Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
Riley
Fuck snow. That’s all I have to say. These winding mountain roads are going to be the literal death of me.
What the fuck was I thinking?
Sure, I’ll go back to the tiny yet gorgeous town I spent one summer in eight years ago, but fled when things imploded. Nothing is bound to go wrong. Nothing at all.
This town was my escape the summer after I graduated with my bachelor’s in journalism. I needed a place to clear my mind and have the freedom to start the business I had dreamed of for years.
Back then, I only had dreams of how successful it could be. Now, it’s my reality.
Serendipity has turned into more than I ever could have dreamed of. I still remember the day during my junior year in college when I decided I didn’t want to use my degree to pursue the typical journalism jobs.
I wanted to be my own boss and run a podcast. I wanted to interview people about things I was passionate about.
Years of blood, sweat, and tears have led to Serendipity being in the top ten most-streamed podcasts in the country. I still have to pinch myself sometimes because it doesn’t seem real.
It all started here, though. One week after graduating, I closed my eyes and pointed to a random spot on a map of the United States.
That spot ended up being a precious town nestled in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. I was only here for three months, but that time changed my life for so many reasons.
I started laying the groundwork for what would become my life’s work. I fell in love, only to have my heart broken. When I drove away in tears, I vowed never to set foot in this town ever again, but here I am because of an anonymous tip.
I received an email with an idea for a podcast episode that was too good to pass up. The only problem was that the tip led me back to Aspen Springs.
With each episode of my podcast, I dive into different real-life love stories. Finding the heart of relationships that are unusual or different has become my specialty and what I’m known for.
So, when the tip said there were three newer poly relationships in a small town in Colorado, I was instantly hooked. I couldn’t let the geography of it hold me back.
Surely, I can stay away from Cole Rivers for one month, while I’m in town doing all my research and interviews. That’s nothing. I can avoid seeing him for that long. After that, I’ll be out of here and back to my life in Los Angeles.
For the thousandth time since I received the email, I try to figure out who would have sent it. The email address is the only real clue I have to rely on.
I guess it doesn’t really matter who sent it. My mind has latched onto the mystery of it all, though, and I want to figure it out.
I groan, gripping the steering wheel even tighter. The windshield wipers are at full speed, but I can barely see anything around me.
Knowing it isn’t safe to continue driving right now, I pull off to the side of the road. The only indication that I’m even off the road is the grove of trees I pull my car into.
The GPS on my phone shows I’m only a handful of miles outside of town. So close… yet so far. There’s no way I can get out and walk the rest of the way into town, so I guess I’m stuck here until this storm passes.
I let my head fall forward, resting against the steering wheel. Why the hell did my flight have to be delayed?
If I had arrived in Denver on time, I could have gotten here before the snow started sticking to the roads. Now, I’m probably going to die out here.
Well, that was dramatic. I’m not actually going to die, at least I don’t think I am. But this is going to be fucking miserable.
The sound of an engine makes my head snap up. It doesn’t sound like a car. I try to peer through all the windows to find where the noise is coming from.
A pair of narrow headlights draws nearer through the forest, and a snowmobile comes into view. It pulls to a stop beside my car.
I can’t make out much about the driver because they’re covered from head to toe in black winter gear, but based on the size, I’m guessing it’s a man.
I really, really don’t want to get out of this car, but I also don’t want to be stuck here inside of it for the next few days. With a sigh, I climb out.
Rounding the hood of the car, I put my hand up over my face to shield it from the snow being whipped around by the wind. I wish I’d thought to pull on the coat that I left lying across the passenger seat.
The guy climbs off the snowmobile and comes to stand in front of me. He peels his face mask off, and I freeze.
You’ve got to be kidding me. Of all the people who live in this area, this is the one I cross paths with.
He seems to freeze for a second, realizing who I am when I lower my hand from my face.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Cole all but shouts so that I can hear him over the howling wind.
Fury wells up inside of me. “None of your damn business.”
Despite the literal storm raging around us, we stand there in a stare-off. He finally shakes his head, glancing from his snowmobile and back to me.
“Get on.”
“Fuck… no.”
His jaw tightens. “You don’t even have a coat on.”
“I have one in the car,” I say, pointing toward my rental car.
“A lot of good it’s doing you in there.”
I’ve never actually punched anyone before, but holy shit, this man makes me want to go to town on him like he’s a punching bag.
He lets out a heavy breath. “Grab what you need and let’s go. This storm is supposed to get a hell of a lot worse.”
“Fine,” I grumble. I swear I hear Cole say something about me listening to him for once as he climbs back on the snowmobile.
I quickly put on my coat, hat, and gloves. Slinging my purse over my shoulder, I lock the car.
I’m hit with a sense of déjà vu when I slide on behind him. It might be a different machine below us, but the feeling is the same.
His body is rigid as I wrap my arms around him, and I know it isn’t from the freezing temperature. It seems I’m not the only one who walked away from our summer fling with a whole lot of hate for the other person.
He revs the engine, and we jolt forward. I was trying to maintain a little distance between us before, but now I’m plastered against him.
He speeds up even more, and I honestly don’t even know how he can tell where he’s going with the snow flying around us.
The tiny ice crystals hurt as they pelt against my skin, so I bury my face against his back. When I let myself relax for just a second, my mind flashes back to one morning when I woke up in bed beside him.
I pressed my chest to his back, wrapping myself around him in the best impersonation of a big spoon I could manage.
No. I shove the memory away.
That summer was blissfully perfect… until it wasn’t. Then, it all went up in flames. My heart suffered the most significant damage.
I don’t even know where I thought he was taking me, but I wasn’t expecting to look up from my hiding spot against his back to find him pulling into his garage.
There’s no mistaking where we are. Most people don’t have a garage this large, where more than half is dedicated to the lumber business Cole and his brothers run.
My heart starts to race.
No. I can’t be here.
He awkwardly climbs off, even when I stay frozen in place.
“I thought you were taking me into town or to the search and rescue headquarters,” I say, sounding far more panicked than angry.
“The storm’s closing in too fast. This was closer.”
On some level, I know what he’s saying is true, but my mind is having a hard time believing where I am. If the disdain in his stare is anything to go by, he hates the idea of me being here just as much as I do.
That thought is the only thing that gets me to slide from the seat and follow behind him.
The door from the garage opens to the kitchen. The house smells the same as it did all those years ago, fresh pine and a mix of all the men who live here.
Assuming Theo and Finn still live here with Cole. Eight years is a long time. A lot could have changed.
Lord knows my life doesn’t look remotely the same as it did back then.
“Cole,” someone shouts from upstairs. I might not have heard the voice for years, but I know without a shadow of a doubt it’s Finn.
Loud footsteps clomp down the stairs, and then he’s standing there, all six feet and five inches of him. He’s enormous and even more ripped than I remember him being. If I’m not mistaken, he has more tattoos, too.
His right arm, or at least what I can see of it under his T-shirt sleeve, is completely covered in swirling black ink. His light brown hair is thrown up on top of his head in one of the messiest buns I’ve ever seen.
His eyes widen as he sees me standing in his kitchen. His head swivels between Cole and me. He’s obviously confused. You and I both, buddy.
A broad smile spread across his face, which made me smile in return.
“Riley… What the hell are you doing here?” Compared to how the words would have fallen from his brother’s mouth, Finn’s are laced with nothing but joy to see me.
He steps forward, wrapping me in his arms before I even get a chance to answer him. I slide my arms around his neck as he spins me around in a circle. We’re both laughing when he sets me back down.
Finn is the youngest of the three Rivers brothers. He’s the fun-loving life of the party that always puts a smile on my face anytime I am around him.
I built a friendship with both of Cole’s brothers during that summer. It hurt that I had to leave them, too.
“Really… how are you here right now?” Finn asks with his huge hands still gently gripping my shoulders.
“I pulled over a few miles outside of town because it wasn’t safe to drive, and guess who swooped in to save me?” I move my eyes in Cole’s direction, but I refuse to turn and look at him.
I’m stuck here in his home. I don’t need to engage with him any more than that.
“He has a habit of doing that,” Finn jokes.
“With me, apparently, he does,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“Would you rather still be stuck out there in your car that would have eventually run out of gas, and you would have been there freezing to death?” Cole snaps.
“Harsh,” Finn says under his breath.
I turn to look at him now because I can’t help myself. “No, I wouldn’t. Thank you for getting me out of there, but don’t think that means for a single second that I’m happy to be here with you.”
“Well… at least we can agree on something.”