Page 14 of Puck Love

After lunch,I hand Stellaa jacket that’s miles too big, and she dons a pair of my brother’s gumboots as we venture outside. Emmett and I show Stella around the property. There isn’t much to see this time of year but white powder dusting the ground and trees, but I think she likes the air anyway because I catch her shutting her eyes and gulping in deep breaths. When her lips are turning blue, we head back inside. She stands by the fire in my den, and I make her a hot tea. It’s that herbal shit my mother drinks, but she doesn’t seem tomind.

“Stella, you want to play air hockey?” Emmett waggles his brows ather.

That sly bastard. I shake my head, marveling. My brother has a way of getting the ladies to do whatever he wants in a way that I just can’t. Unless, of course, it involves getting a woman naked and on a first name basis with mycock.

“Oh, I don’t really play . . .” she peters off, glancing at me as if I’ll step in and give her an out.Sorry sweetheart, but I’m not crushing my baby brother’s hopes and dreams of hustling his favorite super star. She gives me a pointed look. Which, of course, I ignore. “Besides, I need to getgoing.”

“Why don’t you play while I call for a towtruck?”

It’s a Sunday—Tim’s Towing isn’t open today. Emmett knows this, but Tim’s a friend, and Sunday or not, he’d make an exception for me. As I meet my brother’s gaze, I fully expect him to blow my cover, but he just grins and insists that she hurryup.

“Okay, just a quick match,” Stella says, following him to the gameroom.

They wind up playing the best of six, and Stella loses all but one game. I’m sure the first two she gave to him, but once she realized she was being hustled she actually tried to beat Em. I probably should have warned her, but I guess my hesitance comes from wanting Emmett to beat the low expectations that people set for him because of his disability. My brother is just as competitive as I am, and many women have been fooled by his appearance. I love that he constantly shocks everyone around him. He constantly shocks me. And I live with theguy.

“So, did you call?” Stellaasks.

“Call who?” I glance up absently from myphone.

“The towingplace.”

“Oh, right, yeah. They’re not open.” Again, I tense, waiting for my brother to put his foot in it, but he just chuckles and lines up the puck on anothergame.

“What do you mean they’re notopen?”

“It’s Sunday. Nothing’s open onSunday.”

“But . . . I have to getback.”

“Roads areclosed.”

“What?”

“Apparently there’s some damage after thestorm.”

“I don’t understand. Didn’t you get through just thismorning?”

“Yeah, but there’s been a shitload more snow fall since then,” I say, as if this is a given. “Looks like you’re stuck in the country,country.”

“I can’t stayhere.”

“Where exactly do you plan togo?”

“I was trying to find the Fairmont . . . something.” She furrows her brow and snags her bottom lip with herteeth.

“The Fairmont Banff Springs. You’re fresh out of luck, babe. It’s on the other side of the mountain, and in this weather, the only way to get there is to climb over it and down the other side, which should take her what, Emmett? Like twodays?”

“Yeah, ’boutthat.”

“Say, I know this is crazy, but why don’t you stay here for abit?”

“What?”

“Well, you did crash into my mountain, and shaved off part of my beard, and I did make you pancakes. The least you could do is be polite enough to stay fordinner.”

“And breakfast,” Emmett chimesin.

“I just metyou.”