Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
BILLIE
G ran hired Axl Grey and didn’t tell me or Mom. When was the last time Mom even spoke to Mason? Surely, he would have mentioned something about our family’s tenant. I glanced at my brick of a phone, feeling like an idiot for driving out here without a charger.
“Well, this is something,” I said, exhaling as I sat down at the kitchen table. I dropped my head into my hands. It didn’t matter anyway. Was I really going to text or call Mom or my friends and tell them I was stuck at the Smoke River cabin with a hot stranger and his adorable dog? Mom would freak out. My friends would panic. But this wasn’t the beginning of a Dateline episode, a winter encounter gone wrong. I wasn’t expecting Axl, but he didn’t give me “murder” vibes. I supposed that was a relief.
I glanced at the couch. Cam the border collie was exhausted. Her black-and-white chest rose and fell in even and steady breaths. Axl was lucky I showed up. That dog should not have been outside in the snow. He acted like it was no big thing she was still outside, but I didn’t believe him.
Axl was Gran’s secret, and he had no idea she’d passed away. I should have told him, but the moment passed, and now it was awkward. Plus, I didn’t owe this man anything. I rubbed my tired eyes, my body aching with fatigue. I didn’t want any of this. My plan was to get to the cabin, unload the truck, sleep, head home, and do it again.
My eyes darted down the hall. There was only one bedroom in this cozy little cabin. Just thinking about that one big bed made my stomach flutter and my cheeks burn. Axl wasn’t supposed to be sleeping in that bed tonight. I was. I’d been thinking about how good it would feel to slip under those covers for miles.
Frustration surged inside me. I got up and walked into the living room. Our old, red-checkered couch still stood in front of the river-rock fireplace. Cam lifted her head as I approached, her chocolate-brown eyes, watching me like sweet little stalker.
“Cozy couch, isn’t it?” I said, petting her head. I’d fallen asleep on this couch many times growing up. It wouldn’t be the end of the world to snuggle up with a blanket out here tonight. “You’d make room for me, wouldn’t you, girl?” I asked.
She looked at me with big brown eyes that I imagined were saying yes.
In front of the couch, a pink, depression-glass salad bowl sat on top of our surfboard-shaped coffee table. Gran used to keep her knitting there. I peeked inside to see a couple packs of Bicycle playing cards on top of some glossy magazines, Fisherman Weekly and Flying .
I picked up the fishing one and paged through it. Men in plaid shirts and puffy vests stood knee-deep in rivers, by campfires, and beside big trees. Flying had the same hottie outdoorsman vibe, which I supposed matched Axl, though I had yet to see him in clothes. He was some piece of work, parading around that kitchen naked. My cheeks still burned thinking of him full frontal.
I walked to the window, tracing my fingers along the river-rock fireplace. Axl had returned the poker. I touched it with my finger, and it tipped over, clattering onto the stone hearth with a bang.
“Sorry! I dropped the poker! Putting it back!” I shouted down the hall. I held my breath, waiting for a response.
“All good!” Axl shouted .
It was so weird knowing he was back in my old bedroom putting on clothes. Over my shoulder, Cam watched me, tail wagging the whole time. Well, Axl might not be super warm and fuzzy, but at least his dog liked me. That was something, right?
The shutters were closed on the window that faced the southern field. Gran and Mom’s chairs sat in front of it, side by side. There were folded blue blankets draped across the back of each chair. It was a thoughtful touch and made the spot by the window look cozy. I assumed Axl placed the blankets there, which made that squishy warm feeling in my belly spark to life again. Who was this guy, and what was Gran thinking when she rented to him without talking to me or Mom? I wished I could talk to her. Had he been the best applicant or just the hottest?
Stop. I needed to stop thinking words like hot, sexy, gorgeous, and well-hung. Was I really attracted to him? Is that what was going on here? First, I lusted over the hot cop on the way to Denver, and now I couldn’t stop thinking about the ripple of Axl’s abs and that trail of hair that led down his body.
I exhaled and closed my eyes. I needed to beat back visions of that man’s body like a wildfire in danger of spreading. Axl Grey was nothing but an unexpected distraction. He didn’t belong here. I needed to get home, help Mom, and figure out a way to break his lease early. There was no way Mom would be on-board with a tenant at Smoke River.
The truth was that the falling snow outside was a bigger problem than Axl. My hare-brained plan to spend one night at the cabin was falling apart. I needed to focus on getting home, which meant I absolutely needed to unpack tonight and leave early tomorrow morning. I chewed on my fingernail, wondering if Axl would help me.
I needed to see how bad it was outside, but I was afraid to look. Before I opened the shutters, I closed my eyes and made a wish. “Please stop snowing. Please stop snowing.”
“Did you say you need help moving stuff into the barn?” Axl said, walking down the hall. “I’m happy to help.”
“That would be so great,” I said, smiling with relief. Maybe I hadn’t given him the benefit of the doubt. He was offering to help without me asking. Maybe things were about to go my way after all.
I opened the shutters, and my smile dropped.
No way.
Parked right in front of the house was a bright yellow Jeep with a chrome grill. Axl was Bear Coat’s ex, and the asshole who almost ran me off the road.