Page 2 of Stuck With Mr. Frosty (Delectable Protectors #5)

AIDEN

I stop on the other side of the room, glancing at the woman with the hot-pink bags and the auburn hair. Who the hell does she think she is?

Without so much as a second thought, Mia came over to introduce herself. That wide smile and her desire to look like a flamingo were almost more than I could handle. And now she’s sitting down and staring at her bags like she’s lost.

Not my problem.

You can’t fix broken people.

And I know broken people.

I glance down at Honey, and she gives me those big puppy-dog eyes. The corner of my mouth twitches as I turn and head out of the main lodge, scooping up my bags where they were left by the front door.

Fat snowflakes fall lazily from the sky, dusting more of the pine trees towering tall around the lodge. I step onto the path that leads to the worker’s cabins, boots stomping against the stones.

Honey darts ahead, dashing through the snow that is already high enough to come halfway up her legs, forming little snowballs in her coat that I will have to brush out once we find our cabin.

“There you are!” Carter grins, appearing on the path ahead of me with a cigarette hanging from his lips. “I’ve been waiting for you. Thought you were going to be here earlier.”

“Those things are going to kill you one day,” I say, hoisting the bag higher on my shoulder.

Honey sees Carter and flies through the snow, her tail wagging a mile a minute as she jumps up onto him with all the faith in the world that he’ll catch her. Thankfully, he does, though he stumbles back a step.

“You know, one of these days she’s going to do that to the wrong person, and they’re both going to end up in the snow and unhappy.” Carter spits the cigarette to the ground before Honey has the chance to snag it in her kissing attack.

She licks him until he’s laughing and struggling to hold onto her before setting her down. As she takes off after a squirrel, he picks up the cigarette, butting it out and tossing the end into one of the trash cans.

“What cabin are you in?”

He takes the bag with Honey’s supplies from me, slinging it over his back. “Four. I’m rooming with June and two newbies.”

“Which means I get to room with people I don’t like for the entire season, perfect.” I scrub a hand over the stubble on my jaw. “Think Steph arranged it that way on purpose?”

“Probably. You know she wasn’t happy last season when you barely bothered spending time with anyone else.”

“They’re all too peppy.” I whistle for Honey, and she rounds back to me before jogging ahead down the path.

The first little log cabin appears to my right, hidden behind the trees, another path leading up to the front porch. More cabins appear, obscured from view by the trees.

“You’re in seven,” Carter says as we arrive at the center of the worker village.

Thankfully.

The circular area is centered around a massive fire pit, perfect for bonfires at the end of a long week. Benches made of pine line the area, and at the far end there’s a noticeboard. People gather around it, stumbling into each other, bags and gear for the slopes going in every direction.

“Any idea who I’m going to be with?”

“Ryder and Rosie.”

I bite back a groan. “Think we could convince your newbies to move out and give me and Honey the room?”

“Unlikely.” Carter leads the way down the path to my cabin. “And Steph would kill you. You know how much time she spends poring over the living arrangements for everyone.”

“I know.” I stare at the cabin, the lights already on in the windows. “And Rosie and Ryder aren’t the worst. They’re just a lot.”

“Both of them have too much energy for me.” Carter stomps up the stairs, Honey trotting along beside him. He opens the door and waits as I carry the rest of the supplies through before he enters. “And we’re going to have the first search-and-rescue team meeting after mandatory training tomorrow.”

“Got it.”

Carter drops the bags on the ground with a nod to Rosie and Ryder as they rush between the rooms, arguing about which one is better.

Ryder looks at her in triumph the moment he sees me. “We get the bigger room. Need the extra space for Honey.”

Honey goes bounding over to him at the mention of her name, her tail wagging, ready to take out anything breakable at knee height.

Rosie sighs and tips her head back, looking at the ceiling before pointing to both of us. “If you’re going to be getting the bigger room, then I don’t want to hear anything about my stuff being everywhere, got it?”

“Won’t hear a complaint from me.” I drop my ski supplies to the right of the door in the front closet, careful not to crush Rosie’s belongings.

“I’m going to complain,” Ryder says, smirking at her as he shoves his bags into the bedroom on the right at the back of the cabin. “There’s no escaping that.”

Rosie rolls her eyes and looks at me. “Good to see you again. Didn’t know if the two of you were going to come back after all that happened last season.”

“You mean that chick that wouldn’t give up on trying to hook up with him?” Ryder pops his head out of the room, his dark hair flopping into his eyes.

“What was her name?” Rosie hums as she lugs her duffel onto the couch and starts pulling out snacks to stock the little kitchenette. “Emily? Laura? Abby?”

“Becca.” Ryder leans in the doorway, his arms crossing over his chest. “She was obsessed with you. I think she applied again this year, but Steph wasn’t willing to take her on after all the drama she caused last year.”

I head for the room I’m going to be sharing with Ryder, waiting until he moves out of the way before stepping inside. “Just like every other year I’ve been here, you all are welcome to sleep around as much as you like, but I’m here to do a job.”

Ryder’s gaze turns mischievous as he claims the bunk on the far side of the room. “Rosie is going to be falling for me in no time. She’s going to be begging to spend the night in our room.”

“Gross.” I toss my bag onto the bed beneath the window. “Don’t shit where you eat.”

“I plan on making her fall for me before the season is out. I hope you know that.”

“I’m not spending the night on the couch.” I dig out my clothing, sorting it into the dresser at the foot of the bed.

Ryder flops down on his bed and stares up at the ceiling. “You’re cramping my style. How do you expect me to have a good time if you’re not willing to spend a night on the couch?”

“Not my problem.”

“Come on, Aiden. You don’t have to be a complete buzzkill again this year.”

“You’re what, twenty-five now? Isn’t it time to get it together?”

Ryder’s nose wrinkles. “Man, you’re not fun. Thirty really sucks the joy out of you, doesn’t it?”

“I’m only twenty-seven.” I lay out a couple books on top of the dresser, setting the case with my headphones beside them. “And I have my shit together.”

“Debatable. I’ve heard you spend the rest of the year traveling from one mountain range to the next.

That’s living like a hermit, man. You would think that some human connection would be something you’re interested in while you’re here.

Especially when you know that you aren’t going to see most of these people again. ”

“I’m fine.”

Honey walks into the room, her nails clicking on the oak floors. She sniffs around for a moment, taking in the lay of the room before hopping onto the bed and settling down into a ball.

“There’s going to be a party tonight,” Ryder says, hauling himself up from the bed as boots stomp against the porch outside. “Looks like our last cabinmate is here.”

“Great.”

He scuttles out of the room and I follow behind, figuring that the way to survive this season is to try and be on good terms with all my cabinmates.

However, when I step out of the room and see the hot-pink bags sitting at Mia’s feet, I know it’s going to be the longest season of my life.

Dying on the side of a mountain in the cold might be better than spending weeks with her as my cabinmate.