Taming His Montana Heart(14)

“Ever since I got here I’ve heard people talk about how seductive the area is,” he said. “Today I really get it.”

“Seductive?” She took hold of her tool like it was a spear and threw it as far as she could. It landed on the snow piled all around the building and sank nearly out of sight. “I haven’t thought of it that way.”

“You haven’t?” Shaw sounded shocked.

“Not really.” She wasn’t ready to admit that today, because of him, a great deal was changing.

“You’ve gone snowmobiling around here, right?” Rey asked.

“What? Of course.”

“Sorry. Dumb question. Anyway, Echo and I’ve done that a few times and will again the next day we both have off. There’s a silence out there that—turn off your machine and just listen.”

Doing anything as one instead of as half of a couple wouldn’t be the same. Still, she longed to experience what he’d described in a few words, and not by herself. Maybe Shaw wanted the same thing.

“I’ve taken every machine we have along the south trail because that’s the steepest one,” she explained, aware that Shaw was studying her. “That’s the best way to determine how well they’re running.”

“But did you pay attention to what was around you?” Shaw asked.

Does it matter to you? I want it to. “Some.”

“Only some? You need to take time for yourself.”

He didn’t know what she did with her limited free time so had no business saying what he had. Her life was hers and hers alone. It needed to remain that way because otherwise she risked tipping into something dark. Something she might need help getting out of.

“What about yourself? You can reserve a snowmobile any time you want but you haven’t.”

“She’s making a good point,” Rey said. “I’m a workaholic, but you put me to shame.”

“That’s debatable. What isn’t up for debate is that I’ve been clinging to the side of a roof as long as I intend to for one day.”

Instead of heading for the ladder, Shaw looked all around. As he did, his expression became pensive. She longed to touch him to let him know she’d tapped into his emotions at least a little. A current would pulse between them, maybe take them unexpected places. No, she admitted, thinking of him solely as her boss wasn’t working. He was a man. She was a woman. It couldn’t get any more complicated than that. A whole world of emotion and feelings to explore. Physical needs.

He whistled softly, startling her. “Mother Nature is amazing,” he said. “Snow can make getting anything done a pain but seeing it like this—hard to believe how different everything will look come summer. How many more people we’ll have to share it with.”

The rented snowmobiles would soon start coming back. Once they did, the quiet would end. She wanted to bottle up these minutes, tuck them in her pocket, and take them out later.

Maybe share those quiet minutes with Shaw.

She’d tell him about how Mount Lynx had stopped intimidating her and had become a massive guardian over her world. If she wasn’t careful, she’d also let it slip that he’d taken up residence inside her mind.

“I wish I had binoculars with me,” Rey said. “Maybe I could spot the wolf.”

Echo had suggested that Haley let clients who hadn’t already heard about the predator know a wolf had recently visited the Lake Serene area. To some, her included, wolves were almost mystical beings. Just the same, at first she’d hesitated telling visitors to keep an eye out for a large grey shape because she didn’t want to alarm anyone.

She hadn’t needed to worry. More times than not people brought up the wolf before she could. The media had jumped on the story and resort staff had help spread the news. However, the wolf hadn’t been spotted since Kolina and Terron had seen it in the fall. Her guess was it had moved on.

Despite her dismissal of the predator, she understood why Rey had said what he had. How many people saw a wild wolf in their lifetime, particularly in their back yard so to speak? Maybe if she was still here come summer—

No. She wouldn’t be she reminded herself. Her job would end once the snow melted. She’d have no choice but to move on—somewhere.

Alone.

“Take a picture if you spot it,” Shaw told Rey. “Multiple pictures. Otherwise, I won’t believe you.”

Rey stepped closer to the edge. “Haley, tie the man to a snowmobile and drag him as deep into the forest as you can. Make him spend the night out there. That’s the only way he’s going to understand what a special place this is.”

Shaw snorted. “I’m aware of how special it is. And I’ll explore it once my uncle lets up.”

Why was he putting his uncle’s demands ahead of taking time for himself? He deserved it. Shaw might have said what he had to get Rey off his back but she wasn’t sure, not that it was her business.

“I’ve been wanting to do this since I got up here,” Rey announced. “Being an adult is highly overrated.”

She was still trying to figure out what he was talking about when he let his shovel slide off the roof and onto the mounded snow. Then, arms out for balance, Rey slipped-walked to the edge of the overhang. Then he jumped.

“Geronimo!”