He threw back the blankets and slipped out of the bed. The wooden floors were cold against his bare feet, but he didn’t care. He needed to get his phone.
His phone without service.
His fuzzy morning brain finally put the pieces together. He could go out there and check it, but considering he was wearing only boxer shorts, that was probably a bad idea. At this late morning hour, Bree was no doubt awake and roaming around the house. Last night, she had fled the room like her hair was on fire. Parading around half-naked wouldn’t make matters better for either of them.
A shower, he decided. That way he could go out dressed and presentable, and his phone would have thirty minutes or so more time to get back to functionality.
Climbing into the large tile enclosure, he turned the knobs that activated the multiple showerheads and body sprays. The scalding-hot shower felt wonderful as it pummeled his body from all angles. Ian was warm-blooded, always flinging back the blankets and going without a coat, but even he was getting chilly with all this snow. He dried off quickly and slipped into casual clothes. A pair of jeans and a sweater seemed appropriate attire for being snowed in at a mountain cabin.
He laced up his boots so he could go outside later. He needed to bring in more firewood and, if he could, shovel a path to the road.
Finally, he emerged from his room and found the house still and quiet. A pot of coffee had been brewed, so he poured a cup and glanced out the window over the sink.
The snow had stopped and the sun was out. That wasn’t saying much. The massive piles of white fluff were hip high in some places. He couldn’t tell his front porch from his driveway from the road. It was just white in every direction. Maybe shoveling was a pointless venture.
A soft chirp distracted him from his investigation. He ignored it for a moment, then realized the significance of the sound. It was his cell phone. It was working!
Lunging across the countertop, he snatched up his phone and hit the button to activate the screen. Five beautiful bars and 4G data. He had never been quite so happy to see these old friends.
He had missed a lot. His screen was crowded with pop-ups about missed calls and texts and a hundred unread emails. That was more than even he had been expecting. What the hell happened last night?
A noise from behind him in the dining room forced Ian to look up from his phone. Bree was coming in through the glass door that led out to the covered, wraparound porch. She was bundled up in a quilted blue coat that must have been in her luggage. It was almost the same color as her eyes. Her long blond hair was in a thick braid over her shoulder, a knit cap tugged over her head. She was red-cheeked from the cold but smiling. She had her camera with her. She must have gone outside to take pictures.
“You’re up,” she noted. “I was beginning to worry that old guitar had sucked out your soul. That, or I’d made such an ass of myself last night, you were afraid to come out of your room for fear I might throw myself at you.”
“Neither,” he said. Truthfully, if he thought she would throw herself at him again, he’d have slept on the couch to catch her the minute she woke up. But they were both adults and knew the kiss they’d shared last night was a mistake. He wouldn’t even have mentioned it happened if she hadn’t. Ian didn’t want things to be more uncomfortable than they already were.
“I guess without my phone chirping and beeping at me, I slept later than usual. It’s working again,” he added cheerfully, holding it up with a triumphant smile.
“Oh, good. The balance is restored to the Force.”
Ian chuckled. “I think so. But it seems that everything went crazy while it was down. I have twenty-five missed calls, ten voice mail messages, fifteen missed texts and a hundred emails.”
Bree set her camera on the granite bar and walked over to make herself a cup of coffee. “You’re more important than I gave you credit for.”
“Not really. Most of it is from Missy. That’s weird. She’s not the best at keeping in touch. Besides, she knows I’m stuck up here in bad weather. I’m not sure what she expects me to do about whatever is happening.”
“You don’t think she found out you’re up here with me, do you?”
Ian shook his head. “No. She wouldn’t know who you were, anyway.”
Bree pouted. “You mean you’ve never told her about your college romance?”
He shrugged. “We don’t really talk about me.”
Bree’s eyes widened at him for a moment, but she didn’t respond. She just turned back to sweetening her coffee. Ian was relieved. He didn’t really want to explore that topic so early today.
Thumbing through his screen, he saw a phone message from his label’s talent manager, Keith. He would listen to that first. Business before Missy’s drama.
“Ian! Call me the instant you get this message. I’ve got press crawling all over the studio. I had to hire some private security to patrol the parking lot. This mess has totally blown up. I wish to God you weren’t trapped in the mountains.”
Ian’s heart started racing. His fingers fumbled for a moment as he tried to hit the buttons to call Keith back, but he finally connected and it starting ringing.
“Is everything okay?” Bree looked concerned.
He shook his head. “I don?
?t know yet.” Keith finally answered. “Keith! What the hell is going on? My phone has been out since yesterday afternoon so I’ve been out of touch.”