“We’re not too far away. I can bring you some clothes to wear. We’re about the same size,” Ellie said.
I shook my head. “You don’t have to do that.”
She countered, “Ido. Three days in that little elf costume and you’re likely to drive Tex crazy. And the roads aren’t supposed to clear up anytime soon. You’ll be stuck out here for at least two more days.”
“No. I have to be back in Fernwood for Christmas. I can’t take more time off work.”
Ellie gently told me, “You might want to prepare to be disappointed, sweetie. Snow doesn’t leave the roads around here easily.”
That’s when the guys came back in.
Holt was chortling loudly, and Tex had a tiny smile on his lips and a light shining in his eyes. Whatever his friend had said to him had raised his spirits.
Ellie said, “Hon, we should go back now. I’m going to bring Chloe some supplies.”
Holt cocked his head. “You don’t want to hang out for a few minutes first?”
“Sure. We can do that. As long as we leave enough time to get home and back again.”
I’d put on some music after Tex left. His collection was surprisingly old school, and the sound of James Taylor played through the cabin.
Ellie settled down on the loveseat next to me, making room for the guys in the living room.
Holt sat down in an old easy chair and kicked his feet up on the coffee table. “So what do you think of Red Oak Mountain, Chloe?”
I darted a glance over at Tex, then looked away quickly. “I like it here. I might never go home.”
Holt grinned. “That’s the spirit. We need new blood here on the mountain. Where are you from and why would you leave it all for this place?”
The four of us ended up talking for hours. Ellie and Holt were curious about me, so they peppered me with questions.
Tex hung back, quiet, drifting in and out of the room from time to time. But I could feel a sense of ease in him.
It was obvious he was close with his friends, and it was nice seeing him interact with other people. I felt like I was getting to know him better.
After they’d been here for half the day, they headed back to their place, then showed back up while Tex was cleaning up after dinner with a few changes of clothes for me.
Ellie was the patron saint of women, because she’d brought me a cozy lounging outfit, a fresh bra and panties, and a tiny nightgown that didn’t quite match the season but wassexyas hell. She knew how to read a room.
After I’d expressed my eternal gratitude, they’d turned around and snow-shoed back home.
Then it was finally just Tex and me.
Tex eyed my new outfit. It was the fanciest thing I’d worn in over a year, even if it was just sweatpants. But it was one of those cashmere sets in a soft shade of butter yellow.
“Ellie must have money to fling these around to people she just met.”
Tex nodded. “She has some kind of work-from-home computer job. Gets paid decent. And Holt’s wine has been getting more and more popular. He quit the factory and does his winemaking full time again.”
“He’s a winemaker?” His friends were fascinating, just like him.
Tex picked up a bottle I hadn’t noticed before. “Best elderberry wine in a four-state territory.” Then he uncorked it, pouring us both a glass. “A bottle of his wine is pretty rare these days. He wouldn’t have brought this over if you hadn’t been here.”
I tried hard to suppress the grin that wanted to pop out on my face. “Your friends seem like they might be trying to set us up.”
He raised his eyebrows playfully. “Yeah. Ellie knows I have a thing for women insweatpants.”
I swatted him playfully on the shoulder. “Hey. These arespecialsweatpants. Feel them.”
