Waiting for Willa (Big Sky, #3)(11)

“I’ll take you home,” Max offers.

“Thanks.”

He makes sure Alex and I are both buckled in before he pulls off, headed toward my house.

“It’s snowed a ton in the hour we were in there,” I say, surprised that the roads are completely covered.

“They were calling for it,” Max says with a nod. “When will you find out about your car?”

“Not until tomorrow afternoon.” I blow out a breath. “I’ll call my mom and ask her if I can borrow her vehicle.”

“No need,” Max says. “I have an extra car you can have until this is resolved.”

“Absolutely not,” I reply, shaking my head.

“So, your mom can be without her vehicle indefinitely?” he asks, and I glare at him, making his lips twitch. “And we have a plethora of car rental places in Cunningham Falls.”

“You’re a pain in the butt,” I say, making him chuckle.

“The car will be at your place in the morning.”

I sigh, thinking about everything I have to do tomorrow. Being carless isn’t an option.

“I’ll pay you for it.”

He glances over at me and cocks a brow, then glances back at Alex, who’s fallen asleep in the backseat.

“Are you trying to piss me off?”

“I would pay for a rental.”

“Willa, I’m not using the fucking car,” he says quietly. “Just don’t kill it, and I’ll be happy. I don’t want or need your money.”

“Thank you,” I say as he pulls into my circular driveway. “And thanks for rescuing us. And for the pizza.”

“You’re welcome.”

He hops out when I do and helps me pull a sleepy Alex from the backseat.

“Where is your shovel?” Max asks.

I turn to him to tell him not to worry about it, but he just narrows his eyes at me.

“In the garage. I’ll open the door for you.”

He nods, and I walk inside, set Alex on his bed, then hurry over to open the garage door. When I return to Alex, he’s stripped out of his clothes, but he’s sitting on the side of the bed, falling asleep.

“It was a busy day,” I say as I tug his pajama top over his head. “Step into the pants, and you can go to sleep.”

“I’m not tired,” he insists, the way he does every night. But once his pants are pulled on, and he’s gone to the bathroom, he hops into bed, and his eyes close immediately.

“Goodnight, Bubba.”

“’Night,” he says. I shut off his light, but make sure the nightlight comes on before leaving his door open just a crack. I walk out to find that Max has cleared the snow off of my porch and the walkway to the driveway.

“You are my hero this evening.”

He smiles at me as he leans the shovel against the wall of the porch.

“Would you like to come in and warm up?” I ask.

His nose is rosy from the cold, and his brown eyes hold mine as he nods his head.

“I’ll make you some coffee,” I offer.

“I’d better not,” he says with a sigh. He reaches out to tuck a piece of my hair behind my ear, sending a shiver down my arms. He smiles softly. “But I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay.” I swallow hard, not sure what else to say. I haven’t done this in years. I’m not even sure what this is. Flirting?

Probably.

“What are you thinking so hard about?” he asks.

“I don’t even know,” I reply honestly. “Thanks again for everything.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiles and turns to jog down the freshly shoveled steps to his sexy SUV. “Sleep well, Wills.”

“You, too.”

I watch him drive away, then go inside and lean against the closed door.

Oh, my.





Chapter Four


Willa


“MAX IS HERE!” Alex exclaims, holding his Eggo waffle and dripping syrup on his hand while he presses his nose against the glass of the window in the front door. “He’s shoveling.”

“Get over here and finish your breakfast,” I reply, craning my neck to look outside. Sure enough, Max is out there, shoveling away. It snowed about eight inches last night.

“Alex, sit down and eat, then get your socks and shoes on,” I say and grab my jacket. “I’m going to say hello to Max.”

“I want to say hello.”

“After you finish getting ready,” I insist, then give him the stern Mom look.

“Yes, ma’am,” he mumbles, nibbling on his waffle.

“Thank you.” I walk onto the front porch and grin when Max glances over his shoulder at me. “Good morning.”

“Yes, it is,” he says with a grin. Good God, that expression can still stop me at fifty paces.

“Hi, Noah,” I call out to Noah King, who I’ve also known most of my life. “You guys don’t have to shovel.”

“I’ll bring a snowblower next time,” Max says.

“It’s not a problem,” Noah assures me. “Sorry to hear about your car.”

“Thanks. Hopefully, it’ll be a quick fix.”