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That wasn’t good. “Hop in and we’ll discuss it. Where’s your luggage?”
“The trunk.” She gestured in that direction, then gasped. “My purse is on the front seat. Let me grab it.”
Somehow, I ended up holding the dog. I was pretty sure it was my fault. I’d automatically reached out, like I was offering to take her purse. Instead, I found myself holding a living, breathing creature, tiny though it was.
That little creature looked up at me with big, soulful eyes as he snuggled up to my chest. I felt that tug on my heart again. I didn’t like little dogs. I’d had a golden retriever growing up. She was the sweetest dog—same heart-tugging face that this one had. But with a golden retriever, I never had to worry about accidentally stepping on her when I walked around my house.
The woman closed her car door and started back toward me. “Got it.”
She reached out for Max, and her hand came into direct contact with my chest. Sure, I wore a thick down jacket, but I felt the touch anyway.
As she moved in a little closer, I got a whiff of her vanilla scent. She smelled good enough to eat, and I wanted to lick every inch of her body.
“Thank you,” she said, looking up at me as she pulled Max to her chest. “It was killing me, thinking we might be stranded here. I can’t do that to Max.”
Max? What about her? Did she care more about the dog than herself?
I didn’t have time to worry about that, though. I needed to get both this woman and her dog somewhere warm and safe.
2
MEREDITH
It was just too treacherous. That was what my rescuer said, and I couldn’t disagree.
Almost as soon as we were in his truck, the snow started coming down harder. I snuggled Max closer to me, terrified. At any second, we could go off the side of this mountain, I was sure. Never mind that there were guardrails on each side. Anxiety trumped common sense every single time.
“We’ll wait it out here,” he said suddenly, turning into a driveway.
I looked over at him for answers and was once again struck speechless by those handsome features. He had the beginnings of a beard. I suspected he just hadn’t bothered to shave for a while. There was something so hot about that. And it was coupled with lips that looked utterly kissable and green eyes that seemed to penetrate my soul.
Yeah, I’d read about this. In a high-stress situation, people sometimes felt an attraction to each other. My emotions were high right now, and I couldn’t associate that with him, right?
“This is my place,” he said in answer to a question I hadn’t asked. I was gaping at him like a fool. That probably gave away what I was thinking. “I’ll get the two of you settled in and scope out the situation. Bo lives three doors down.”
Emerald’s fiancé lived three doors down from this guy? I relaxed a little. This was a small town. Bad things didn’t happen in small towns, did they?
Regardless, there was something about this guy that made me trust him. I did not trust men. Not ever.
“Between Bo and me, we can figure out a way to get to the top of the mountain,” he said. “But first, we need to check in on Bo. Make sure he’s not up there already.”
He pulled up to the end of the driveway, which put us in front of a garage that sat next to the house. Above the garage doors was a big, wooden sign that readShane’s Auto Repair. Was this Shane? Probably so. It made sense that a mechanic would be helping out people stranded by the roadside in a snowstorm.
“Once the snow lightens up, I’ll get your car towed here to check out,” the guy said. “Let’s go.”
He climbed out and was across the driveway before I had a chance to reach for the door handle. He pulled the garage door up manually. Did he not have a garage door opener? Whatever the case, Max didn’t like the noise. He jumped up from his position on my lap and began barking at it.
As I stepped out, I saw that the garage held a car and a truck. The car looked like a classic Ford Mustang—a sight that brought a smile to my face.
Snow came down on us in sheets as I struggled to get the truck door closed. I had Max in one hand and my purse slung over my shoulder. The driver guy was already walking toward the open garage, carrying my suitcase like it weighed no more than a scrap of paper.
“This man is going to take care of us,” I whispered to Max.
My dog had huddled even closer to me. Without Max, I’d probably be a big bundle of mess right now. Holding him close calmed me.
“Excuse the mess,” the guy called back as he squeezed himself and my suitcase between the car and the wall. “I guess you can tell I run a business.”
I should at least know the guy’s name. “You’re Shane?” I asked.
