by T. S. Joyce
And hello again Mr. Stiffy.
“Fuck,” he muttered, shoving the door open.
It would’ve been better—safer—if he’d just kept walking right past her and up the porch steps. She had already declined his help, after all, but she was pulling with all her might, and the box wasn’t coming out.
“Here, let me,” he gritted out, leaning over her.
“You’ve already rescued me once,” she ground out, pulling until her body contorted at a dangerous angle. The box moved an inch.
“Just tell me where to put it,” he said, swatting at her hand.
“Don’t tell me what to do!”
The box moved again, loosening from the ledge she was trying to heft it over. With a smug smile, he said, “Fine.” He released the box and threw his hands up in surrender before stepping away.
The box shot out of the back, and Emry screamed as she blasted backward.
Instant regret tightened his chest, and Graylan lurched forward, catching her before she hit the ground, but just barely. They both hit the snow and the box tipped, spilling its red and green glittering contents, as if someone had thrown a holiday grenade onto Ms. Helena’s front yard.
Emry lay there, staring up at the gray storm clouds that covered the sun as snow fell across her face. When a tiny sniffle sounded from her, Graylan felt like grit. He banged his head back against the snow.
One of his arms was pinned under her, but he couldn’t make himself pull away. “Bad day?” he asked unnecessarily. Of course she’d had a shit day. She’d been in a ditch fifteen minutes ago, and he wasn’t exactly being nice to her.
“You ever break up in a small town?”
The question took him by complete surprise. Staring up at the clouds along with her, he murmured, “Once. You?”
“So you know.”
He did. Living minutes away from his ex, watching her move on. Seeing her everywhere, holding hands, kissing someone else. Trying not to drive by her house to see if her new beau was sleeping over. He didn’t wish it on anyone. “Who is he?”
Emry inhaled deeply and wiped her damp lashes with the back of her glove. “The mayor.”
“Oh,” he said sympathetically.
“I moved into Helena’s house when we broke up, and I’m over him. I really am. But he cheated with her, and got married right after we were through, and last month, he and his wife had a little girl. The perfect Christmas gift. A family.”
Heartache tainted the last word, and Graylan had to fight the urge to pull her in close and give a stranger’s comfort.
The snow made a crunching noise under her as she shook her head. “I don’t know why I told you that. Sorry.”
She rocked upward, and he scrambled to help her up. Dusting snow from the seat of her jeans, Emry looked up at him with those open, emotion-filled gray eyes—eyes a color that rivaled the storm clouds above. She left him breathless.
“So, do you want to start over?” she asked. “Or are you totally fine with that first introduction between us?”
This was a bad idea—a really, really bad idea. But she was having a rough day, and she was so pretty—dark hair and pink lips against that snowy backdrop—he couldn’t be rude any longer. With a soft growl, he pulled his snow-dusted glove off and extended his hand. “Graylan Young. Nice to meet you.”
Instead of shaking his hand, she stepped forward into his space and reached up, hesitating briefly before she pulled his scarf down his mouth, exposing his entire face to the cold wind. Her eyes went wide as she raked her gaze over him.
Holding his breath and frozen before her, Graylan wondered if she liked what she saw.
“I’m Emry Mason. Nice to meet you, too.”
Oh, she was dangerous. The human instincts in him told him to flee and never look back, but the animal instincts screamed to touch her to see if her skin felt as soft as it looked. Out of self-preservation, he yanked his hand back and jerked his chin toward the scattered Christmas decorations. “What’s all that for?”
“Emry?” Ms. Helena asked from the front porch. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” Emry called with a wave to his new landlady. “Graylan got me out of the ditch, and my car doesn’t even look too banged up. Thanks for sending him to help.”
“Okay, well I’ve made you both hot chocolate to warm you up when you’re ready. It’s in the upstairs kitchen.” The stooped woman’s aged voice faded with each word as she disappeared into the house.
Graylan nodded his head toward the porch. “Why don’t you go on in? I’ll clean all this up and bring it up to your door.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely sure. Go on.”
“Okay.” Emry took a few steps in the crunching snow, then turned. “And don’t tell me what to do,” she said softly. The corner of her mouth turned up in a teasing smile before she spun and made her way up the porch stairs and into the house.
Graylan huffed a sigh and frowned at their intertwined snow angels near his feet.
Three weeks wasn’t going to work.
He was going to have to leave this town much earlier than he’d planned.
Chapter Three
Emry almost knocked right into Helena when she strode into the entryway, not paying attention to where she was going. Helena made a nice save by hugging her up tight as she said, “I’m so relieved you’re okay, dear.”
Emry melted into her embrace, glad for such tender moments with the woman she’d grown to look at as family. “Me, too.”
“Are you sure you’re all right with me leasing out the room to Graylan? I should’ve asked you first.”
“Helena, this is your home, and you need to make the decisions that are best for you and this place. And you’ve never steered us wrong. I trust you.” Emry frowned out the window at Graylan who was gathering the spilled holiday supplies as the snow barreled down on him. “Besides, if you hadn’t accepted his application, I’d still be out there in a snow bank right now.” Easing back, she squeezed Helena’s frail shoulders, the thick material of her sweater bunching under Emry’s fingers. “You did good. Now, I’m going to get some dry clothes on and partake in that hot chocolate you made. I swear,” she called over her shoulder as she marched up the stairs, “you could open a shop and sell it in town. All those shops boasting the best hot chocolate in Breckenridge don’t have anything on yours.”
“Oh, hush, flatterer.” There was a smile in Helena’s words as she tottered off.
Huffing a sigh at how badly today could’ve ended up, Emry padded down the hallway and pushed her way through her apartment door. There was a kitchen at the end of the hall that she would have to share with Graylan, but at least his living quarters were completely separate from hers.
The snow had begun to melt into her jeans, chilling her to the bone, so the first order of business was to get into something dry and comfortable for the night.
Before she went out to the kitchen, she stopped by the bathroom mirror and plumped her lips with a fresh coat of pink gloss to match the dry sweater she’d put on. Narrowing her eyes suspiciously at her reflection in the mirror, she whispered, “I know you’re definitely not preening for him. He couldn’t be less interested in you. And he’s a bear shifter.” Though, she couldn’t think of any real reason that would be a problem. A couple of the Keller brothers had married humans before they Turned them.
The thought of a bear ripping out of her skin sent a shiver of terror down her spine. On second thought, she would bring the hot chocolate into her room and hide from him.
She almost ran into Graylan’s closed fist when she threw the door open. With a startled yelp, she backed into her room. His dark hair was messy on top, as if he’d run his hands through it roughly. Chiseled jaw and a straight nose over too-sensual lips, and she was stunned all over again, just as she had been when she’d pulled his scarf from his face outside. And those eyes… It was more than the strange color that trapped her in his gaze. He was so serious, studying her as if he
’d never seen her before now.
He was holding the box of decorations, his fist poised on the verge of knocking.
“Sorry,” he muttered, breaking the spell. “Here.”
When he handed her the box, she squawked and went straight to the floor with it, the weight nearly yanking her arms out of their sockets along the way.
“Oh, shit. I forgot how weak you all are.”
“I am not weak, Mr. Young. You are just ridiculously, super-humanly strong. I do bicep curls, sets of twenty, I’ll have you know.”
Graylan looked utterly baffled. “It wasn’t an insult. I said ‘you all,’ as in not just you. All humans…”
“Are what? Finish it. All humans are puny with noodle arms? I work out!”
“Okay, clearly I don’t have a way with words. I’m sorry if I’ve offended you.”
Well, that took her back. Never in her life had a man apologized to her for anything. “Forgiven,” she muttered suspiciously.
Graylan stood there, looking unsure of himself. He’d lost the jacket, and his green sweater clung to his wide shoulders. And holy shit balls, she could see the perfect indentation between his muscular pecs through the stretchy fabric. The curve of his shoulders and biceps and the cords of muscle in his neck said he probably bench pressed mini-cars like hers on the reg. His long, powerful legs were encased in dark jeans, splayed, as if he would bolt at any moment and oh my God, I’m staring.
When she looked back up to that blazing inhuman gaze of his, Graylan’s eyes were dancing, and his lips had turned up in a sexy grin. “You like what you see?”
Emry scoffed and opened her mouth, ready to lie her ass off, but Graylan shook his head before she did. “Bear shifters can hear lies and half-truths.”
Fantastic. “I’m going to get some hot chocolate,” she announced. Probably cold chocolate by now. Chin held up primly, she marched past him and only sniffed him once. Pine sap, soap, and the remnants of some freaking good-smelling cologne.
“Did you just sniff me?”
“No.”
“Lie.”
“I was just breathing loudly,” she argued, cheeks burning like she’d stuck her face in a fire.
Was he chuckling behind her? Who cares? Not me. Don’t turn around.
The kitchen area was modest in size, and the breakfast nook only boasted a two-person table. Plenty of room for her when she took her meals here, but Graylan seemed to fill up the whole room, and she knew better than to get trapped in in the small space with the sexy, irritating man-beast.
She snatched the mug of hot cocoa with the most marshmallows in it, arched her eyebrows pointedly at Graylan, and headed back to her room.
“Can I ask you a question?”
She shrugged her shoulders up to her ears defensively and turned around to face him. “Yes,” she drawled out.
“Why the decorations? It’s almost Christmas. If you put them up now, you’ll just have to pack them back up in a few days.”
“Where I’m from, we leave decorations up all year if we feel like it.”
“Trailer park princess?”
“Judgmental jerk.”
Graylan waited, arms flexing deliciously as he crossed them over his chest.
“Yes, if you must know. Way to win a stereotype.”
“Emry, I grew up in a trailer park, too.”
To hide her shock, she took a long sip of her hot chocolate before she responded. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a good old boy.”
“What would you have pegged me for?”
Emry inhaled deeply, her eyes on his long, graceful fingers as he gestured her toward the small table. As she begrudgingly sat, she admitted, “I don’t know. You confuse me.”
“I confuse everyone.”
“Where is your crew?” she blurted out, regretting the words as soon as they tumbled past her lips.
His eyes hardened, and he looked away toward the large window. It was growing dark outside, but the heavy snowfall was still visible.
“It’s none of my business,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I asked you a question—”
“Which I didn’t answer.”
“So it’s only fair you ask one back.”
“The decorations are for Helena,” she said softly. “Her husband died a few years ago right before Christmas. She lost the spirit of the season, and I thought if I spruced this place up a little, maybe she could be happy around the holidays again. Sounds stupid, I know.”
“No, not stupid. It sounds like you are a kind person.” Graylan leaned forward, elbows on the table as he cradled his mug in his hands. “Is that why she doesn’t leave the house?” He lifted his bright gaze to hers. “Because her mate died?”
It was strange that he used the word mate, but that sounded about right. “Helena loved him very much. They did everything together, and a piece of her died with him. She’s scared.” Emry shrugged. “She loved him so much she couldn’t really live without him. It’s sad, but it’s also kind of beautiful.”
Graylan grew quiet and still. He watched her with an unfathomable expression, and just as she began to grow uncomfortable under the scrutiny, he leaned back in his chair. “I never had a crew. Crews are for grizzly shifters, and I’m not a grizzly.”
“Oh.” Emry pursed her lips, trying to keep the string of questions trapped in her throat. Unable to resist just one, she asked, “So what kind of bear shifter are you?”
Graylan shook his head slowly. “My kind are nomads. I won’t be here for long before my animal gets the urge to move on.” His words came out hard and cold, as if he were warning her against getting attached. “I have to go to work.”
“Now? It’s a blizzard out there, and it’s seven in the evening. What kind of work could possibly be worth going out in this?”
“I’m at home in the snow, Emry.” The way her name brushed past his lips, so familiar in that deep sexy voice of his, sent flutters into her stomach. “And I plow the roads. If you or anyone else in town wants to be able to drive anywhere tomorrow, I have to work.”
He stood, unfolding his long legs, and she arched her neck back to take in his full height. He was as tall as a redwood and looked just as strong. He sauntered off, his hot chocolate still full on the table. And just before he disappeared down the stairs, he turned with a curious furrow to his dark brows. “Stay in tonight.”
“You worried about me?” she joked, but the smile faded from her face when he just stared at her.
“Yes,” was all he said before he turned and left her there reeling with some sense of loss she didn’t understand.
Chapter Four
Emry stretched and opened her bleary eyes to the window. Gray light filtered through, muted by the falling snow. Helena’s house was usually so cold she had to wear socks to bed, but warm air was blasting steadily from the vent. Emry was toasty warm and had even kicked out of her thick comforter sometime during the night. Eight-thirty was late for her early-to-rise inner alarm clock, but today was her day off, and all she had planned was decorating Helena’s house and helping at the community center to prepare for the holiday dance the town hosted for its residents every year.
Holy snowflakes, she loved this time of year. Snuggling deeper into her Christmas tree print flannel sheets, she grinned at the falling snow. Today was filled with so many possibilities. For one, it was decorating day around the house. For two, Helena had promised to make holiday sugar cookies that used to take first prize at the autumn baking contests in town, and last but certainly not least, she was going to get to see Graylan today. She frowned at her remembered conversation with him about his odd hours. Maybe she’d get to see him. But the possibility was there and cause for a chipper mood despite the stormy weather.
She showered quickly, humming a medley of her favorite Christmas songs, then fixed her hair to shining and readied for the day. Graylan wasn’t much of a holiday cheer-meister, and she got that. Not everyone loved the holiday as much as
she did, but she was determined not to let his sullen mood dampen her spirits. Practically buzzing, she jogged down the stairs to see if Helena had eaten breakfast yet. If not, Emry was going to make pancakes and bacon for the both of them.
When she discovered the downstairs rooms empty, she called out, “Helena?”
“Out here!” came the muffled reply.
Emry pulled open the front door and froze, heart thumping against her breastbone. All of the loose and broken porch railings had been fixed, and each was wrapped in spiraling garland. Helena was dressed in her warmest clothes, gesturing to Graylan who stood atop a ladder, centering a huge wreath on the entrance to the porch. Twinkling holiday lights covered everything. Emry gasped as her gaze landed on the half-empty box of decorations she’d brought from town. Last she’d seen them, they were sitting in her room. Graylan must’ve come in and grabbed them in the night. She didn’t know whether to be angry at his intrusion or happy he’d taken it upon himself to start decorating.
“That’s perfect, right there,” Helena instructed.
Graylan stood on the ladder as if he hadn’t a care in the world about heights, clad in dark-wash jeans, a blue sweater, and nothing else. He wasn’t even shivering, but perhaps bear shifters were unaffected by the cold. “Morning,” he greeted her with the flash of a bright smile before he swung his attention back to the task at hand and finished tying up the wreath.
Great goodness, what that man’s smile did to her insides. Pulse tripping, stomach fluttering, and she was having trouble drawing a deep breath all the sudden.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Helena asked, taking her place beside Emry with her hands clasped in front of her mouth. “It’s been a long time since my porch looked like this. And he fixed the furnace! We’ll have a warm rest of the winter.”
Emry couldn’t help her answering smile. Damn, it was good to see Helena so happy, especially since she’d been so unhappy for so long.
“I was going to make breakfast. Pancakes and bacon, if you haven’t eaten.” She was talking to Helena but couldn’t quite take her eyes off Graylan as he climbed down the ladder with the grace of a panther.
