Dire

“Pretty much.” I searched around my room for anything I may have forgotten to pack. “Great. I forgot to pick up snacks for the road.”

“Let’s check out the vending machines.” Genevieve knew me well enough to know there was nothing she could do to change my mind.

I put my purse over my shoulder and wheeled out my large suitcase behind me. I turned off the lights and locked my door. “So long room, I’ll miss you.”

Genevieve nudged me. “Stop rubbing it in.”

“Oh come on, your roommate left today, you actually have your own room tonight.”

“True. I might as well enjoy it.” She led the way to the stairs. “Too bad Tony’s not interested.”

“There are so many better guys out there.”

“Says the girl obsessed with a muscle head who thinks of you as a little kid.” She held open the door to the vending area of the lobby.

I tried to shrug, but that only offset my bag. “We can’t choose who we fall for.”

“Isn’t the saying we can’t choose who we love?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to admit I love Gage.”

“But you do.” She gave me a knowing look.

“No comment.”

The vending machines were largely empty, so I settled on a bag of M&M’s, two bottles of Coke so we could stay awake, and a package of peanut butter cups.

Genevieve picked up the peanut butter cups. “I thought you didn’t like peanut butter.”

“I don’t.” Gage, however, loved it.

I glanced at my watch. I was down to a minute. “I need to head out.”

“All right, be safe.” She pulled me into a big hug.

After a few moments I pulled away. “You too! Have a safe trip, and I’ll miss you.”

“We’ll have to talk once I make it home. I want to know all about your drive.”

“I’m sure I won’t have anything to report, but I’ll tell you all the boring details.”

A horn honked, and I knew exactly who it was. “I better go.”

She held open the door, and I wheeled my bag out.

Gage jumped out of his truck while keeping the engine idling.

“Did you have to honk? I’m less than thirty seconds late.”

He grinned. “I have to keep you on your toes.” He took my bag from me before walking around to the back of his truck and opening the tailgate. He had one of those camper shells, so at least we didn’t have to worry about our stuff getting wet in the snow.

I shook my head and went around to the passenger side. He was already in the driver’s seat by the time I closed my door. “Are you sure about this? The snow is getting heavier out there.”

“Relax, Mary Anne. Don’t you trust me?” He set those brown eyes of his on me, and I was lost.

I nodded absently. “Of course.”

He grinned again, probably realizing exactly what effect he had on me. “Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.”

Chapter Four

Gage

Shit, she was uptight. Mary Anne was cute, but man, she was tuned up tighter than a guitar string. If she’d been any other girl I’d have probably been coming up with ways to get rid of that tension, but she was off limits—even to me.

I drove through the nearly empty city streets as she struggled to get out of her dark blue parka.

“Do you need some help with that?” My chivalrous side couldn’t stand to see her struggle.

She pulled one arm out. “You’re supposed to be driving.”

“I can drive and help you at the same time.” I was good at multi-tasking.

She blushed which made me wonder if she was thinking about me helping her in another way. Now that would make the four hours go quicker. My body responded to that thought, and I cursed silently. Getting a hard on this early in the trip wasn’t a good thing. Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to drive her home.

She folded the coat in her lap. I needed a coat on my lap at the moment, but I’d already tossed mine in the back. “It doesn’t matter. I got it off.”

“Great.” I turned on the radio and started to flip through the stations to distract myself. How was this girl having this effect on me? Maybe it was from the close proximity.

She pushed my hand off the dial. “I can do that.”

“Oh, can you?” I teased, while trying to ignore how good the momentary physical contact felt. I was losing it, and we’d just gotten on the road.

“I’d rather get out of this city in one piece. Please drive, and let me do the other things.”

“The other things. Gotcha.”

She flipped through the stations until she landed on a rock station.

“Do you listen to this stuff?” I asked with genuine surprise. I pegged her as the classic or folk music type.

“Yeah. My dad raised me on classic rock.”

“Oh, my mistake.”

She crossed her arms. “What kind of music do you listen to?”

“Rock.” I smiled. “You picked well.”

“Great.” She settled back against her seat. “I’m sorry.”

“For?” I glanced over, hoping my momentary lapse from keeping my eyes straight ahead wouldn’t set her off again.

“Getting on your case. I just get nervous driving in snow.”

“It’s a good thing you’re not driving then.” I put an arm behind her seat and glanced out at the dense flakes of snow that seemed to be falling faster than even ten minutes earlier. “But how you can be nervous driving in the snow growing up in Mayville, I have no idea.”

“Don’t you remember my accident?”

“Wait, yeah. Didn’t you total your Dad’s car the day you got your license?” That story had spread through town like a wildfire.

“Yeah.” She slumped down. “I don’t think my dad’s ever forgiven me.”

“At least you weren’t hurt.”

“Not physically… it took me six months before I tried driving again.”

I touched her arm gently. “I’ll say it again. It’s a good thing you’re not driving.”

She pushed my arm. “Thanks.”

“Aw, come on. We have all had that kind of stuff happen.”

“Not my family,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Fair enough.” She had a point. Not only was her brother the star player on just about every sports team you could name, he was also valedictorian. He was the kind of kid everyone hated.