If it was merely background noise, Harper wouldn’t have noticed his game play. But he let that slide. This was the first time they’d been in a meaningful conversation in… ever. He was still figuring her out and didn’t want to put her on her back foot again.
Before he could respond, there was a low popping sound and the car began to vibrate. A light came on in the dash.
“Fuck.” His hands gripped the steering wheel more firmly as he brought them to a gradual stop on the shoulder.
“What happened?”
“I think we ran over something sharp. I’m guessing there’s a puncture in the tire.”
“What are we going to do? Should we try to change the tire?” Harper sounded tense.
“I don’t think it’s safe to do that right here. These are run-flats, so we’ll be okay for a few miles. But we shouldn’t try to get all the way to Lake George on a punctured tire.”
He checked the GPS map, thankful to see they were in a familiar area. “There’s a place I’ve stayed at a couple of times, a fishing cabin, not too far from here. We can pull off there and see what we’re looking at.”
CHAPTER 3
Harper heldher breath as Chase navigated the Range Rover over the increasingly bumpy road to the cabin. She hoped there was somewhere to park under cover so that they could get the tire changed without being out in the elements. Then they could quickly get back on the road and finish the journey.
Traveling with Chase was turning out not to be a hardship, but she now had a different problem: her old crush was rearing to new life, stronger than ever, and keeping it at bay with the two of them snuggled inside this warm cocoon was increasingly difficult.
“Is it much farther?” she asked. Visibility was becoming worse by the second.
“About a mile.” Chase sounded uncharacteristically agitated, and it ratcheted up her own nerves.
She held her breath as they traveled another half mile, the Range Rover inching through snowdrifts. Rounding a bend, they came to a sudden halt. A tree had fallen across the road.
“Shit. Shit shit shit!” Chase banged his fist on the steering wheel, drawing her startled attention. She’d never seen him this frazzled.
Harper set a hand on his arm, feeling his tightly contracted muscle. “Hey. It’s okay. We can’t be that far from the cabin, we can get there on foot.”
He looked at her, his brows lowered and jaw tight, and she couldn’t help imagining him as a fierce warrior from a time long ago. Huffing out a sigh, he replied, “I don’t think we have another choice. Are you okay walking?”
She lifted a leg, displaying her leather boots. “I’m prepared. Are you?”
A corner of his mouth turned up in a smile, and she counted it as a victory. “I’ll be fine. We should get started before it gets any darker. It’ll be hard to see anything before too long.”
Harper grabbed her coat from the back seat, performing contortions to put it on inside the car. She tugged on her beanie, pulled up the hood of her coat, and smiled at Chase. “Ready. What about you? Where’s your coat?”
“Packed in the back. I don’t want to take the time to get it out; I’ll be fine in my hoodie.”
Harper was dubious but didn’t want to argue the point. It wasn’t getting less snowy out there.
They exited the Range Rover and approached the tree. Chase stepped over, then turned to her, offering his hand to help.
His green eyes were far too close to her, and Harper had to fight to keep her breathing even. She took his hand and he held her firmly as she stepped over the fallen trunk.
Chase cleared his throat. “We should get moving. Snow’s coming down really fast.”
Harper slogged through the snow, following the footsteps Chase was making, but the snow was falling furiously now and it was becoming more difficult to push her way through, even in her boots. Chase turned to check on her, stopping in his tracks and retracing his steps to where she stood.
He turned and crouched with his back to her. “Hop on.”
Absolutely not. She would not wrap herself around Chase like a baby koala clinging to its mother. “I’m fine. And it’s too far for you to carry me piggyback.”
He scoffed. “I think I’m capable of carrying you a quarter mile. I’m a pretty strong guy. Now, hop on so we can get there faster.”
“Rude,” she answered, and he chuckled.
