His ribs expanded a little and he glanced over his shoulder at me, expression blank. “Sure did.”
“With a, um, prosthetic leg.”
“Yeah.”
“What are you? A freaking superhero or something?”
Though I hadn’t meant it as a joke, my question surprised him into laughing. Or something close to it. A choked huff of a sound. “No. But adrenaline’ll help you through some pretty crazy shit.”
“So that was all adrenaline? None of it was skill? Or superhuman strength?” I pointed vaguely at his excessive array of muscles.
He put down the fork with which he’d prodded at the bacon, and turned to face me. “I don’t let it slow me down.”
Apparently not. I shook my head. “Whoareyou?”
“Told you. Name’s Micah.”
“You wouldn’t tell me if you were a secret special agent operative person, would you?”
“Nope.” His smile, when he handed me a coffee, was a special kind of magic—like squiggly-belly, juddery-heart kind of magic. It made me both excited and anxious at once. I should get out of here before I did something stupid. Likerightnow. I glanced at the stove. Or maybe after I’d gotten some of that bacon.
The coffee, in a thick, bright orange mug that saidPowered by Stihl, warmed my hands.
“Cream in the fridge. Sugar’s right there.” He pointed to a bag on the counter. “Then go sit. I’ve got news.”
I went for both cream and sugar, hyper-aware of how close he was in this tiny kitchen space. Then, just as I’d opened my mouth to offer to help with breakfast, he pointed at the couch again. “Please.”
I got the feeling he was handling me the way he handled his dogs—kindly and calmly, but with absolute authority.
“News? What news?”
“Turn around.”
I turned and blinked at the room, then focused on the windows. “Shit.” Snow poured from the sky onto a landscape already coated in it. “They’ve cleared the roads, right? I’ve got to get home. Gran’ll—”
“Called the county. Nobody’s going anywhere today. Pretty sure I couldn’t make it down the mountain anyway, even with my plow.”
“I need to call Gran. I can’t leave her alone for Christmas. She’ll be—”
“She called, actually.”
I stared.
“Told me not to wake you. Said she and Gus were just fine and you’d better not do anything foolish.” He gave a half-smile. “Scary lady.”
Right. Okay.
I nodded and hobbled to the sofa, where I collapsed with a groan and not an ounce of grace. I chose to stare out the window, rather than face the man I was apparently stuck with until further notice. He wouldn’t be happy at the intrusion.
Shit.I took a sip and glanced at him. “Wow, this is good coffee.”
He grinned, lifting those high cheekbones higher and carving fine creases around his eyes. Damn, he was handsome. I wondered what he’d look like without the beard and then, because I couldn’t help it, I glanced down at his legs again.
“Want the good news, too?”
My eyes flew back up to meet his. Did I?
10
