Prologue
Joseph
Out of all the people in all the world to be stuck in the snow with, it had to be him.
No.
I was not going to whine and look weak. Not even in my head. I wasn’t a kid anymore and this wasn’t a bad eighties teen drama. I wasn’t going to be pushed around. If he wanted to side with the fuckers, that was his prerogative.
But that didn’t mean I had to take it.
I just had to find my anger and not get distracted by sweet smiles and muscles wrapped in tight cotton.
Unfortunately, staring up at Forest Patterson, the man of all my teenage fantasies, I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. He’d starred in so many of my horny adolescent dreams, anger would never be my first reaction when I looked at him. He was the tender, strong man who’d always had something nice to say to the shy child who followed him around.
Forest wasn’t mean…at least, the man I remembered wasn’t.
Maybe if the ride up the mountain had been less nerve-racking or maybe if I hadn’t needed to fight so hard to get the time off, it would’ve been easier to take him standing there, but I was done. It was all just too much.
Suddenly, finding the anger I’d wanted to aim at someone for so long wasn’t as difficult as I’d feared.
Chapter 1
Forest
“I don’t give a fuck what they told you. I’m not driving down that goddamned mountain in this weather! This is my time and you know it.” His eyes flashed with dark emotions as he stalked toward the porch.
If I thought he was sexy when he was angry, I was smart enough not to show it.
My standing stupidly in the doorway didn’t seem to help his emotional instability. But in my defense, I had no idea what he was talking about and it was incredible to see little Joe all grown up. I shouldn’t have found him hot considering I’d known him since he was five.
But the man standing in front of me only vaguely resembled the little boy he’d once been.
Especially the anger part.
Little Joe had been sweet and almost painfully shy. I could still picture him peeking around the wall by the staircase whenever I would visit his parents’ house. Even as he’d gotten older, he would smile hesitantly before quietly escaping any dinner party his family dragged him to.
“I—”
I didn’t get much out before he cut me off, but it seemed to only make his anger worse. “I’m a part-fucking-owner and this is my week. The goddamned lawyers I had to hire to make sure I got to use it cost me a fucking fortune! The rest of the assholes that raised me might have money lying around like toilet paper, but some of us have to work for a goddamned living.”
“Enough.” My harsh tone seemed to shock him into silence, so I used the few seconds of quiet to my advantage. Letting my voice soften slightly, I kept it stern. “You are allowed to be frustrated, but I will not have you cursing at me.”
The yelling wasn’t helpful either.
Stepping back inside from where I’d been standing on the covered porch, I kept my expression rigid but not angry. “The yelling stops right now. Take a deep breath, and once you’ve calmed down you can come inside and we’ll talk, but I won’t be screamed at.”
Joe was just standing there in a T-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes that had seen better days in the freezing cold staring at me like I’d grown a second head. At some point his anger would come back, so I tried to figure out how to stop it in its tracks. At least until I could figure out what he was so frustrated about. “I have no idea what you’re talking about—and as for you driving down the mountain, of course not. With how badly the snow is coming down, I wouldn’t allow that under any circumstances.”
The news had been talking for days about the snowstorm that would be coming, and every time they brought it up the snow totals got higher. I was as set as I could be. I had food and I’d spent several days adding more wood to the pile in the back. Clearing my brain and getting some exercise had been bonus rewards on top of making sure I didn’t freeze if the power went out.
When Joe didn’t move or yell, I tried again. “Are you ready to come inside?”
He nodded slowly, reaching down automatically to grab the duffel bag at his feet. He’d dropped the tightly packed bag as soon as he’d seen me in the doorway. From what I could tell, he’d been planning on staying at the cabin, but that didn’t mesh with what his father had told me.
As he headed inside, I shut the door and pointed to the living room. If we could sit down and talk, maybe we could figure out what had happened. “Now there seems to be a misunderstanding—”
“Oh yeah, misunderstanding.” Joe snorted as he followed me into the warm room. “Let me guess. My father said that no one was using the place this time of year, so you’d be doing him a favor if you watched it.”
As he rolled his eyes, flopping down into one of the easy chairs, I thought back to the conversation with his father. “Yes, that’s almost exactly how it went. We met up again online. It’s been a few years, but since I’m back in the States now, I wanted to catch up with old friends. I’d said I was looking for a place to rent for a few weeks so I could relax and he offered up the cabin.”
I’d thought it’d just been fate that the perfect place had dropped into my lap, but maybe I should have questioned fate a bit more thoroughly.
Everything came with fine print these days.
His laughter was rough and jaded as he shook his head. “Yeah, that’s my father for you, always being the great guy.”
I wasn’t going to touch that statement with a ten-foot pole until I figured out what was up.
When I didn’t respond, Joe continued. “My family are some of the biggest assholes I’ve ever met. I’ve accepted that. But what I won’t accept is them giving away something that isn’t theirs to begin with. Since you seem to have no idea what’s going on, I’ll enlighten you.”
I was used to the feeling of being dropped into an utter mess, but this was the first time it’d happened away from my job with Doctors Without Borders.
“Thank you.” I wasn’t going to say much more until I had all the facts.
Joe chuckled dryly. “You’re just as polite as I remember.”
At least he realized I wasn’t a squatter.
When he continued, I tried to project calm like I would when I was working, but I wasn’t sure it was helping. He wasn’t yelling but frustration was still radiating from him. “When I was a kid, Granddad died and left this place split between me and my father. I think Granddad realized that his son would sell it if given half a chance, so he put it in a trust and made sure it couldn’t be sold.”
He paused. “Ringing any bells?”
I ignored the bratty tone and focused on the words, keeping my voice even. “No, your father always gave the impression the cabin was his. I think I remember him talking at one point about wanting to sell it, but then he changed his mind…something about keeping it for you and your brother.”
Joe’s father and I had never been what I could call close, but after working together for several years when Joe was young, I thought we were at least honest acquaintances. I was starting to get the impression he hadn’t taken losing that promotion as well as I’d thought he had.