’d gone downhard.Damn. That was going to leave a bruise. To make things even worse, thecold and wet from the snow had already started soaking into my jeans.
A concerned voice had me looking up in surprise.“Jesus, Em, are you okay?”
Oh.
Oh, God. I looked hopelessly at the ground.Why now?Why did he have to see me like this? Damn, this was mortifying.
Because Mason Elliott was standing over me, all bundled up, with a beanie pulled over his head and somehow still looking like the sexiest man I’d ever seen, and I was sitting in the snowbank in whatever I’d thrown on this morning.
Shivering, I rubbed my hands up my arms. “I’ll be fine. Just—” My teeth started chattering as I tried to stand up, but slipped again. “Fuck.”
Mason, without skipping a beat, pulled the beanie off his head, shoving it over mine before scooping me up into his arms. “I’ve got you, darlin’.”
“I can walk,” I insisted, even though he’d just seen me look like a baby deer who didn’t know how to use her legs. Which… fair.
He ignored my words of protest. “Come on. We need to get you inside.” I tried to ignore how it felt to be cradled against his body like this. One of his arms was under my legs, the other supporting my back. “Hold on.” He looked at me until I wrapped my arms around his neck, and I looked away, hoping the cold had already made my nose and cheeks pink enough that he wouldn’t be able to see me blush. Mason looked up at the sky. “It’s getting worse out here.”
“I know.” I looked at the ground, the layer of snow already piling up higher. My whole body shivered again, and I did my best not to bury my face in Mason’s jacket as he navigated us back towards the house.
“Did you miss the weather announcement?”
I shook my head. “Yes?” I winced.
“Dammit, Emily.” He sounded… angry. “It’s a winter storm warning. You shouldn’t be outside.”
I felt small. “I’m sorry.” My voice was quiet, barely able to be heard over the roar of the wind.
He let out a huff, but didn’t say anything else, stomping through the fresh snow as I pressed tighter against him, hoping to steal more of his body heat. Snowflakes were clinging to his hair and eyelashes, and I resisted the urge to brush them off.
When we got to the covered back porch, he set me back on my feet—though he didn’t move away from me, enough that I could still feel his heat at my back as I let us back into the house.
I was wet and cold, and all I wanted was to go get warm. Maybe take a hot bath, and then curl up under blankets.
When I turned around, there was fire in his eyes. “What were you fucking thinking, Darlin’? You could have gotten seriously hurt. If I hadn’t been there, what would have happened?”
