Up close, the floral scent of her perfume is even more overwhelming, but I don’t hate it. Her shampoo is sweet, almost citrusy, and I have a feeling once she leaves my arms, I’ll forever be reminded of her by scent alone.
The woman pulls back with a huff, wiping her eyes as she looks up at me. “I’m sorry,” she says, voice low. Her eyes remind me of the lake about a mile down the mountain. Of its depths in the summer months when the sun is high and the water is still. “I shouldn’t have broken down like that.”
I clear my throat and force myself to take a step back. “Nothing to be sorry about,” I grumble, crossing my arms. “Look?—”
“We’ll leave,” she offers quietly. “Now. We’re packed to go. I can get the car, and we’ll be out of your hair. I’ll clean first, too. But we can be gone in an hour.”
Sighing, I look over my shoulder. Even though the curtains are closed, I have a feeling the sky is already dark, and the snow has picked up. If I have to guess, the storm is in full swing now, and there’s no escaping it. I’d already been worried about them being trapped when I’d pulled in. In the last fifteen or so minutes I’d been talking to this woman, I have no doubt the weather had changed enough to make it impossible to leave.
“You might not be able to,” I reply slowly, looking back at her. I take in the widening of her eyes, the flash of fear I can’t read. “I left work early because a storm was coming in.”
Her fear turns into something else as she rushes to the window. Sure enough, as she pulls the curtain back, the sky is that deep grey I knew it’d be, and the snow is falling in sheets.
“No,” she whispers, looking back. “Oh, God. I’m so?—”
“Look at the snow!” one of her kids shouts from the living room, making me stiffen. I’d almost forgotten we weren’t alone. “Cleo, look!”
The woman’s eyes widen again. “Shit. Shit.” She mutters the curse several more times as she drops her towel and pulls on a pair of tights. The loss of fabric gives me another chance to drink her in. Her curves are heavy, and her ass looks far too tempting, especially once the tights go on and hug the globes. I remain quiet as she pulls on a sweater. “I—uh. Shit.”
She barely spares me another look as she leaves the bedroom. I breathe in deeply like it might calm me and these ridiculous thoughts, but all I smell still is her damn perfume.
Shit indeed.
I slowly leave the bedroom and find her in the living room, eyeing the largest window and the darkness beyond. “Stay away from the glass, just in case,” she tells her boy, dragging him to her side, the young girl standing beside her.
The girl looks over her shoulder, catching my eye, and screams. The woman turns sharply, wide-eyed and panicked, but as soon as she notices me, she releases a heavy breath.
“This is Winnie’s brother. The owner of the cabin,” she says as she wraps an arm around her daughter. Of the two, the girl looks more like her mother, but there are obvious similarities between the pair. I remember Winnie calling them twins.
“Caleb,” I offer, stepping forward.
“Caleb,” the woman murmurs, meeting my stare. “I guess we aren’t leaving, are we?”
I shook my head, gaze flickering to the dark window. “No,” I reply darkly. “I suppose you aren’t.”
That shouldn’t make my chest feel the way it does. Almost like a twinge of hope and relief mixed together. It doesn’t make sense. And yet, that’s not something I should be surprised about, either.
Especially not here in Willow Ridge.
FOUR
CASSIDY
“Ishould introduce us,” I say quickly, watching Caleb as he eyes the worsening weather. My heart thunders with how violent the storm is, and how fast it came in. When I’d gotten into the shower, the sky had been grey, yes. But there’d been no snow. No sign of it turning.
And now, it’s like we’re being punished. For being in this cabin without his permission. For leaving New Mexico altogether.
The man looks us over with shielded, dark eyes. In the bedroom, I hadn’t realised how much he looks like Winnie, but now with the light to really see him, I can tell they are siblings. There’s something about the similarities that gives me a sense of ease, like seeing the resemblance calms my racing, panicked heart. He doesn’t give me the vibe he intends to do us harm, but he’s also a man who’s had his privacy violated, and we’re basically squatting in his home.
I trust Winnie, probably more than I should considering how long we’ve known each other, but I don’t know how much of that trust extends to her brother.
“This is Cleo and Arlo. The twins,” I introduce slowly, watching Caleb’s expression. His gaze darts between the pair,probably wondering how they could be twins. They look like they could be siblings, of course, but they’re fraternal twins who look almost nothing alike. Cleo takes after me in terms of looks, except for her hair being a couple of shades darker than mine. Arlo has my blond locks, but he takes after his father with his features and lanky build.
Caleb bows his head in a nod. “Hello.”
Arlo, being the more confident one, waves. “Hi.”
Cleo, however, shies behind me. “Hey.”
