Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Anson Kane should probably feel bad for scaring the woman so badly that she’d fallen over.
He should probably offer to help her up.
A year ago, he would have.
But a lot of things had changed in the last year. So he simply leaned against a post and tried to ignore the pain shooting up his leg.
He’d heard the car pull up and park, but he’d figured that it was Joey, his brother. Or his best friend, Miles. Both of those assholes were always turning up.
No matter how much he tried to push them away.
They probably thought they had to check on him because of the snowstorm.
Like he was a fucking child who couldn’t take care of himself.
Or helpless, like the woman currently trying to stand.
She definitely wasn’t Joey or Miles. Shit. He shouldn’t have opened the door.
She brushed herself off with a groan. “Ouch. I thought snow would be a soft landing.”
Well, it would have been a harder landing without the snow.
But he didn’t say that. Instead, he ran his gaze over her car which was parked in front of the cabin.
“Still waiting on an answer,” he barked.
Was he being an asshole? Yep.
Did he care? Nope.
He kept his arms crossed over his chest and tried his best to keep the pain from showing on his face. He’d had a lot of practice pretending that he wasn’t hurting.
“Huh? Who are you?” she asked, peering up at him.
“That’s what I asked you,” he reminded her. “You’re on my property, checking under my house, so who are you?”
“Your property? Your house?” she asked.
“Yep.”
A strange noise came from her. Was that her teeth chattering?
For fuck’s sake.
There wasn’t much light out here, but he could see that she was shivering.
What was she thinking? Why was she here?
“I thought . . . I thought this w-was my c-cabin,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself.
She seemed small. Then again, everyone seemed small to him. At six-foot-five and weighing close to two hundred and sixty pounds, he was used to towering over people.
“Oh no,” she said. “Is this not two-oh-eight?”
He grunted. He should have known she was searching for Caldwell’s cabin. “Nope, that’s about five miles up the mountain from here. Should only take you another twenty minutes in this weather.”
“Five miles?” she said in a high-pitched voice. “Oh God, I barely made it here. I guess it’s closer than going back down to the town, though, right?”
Shit.
Just let her go. She’s not your problem.
Should he warn her that the road got worse from here on up? And that Caldwell needed to update his driveway? That it was steep and would likely be slippery as fuck?
“Right. I, um, I’m so s-sorry for intruding. You should go back inside where it’s warm. Again, really sorry. I’ll just l-leave.”
She stumbled over to her car and tried to open the door. The handle seemed to slip out of her hand and he heard her muttering to herself.
Fuck.
He really, really wanted to just let her go and return to his evening.
His quiet evening. Where he didn’t have to deal with people. But what if she had an accident driving up to Caldwell’s place? That asshole probably hadn’t even lit the fire for her. Or left a light on. If she made it, she’d been freezing by the time she got there.
He didn’t want to feel this responsibility toward her. This worry.
Anson didn’t want to care about anyone else.
But he knew that if she died or had an accident it would be on him.
At least make the offer. If she says no then your conscience is clear.
And hopefully she said no.
“Snow’s coming down harder,” he said gruffly. “You used to driving in the snow?”
She paused and glanced back at him. “I’m not used to driving at all.”
What the fuck did that mean?
“How long have you had your license?” he asked in alarm. Who was this woman? And why the fuck would she drive in the snow up a fucking mountain if she hadn’t been driving long?
“Oh, since I was eighteen,” she told him. “I just haven’t driven that much since. I’ll g-get out of your w-way. Really s-sorry, again.”
“Stop saying sorry,” he growled. “And you can’t drive up there. It’s dark and the storm is going to get worse.”
“I don’t have much choice. It’s only five m-miles. Not th-that far.”
She got into her car and he told himself to let her go. He’d done what he could. No reason to put himself out.
Only as she sat in the car, he got a funny feeling.
If she left now . . . he just knew she wasn’t going to make it to Caldwell’s place. And, fuck, he might be an asshole, but even he couldn’t live with that knowledge. So he forced himself to walk along the porch. Standing in front of her car, he waved at her.
She still hadn’t started the car, but he knew she could see him. Slowly, the door opened.
“Sorry,” she called out. “Just t-trying to, uh, to, well, I don’t know what I was doing . . . finding some courage? Sadly, I’m lacking in th-that area. Also, in brains and common s-sense, it seems.”
Anson scowled.
Oh, he didn’t like her putting herself down.
At all.
“Don’t speak like that,” he snapped. “And grab the stuff you need and get inside. Now.”
Turning, he limped back inside before he could change his mind.