Tic-Tac-Mistletoe - N.R. Walker Page 0,7

couch and wrapped it around his shoulders. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

He nodded, and Chutney stayed by his side while I went back out into the snowstorm. I grabbed his gear and dumped it on the porch, then drove the truck into the garage before jogging back and taking his bags inside.

He hadn’t moved, if shivering didn’t count. He was going to rattle the teeth out of his head.

“Feeling any warmer?” I asked, pulling my gloves off. I hung my coat up by the door.

He was shivering too hard to answer. I went to him and knelt down at his feet, feeling his jeans. They weren’t too wet, but his feet were. “I’m going to take your shoes and socks off,” I said. He nodded again and Chutney jumped up onto his lap. His shoes were some high-end brand sneaker and his socks were just standard thin cotton. Jesus. “I’m going to guess you’re not from around here.”

“Sydney,” he replied. “Australia. When I left it was thirty-five degrees. Celsius, that is. Like ninety-something for you. I don’t know. It’s summer.”

I wondered where the accent was from. “You left Sydney today?”

He nodded. “Well, yesterday. I guess. It’s been a long day. And terrible flights—oh my God—like you couldn’t believe. I haven’t slept. Can’t sleep on a plane. Your dog is really cute. I think he likes me. What’s his name?”

I smiled up at them, given Chutney was on his lap smiling back at me. “She’s a she. Her name is Chutney.”

“Chutney,” he repeated. “That’s just the cutest.”

“She’s a Cavoodle, or Cavapoo, or Cavadoodle, I don’t know. Some hybrid name. She’s half Cavalier, half poodle, one hundred per cent spoiled rotten.”

“The poodle half explains the black curly hair.” His dark eyes met mine and he smiled. “Oh my God. Chutney? From Legally Blonde?”

I smiled because he knew. No one here got the reference, certainly no guys. “Yep. I love that movie.” Feeling my cheeks heat a little, I stood up. “I’ll be back in one second. Put your hands near the fire.”

I came back with a pair of wool socks and exchanged the socks for my dog. “Put these on. I’m going to make you something warm to drink,” I explained. “It’ll help warm you up from the inside. Hot chocolate okay?”

“Uh, sounds perfect, actually.”

I left him to put on the socks, and by the time I’d heated milk on the stove and handed him a cup, he’d stopped shivering. “Oh, and this,” I said, remembering his phone in my pocket. “It was in your car.”

He tapped the screen but frowned at it. “There’s still no service.”

“Probably won’t be for a bit. Happens in these kinds of storms,” I explained. “You feeling better?” I asked, sitting on the sofa opposite him.

He smiled and nodded. “I am, thank you.” He sipped the hot chocolate and hummed. “I can’t imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t saved me.”

I smiled at him over the top of my cup. “You probably would have frozen to death in your car.”

He nodded again but he frowned this time. “I was supposed to fly into Spokane,” he added. “I’m going to see my sister for Christmas. Oh, she’s going to be so worried. And my car . . . well, the rental car. I slid off the road into more snow and it wouldn’t start. I’ll need to call someone about that too, I guess. I don’t even know where I am. I think I took a wrong turn.”

“You’re about five miles outside of Hartbridge, Montana.”

“I’m still in Montana? But I drove for ages.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You haven’t driven in snow very often, have you?”

“Driven in it? I’d never even seen snow before today.”

My smile died because that wasn’t funny. “Never seen . . .”

He shook his head. “In movies and stuff, sure. But not in real life.”

Oh, dear Lord. I couldn’t believe it. He’d never even seen snow before! That certainly explained his clothing choice and lack of preparedness. He seriously could have died out there if he’d gotten out of the car to try to find help. “But you feel okay now,” I said, sipping my hot chocolate.

“Much better. The fire is lovely. The socks are great, thank you.” He made a face and chewed on his lip for a bit. “I’m embarrassed, to be honest. I was trying to go by some foldable map the car rental lady gave me. I must have taken the wrong turn, and then the car wouldn’t