“Bri?” Grams touches my arm, pulling me back to the moment. I didn’t even see her come back. I have no idea how long I’ve been standing here. “You okay?” She gives me a curious look.
“Yeah.” My eyes are still trained on where Wilder’s truck disappeared to.
“I think we can close up. Did Wilder come by? He was the last order I was waiting on.”
“He just left.” I look away from the road and notice more snowflakes fall and land in Grams’ silver hair.
“All right, let's lock up.” I nod in agreement, following Grams back into the store. “Are you sure you’re okay, honey?” she asks again.
She’s worrying over me. “Wilder.” The second the word is out of my mouth, Grams smirks, and I bite my tongue, deciding not to ask about him.
She’s always asking me about different men that come in that she knows are single and if I think they’re good-looking. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she’s trying to get me out of her house, but I know Grams loves love and is just a romantic at heart. She also probably wants some great-grandbabies too.
“Go on,” she pushes, flipping the open sign over to closed. “Have you got a question about Wilder?” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.
Heat rushes to my face, making me blush like a schoolgirl. What the hell? I don’t blush, but maybe because there’s never been a reason to. I guess with Wilder I do, and that only makes Grams’ smile even bigger.
“He’s single.”
“And not interested,” I admit so she’ll let it go.
“You sure?”
I shrug. “One second I thought he was flirting with me and the next he was out the door like his booty was on fire.”
“Wilder flirted with you?” She lifts her brows, seeming genuinely surprised.
“I think. There was this moment where it happened, but then something changed and he couldn’t get out of here fast enough.” I try to fight my disappointment, but it’s overwhelming for some reason.
“Wilder doesn’t date, and he doesn’t go around flirting with girls. He must be interested!” She claps excitedly. Wow, she must really think he’s a good one. Damn.
“Did you not hear the part about him running out of here?” I remind her as I go around the counter and start closing up the register.
“Something must have spooked him. The Thompson men are a different breed.”
“A thoroughbred,” I mutter under my breath.
“They sure are some big mountain men,” Grams giggles. “But I’m guessing it freaked him out or something.” I think she says the last part to herself because she’s got a quizzical expression on her face. I keep on closing up because I need to get out of here. I feel like I need to go, and the sensation starts to become overwhelming. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I’m all over the place inside.
“Crap!” I gasp.
When I reach for the bag to put the cash in, I spot a small box I missed earlier. I pull it out and see Wilder’s name is scribbled across the side in blue marker.
“Oh!” Grams shouts, not giving the box any attention.
“I’m sorry, Grams. Can I run it out to them or something?” I offer. The last thing I want right now is a run-in with Wilder after what just happened, but this is my fault. I’d been so wrapped up in him I hadn’t given him his whole dang order.
“Yes, that’s perfect,” she says, then grabs my wrist suddenly. “Then you can explain this.” She taps my mom's wedding ring on my finger, and I realize why she shouted.
“Oh my gosh!” I squeak. That might explain the hot and cold. “He thinks I’m married and was flirting with him,” I groan.
“This is good. You take him his box and explain things.” She wiggles her eyebrows again.
“Maybe.” I worry my bottom lip between my teeth, not wanting to get my hopes up.
Damn, what is wrong with me? I see this man one time for two seconds and I’m this hung up on him?
My parents' love story flutters through my mind, and I think about how quickly they fell in love. My heart starts to race again. Even back in high school I never dated. I was waiting to feel that flutter in my chest Mom told me she had the day she met Dad. The look she got in her eyes when she would think back on it and tell that story made me long to have that one day myself.
“Take the box, sweetheart.” Grams pushes it in my hands before reaching into her pocket and handing me the keys to the truck. “I’ll see you back at home.”
“All right.” I grab the keys and my coat, then put it on along with my gloves. If I’m taking the box, I should get a move on. “You’ve got the address?”
“I’ll text it so you can get directions.” She pulls out her phone, and I continue getting my crap together so I can head straight back to the house after. I hear my phone chime a few seconds later.
“I’ll see you back at the house. I take it Grandpa is coming to pick you up?”
“Yep, and I’ll let Wilder know you’re headed that way so he’ll be on the lookout.” Grams gives me a kiss on the cheek on my way out. When I step out the door, I let out a small gasp at how quickly the weather has changed. The snow is really coming down now.
I rush over toward the truck and put the box into the passenger seat before climbing into the driver seat. I’m still getting used to driving a truck. Back home, I drove a small car.
Checking my phone, I put in the address Grams sent me into the navigation then put on my seat belt. As I make my way up into the mountains, I see on the map that Wilder’s cabin is way up there. The higher I climb, the narrower the road starts to get.
I try not to get too excited as I get closer to his home, but my curiosity is getting the best of me. It’s beautiful up here. Again, a rush of rightness and belonging fills me even more than when I first moved here.
Then like clockwork, doubt starts to take its place. What if it wasn’t about the ring and he just wasn’t interested? It’s still driving me nutty that I’m into this man so quickly. I’m scared to be happy about anything because it can so easily be taken away.
As that thought flutters through my mind, I feel the truck start to slide when I take the last curve before I should be able to spot his home.
I try to pump the brakes as the truck slides and then turn the wheel hard to get back on the road. But it’s useless, and I scream as the truck slams into a tree.
Wilder’s smile flashes through my mind before everything goes black.
Chapter Four
WILDER
It’s a long drive back from Connor and Evie’s place because of the storm. My cabin is more remote than theirs, but the snow from earlier has turned into a blizzard. Up here, it’s even worse than in town, and as I have the thought, an image of Bri pops into my mind.
“Let it go,” I say to myself as I turn into my driveway.
Once I bring in my supplies from the dry storage and stack some wood on the porch, I check the chains on my tires in case there’s an emergency and I need to leave. The cabin is pretty large, but I keep all the unused rooms closed off so I don’t have to heat them in the winter. My dad and I built this place before he died, and I’m proud to call it mine. It’s big enough that if I have a wife one day, we can grow into it.