I enter the living room quietly, coming up short with a frown. Sawyer isn’t lying on the sofa. As a matter of fact, he’s nowhere in the cabin. His disappearance makes my heart pound. A few more steps allows me to see the kitchen and dark landscape beyond the window.
Still no grumpy hero.
Oh God, did he leave? Was I too weird last night?
It shouldn’t surprise me. Men like him…well, they’re an entirely different breed. If they choose to live on the mountain, then there’s a good reason.
Knowing a little more about Sawyer has me understanding more and more why he’s so…him.
But I really, really hope I didn’t scare him away last night.
A sound comes from somewhere behind me, making me turn. The mountain man in question, all six foot something with tattoos curling up his thick forearms, leaves the bedroom in fresh flannel and clean jeans.
“Oh,” I say, running my eyes over him. “There you are.”
Sawyer comes to a stop, brows furrowed. “Where else would I be?”
I feel my cheeks warm as I stutter. “Well, I couldn’t—I thought—maybe you'd left.”
A frown tips his lips as he takes a step towards me. “I wouldn’t leave you during a blizzard, Skye.”
There’s something about the gruffness of his voice that sends a tingle right through me. And he still smells amazing. “I thought maybe I scared you away. After what happened last night. Which shouldnothave happened, and I am so sorry?—”
Sawyer cuts me off with a sigh, pushing past me without a word.
Maybe I fucked this up. He came and rescued me, and I…
I thanked him with a kiss.
Honestly, I still don’t know what came over me. Even now, I don’t quite understand the panic rushing through me as I watch him enter the kitchen. I clasp my hands over my belly, following slowly, though I manage to keep a very normal, healthy distance between us.
There’s a draw about this quiet, sullen man. There shouldn’t be. Not a single ounce of me should be pulled into him and whatever issues he’s dealing with. The men who live on the mountain do so for areason. Personal reasons, but a reason that should make anyone run—even if I don’t know it.
My best friend might have found true love with one of these mountain men, but that’s not something I should think about at all.
Not now, not ever.
Not with my sweet girl so close to arriving.
And not when I know damn well I need to be alone. Maybe I am no better than the mountain men, because being alone is better than relying on someone who could walk out at any moment.
“You must be hungry,” he says, voice low. “Go sit down, and I’ll make you something to eat.”
Fuck. I know what it is about him: it’s how easily he slips into a role where he takes care of me. I used to be the person who took care of everyone. My sister, my cousin. My baby daddy ex who jumped ship when I gave him the chance.
But this man I don’t know well has no problem stepping up and just…doing these little things that make my heart warm. All the necessary walls I’ve been constructing these last few months against everything—men, in particular—are starting to crumble just from him.
It makes me think there’s someone out there whocouldsee me as more than just a failing soon-to-be single mom.
It makes me hopehecould see me as more.
Nope. Snap out of it. It’s just the hormones. Just me being nine months pregnant and ready to pop. It’s the loneliness I’ve been feeling the last couple of months especially.
And yet, as I watch him cook oatmeal on the stove—something so simple it shouldn’t make tears spring to my eyes—I realise it might not be that easy after all.
I checkmy cell for any missed calls or texts, but the lack of either makes my belly dip. What if something happened to my sister or cousin? What if they’re hurt—or worse?
I know Sophia will tell them I’m safe with Sawyer, but it makes me a little nervous knowing no one has tried to reach out.
