Page 16 of Puck Love

Istarearound the darkroom. It’s too quiet here. I’m so used to the sound of a tour bus and the rocking as I doze off that it takes me a while to get used to the whole stationary-sleeping thing. I can’t get used to the quiet, or the cold, for that matter. Van offered to light the fireplace in my room, but I didn’t think I’d need it with the mountain of blankets he gave me. Turns out, I know nothing about Canada. Or how to keep warm. Though I guess that’s not quite true. I could always heat things up by climbing into bed with the scorching-hot NHL player down the hall, but I’m not sure that would send the rightimpression.

I have to do something, though, because I am freezing. My teeth chatter so loudly I’m surprised the noise hasn’t woken everyoneup.

I throw back the covers and discover it’s far too cold to go without them, so I wrap the blanket around me and open my door. Van’s bedroom sits at the opposite end of the hall, and it’s as if I can feel the body heat radiating off him through the closed door. I take a few steps toward his room, but I can’t do that. I can’t go and climb into a complete stranger’s bed just to keep from freezing. Instead, I head toward the den. The light from the fire draws me like a moth to a flame. I scurry down the stairs and plonk myself right in front. Slowly, the flames begin to thaw me from head totoe.

Moments later, I’m beginning to drift off, sitting upright. I pull the blanket tightly around my body and lie on the floor. A clamor from outside jolts me awake and I shoot up, preparing to run, terrified someone’s going to break in. There’s a scratching noise, followed by a guttural growl. A large shadow covers the window. I take a step toward it, thinking it must be a fallen tree branch but it turns around and stares me straight in the eyes. A huge muzzle opens, the beast unleashes another roar, and the window rattles. A hand slips over my mouth so I can’t scream, and I stumble back into a wall ofmuscle.

“Shh. You’ll scare Smokey. He probably hasn’t even seen you yet, but he can hear you, and he can likely smell you,” Vanwhispers.

“You have a pet grizzly bear?” I say once the monster with the enormous claws steps off the porch with ahuff.

He chuckles. “No, he just comes by every season to see what he can scavenge. I’ve never seen him this late in the year, but bear sightings are more frequent when we have an unseasonably warm fall. Emmett sometimes leaves food out deliberately. I don’t think he understands that Old Smokey there could break down our door and tear us both to shreds in our sleep. I haven’t had to put a bullet in him yet, though,thankfully.”

“Who? Your brother or thebear?”

He chuckles. “The bear. Come on, I’ll switch on some outside lights and he’ll headoff.”

“Oh my god, why did I have to pick Canada to get lostin?”

“You want something to drink?” he says, as he moves through the house. I keep my eyes firmly glued to the naked chest as he walks on ahead of me so I don’t stumble onanything.

“Do you have hotcocoa?”

He laughs. “Ah, country. You’re like a breath of freshair.”

“What?”

“I meant somethingalcoholic.”

I shake my head. “Hell no. I am not touching another drop of hard liquor everagain.”

“It’d warm your insides and put hair on yourchest.”

“I’m not sure a hairy chest is really the type of look I’m goingfor.”

“No, I don’t suppose it would be. Besides, it’d be a shame to cover thoseup.”

“Excuse me?” I say incredulously and hide my boobs by crossing my arms over thegoods.

“Hot cocoa it is.” He smirks and turns on the kitchen light, momentarily blinding usboth.

“So, is there any other wildlife I should knowabout?”

“Well, that depends. Emmett turns into a werewolf on a full moon, but aside from that, the only wildlife you need to worry about is a bite from myanaconda.”

“That’s all,huh?”

“It’s a pretty big snake,” he assures me, as he pulls a container of cocoa from the cupboard along with a bag of minimellows.

“Isn’t that what they allsay?”

“No, really. I can show you if you like? It’s like Pringles-canbig.”

“Oh my god. No! Keep your pantson.”

“Okay, but you asked. I was just trying to get you acclimatized to thelocals.”

I open several cupboards until I find the mugs and remove two from the shelf, setting them down on the counter before him. “You’ve taken a lot of hits to the head in your career, haven’tyou?”