Nerd Gone Wild Read Free

companionship for weeks. You can imagine how much they wanted—”
    Ally opened the front door and a gust of wind and snow hit her in the face, nearly knocking her down. Betsy was right. Bulking up was important in this country.
    “Be careful out there!” Betsy called. “Don’t get blown away!”
    “I won’t!” Lowering her head, Ally shoved herself outside and somehow managed to haul the door closed again. Swirling snow cut her visibility to almost nothing. It was so cold that breathing made her chest ache.
    She hoped to hell this blizzard wouldn’t go on for days. She had things to do and people to see. Trying to photograph wildlife in a blizzard didn’t make much sense, even to someone as inexperienced as she was.
    Then there was Uncle Kurt, who was planning to drive up from Anchorage to see her. He’d found a wildlife photographer to be her mentor, although he was keeping the identity of the photographer a secret, which was so like Uncle Kurt, a man who loved surprises and spontaneity. She didn’t want Mitchell hanging around until then. Instinctively she knew they wouldn’t get along.
    By shielding her eyes, she could just barely make out the red neon outline of a top hat on a sign jutting out from a building on her right. She wondered if a bar in Porcupine, Alaska, served Irish coffee. If not, she’d drink whatever they had that would dull the impact of Mitchell showing up here.
    He’d already leaked information about the inheritance, although maybe Ally had stuck her thumb in that particular dike for now. Still, his presence here would make it seem that she was worth more than she’d let on. Even worse than that, he was mining her precious freedom.
    Maybe by now Betsy had lured him into her parlor. But Ally stopped short of imagining what might happen after that. Some things were way too disturbing to contemplate.
    Even if Mitchell allowed himself to fall under Betsy’s spell, he would be on the next plane out of Fairbanks if Ally had anything to say about it. As Grammy’s sole heir, she should have the power to send his royal nerdness right back where he came from. All she needed was clear skies.
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Chapter Two

    M itch figured out pretty fast that Betsy was eager to get chummy with any guy with a pulse. He hoped he wouldn’t have to be too direct in his refusal and alienate her, because she probably knew everyone in town. A person like that could come in very handy.
    “So, would you like to see my parlor, Mitchell?” She eyed him coyly. “I guarantee you’ve never experienced anything so unique.”
    “That sounds great, but I’d like to go up to my room first.” He pulled off his knit cap and reached for the room key she’d laid on the counter.
    “Well, of course you would.” She beat him to the room key, snatching it from under his nose. “You’ve had a long trip, and those tiny airplane bathrooms must be cramped for a tall man like yourself.” She batted her eyelashes. “Come with me. I’ll show you the way.”
    Just what he’d been afraid of. “If you’ll point me in the direction of room twenty-one, I’m sure I can find it. I hate to put you to any extra trouble.”
    “It’s no trouble.” She came out from behind the registration desk, obviously ready to rumble. “Are you hungry? Technically I only serve breakfast, but considering you’ve come all the way from L.A., I’d be happy to make you something warm. A man needs good, hearty food, and the airlines aren’t serving meals the way they used to.”
    In point of fact, Mitch was starving. But he had a feeling that allowing Betsy to cook him a meal would constitute foreplay in her mind. “Thanks, but I had something to eat during my layover in Seattle.” Still, his mouth watered at the idea of home-cooked food.
    “I could warm up some moose-meat pie in nothing flat.”
    Then again, maybe he’d survive on the hamburger he’d grabbed in the airport. He’d seen pictures of moose, and they didn’t look at all like