With another, longer sigh, she stood and went in search of her of travel mug. If she was venturing out in this mess, she wasn’t doing it without her tea. To make matters worse, the Beast had spotty heat at best. It was famed for never having met a ditch it couldn’t get out of and, with a résumé like that, Avery claimed she didn’t need little things like a working thermostat or accurate gas gauge.
She was tempted to call the tow truck, regardless of what Drew wanted. Driving there would take at least forty-five minutes from town, maybe longer if the snow got any worse. She’d be lucky ifshedidn’t end up in the ditch, too.
She grabbed her keys and coat, and headed for the door. Damn Drew for getting into this mess while his brother was with him. She didn’t want to see Ryan again. It didn’t matter how she seemed to lose all sense of control when she was around him—he was no good for her on any other level. Which was fine, because she definitely wasn’t traipsing out into the painfully cold and wet weather just so she could spend a little more time with him. She was just going to help a friend in need.
That was it.
…
Ryan stared at the text his fool brother had just sent, trying to force a logical reaction even though all he wanted to do was jump from his chair and race to his SUV.
Bri was in an accident. I can’t get out to help her and all my guys are busy with other calls. Need you to. Worried she’s going to wander off. Here’s the address.
Of all the times for the goddamn sheriff’s office to be running low on manpower, now was seriously shit. He hoped to God his brother hadn’t shared who was coming to help her out. If Drew told her to sit and wait for Ryan, she was more likely to stomp through a snowstorm if it meant she could avoid seeing him again.
Hell, two days ago when he’d waited at the diner across the street for her to close the library, he’d seen her peek her head out of the front door, take one look at his SUV, and disappear. Five minutes later he’d watched her sneak out the side exit—which was in the direct line of sight of the booth he’d taken. It was goddamn stupid. They were both adults. And, yeah, the date had been bad—ridiculously good sex on her porch excepted—and then they’d gone and added to the History of Ryan Flannery the night of Avery’s party. But that didn’t mean she had to avoid him. Though, if he had a lick of sense,he’davoidherlike the plague.
Which did nothing to explain why his idiot self was throwing on his ski jacket, grabbing his keys and emergency bag, and heading out into the weather to rescue her ass.
Ryan drove out of town, windshield wipers flying across his line of vision as he followed the GPS’s instructions through winding back roads he only half remembered from high school. What the hell was Bri doing all the way out here? He took the prescribed turn off the main road and cursed when the SUV jostled dangerously. A fuckingdirt road? There had better be a good goddamn explanation, or he was going to be wicked pissed.
Oh, hell, who was he kidding? He was already wicked pissed.
The deep rutted tracks drew him in much the same way it drew in his wheels, so he kept going, because as far as he could tell, Bri hadn’t driven back here by herself. Those tracks sure as hell hadn’t come from the Prius he’d seen in her driveway. Who was she with?
He tried to beat back the jealousy and banish the images of her huddled up with another man and making good use of their time while they waited for rescue. His suspicion turned to confusion when he caught sight of Avery’s lifted Jeep on massive tires. What the hell? No way could that thing get stuck and, judging by its perfectly stable location in front of this cabin, it never had been.
Ryan shut off his Suburban and headed for the front door, following the dainty footprints that could only have been made by a woman. One set, not two. So either Drew had gotten his wires crossed and he was actually here for Avery, or Bri was driving the Beast.
He shoved open the front door and slammed it behind him. A squeak sounded from somewhere down the hall, so he marched in that direction, determined to get some answers. The kitchen he passed was stocked with enough food to feed his entire flight crew for a week, and the living room full of comfy couches was free of dust.
What. The. Fuck.
He pushed open the closed door at the end of the hallway with more force than necessary and barely had time to register a wild-eyed Bri before she swung a chair at him.
Or tried to.
Instead of hitting him in the chest like she’d obviously planned, the weight of the heavy oak dragged her down until the chair rammed into his shins. “Jesus Christ!” Ryan jumped back and cursed again as she tried to lift the damn thing a second time.
“Get away from me! I’m not alone out here, and my friends will kill you if you touch me!”
He held up his hands. “Bri, relax. It’s me.”
“Ryan?” She pushed her glasses higher on her nose and frowned. “Where’s Drew? I thought Avery must have gotten the address wrong because his truck wasn’t here, but I couldn’t make my cell phone work and so I went to knock on the door to see if they had a landline, but no one was here, and—”
Holy shit. She was talking so fast her words tumbled over themselves. He cautiously put his hands on her shoulders and nearly jumped back again when she threw her arms around his waist and buried her face in his neck. “I thought you were some backwoods hunter who was going to kill me!”
“Honey, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you live in central Pennsylvania. There are a lot of backwoods hunters out here, and less than the average percentage of serial killers. I think you’re safe.”
She seemed to realize she was clinging to him because she abruptly shoved him away. “I’m entitled to be frightened. And stop being so negative about the people who live here. They’re perfectly lovely.”
“Except for the backwoods hunters?” He smiled in spite of himself. Not that she wasn’t allowed to be afraid, but her intelligence might be in question if she made a habit of wandering into strange houses just because the doors were unlocked. Now probably wasn’t the best time to call attention to that, though.
She peered around him to look down the hall. “Where’s Drew? And his truck? Did you walk here?”
The sinking feeling in his chest got worse. “What are you talking about? I got a text saying you’d gotten into a car accident and needed me.”
“Well, that’s just ridiculous. Why would I be out here driving around on a day like today?”