Page 32 of Roughing It

There’s a pause as they all look over at us, and surprise flashes in Miguel’s eyes. I give him a warning look and a subtle shake of my head, then gesture for her to follow me.

“This is the lodge family. They’re all horrible people,” I say, pitching my voice loud enough for them to hear, “but I put up with them anyway.”

“And he’s the biggest liar,” my head chef fires back. I watch as Eden takes in the sight of him, her cheeks going faintly pink the way everyone does when they set their eyes on the massive man who makes the most delicate creations.

René always looks a little different when he’s not in his chef whites. They tend to hide the fact that he looks like a damn MMA fighter. I know he’s charming, and I also know Eden is immediately pulled under his spell when he gives her a wide grin and extends his hand.

“Enchanté,” he says, winking after shaking her hand.

Behind him, Miguel snorts and rolls his eyes. “Enjoy it while it lasts. He’s only charming for five minutes.”

“And yet,” René says and smirks at Eden, “he married me.”

Eden laughs. “René, right?”

He grins, pleased as all hell and shooting a nauseatingly sweet look at Miguel. “Been talking about me again?”

“More like complaining about him,” Zara interjected, stepping forward and offering a tight smile to Eden. “I’m Zara, by the way. And I think you already know Phoenix.”

The smile Eden gives a blushing Phoenix stirs something in my belly I’m not sure how to categorize. I’m only half listening as Eden compliments Phoenix and chats with Miguel and René, but I refocus when Zara steps away, face drawn.

“Hey,” I say softly. “I’m sorry you got stuck here.”

“Me too,” she says. “I’m sure there will be other plays, but it wasn’t easy calling to let him know I’d miss this one.”

I clasp a hand on her upper arm, giving it a squeeze in support. I couldn’t imagine missing something like that and disappointing my kid. I do my best to get folks like her—ones with families and other obligations—back down the mountain before storms like this hit, but it doesn’t always work out.

A loud burst of laughter draws my attention back to the others, and I don’t even realize I’m smiling at the sight of Eden’s obvious joy until Zara clears her throat and gives mea look.

“What?” I grumble, grabbing a plate and starting to load it up with food.

“Just be careful,” she says, taking her own breakfast and heading toward a table. “I’d hate for you to get attached to someone who won’t be here longer than it takes for the storm to pass.”

I frown but don’t respond, knowing she’s right. As much as a part of me has been lonely and aching for company lately, falling for a gorgeous woman with a life and job back in the city is just about the dumbest thing I could do.

After setting my full plate on a table, I go and find the carafe of coffee and pour myself the biggest one I can before digging through the tea selection and grabbing one of each. I fill a mug with steaming hot water and carry everything over to where the others had settled at the same big table Zara and I picked.

A warm feeling fills my chest when I see that Eden is sitting next to my empty spot, Miguel on the other side of her. I gently set her water and tea bags on the table in front of her plate of food, then sit and take a long sip of my coffee, ignoring the cream and sugar someone put in the middle of the table.

I set my mug down and meet dark, surprised eyes. “You didn’t have to get me these,” she says, voice so soft I have to lean a little closer to be sure I catch what she says.

I shrug and ignore the heat in my face when I notice Miguel smirking at me behind her. “It was nothing. I wasn’t sure what kind you liked…”

“Earl Grey!” Phoenix chimes in from the other side of the round table, grinning at Eden with obvious adoration. If I didn’t love that kid like a son, I’d probably be jealous of the sweet look she gives him as she nods.

“That’s right.” She gives my arm a warm squeeze, and my damn heart rate climbs as she dips her head just a little and looks up at me through her lashes. “René offered to let me stay in the kitchen with him today, but I told him I had plans with you and Clover.”

She says it like it’s more of a question than a statement, like she wants to make sure I still want her to come with me to take care of the horses.

As if I’d ever say no to spending time with her. “That’s right.”

I grin at her pleased look and ignore Miguel’s barely concealed laughter.

As we dig into our food, I can’t help but look at her beautiful profile again and again. She talks and chuckles with the others easily, fitting seamlessly into our tight-knit little group. Hell, if I wasn’t staring at her like a damn creep, I would think she was completely at ease. But there are still signs of her stress at getting stuck here in the tenseness of her shoulders and how little she actually eats, mostly just sipping at her tea.

Knowing how freaked-out she has to be isn’t enough to stop my traitorous brain from wondering if this was my chance. That the couple of days she’s stuck here are an opportunity I wouldn’t have otherwise gotten to spend time with her. I don’t even try to fool myself into thinking it can go beyond this time we’re trapped together, but something dangerously close to hope is brimming in my blood.

And that’s… terrifying.

I can’t help but worry this one tiny woman might leave me even more lonely after she leaves.

---