As if this day couldn’t get any worse. This little goodie-two-shoes is in my face once again, actually thinking she can help. I’m already annoyed enough with my truck breaking down in this ridiculous storm, and I don’t need her in the way. What could she do to help anyway? She’d have to get a stool to even see under the hood.

I need to get rid of her.

“I’m fine, princess. Get home before you get stranded too.”

“Princess?”

I can’t help but smile at her outburst.

“Look, I get that you have this macho man persona that you don’t want to break, but being rude to someone who’s offering help isn’t the smartest idea.” She looks up at me with determination and rests her hands on her hips. I chuckle again before answering.

“Go home. I will call a tow truck.”

"The snow is falling harder than before. It took me twenty minutes to get here from the store when it usually takes about five who knows if they'd even come out right now. Just swallow your pride, Hulk, and let me take you home."

“I live deep in the mountains. Can your little truck make it up there with all this snow?” I can’t help but challenge her. She’s in way over her head with that sassy attitude of hers, and there’s no way I'm about to go out of her way to help me. It’s dangerous out here.

“I assure you, we’ll make it. My little truck has all the necessary amenities for weather like this. Four-wheel drive. Everything.”

I can’t decide whether to laugh or be annoyed by her. I don’t want to be an inconvenience or depend on anyone, but at the same time I want to be home, and she’s right about a tow. Jerry, the owner, would never get out in this crap and I’m not too keen on the idea of spending a night, or more, in my truck with the possibility of freezing to death. I look her over as she crosses her arms over her chest, knowing she’s right. The last thing I want is to satisfy her, but I’m also in need of her help. Dammit.

“Fine. Let me grab my bags. But I’m driving. There’s no way you’ll be able to make it through the mountains with the visibility the way it is.” Before she has time to argue, I turn my back to her to grab my bags from the truck. I can faintly hear her growl, which I find cute.

Shaking my head at my adolescent thoughts, I slam the door shut and lock. I turn around and walk toward her truck. When I approach, she's standing with the door open. Her annoyance is apparent, and it slightly makes me happy. I'm not trying to make friends out here. I want to get home.

“Could you speed it up, please? The snow is coming down.” She moves out of the way for me to throw my bags in the back seat. Not even looking at me, she gets into the passenger side and slams the door closed. I make my way around to the driver side and attempt to get in, growling when my leg hits the steering wheel. She tries to stifle a laugh but fails miserably. I move the seat back as far as it will go and lift the steering wheel so I can get in. Without saying a word I put the truck into drive and head home.

I can tell she's having a hard time with the silence, but I'm in no mood for talking. Hoping it will help to keep her quiet, I turn on the radio. She quickly turns the volume down and glares at me. I refuse to look at her, but out of the corner of my eye, I see her sit back and cross her arms. She stares out of the window, taking the hint.

It doesn’t last long though. After thirty minutes of sweet silence, she turns to me and starts in with the questions. I can tell she's trying to change tactics by retracting back to her friendly, goody-two-shoes attitude, but I honestly preferred the snarky version.

“So, can I ask your name?”

“Is it necessary for you to know?”

“Considering you’re driving my truck, I think it is. Just want to know what to tell the police if you decide to kidnap me or something.”

I give her a side glance, then roll my eyes before responding. “Maddox. And I already know you’re Taylor.”

“How?” she asks.

“Your name tag,” I say.

We sit in silence for a while.

“So, do you know what’s wrong with your truck?”

“No, hence the reason I couldn’t fix it.”

She’s biting her tongue, I can tell. I wonder how long until she lets that attitude out again. We continue driving, and the snow is falling harder, which is making the visibility near impossible. Luckily, I could drive this road with my eyes closed.

“So how long have you lived in Snowmass? I don’t remember ever seeing you before.”

“I’ve been here for about three years.”

“Really?” she asks, surprised.

“Look, I’m not trying to be an asshole, but I don’t have any interest in getting to know each other. Let’s get me home so you can be on your way, okay? Plus, I need to focus here, I can hardly see.”

She gives me the dirtiest look before turning away from me, wrapping her arms around her once more and staring out the window.

Finally, silence.

The drive to my house is annoyingly slow. I can’t believe how quickly the storm progressed. They weren’t kidding about it moving fast. Eventually, I make it to my old rock road, and I'm happy to see my No Trespassing signs at the start of my property. They’re hard to make out through the snow, but they’re there. Within ten minutes, we finally pull into my driveway.

“Finally here!” I leave the truck on, so she doesn’t feel as though she's welcome to stay and chat. I walk around the truck and grab my belongings out of the back seat. When I shut the door, she gets out of the passenger side. “Look, I know I was an ass, but I appreciate the ride home.”

“Yeah, no problem.” She doesn’t even make eye contact with me as she shuts the door and makes her way to the driver’s side. It takes her a few minutes to adjust her seat, but when she's all settled, she gives me a quick wave and backs out of the driveway. Within minutes I can’t even see the tail lights anymore. I'm a little worried she won’t make it to the bottom of the mountain, but then push the thought away. I appreciate her, regardless if I have a shitty way of showing it.

I quickly make my way to the house to hunker down and wait out the storm, not wanting to give her another thought.