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Her brows drew down and he figured she was contemplating whether it was a good idea to go with a total stranger. And with the way the world was today, he couldn’t blame her.
“This storm has just started. No one is getting out in this weather. In fact, the state police are telling everyone to stay off the roads,” he told her. It was true, they had issued the warning less than an hour ago. “You’ll be safe at my house. Here in the car, you’ll freeze to death. As soon as we can, we’ll get someone to pull your car out.”
“I don’t know you,” she said and winced as she reached up and touched her head in the spot where she’d hit the side window.
It was a valid concern, but she could either choose him or stay here and freeze to death.
“I don’t know you either,” he said. “But I’m not going to let you freeze to death out here in this weather. Until this blizzard passes, we can be strangers sharing a house. You can stay on one side of the house and I’ll stay on the other.”
Just then a blast of snow and ice hit him and he had to hang onto the car. The weather was quickly deteriorating. They needed to get home before the snow blocked the road to his house.
Though he knew she was not going to like what he was doing, he had no choice.
Gazing at her, he reached into the car, unbuckled her seat belt, and lifted her out.
“Hey,” she said. “I haven’t said whether I’m going with you or not.”
“Darling, we’re running out of time. This road is going to be impassable soon. Time to go or we’ll both be stuck trying to survive a snowstorm. That’s not how I want to spend the next few days.”
He carried her through the snow, opened the passenger door of his truck, and set her inside. She’d felt soft in his arms and he liked the way she smelled of Christmas cookies, reminding him of his mother.
He had the most incredible urge to kiss her, but that would frighten her.
“My purse and phone are still in the car,” she said. “I need to call my family and tell them where I am.”
Nodding, he walked back through the accumulating snow. They would have three feet by morning. Reaching inside, he grabbed her purse, phone, and keys to the car that had died on impact.
Then he hurried back to his truck.
When he stepped inside, he handed her everything and then pulled the truck away from the side of the road. The headlights showed the snow was coming down harder. They would be doing good to make it to his ranch.
Glancing at her, he could see she was nervous and he couldn’t blame her. Times were dangerous for women, but she had nothing to fear from him.
And he knew when they arrived at his ranch, she would not like the idea that they were alone.
“Where were you headed?”
“Whitefish,” she said with a sigh. “My parents are expecting me. I need to let them know I’m going to be late.”
What the hell was she doing out so late on the road going to Whitefish? She was still three hours away.
“Why didn’t you leave earlier?”
A big sigh came from her and he knew something had held her up. “The plan was to leave at noon. I got held up until five. And now it appears I don’t know when I’ll get there.”
He wondered what had kept her from leaving. But that was none of his business unless she wanted to tell him.
“When we get to the house, why don’t you call your family? You can use my phone if yours doesn’t work. Mine works most of the time,” he said. “I’ve got a booster antenna for it on the house.”
Sometimes the weather kept his phone from working, but he hoped for her sake that she could reach her family. Certainly that would make her feel better. At least then someone she knew would know of her whereabouts.
Turning onto the dirt road that led to his ranch, he had to be careful or they could get stuck. The snow was deep and the mud was frozen.
Putting the truck into four-wheel drive, they began the sloppy trek down the lane slipping and sliding through the snow. When he reached the gate, she gazed at the large wooden entry. “Peterson’s Folly.”
He grinned at her. “I’m Lucas Peterson by the way. I’d shake your hand, but right now I need both on the wheel.”
“Olivia Miller,” she said. “Why is your ranch called Peterson’s Folly?”
