Page 17 of Snowed In with her Mountain Men

CAMRYN

They filed into the kitchen at pretty much the same time, rubbing their eyes and crudely adjusting themselves as men often do. I was way ahead of the game, though. I’d been up almost an hour already.

“Coffee?”

They dropped into their chairs, where I’d already set out a mug for each of them. Without waiting for an answer, I filled them with steaming brown liquid, then set the pot back on the warmer for safekeeping.

“Eggs are over easy, unless one of you wants them another way,” I sang cheerily. “Biscuits are in the oven. So is bacon. We’re out of pancake mix, though. Unless one of you is hiding it somewhere, because I searched the whole kitchen.”

Ryder smiled wearily at me, and raised his mug. I saluted him with the spatula, and got to work.

“Once I get my car started again, I’ll do a little shopping for—”

“Your car’s already downtown,” said Jaxon, nonchalantly. “At the shop.”

I spun around, excitedly. “It is?”

He nodded through a yawn. “I told Samson to tune it up, and winterize it as best he could. He’s throwing on a set of snow tires, too. They’re not the best, but you should be okay for a while.”

My stomach sank. I was torn between relief and worry.

“And… how much do I owe Sampson?”

“Nothing,” replied Jaxon. “He had those tires lying around, and he still owes me for some black and gray work he had done.” He made a dismissive gesture. “Call it a wash.”

He pointed to my keys — minus the car key — hanging from a hook on the wall. I wasn’t even sure how he’d gotten them.

“Thank you so much,” I smiled, feeling genuinely taken care of. “The both of you.”

Jaxon only grunted and sipped his coffee, while Ryder reached for the milk.

Oakley however, continued avoiding my gaze altogether.

It could’ve been simple morning-after-first-sex shyness.

More likely though, it was because I’d passed him in the hallway a little while ago, in the middle of slipping from Jaxon’s room.

The expression on his face had been pure shock, more than anything.

But damn, I’d never slept so good, wrapped in those big, tattooed arms.

At the moment, my mind was crystal clear, my body surprisingly well-rested.

Parts of me were still pleasantly sore, but that was to be expected.

I’d spent my entire shower marveling over the events of last night, and deciding how to handle the situation going forward.

It was a strange state of affairs, really.

But I was never one to shy away from a confrontation.

In fact, I’d always been the kind of girl who liked to meet things head on.

“So… who had fun last night?”

The question crashed like a concrete cinder block against the fragile silence of the kitchen. I immediately spun around, and raised my hand.

Oakley turned six different shades of red. Jaxon, maybe more. But Ryder’s hand shot up to mirror mine, as he looked back and returned my grin.

“I did.”

His cheerful admission forced the others into action. Sheepishly they looked at each other, and slowly, eventually, raised their hands.

“Good. Let’s get that out of the way, then. I’d hate to have to walk on eggshells the rest of the time I’m here, just because we got better… acquainted last night.”

With that, I spun back around and flipped the eggs.

Oakley coughed. “Acquainted?”

“That’s right. Look, you boys started this,” I pointed out with the spatula. “I just rolled with it. Wouldn’t you agree?”

I wasn’t sure what they’d expected, but it certainly wasn’t this. I’d ripped the Band-Aid off so quickly, the three of them were completely at a loss. Actually, it was kind of fun.

“Besides, I’m pretty sure we all got what we needed out of last night,” I added, a little deviously. “I know I did.”

Breakfast was a lot less awkward after that, and I even got a few smiles. The boys wolfed down their food, and I ate just as ravenously. Together, we drank the coffee pot dry.

“So, the three of you met in the military?” I asked, casually.

It was a ploy of course, to change the subject. To keep from discussing anything other than the fact that, only a few short hours ago, we’d fucked ourselves silly.

“Ryder and I happened to land on Parris Island at the same time,” said Oakley. “We trained together, graduated together, and were deployed to the same unit.”

I swung my gaze to Jaxon. “And you?”

Ryder barked out a laugh. “We found this animal in the jungle,” he nodded toward his friend. “Right in the thick of things. Central African Republic.”

I squinted. “Where’s that?”

“If you put a push-pin in the dead center of the African continent, that’s where we were,” said Oakley. “When we ran into Jaxon, we were in a little bit of trouble.”

“Actually we were in a lot of trouble,” countered Ryder. “We had no food, no water. We were eating termites to keep our protein levels up, and drinking from scoop holes near a dirty river.”

“Gross,” I chuckled. “Why?”

“Because they were lost,” grunted Jaxon, simply. “Way off path. They got themselves surrounded by rebels trying to incite another civil war.”

“That’s when we bumped into this asshole,” Oakley pointed at Jaxon. “Literally.”

“He was on sniper patrol,” explained Ryder. “Lying in the bushes, covered in brush. Like a snake in the grass.”

“Deadliest fucking snake there is,” Oakley agreed.

“The kind of snake that can bite from a mile and a half away,” Ryder added.

There was reverence in their voices. Reverence and respect. Still, I had to poke Jaxon anyway.

“So then you were just as lost in the jungle?” I needled him. “Just as surrounded by rebels?”

The scoff he returned was closer to a snarl.

“I don’t get surrounded,” Jaxon returned, evenly. “I do the surrounding. And I bite from nearly two miles,” he said, turning on Oakley. “Maybe even more.”

I tried to imagine it; crawling through the brush, smeared with mud, the animals and insects biting away at you. Lying in filth, in the same position, for days at a time. It took a special kind of person to do something like that.

“Sure seems like a hell of a place to meet someone,” I smiled.

“It was,” Oakley confirmed. “But then he shared a couple of MRE’s with us—”

“And chocolate,” Ryder jumped in. “Don’t forget that part.”

“Chocolate, too,” Oakley grinned. “Sweet fuck, we were hungry. After that, we were in love with the big guy. Been brothers ever since.”

I saw Jaxon roll his eyes. He got up, drained his coffee, and stomped out of the kitchen.

“I guess he’s not very sentimental,” I quipped.

“No. Not really.”

“And what about you boys?” I teased, batting my eyes at them. “Are you going to get all dewy-eyed and slushy over our romantic night together?”

They looked at each other for a moment, then lifted their arms and started throwing signs. By the time I realized they were playing rock paper scissors, they were already shooting for best of three.

“What exactly is this for?” I asked, my stomach going taut with the memory of last night.

Their hands shot out for the tie-breaker. Paper beats rock. Ryder groaned, and spun away.

“Just figuring out which one of us gets to drive you into town,” Oakley smiled in victory.