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I frown. “Uh…okay well give me three minutes. I’ll be right over.”
“Thank you.”
The call ends and I stride through the labyrinth of corridors and halls until I reach the front door of my home. The vacation cabin is just a short walk through the forest. It used to be a crumbling old outbuilding on my land, so I fixed it up and turned it into a profitable little side business.
Making money.
That’s all I’ve ever been good at.
Usually, I don’t have anything to do with the guests. I pay someone from Winterdale to clean the place between visitors, and everything else is automated or taken care of remotely. I’ve sure as hell never been called out to deal with a raccoon before.
I walk through the snowy forest, dodging the trees until I reach the vacation cabin and knock sharply on the door.
“Come in!” that pretty little voice calls from inside, even sweeter now that I’m hearing it in person.
I open the door and step inside. The first thing I notice is a plump ginger cat staring at me curiously. My eyes drift past the cat to the woman standing by the kitchen door. Instantly, my mouth goes dry and all the air is sucked from the room. I can’t think. I can’t speak. All I can do is stare at the woman standing in front of me.
No, not just a woman.
An angel.
Her pretty blue eyes blink at me, and her full lips part slightly, pink and plump and so damn tempting. She’s young. Early twenties, with chestnut brown hair that’s tied back in an adorable messy bun. The knitted emerald-green sweater she’s wearing isn’t enough to hide her thick curves. She fills out her clothes so fucking perfectly that I feel my cock twitch, all the blood in my body rushing downward as I eye her wide hips and thick thighs.
Holy shit.
I’ve never seen anybody look so damn beautiful. She’s like a dream come to life, and it takes me a few moments to pull myself together.
“Hi,” I say, my voice hoarse in my throat. “You called about a raccoon.”
The girl nods, looking at me nervously.
Fuck, I’m probably freaking her out.
“I’ll get rid of it,” I tell her, tearing my eyes away from her pretty face. “Grab your cat and stand back.”
“Okay, thanks.”
She does as she’s told and I open the door to the kitchen, forcing myself to concentrate on what I’m here for. The raccoon is no longer in the drawer like the girl said. It’s now hanging from one of the cabinets, scrabbling at the handle to try and open it, no doubt looking for food. The kitchen window is wide open—I assume the cleaner forgot to shut it—which at least explains how the hungry little guy got in.
I start to stomp my feet, clapping my hands loudly, trying to disturb the raccoon enough for it to leave by itself. It works. The wide-eyed animal scurries down from the cabinet, and I try to give it a clear path to the front door, still making noise. It gives me a wide berth as it finally bolts past me and races out of the cabin like a bat out of hell. As soon as it’s gone, I close the front door behind it.
“Sorry about that,” I say. My voice is naturally gruff and grumpy-sounding, so it’s not easy to sound apologetic, but I do my best.
“It’s okay,” the girl calls as I close the kitchen window. “Thank you for dealing with it. I wasn’t really sure what to do; I’ve never had a raccoon in my kitchen before.”
“It’s a first for me too.”
I close the kitchen door and face the girl, my heart squeezing at the sight of her. She looks so damn adorable holding her cat to her chest, and I force myself to focus on the empty fireplace behind her instead.
“I’m Ava, by the way,” she says brightly.
I nod. “Nash.”
“Nice to meet you, Nash. I’m staying here for the week. This place is gorgeous—I love what you’ve done with it. I’ve never stayed in a log cabin before. I’ve actually never been to Crave County before either, this is my first time. It’s so beautiful, I love the mountains, especially Snowfall Ridge, it looks like something out of a movie, like an old fantasy movie, it’s really amazing…” she tapers off, her cheeks flaming. “Sorry. I’m babbling. Nervous habit.”
I don’t know what to say to her. I’m not used to talking to people, especially not somebody as sweet and pretty as Ava. So, I remain stony-faced as I head for the door.
“I’ll discount your stay for the raccoon,” I say, my hand on the door handle, ready to leave. “It shouldn’t have happened.”
