Secret Daddy - J.R. Gray Page 0,15

to his car like walking on the snow was nothing. Drifts had mostly buried the vehicle, but the roof peeked above the fluffy white.

“How are you going to get to it?” I asked, following after him and holding a hand in front of my eyes to block the glare of the sun off the snow. I already felt better. I tilted my face to the sky and let the warmth from the sun soak into my skin.

“Dig out and use the grabber.” He already had one shoe off and was using it as a kind of scoop while balancing on one foot.

I wanted to push him over, but that would end in both of us stuck in the snow so I let him be. Instead, I slowly bent and scooped snow between my hands, rolling it into a ball. The cold burned into my skin. I pulled back and let loose, elated as the ball thunked into his back.

“Hey!” Jensen said, teetering. He swayed then in slow motion, started to fall towards the hole he’d dug.

I tried to get there in time to do something or help him, but I was too far behind and thus had to watch in horror the reaping of my actions. He landed in the hole with a crack. I closed my eyes. cringing back.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

“I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” I hauled ass to where he was, trying to assess the situation.

Jensen lay half in and half out of the hole, all twisted, feet in the air. He grunted and spit snow. “I think I broke something.”

“Jesus.” I crouched beside the hole, trying to figure out how I could help him. I didn’t want to move him and make it worse or fall on top of him. “What did you break?”

Both our phones were inside and it was going to take ages for anyone to get here. I was going to have to call my brother to help me. He was the only one who would be able to get up here. I scrubbed a hand over my face not wanting to explain to him why Jensen had been snowed in with me.

“My dignity. My self-esteem. Probably my pride as well.” He rolled over, grabbing at the snow and getting one foot down into the hole to straighten himself up.

“You fucking scared me!”

“You knocked me into a damn hole.”

“Right,” I said sheepishly.

He grunted again and got his other foot in the hole, getting himself upright again. “There will be retaliation for that.” His words sent a shiver down my spine.

“What kind?”

“You don’t get to know.” He gave me a pointed look before dusting himself off and retrieving his snowshoe shovel. He made quick work of making enough space to get the door open a couple of inches, then used the grabber to get the bag off his passenger seat. He sat in the space once he had it in hand. “Now how the fuck am I going to get out of here?”

“What if I hold your hand and help you step out of it onto the shoe like we did with the door?”

“Worth a try, but stay back from the edge, otherwise we’ll both be stuck.”

I did as he told me and reached, leaning back as much as I could. He used the top of his Jeep and my hand to hoist himself out.

“Woohoo!” I said, this time without the jump with him standing beside me.

He laughed. “Come on.” He slung the backpack over one shoulder and headed around the side of the house.

“Where are you going?”

“To load some firewood near your back door.”

“Oh! You are smart.”

“Park ranger, I told you.”

I followed after him, taking my time navigating over the drifts. The roads had to be a mess. At least town was a little more sheltered. Up here on the side of the mountain, I didn’t have much protecting me.

Jensen was loading firewood near the backdoor when I made it around the corner. Such a strange juxtaposition between him and my ex. My ex was an English major and the first time he’d come up here to visit after I’d moved back, he’d been horrified about the work involved in living in a remote place.

Jensen had an entire stack of firewood near the door in no time. I tried to help but he waved me off, telling me I’d get in the way. He set his backpack next to the pile and turned on me. There was a glisten on his forehead and his cheeks