Page 3 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
It was irritating. She couldn’t tell if he was laughing at her or not.
But of course he was. After all, it wasn’t like he was laughingwithher.
Speaking of being laughed at… Dahlia caught Emma’s giggle and didn’t have to look over to know she and Nash were laughing too. Again.
So stupid.
She reached for the handle of her luggage, but somehow JJ got there before her. Which was startling because only a second ago he’d been leaning against the doorframe.
“You don’t need to—” She started but stopped as he ignored her, hefting the luggage easily as she hurried after him. “JJ, I can carry my own bags.”
He led the way into the entry hall, the sounds of laughter following in her wake.
Oh, they were just so amusing, laughing just because she’d gotten a little flustered a couple times.
Whatever. She didn’t care.
When he paused to open the front door, she made another grab for the luggage, but all that earned her was an indulgent smile. One that said,Nice try, but I don’t think so, without him saying a single word.
He was good at that, she’d discovered. Saying a lot without saying anything at all.
From what she’d gathered from Emma and Lizzy, JJ didn’t talk much in general. None of them seemed to know much about where he came from or how he’d come to be working at the ranch. They just knew he was a good friend and “had a way” with the animals.
Whatever that meant.
He set the luggage in the back seat of his truck and opened the passenger side door for her before she could do it herself.
“I should have hired a rental car,” she muttered.
She hated being at the mercy of other people. More than that, she hated being late.
He slid into the driver seat and started the truck. Country music immediately began to play, and she found herself relaxing slightly.
At least now she was on her way.
At least the goodbyes were over with.
Dahlia didn’t do goodbyes. It was right up there with hugs and tears.
She looked out the window, the warmth from the heater soaking through her puffy winter jacket, and a scent that was so very JJ seemed to permeate the air.
It was a nice scent—a mix of pine, peppermint, and leather. It was clean and homey, and she wondered if he had a mint addiction or something.
She sat up straighter. What was she doing obsessing about his smell? Gah, it was a good thing she was leaving this rural nightmare.
Shifting her focus to the long dirt road that led away from the ranch rather than the man beside her, she sniffed and set her jaw, deciding that a quiet ride to the airport was exactly what she needed.
“You okay?” he asked when they’d pulled onto the long, one-lane road leading to the highway.
She glanced over at him. Like always, he looked absurdly laid-back. For a second she wondered if he’d even said anything at all.
“Of course I’m all right.”
There was that irritating hitch of his lips, the one that said she was amusing him. “Okay, then.”
She turned back to face the road. Another long silence passed before his low, gravelly voice filled the truck’s cab.
“You seemed a little on edge, is all.”
