“Who could deny such a sweet request?”
Ragnar made the bed,and we climbed back under the covers, the blanket he'd placed over the fitted sheet smelling of fresh laundry, and the undeniable smell of sex everywhere else in the room. When I got settled, he left me to rest and went to start dinner. We’d both worked up an appetite, I was sure.
8
RAGNAR
Several feelings were surfacing in my mind at once as I cooked the skirt steak strips and the pasta that would be our Christmas dinner. It wasn't ham or all the fixings, but it was one of my best meals. I checked on Ryan and saw he was fast asleep, and I felt a moment of guilt for literally riding him so hard. Then I remembered he had been a more than willing participant and let that one feeling go. I had more than enough feelings to work through without guilt, especially since having an amazing mate was one of them.
Looking at the time, I realized it was almost noon. I picked up my phone and, making sure I had a good signal, called my mom. She took a few rings to answer, but she finally picked up with her usual happy enthusiasm.
“Dearest, I’m so glad you called. You’ve been on my mind the last few days. How is the weather up there? Are you snowed in, or did most of the snow miss you?”
“Good morning, Mom, and Merry Christmas. The snow has blanketed the mountain, but I’m fine. I have enough supplies for a few weeks, and I was planning to stay up here and work anyway. But other than that, I have some news.”
She glossed right over what I’d said. “Oh, darling, please be careful and stay warm. Do you have power? Do you need to fly down?” Smiling to myself, I tried again to tell her my news.
“Mom, I told you I’m fine, but there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Dearest, don’t downplay this. You know how I worry about you up there on that mountain, alone. Anything could happen. You could be hurt, and no one would know for weeks. No one could get to you if you were hurt. For heaven’s sake, why did you decide to stay in the wilderness for the holidays? I understand your reasons, but I know that if you gave yourself a chance, you could learn to be happy again, love.” She was working herself into a tizzy. If I let her keep going, she’d be chartering a flight to rescue me herself.
“Mother!” I knew she hated being called that, so it was guaranteed to get through to her.
“Ragnar Christian Scott, you know I hate it when you call me that.”
“I know, Mom, but I need you to focus. I have some news.”
“Oh, well, why didn’t you say so, dearest? What is it?”
“I’m not alone up here on the mountain, Mom. I met my mate.”
“Ohhh, ohhh, really and truly? Ohhh, I have to tell everyone. They'll all be here in a few hours. We need to set up a call so you can introduce your mate to everyone. Who is it? Do we know them?”
“Mom, calm down. We're not doing intros yet. We just met. I'll tell everyone when I'm ready, but don't make a big deal about it, okay? Promise me.”
She griped about my restrictions but eventually agreed. “Oh, all right. I'll agree, but you'd better not drag this out. We've all been worried about you, so you'd better let everyone know sooner rather than later.”
“I promise, Mom. And to show you how much I love you, I'll even tell you his name first. His name is Ryan Winthorpe. He's some kind of writer, I think.”
The dead air on the phone made me pull it away from my face to check the signal. When I put it back to my ear, all I heard was screaming.
“Richard, Richard, get in here! You won't believe the news! Our new son-in-law is Ryan freaking Winthorpe!”
“Mom, what the hell? We had a deal.”
“That was before you told me your new mate is a world-famous thriller writer with a TV series on Netflix next year.”
“Wait, what?”
“You didn’t know? Your father has been a Winthorpe fan since he read his debut novel a few years ago. He’s brilliant.”
“I mean, he is pretty special, but I didn’t know much about his career, just that he’s a writer.”
“Well, he’s a fantastic artist, and you’re fortunate to have met him. I’m so happy for you, sweetheart. I need to run to get ready for dinner, but keep us in the loop about your plans. I read that Ryan has a house somewhere in Tennessee or Georgia or somewhere down there. Will you be moving down there now that you’ve sold your house?”
“Umm, I’m not sure. We haven’t talked about it yet, but I wouldn’t mind moving back down there.”
“Okay, let me know. Love you and Merry Christmas to you both.”
