“Oh hell no. No. No. No.No,” I sing-song, hiding the tremble in my voice as I tie oversized pants over my waist. “I just hit my head really hard, that’s all. It’s a delusion. A symptom of my possible and most likely concussion? I can’t possibly be seeing…” My tongue stills.
Ghosts? Spirits? The dead?
“Please don’t tell me this cabin is haunted, too.” I shake my head, pacing up and down until I find my shoes hidden by the nightstand. “So there’s no internet, no phones, no open roads, and I’m snowed in a haunted cabin with a cowboy? What could go wrong?” I mumble to myself, brushing my wet hair with my fingers.
“Coraline Rosa. Breakfast!” Merelyn shouts behind the door.
CHAPTER 10
CORALINE
“How did you find me?” I ask.
“I was bringing all the horses back into the barn when your car crashed through my fence. I heard the collision, and minutes later, I saw the fire and knew something was wrong, so I checked it out.” He pats his lip with a napkin. “You were passed out in the snow with blood all over your face. I’m surprised you’re walking and talking fine,” Gavin says nonchalantly as he spoons more eggs onto his plate.
“Well, we don’t know that for sure because an ortho doctor hasn’t looked at me.”
“If you broke something, you would know,” Merelyn and Gavin say at the same time.
“And why didn’t you guys call anyone?”
“I did,” Gavin says, as though he’s losing patience with me. “When we had service, I called the Chief of Police. He’s one of my good friends, and he told me he couldn’t send anyone up here. It’s too dangerous to reach by vehicle or helicopter. He asked Georgia whether he thought you were stable, and she confirmed it wasn’t an emergency. And when you woke up, the phones were down again. It happens every blizzard.”
“How convenient,” I mumble sarcastically before taking a bite of toast. The strawberry jelly tastes fresh and sweet, the salivation crashing wildly all over my taste buds. My stomach cramps, the acid already breaking down my first solid food in days. I can feel it all as I chew. I hum as I swallow.
“Yeah, it’s convenient that I found you and you’re not dead. A bear could’ve beaten me to it and dragged you to feed its cubs. Or the person you claim was chasing you down the road could’ve finished you off,” he snaps. “When I found you, there was no truck, no strange man. You hit your head pretty hard, so maybe?—”
“Then you must have scared the man away, Gavin,” Merelyn interrupts his asshole rant, flashing him a scowl. He clears his throat and continues to shovel eggs and beans into his mouth, no longer glaring at me.
“I’m just saying that driving in the middle of a storm was stupid,” he continues to berate me.
My jaw drops. This man is grumpy as fuck, and I’m supposed to be spending the next few days with him? He might be handsome, but he’s a jerk.
Or he’s just incredibly outspoken.
“That’s fine, you don’t have to believe me. Yes, it was stupid. I guess I’m stupid then. I know someone is after me, and I need to talk to the police, so whenever the phones are running again, let me know.” Pushing my feet to the cold ground, I push the wooden chair back until it’s screeching against the floor. I rise to my feet fast and pivot toward the bedroom I’ve been sleeping in.
“Dick,” I mutter under my breath.
As soon as I get to the hallway, my stomach growls with a vengeance.
Fuck.
I whirl around and face the dining table again. I ambletoward it as Merelyn watches silently. I catch Gavin’s eye twitching in my periphery as I fish the plate off the table.
I’m taking this with me. Despite how angry I am, I’m still starving, and I won’t deprive myself of free, delicious food. I just don’t want to be near him if he’s going to be a terrible ass of a host.
“Sit down. You’re going to hurt yourself,” he grumbles, licking his lips.
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“Sit down. And eat.” He lowers his tone like a deadly warning.
“Sweetie, please sit. We don’t get many visitors up here,” she encourages, her cold palm on top of mine. I freeze and gaze at her freckled hand. My shoulder drops as the gesture warms me. Why am I letting him get to me? I mean, it was stupid to get myself lost high in the mountain tops. “Gavin’s social skills need a little work, but I promise we’re harmless,” she tells me as a small smile crests her face.
“Speak for yourself, Mer,” Gavin retorts.
His knee knocks the base of the table a second later.
