Page 75 of Snowed In with her Mountain Men
“So why are we—”
“To keep it clear,” he cut me off. “For when theyareopen.”
We dug some more, clearing all new sections of the big truck. The monstrosity was too big for the garage, but they’d parked it against the house to reduce the amount of snow that might bury it. Eventually, Ryder cleared the driver’s side door. He pulled it open, climbed in, then extended his hand.
“Get that hot little ass in here.”
I allowed myself to be pulled up, but not before burying my own shovel in a nearby pile. Ryder positioned me in his lap for a moment, then pressed the button that would start the vehicle.
To my surprise and delight, the Marauder fired right up.
“There we go.”
He reached past me to close the door, divorcing us from the wind. It was suddenly very dark and very quiet, especially with most of the windows still buried.
“This is cool,” I giggled. “Kinda like being in a fort. When I was a little girl, I—”
My statement ended where Ryder’s hot mouth began. He kissed me hard, thrusting that playful yet powerful tongue past my lips and into my hungry mouth. His big, suddenly gloveless hands felt exceptionally warm on my thighs.
“You’re pretty good at digging,” I chuckled into his mouth.
He answered by kissing me with even more fire and passion. It made me dizzy. It made me… other things, too.
“We dug a lot of snow growing up in Vermont,” he eventually whispered, cupping my face. “Our parents were meticulous about keepings things clear. Maybe that’s why they had so many of us.”
My eyes narrowed. “How many?”
“Ten.”
I gasped. “You havetensiblings!?”
“Six brothers and three sisters,” he said, nonchalantly. “I myself was number nine. My mother was exhausted by then, and my father was barely around. Even when he was, he was hardly in a good mood. Couldn’t blame him though. The guy was always working.”
“That sucks.”
Ryder nodded. “A little bit, yeah. The only time we got to see him was in the garage, after work, when he’d be teaching one or more us how to fix something. He was nice then, though — probably because he loved to tinker with stuff. Those are my best memories of him.”
“Nine of ten,” I swore. “Damn.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I was raised mostly by my older siblings, who were already looking out for themselves. Very quickly I got lost in the mix. Shit, I became an afterthought, mostly.”
“From your own parents?” I asked skeptically. “I don’t believe that.”
“And why not?” demanded Ryder. “By the time I came around, they’d done all this eight times already. Trust me when I say there was alotless interest.” He laughed and shrugged. “The good and bad parts were the same, though. No one watched over me, so I could pretty much do anything I wanted.”
“And so you joined the Army,” I added sardonically. “Giving you another couple hundred instant siblings.”
He laughed, and I laughed right along with him. I couldn’t help but smile as I pictured it; a young and very impetuous Ryder, sailing through the chaos of his crowded childhood home, ducking responsibility wherever he saw it. The whole scenario fit his personality so perfectly, too.
“Did you enjoy having so many siblings growing up?”
He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. “Sometimes. Other times I wanted to crawl under my bed, just to be alone. And even that little space wasn’t entirely mine. I had to share.”
“I was an only child,” I admitted. “I would’ve traded anything for a brother or sister.”
“And I would’ve traded you a handful of brothers and sisters for a single candy bar,” he smiled. “Either that, or a minute’s peace.”
The heating system finally kicked in, taking the wispy frost of our breath away as it filled the Marauder’s interior with a welcomed warmth. I squirmed more snugly into Ryder’s lap, staring into those gorgeous blue eyes. The snow in our hair began melting, running down our rosy faces. It made it seem like we were crying through our mutual smiles.
