He felt her shiver and realized he’d allowed his mind to wander. Smiling through the falling snow, he placed a guiding arm around her shoulders, urging her towards the tracker and their salvation.
The snow was already above her ankles, and he smiled when she said with a grimace, “I already hate snow!”
“Best get used to it if you plan on staying in Colorado long. Winter’s not even officially here yet.”
“Great!” she told him, once again regretting her decision to move here. She’d wanted a change of scenery and to get away from Arizona. “You’ve certainly accomplished that! What were you thinking, Jess?”
Justin looked down at her. “Excuse me?”
Jessica blushed, realizing she’d just spoken her thoughts out loud. She would definitely have to work on that bad habit. Otherwise, the people she’d yet to meet would definitely think she was missing a few screws in her head.
“Sorry. I was talking to myself.”
“Ah. Well, don’t worry about it. I’ve been known to do that a time or two myself.” They reached the tracker and he opened the door, helping her get situated on the vinyl seat and then pulling the safety strap across her lap and fastening it.
“Thank you,” she murmured to him just before he could shut the door. Her head hurt, but not so much that she didn’t get a whiff of his aftershave. It was one of her favorites and one she’d always wanted Jason to wear, but he’d been adamant that he didn’t like the way it smelled on him. In reality, it was his fiancée who hadn’t liked the way her favorite cologne smelled. “I was such an idiot!”
He looked into her eyes and smiled. “Well, I don’t know that I would agree with that. And you are very welcome. Let’s get you back to the lodge and warmed up.” He’d noticed she was shivering, so he slipped his jacket off and draped it across her front.
“Wait! I can’t…”
“You’re freezing. I’ll be fine, and the tracker has a really good heater. Sit tight.” Justin quickly made his way around to the driver side and climbed in. He cranked the heater up on high and slowly turned the tracker around, heading it back down the mountain.
He grabbed the radio and called Kaillar first. “Kai, you there?”
“I’m here. I just finished getting the travelers set up in Silver Springs. Did you find the other vehicle?”
“Yeah. I’ve got her. She’s got a nasty bump on her head, but I don’t want to try taking her all the way to Frisco in the dark.”
“Roger that. It’s really getting nasty out there. I’m looking at the Doppler radar for the mountain and this storm isn’t going away anytime soon.”
“Got it. Have you heard from Mason?”
“Yeah, he’s good as well. Got the man his meds and he’s going to head over to Jenna’s for the night. She and Tyler are in Denver so their place is empty. He’ll head home once the storm clears.”
“That sounds good. I’m heading home with Jessica. With that bump on her head, I don’t want to leave her alone tonight. You heading back up to the lodge?”
“Yeah, in a bit.”
“Good. Do me a favor – stop by the clinic and see if Dr. Matthews is working this afternoon. If he is, tell him to expect a call from me in an hour.”
“Will do. She going to be okay tonight?”
Justin glanced at his passenger. Her face was pale, her eyes closed with a frown between her eyes. She was in pain, but before he could do anything about that, he wanted to make sure she didn’t have a concussion or any other injuries that might require immediate medical intervention.
“Justin?”
“Yeah, I’m here. I think she’s gonna be fine. I’ll know once I get her back to the lodge.”
“Okay. I’ll find the doc for you. Be careful getting home.”
“I will. See you in a bit.”
Chapter 4
Jessica huddled under the jacket of the man sitting next to her. Her head was throbbing in time with her heartbeat, her feet had begun to thaw out and were soaking wet, and she realized she was now headed to some isolated cabin with a man she didn’t know.
But he rescued you, so doesn’t he get some points for that? I mean, how many guys would come out in the middle of a blizzard to rescue people who didn’t have the common sense to know they should have pulled off at the last town?
Jessica closed her eyes and wished the seat was tall enough to lean her head back on. It was growing darker by the minute, the storm having completely obliterated the waning sun. She turned her attention to the man next to her, his hands expertly steering the machine across the expanse of snow with the confidence of someone who’d done the same thing many times before.
They’d left the highway five minutes earlier, and were now making their way through the forest. She didn’t see any signs to guide their way, and she only hoped he truly did know where he was going.
She tried to see where they were going, but the headlights only lit up a small area of the ground in front of them and lots of very tall trees. A sense of claustrophobia assailed her and she swallowed to try and stem a growing sense of fear.
“You hanging in there?” Justin asked, his baritone voice soft in the relative silence of the late afternoon.
“Umm…We’re not lost, are we?” she asked before she could stop herself.
Justin chuckled. “No. We’re not lost. In fact,” he reached across her and pointed to her right. “If you keep your eyes fixed over there you should see the lights of the lodge in just… about…now.” He slowed the tracker down as they rounded the last stand of trees and watched her face as she caught sight of the lodge for the first time.
It was a two-story log cabin, very large with a wraparound porch and rustic log furniture situated here and there. Everything was covered with a fine dusting of snow, and she looked at it with a look of wonder upon her face. “It’s like something from a Christmas card.”
To the right of the lodge stood a very rustic, and yet modern-looking barn. Corral fences, partially buried in the snow drifts, stretched out from either side, and the red metal roof was only visible in small patches where the snow had yet to pile up.
Justin chuckled. “Well, I don’t know about that. Let’s get the tracker put away and then I’ll show you where you can clean up a bit. I want to check your head out as well and I’m trusting you to let me know if you have any other aches or pains.”
Jessica nodded, never taking her eyes from the log cabin. There was something about it that was so comfortable and welcoming; she felt tears sting her eyes. It looked like a home! She hadn’t felt that way since the last time she’d been home while her grandmother was still alive. Remembering that visit brought more tears to her eyes. I was so horrible and secretive.
Her grandmother had known something wasn’t right, but even though she’d asked, Jessica hadn’t been able to tell her grandmother how far from her values she’d fallen. Her grandmother would have been so disappointed in her. But not as disappointed as I am in myself.
Her grandmother had tried to get her to go and speak with the pastor of the small church she’d grown up in, and Jessica still remembered how hurt her grandmother had been as Jessica proceeded to tell her that she didn’t need a pastor to diagnose what was wrong with her. And she certainly didn’t need God to fight her battles for her.
In her mind, God was the reason for her troubles. He’d taken her parents, never allowing her to have a healthy relationship with the two adults who should have been a major influence in her life. And then she’d allowed her blind faith to translate from a spiritual one into a romantic one. And it had let her down. She couldn’t trust herself, and she definitely didn’t feel like she could trust the God who’d let her parents die. She wasn’t sure she had any trust left in her when it came to her emotions.
She lost the battle to stem her tears. When they spilled over, she reached up and wiped them away, unaware that her companion had seen her.
“Hey! Why the tears?” Justin
asked, concern in his voice.
Jessica shook her head and then immediately regretted the movement. “Ow! Sorry, I’m just tired.” She didn’t want to analyze the reason for her tears, and she definitely didn’t want a stranger passing judgment on her.
Justin looked at her and she held his gaze until he nodded and looked away. He started the tracker moving forward again and drove it straight into the barn. Once he had the barn doors secured, he helped her down and then grabbed her purse and her suitcase. When he slipped the strap of her purse over his shoulder, she couldn’t contain her grin.
“What?” he asked her.
Jessica bit her lip and then told him, “You put my purse over your shoulder like a pro. Do you carry your wife’s purse a lot?”
Justin glanced at her purse and then laughed at himself. “No wife.”
“Girlfriend, then.”
Justin shook his head, escorting her out the side door and down the covered walkway. “No girlfriend. And to my knowledge this is the first purse I’ve ever worn on my shoulder.”
“Really?” she asked as if she didn’t quite believe him. This gorgeous guy doesn’t have a girlfriend or a wife? What’s wrong with him? She’d been observing him since he rescued her and right off the top of her head, she couldn’t answer her own question. He seemed like a genuinely nice, straightforward guy. A rarity for sure.
“Really.” He took her elbow as they climbed the four steps leading up to the porch. “Watch your step.” He opened the door and then allowed her to enter first.
Jessica couldn’t see enough as she stepped inside his home. An open concept allowed her to see through most of the lower level, her view only obstructed by the large staircase that led upstairs. A large fireplace took up the wall to her left, bracketed on both sides by floor-to-ceiling windows. Comfortable couches and chairs were arranged in front of the hearth, with colorful throw pillows and blankets draped here and there. The place was huge!
Polished wood floors gleamed throughout and vibrant area rugs tied everything together just so. The lighting fixtures were even a bit rustic, with a huge antler chandelier hanging over the foyer.
“This place is amazing!”
Justin looked around his home and then shrugged. “We call it home.”
Jessica continued to turn her head, trying to take in everything and failing. To her right, a large pool table with dark wood and red felt occupied the space. Behind it, a wooden bar stood with stools in front and a gleaming, polished wood bar top, and a large mirrored wall behind. She sniffed the air and realized there was a wonderful smell of basil and garlic in the air.
Justin was watching her and then he smiled. “Hungry?”
Jessica bit her lip again and nodded. “I could eat.”
“Good. Come on back to the kitchen with me. I made lasagna earlier this morning and we had just finished eating when we got the call to go rescue some motorists.”
“Meaning me?” she asked, feeling guilty for having been the reason this man and his brothers had been out in such nasty weather.
“You were one of the reasons. But you weren’t the only one. Kaillar took three people down to Silver Springs a short time before I found you. Speaking of which, come sit down and let me look at your head.”
Jessica hung back. “Do you think I could clean up a bit first?”
“Sure. The second door to your right is a bathroom. There should be towels under the sink. Come back out when you’re finished and I’ll have some dinner heated up for you.” He watched her walk away, finding himself curious about her story. She’d been travelling very light, and yet she wasn’t dressed for a Colorado winter. Her driver’s license had been from Arizona, and he wondered if she was just passing through.
He retrieved the lasagna from the fridge and placed a healthy portion on two plates. While they reheated in the microwave, he placed a call to Doc.
“So, how’s your traveler?” Doc asked without preamble.
“Well, she’s got a goose egg on her forehead with a small cut, but it had already stopped bleeding by the time I got to her. She seems to be ambulating okay and no dizziness to speak of.”
“How are her pupils and color?”
“She’s got good color in her cheeks and her pupils seem to be reacting normally.”
“Well, she sounds fine so far. Headache?”
“Yeah, she did complain of a little headache, and my guess is she’s going to have some muscle soreness by tomorrow.”
“She could take a couple of over-the-counter painkillers tonight for the headache. I don’t want to give her anything too strong. A good night’s sleep will go a long way toward recovery.”
“She looks pretty tuckered out. I figure she’s been driving nonstop for the last few days. There’s dark circles under her eyes and she looks a little thin to me.”
Doc cleared his throat and then asked, “Do I sense more than a passing interest in your guest?”
Justin chuckled. “Trying to fix me up?”
“Sounds like you’re well on the way to fixing yourself up. Can’t say it would hurt my feelings to see you boys happily married and settled down.”
“We’ll get around to it one of these days. Don’t worry.”
“Oh, I’m not worried. But you’re the last three bachelors in Silver Springs, and with everyone else married and already having babies, you and them brothers of yours are lagging behind.”
Justin laughed. “Not every single male in Silver Springs is married.”
“No, the ones that aren’t are either too old to be thinking of such things, or still in need of their mommas taking care of them. All I’m saying is when a single young woman comes to town, whether by accident or not, you shouldn’t pass up an opportunity to test the waters.”
“Thanks for the advice,” Justin told him, not taking offense since it seemed most of the older folk in town had decided the Donnelly brothers were in need of help finding their wives. The ladies’ circle at church had even tossed around the idea of inviting the single adults from the neighboring towns to a Friday night get-together.
So far, Pastor Jeremy had been successful in staving them off, but with the holidays fast approaching, he’d heard the rumblings again and it seemed matchmaking was in the air. Justin made a mental note to pass the warning along to his brothers.
He heard the faucet in the bathroom turn off and opened the microwave door. He removed the plates of lasagna and then set them on the table. He added slices of crusty bread and two glasses of ice water. He was just placing the butter on the table when she reappeared in the doorway. He glanced up and asked, “Feel better?”
Jessica nodded slowly and then walked forward. “It smells delicious.”
“Thanks. How’s the head?”
“It’s okay. Sore. Maybe I could have some ice?”
Justin shook his head, opening the freezer drawer and pulling out a frozen bag of peas, “Better than ice. It conforms to your body part.”
Jessica took the bag of peas and the dishtowel he handed her, placing it on her forehead before commenting, “You speak as if from experience.”
“I have two brothers, and more experience than I like to remember.”
“You and your brothers fought a lot?”
“No! But like all boys, we got into lots of mischief. What about you? Any brothers or sisters?”
Chapter 5
Justin didn’t expect his question to have such an effect on her. She paled and then turned away from him, returning to the dining table and sitting down. Following her, he asked, “Jessica?”
“Jess.”
“What?” he queried, sitting down and watching her carefully.
“My friends call me Jess. Or Jessie.”
“Okay. Jess, you never answered my question.”
She sighed. “No siblings. Not even any parents I actually remember.” I would have loved to have brothers and sisters. Growing up, she’d longed for the companionship
of someone other than her grandmother. Never one to make friends easily, she’d known a few girls she called friends, but they’d never been the type of friends one hung out with at the mall, or even had sleepovers with. Those types of friends hadn’t existed for Jessica while growing up.
“Wow! I’m sorry. About your parents,” Justin clarified.
Jess cringed, wishing she could have held back that last statement. Way to put how you really feel right out there, Jess!
“Yeah, well they made a decision and it cost them their lives. At least they left me with my grandmother before they allowed themselves to get killed.”
Allowed themselves to get killed? Justin reached for the butter. “Your grandmother raised you?” He steered away from the topic of her parents for the moment.
“Yes.” Jessica had a smile upon her face, but it was strained.
“What’s she think about you moving to the mountains of Colorado?” he asked with an easy smile on his face.
Jessica felt her heart clench, and she mumbled, “She’s dead, so it doesn’t matter what she thinks.”
“Again, I’m sorry.” Sensing that a change of subject was needed, Justin picked up his fork and then gestured towards her plate. “Eat, and then maybe we can watch a movie. It’s still early.”
Jessica set the bag of peas down on the table and placed her napkin in her lap. She took a bite of her food and then looked up at him in surprise, “This is really good.”
“Thanks. I enjoy cooking. That was probably what I missed the most when I was over in the Middle East.”
“You were in the service?” she asked in shock. He hadn’t seemed like the military type. She’d met plenty of air jockeys in Arizona. It was close enough to the airbases in Nevada, and with the pleasant weather and lack of mountains, it made a great place to hold practice drills.
Three Brothers Lodge - The Complete Series Box Set Page 3
