Love Notes, Tome 2 : Naughty and Nice

Huddled in the car, I scanned the horizon for any signs of life, but not a single car had passed since I’d slid into the snowbank. My phone still had no service. I’d checked it about fifty times, despite knowing reception was poor in this wooded area even without the bad weather. The cabin usually had good service though. Just yesterday, I’d wished my phone didn’t have service so I could avoid calls from Clay and Mom without a guilty conscience. The phrase be careful what you wish for was playing through my head.

Even though I knew I should stay put, I was restless. Instead of conserving my warmth, I got out of the car to reassess my situation.

Still screwed.

I blinked a few times, as if that would change the sight before me, but there was no hope. I briefly considered trying to dig my way out with nothing but my hands. Maybe I could take off a shoe and use it as a shovel?

They were the thoughts of a desperate man. I’d thought coming here was a stroke of genius. I’d finally gotten away from Clay, who would only have dragged me down into destruction with him. I was supposed to be getting my life in order, finding a job. Ken had said I could stay at the cabin as long as I needed, which was a hell of a lot better than couch surfing with friends who would tire of me or admitting to my mom just how badly I’d fucked up.

But was I going to end up dead before I could set anything right?

A light caught my eye, not from the road but from the edge of the woods across from me. My heart skipped. Trails were interwoven through these woods. Could someone really be out snowmobiling in this weather?

Maybe they got caught in it, same as me.

The single light grew brighter, along with the sound of a motor. When the snowmobile emerged from the stand of pines onto the road, I nearly cried. I waved my arms desperately, even though he was already coming to a stop and swinging one long leg over the snowmobile to dismount.

The man was taller than me, but that wasn’t hard since I was five-foot-ten on my tiptoes, and between his bulky coat and helmet, I couldn’t see much of him. Even when he pulled off the helmet, he still wore a stocking cap beneath.

But he was the best thing I’d ever seen.

“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.