Lumberjack (A Real Man, 1) Read Free Page B

the fireplace and just stared at me. He had shorter blond hair, and a full-on beard. With him living out here in the middle of nowhere, being as massive as he was, and clearly able to use an ax—and as a weapon when need be— I could image him as the perfect Mountain Man.
    “You’re from the city?”
    I nodded, realizing I still hadn’t had any of the whiskey. I ended up sucking the entire thing down in one go. It might only be a shot worth, but damn did it burn going down.
    There was no expression on his face as I coughed and sputtered after swallowing the liquid fire, and I wondered if he saw me as some silly little girl that wanted to experience the wildlife.
    As he watched me, he grabbed his glass off the mantle and downed the shot himself. He wore only a pair of jeans that were unbuttoned, the denim loose, yet they fit him pretty damn well. He had tattoos covering his arms and part of his chest, and although he had the Grizzly Adams thing going on, the ink looked good on him.
    “How long have you been out here?” I asked, and he gestured for me to take a seat.
    “Five years.”
    He left me in the living room, and I watched him go into the only other room in the house ... the bathroom. A second later he came out with a dark robe draped over his arm. He stopped a foot from me and held it out.
    “What’s this for?” I asked although I had a pretty good idea why he’d want me to put it on.
    “Seeing as a storm is going to be rolling in, I figured you’d want to get cleaned up.” He tipped his chin toward the bathroom. “There’s a shower in that room.”
    I didn’t speak for a second.
    “The roads will get bogged down with mud from the weather, and there’s no way you can get back to your cabin, or even town tonight.”
    I stared at him, not answering, because I knew what else he was going to say.
    “You’ll have to stay the night.”
    My heart thundered after he spoke.
    “The robe is for after you shower, unless you want to wear your dirty clothes again?” He cocked an eyebrow.
    I swallowed, my throat tight and dry. “And the roads will be too flooded to even attempt to go back to town, or to my cabin?” I asked, not even sure how to get back to my cabin from his place, even if he could have taken me back tonight.
    He nodded.
    I swallowed and thought about my options ... which were none as I wasn’t prepared for what he said.
    “Do you have a phone?” The look he gave me told me that was a big hell no. I didn’t know whom I’d call anyway. If he couldn’t get down the mountain, no one would be able to come up it.
    “No landline and there isn’t any cell service up here.”
    I stared into his green eyes.
    “But I wouldn’t have either anyway. I moved out here to get away from all that shit.”
    Of course he wouldn’t have any form of communication living out here. My cabin was closer to town, and it had a landline, but his cabin was literally out in the middle of nowhere. I guess I’d had my hopes up that if it turned out he was a maniac, I’d have a way of contacting someone.
    I had a cell phone, which was in my backpack, but it stopped working as soon as the mountains surrounded me.
    “You’re more than welcome to stay the night. The storm should pass by morning, and then I can take you into town, or back to wherever you’re staying.”
    We stared at each other for long seconds.
    “You normally just offer your house up to a strange woman?”
    He crossed his big arms over his muscular chest and just looked at me. “I’m sure I’ll be okay.”
    I couldn’t help but check him out. I was a woman, and he was definitely all man.
    “Or, you can brave the storm and the darkness, and try and find your way back.” He was unmoving as he stood there.
    “Maybe I’ll be lucky and it’ll pass.”
    “This storm has been coming since yesterday. It won’t pass,” he said with certainty.
    He didn’t look like he was concerned at whatever I decided to do.
    I’d always had pretty good