“Oh my God, thank you for stopping,” I called as he crossed the road in long strides. “The snow came on so suddenly, and…and Jesus, I’m so glad to see you out here!”
He walked right up to me without a word, yanking the stocking cap from his dirty blond hair. Suddenly, I recognized him, heart tripping, as he tugged it down over my head. “You’re gonna need this,” he said.
“Jonas,” I mumbled, stunned. “W-what are you doing here?”
Ken hadn’t specified when the Brookses would arrive, but Christmas was still a week and a half away. I hadn’t expected to see them for a while yet, not that I was complaining. Jonas was saving my life right now.
The corner of his lips turned up. “I’m rescuing a dumbass who drives a minivan in the mountains.”
I scowled. “It’s not a minivan. It’s a…a…crossover type thing.”
Jonas smirked. “How’d that work out for ya?”
“Not so good,” I muttered.
He jerked his head back toward the snowmobile. “Well, come on, let’s get you to the cabin. How long you been out in the cold? Do I need to worry about hypothermia?”
“I’m okay. I had the car heater. It hasn’t been that long yet.”
He nodded once. “Then let’s go.”
“I’ve got groceries in the car…”
Jonas looked at me like I was cracked, and fair enough. It was a dumb thing to worry about when I thought about how close I’d come to freezing to death on the side of the road. Thank God the Brookses had made it out here earlier than I’d expected.
“The food will keep,” he said. “We’ll see if the Jeep can make it down here to pull you free at some point. I’m not about to try it tonight.”
“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. This weather is like a natural cooler.”
His eyes twinkled. “More like a freezer right now.”
The moment felt surreal. I was standing on a mountain road in a blizzard talking to Jonas Brooks. He looked so much older, more man than boy, and confident. How is it he looked so different, and yet also the same?
Jonas turned and began walking toward the snowmobile, its light still cutting across the highway. “Come on. I’m dying for a beer and that hot tub is calling my name.”
The image of Jonas in a hot tub rattled me. But the thought of the Brooks family back at the empty cabin with nothing but no-bake cookies and boxed cereal to eat sent me toward my car. I opened the hatch and searched through the bags, reassembling groceries into one bag I could take with me.
“What are you doing?”
His voice at my shoulder made my heart jump. “No beer. I’m not twenty-one until January.” I hefted a single grocery bag containing steaks and salad fixings. “But I’ve got stuff for dinner. Can we manage that much?”
Even in the dark, I could see Jonas’s eyes sweep from the bag in my hand to my face. “For a juicy steak, I’ll figure something out.” He jerked his head to the side. “Now, come on. We’ve been out in the cold long enough.”
4
JONAS
Quinn was even more gorgeous than he’d been as a teen, if possible. His dark hair included maroon highlights, which were new, but was still thick and glossy. Long eyelashes framed dark eyes. Some stubble roughened his jawline, but it couldn’t disguise that he was damn pretty with a delicate bone structure and a mouth that begged to be kissed.
Not that I’d be making that mistake again.
He didn’t look so different from many of the guys I hooked up with at school—it was pretty evident I had a type that started and ended with Quinn Taylor—but there was a depth to his eyes that all those freshmen lacked. He’d always been a bit of an old soul. At the time, I’d chalked it up to grief, but the shadows in his eyes remained, even now.
One look at Quinn and all my hopes I’d be unaffected by him after so many other hookups went whirling off to join the flurries blowing in the wind.
The snowmobile cut down a path toward the cabin, vibrating between my thighs. Driving through the dark woods, snow still dumping from the sky, I needed all my focus. I couldn’t think too much about the body behind me, the hands clutching the sides of my coat, then slipping forward when Quinn gave in and wrapped his arms around me. The thick trees sheltered us a bit, blocking the wind, or there’d be no visibility at all.
Tension thrummed through me as I guided us home, knowing that one wrong move could turn me from the hero to the villain and Quinn from a rescue to a horrifying accident victim. That thought kept me in a heightened state of focus until we cleared the woods and crossed flat, open ground toward the shed. I slowed down considerably, suddenly aware of Quinn snugged up against me. It felt nice. Would feel even nicer if it we weren’t doing it in a freaking blizzard. For half a second, a fantasy played through my mind: me on a motorcycle on a mild, spring day, Quinn behind me.
Dismissing the flight of fancy, I pulled into the shed and cut the engine. We climbed off the snowmobile, and I unhooked the storage bag I’d brought with me to carry an extra helmet and to store the groceries on the trip back.
“If you want to get changed, I can start dinner,” I said. The no-bake cookies only went so far. I was starving, and I was sure he was too.
Quinn shrugged, his eyes downcast. “If you don’t mind.”
He was trembling slightly, and I couldn’t be sure if it were the cold or something else. I put a hand on his arm, and his eyes flicked up to mine. The second our gazes met, I felt it down to my toes, that old yearning for something more. I ignored it in favor of making sure he was okay. “How do you feel? That was a close call.”
Quinn averted his gaze, biting his lip. “I’m okay. I should probably go say hello to everybody, right?” His breath stuttered. “Say thank you for letting me stay.”
Everybody?
“Um, Quinn.” His eyes flicked up to meet mine and away again. He was nervous. “No one is here.”
“What do you mean? You’re here.”
I chuckled. “Well, yeah. I’m here. But it’s just me.”
“What do you mean, just you?” He sounded almost angry. “Ken said everyone was coming for the holidays.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” I said lightly, though his reaction stung my pride. “The rest of the family will be here eventually. The storm will mean they have to wait for roads to clear.”
“Oh.”
I knew Quinn didn’t love having me for a stepbrother. I was kind of hoping the ex-stepbrother title might get a warmer reception.
“You’re stuck alone with me for a few days at least. Think you can handle that?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Well, there’s always the side of the road.”
“Tempting…”
Wow. I’d been burned a few times in my day, but that was harsh.
“I’m joking!” he said quickly, eyes widening as he read my expression. “Oh my God, of course it’s fine. This is your cabin, not mine. Besides, you saved my life! Seriously. Thank you.”
I shifted, uncertain how to handle the about-face. “No problem.”