Page 5

Like the rest of the house that she’d seen so far, the room was tidy but minimal. There was a queen-size bed, an old wooden dresser, a nightstand on either side of the bed with metal desk lamps and that was it.

“Better than a snowy ditch,” she whispered, fishing her charger out of her purse and immediately locating an outlet to plug in her phone.

As soon as it had enough juice, she turned it on, and what should pop up but a message from Hannah. Sorry!!! They flew us to fucking Oklahoma! Oklahoma!!! I’m going to try to get there as soon as I can. Call me and let me know you’re safe.

Rolling her eyes, Triss did just that. It was past midnight, but she knew that Hannah would be awake, and if she wasn’t, she would answer her phone when she saw that it was Triss calling.

“I’m SOOOOOOOO sorry,” Hannah said into the phone after the second ring. “I tried calling you as soon as I could. Where are you?”

“At the ranch,” Triss said blandly.

“Oh shit, really?”

“Yep. You didn’t tell them that I was coming.”

“Whoops.”

“You also didn’t tell me that your uncle looks like a hotter version of Channing Tatum. What the hell, Hannah?”

Hannah snickered. “Whoops!”

“Is he really even your uncle? Are there two of them that look like this?”

“Yeah, he’s my uncle. He’s from my grandpa’s second marriage. So he’s like fifteen years younger than my dad. And his brother, my uncle Nate is a year younger than my uncle Asher. Uncle Asher is like … forty-two maybe. Something around that.”

“And you didn’t feel the need to mention this?”

“No?”

“Hannah!”

“What? You were just dumped, I’m not blind, I know he’s nice looking. He’s single and if you could end up being my aunt and we become legit family and not just best friends, then isn’t that a win-win for both of us?”

“You planned this?”

“No. I did not plan to end up in mother-fucking Oklahoma for Christmas. I had every intention of being in Colorado with you and my uncles, but I did keep their attractiveness and age from you in order to get you to agree.”

“Uncle. Just Asher.” Triss said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and pulling off her boots. Her toes were warm and dry. Eat shit, Lorne!

“Where’s Uncle Nate?”

“Texas. He drove down to deliver a horse and got stuck because of the weather.”

“So it’s just you and Asher?”

“I’m calling a cab first thing in the morning.”

“What? Why?”

Triss put Hannah on speakerphone and went about getting undressed. “Because this is weird and awkward and not how I want to be spending my Christmas.”

“So what are you going to do instead?”

Triss unbuttoned her skinny jeans and shimmied out of them. Just because her toes were warm from her boots, didn’t mean her thighs hadn’t been forced to endure the cold. They were bright red and slightly numb. “I have no idea.” She’d already removed her coat, hanging it up on the hook on the back of the door, so she tugged her sweater over her head next.

“Then stay. I’ll be there in a day or two, I swear.”

“And until then, do what?”