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"Rebecca Parson, you had better not be dead," Alyssa Stockton muttered as she sat forward in the seat of her Volvo sedan and did her best to peer beyond her car’s flapping wipers.
Was squinting to make out the road through the blinding snow, or the damned wipers, making a difference? No, not really. Just like turning off her radio hadn’t either.
Yeah, she knew that wasn’t really something that could help. But hey, she’d do anything to stay on the winding road currently hidden by—she had no idea how much—snow. If not for the trees on either side basically showing her the way, she might end up in a ditch or—worse yet—slammed against a tree or one of the many boulders alongside the drop-off down the mountain. A quick glance toward that side of road had her gripping the steering wheel tighter. The boulders weren’t visible anymore.
That didn’t worry her.
Right.
"Becca," she groused, once more focused on what she believed was the road. "Why, oh why did the Parson’s house you inherited have to be at the very top of the mountain?"
With the forecast calling for heavy snowfall, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal if the house had been at a lower elevation. Instead, it sat on the ridge overlooking the rest of the mountain town. Hence, the name Parson’s Ridge. But it was at the top of the mountain, and the snow was supposed to continue through the next two days.
Having a white Christmas the day after tomorrow was all well and good, but Alyssa would have preferred to have enjoyed it from a distance. Say, like watching it through her living room window. From her couch. In front of her fireplace.
Not stranded in it, which was a possibility that was becoming more and more like a probability the heavier the snow fell.
"And if you’re not dead, I’m going to kill you for putting me through this."
Her best friend hadn’t shown up for drinks before their dinner reservation. To make matters worse, her phone kept going to voice mail. So, Alyssa couldn’t even yell at the stubborn woman.
"I’ve got to go," Becca had insisted as she'd gotten up from the couch in Alyssa’s home earlier that afternoon. "If I don’t meet Carson today, it’ll be after the new year before he’ll be available again."
"I understand you want to get moving on this," Alyssa had said, as she’d trailed after her friend going from her living room to the front door. "But why the rush when it’ll be the new year before anything can be done anyhow?"
" Phillip ," Becca had grumbled, while pulling her coat from the wall-mounted coat rack. As hard as she’d tugged it down, she’d been lucky it hadn’t ripped.
Of course it had been because of Phillip . Becca wanted her ex to know she didn’t need him or the career she’d lost because of him.
"At least get that Deputy Adler to go with you," Alyssa had pleaded, only to watch a flush creep up Becca’s fair face all the way to the roots of her light brown hair. "You know him, don't you?"
"Yes," she had said, while shaking her head. "But no. Why would I have the kid I used to babysit come with me?"
"Why are you being weird about this? The kid is a sheriff's deputy." Becca had grimaced at her. "Also, if I remember correctly, you actually babysat his little brother and sister. Besides, he’s?—"
"Doesn’t matter." Her eyes had dared Alyssa to say anything else—although Alyssa had planned to definitely interrogate her friend about it later—before her expression had cleared. "And don’t worry. I’ll leave Parson’s Paradise well before the first snowflake falls, and see you at five o’clock at Laverty’s. Get there a little early so you’ll have extra time to ogle." Her friend had waggled her eyebrows and grinned, knowing Alyssa had a slight tendency to…
Well, she refused to say ogle . She preferred to say she appreciated the view the Laverty brothers provided.
"Parson’s Paradise?" Alyssa had wrinkled her nose, while completely ignoring Becca’s comment. "Is that what you’re calling the old home place now?"
"I think so," Becca had said, putting on her coat, her lips pursed and expression quizzical. "It’s got a nice bed and breakfast sound to it." She’d pulled her hair out from from inside the camel-colored cashmere fabric. "You don’t like it?"
"I guess I can see it."
"Good," Becca had said, grinning, before winking at her. "Now, on to more important things. How does it feel to know you’ve got one more day before you turn a year older than me?"
"Not sure," she’d answered with narrowed eyes on her friend. "But thanks for bringing that up." She’d cast her gaze at the ceiling. "Geez, thirty-four. It had better be good to me."
"It will be," Becca had said, pulling Alyssa in for a tight hug, then whispering in her ear, "I just have a feeling about it."
Minutes later, a smiling Becca had left Alyssa’s house, giving her a quick wave before she’d driven off in her BMW 430i.
That had been hours ago, and five o’clock had come and gone as Alyssa had sipped her glass of wine in the bar slowly filling with Christmas partiers. The brothers were giving their staff Christmas Eve day off, and then wouldn’t open again until New Year’s Eve. It was nice to see them giving their people time to be with their families.
They were good men.
"Still waiting on Becca?" Jake Laverty had asked over the live band playing country versions of Christmas songs. He’d leaned on the bar toward her—his muscular arms bunching beneath his black dress shirt, dark brown hair kind of mussed, and gorgeous, clear hazel eyes staring straight into her soul.
Well, that last soul staring notion thing had been more like wishful thinking on her part. But still.
And more wishful thinking—well, more like a heated fantasy—had been to have the nerve to meet him across the bar and kiss his firm, full lips. But not just Jake. Heat had crept up her neck as she’d flicked her gaze toward his brothers standing close by having an intense conversation. The last year had been filled with dreams of having the Laverty triplets all to herself.
Not just one, but all three.
At the same time.
Yeah, like that would ever happen. But ever since finding out the three shared everything , she hadn’t been able to help being a little curious. What would it be like to have all their focus on her, while they…
Improbable or not, a shiver raced up her spine in the heated confines of her car at what that would be like all the same.
"Yes," Alyssa had said, as her gaze had flown to the bar’s door opening for about the hundredth time since she’d sat down, only to let out a low sigh of disappointment when it wasn’t her friend bustling in amid flurries of snow. "I guess I need to go look for her."
That distracted mutter had barely left her mouth before heat had pressed up against her back and a low growl of "No," had filled her right ear, while a more gentle, but just as firm, "I don’t think so, Alyssa," had filled the other, while she’d faced Jake. The youngest Laverty had slowly shaken his head while leaning over the bar—close enough to do that kissing she’d wanted—and murmuring, "That’s not happening."
She still had no idea how the other two could have possibly heard her.
However they’d managed hadn’t mattered as her breath had caught at the sensation of being encircled by the objects of her deepest desires—men she was already halfway in love with. A cocoon of big, hard, heated bodies she didn’t want to leave shielded her from the crowd, somehow even subduing the music and laughter until it was just the four of them.
But irritation at their highhandedness had overridden the pleasure of being the filling in a Laverty sandwich. She’d had to wonder, who had they thought they were?
"Excuse me," she’d groused, while swiveling her stool to her right. Her vision had filled with bulging arms crossed over a broad chest straining another black dress shirt, while her knees had pressed against a set of hard, jeans-clad thighs. It could have only been…
Her gaze had lifted to find a scowling, scruffy-faced Jonah staring down at her. Of course, it had been the oldest Laverty.
Hard hands had fallen on her shoulders, squeezing, while Josh had pressed against her back and his warm breath had coasted over her ear, raising the hair on the back of her neck. "It’s getting too bad out there."
Just like then, her nipples pebbled at the memory. Just like need once more flooded her core and heat suffused her face when reliving the thrill of Josh’s touch kneading her shoulders, while Jonah’s undivided attention had held her just as firmly in place where he’d crowded into her space. But that had had nothing on having the intensity of his eyes on her as he’d leaned down until they were nose to nose.
"Baby," he’d basically growled, sending her pulse skittering. His gaze had dropped to her lips before lifting and snagging hers once more. "Your beautiful ass is staying right where it is."
A hard gust of wind battered against her car, forcing her frowning gaze out the windshield into the winter storm. Had the snow gotten heavier? She blew out a harsh breath. It had. Her car was not intended for this kind of driving.
"Pay attention, Alyssa." Getting sidetracked on thoughts of having been the focus of the three men wasn’t a distraction she could afford. Not when she had to slow her speed down to what amounted to a crawl. Even on a clear night, driving this mountain road could be an iffy proposition.
In this crap?
She put on her high beams. All that did was turn her view into a sheet of white, so she flipped them back to low. What she needed was some sort of plow attached to the front of her car so she could go perhaps more than…
She hazarded a quick glance down at her speedometer, then immediately lifted her gaze out toward the whiteout that was getting worse by the second. Seven miles per hour was going to get her nowhere.
Fast.
Not for the first time since she’d started on this rescue mission, she questioned her decision. Maybe sneaking out of Laverty’s by way of the back door next to the bathroom hadn’t been such a good idea after all. And, maybe?—
"Whoa."
Another burst of wind buffeted against her car, bringing all her concentration to the road—the road that wasn’t as clearly defined as it had been moments before—while she strengthened her grip on the steering wheel. True fear set in when another harsh wind forced her to jerk on her steering wheel to keep straight.
"Oh, no-no-no-nooo…"
Panic flooded her when her car swerved, sending every rule when driving on a slick road flying out of her head. That minimal swerve turned into a full-blown spin when she turned the steering wheel hard in the opposite direction in an attempt to right herself on the narrow road.
" Shit! "
All that did was over-correct and send her car sliding sideways in…
The wrong direction.
She took and held a gasping breath, her heart pounding out an erratic rhythm as she squeezed the steering wheel and locked her arms out straight in front of her.
Keep calm… Keep calm…
Delicately pumping the brakes made no difference at all as she slid down the road. If anything, her car picked up speed. Which wasn’t good, since she was heading straight toward the sharp curve ahead, leading back down the mountain the way she’d just come up, and…
Straight toward one of those drop-offs.
" Oh, what the hell ."
Both feet slammed on the brake pedal, a move that had her skidding toward the trees. She pressed harder, her legs taut, while her car careened toward the side of the road.
" Oh, god! "
Glass shattering, her body jarring, an immediate, painful pull over her shoulder and chest, and the airbag smacking her full-on and knocking the wind out of her registered at once. As did the way her lips trembled, breath sawed in and out, and eyes pooled before she blinked hard, sending tears tracing down her cheeks. After that, it took a few seconds for her to realize she had stopped.
She was also still breathing—though harsh and uneven—while the air filling her lungs had a biting cold to it as she pushed at the deflating airbag.
How…
She shook her head and punched at the airbag still in her face, then gripped the steering wheel, needing it to leverage herself up and relieve the pressure from her seatbelt. What…
That didn’t make any sense. And neither did the way her wavering gaze fixed on the pool of light bouncing off a plain of white directly below her car through the broken windshield.
Cold air seized her lungs on her next breath, and she held it, before letting it out in a harsh whoosh that sent smoke spiraling from her mouth.
"Below me?"
More realization hit her as she licked her lips, then took several more deep breaths to try and calm her still hammering heart as she absorbed her surroundings. Not only was she no longer on the road, but wherever she was, trees pressed against her car now tilted at a scary, downward angle. Thankfully, nothing hurt. But if she didn’t get out of her car soon, she?—
Creeeeaaaak .
That godawful sound, along with a cringe-worthy scrapping along the sides of her car, accompanied her sedan sliding a little bit more.
"Great," she murmured, as her vision blurred with more tears, then whispered when her headlights went out, "I’m not making it to my birthday."