I rolled over in bed, my eyes beginning to hurt. Sun was streaming through the open window, igniting the room in a glow I hadn’t yet adjusted to. I buried myself back underneath the covers and pulled them over my head, desperate to force the sunlight out of my life so I could go back to sleep.

But the smell of sausage came wafting into the room, and my growling stomach pulled me from the bed.

I decided to hop into the small shower attached to the room and get myself cleaned up. Even though I still had the same clothes I’d been wearing for the last two days on, I could at least wash my body and hair. When I was done, I felt like half a human being again.

I could hear Hadley giggling at something while Liam ate his food. He was talking about something, asking for an apple, or possibly bubblegum. His mouth was so full I wasn’t sure what he was saying, but I could tell by Evan’s chuckle that it was amusing.

“Where’s Mew?” Liam asked.

“Probably still—”

“I’m right here.” I stepped around the corner and Liam whipped his head over to me, his brown hair fluttering around his eyes. He smiled brightly as Hadley lifted her arms to me, and the smile that crossed my face made my cheeks ache. I could feel Evan staring at me as I walked toward the kitchen table, and soon after I sat down next to Liam, a plate descended in front of me.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Welcome,” he replied

“Want an apple?” Liam asked.

“Oh, no. I’m okay. But you need to eat your apple so you can grow big and strong,” I said.

“Like Uncle Evan!” he exclaimed

“Like Uncle Evan,” I said, giggling.

I took a bite of the sausage and had to stifle a groan. Evan set a mug of coffee in front of me and I wrapped my hands around it, reveling in its warmth before I took a sip.

Evan was still standing in the corner with a cup of coffee in his hand. He never sat and ate with us and I wondered why. Maybe it was too intimate for him? I thought back to what I’d said to him the night before and I nearly blushed.

“Do you think the sun’s melted enough of the snow to get my car out?” I asked.

“I’m not sure, but I can go look,” he said.

“Oh, I don’t want you to have to go out in this,” I quickly replied. “I can go.”

Evan shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll take my snowmobile and go check it out. As long as you’re okay with the kids for a little bit?”

I looked at the two smiling faces in front of me and couldn’t help but smile in return. “Of course,” I said.

“I’m gonna go prep the snowmobile,” Evan said.

“Okay,” I said.

“All of Hadley’s clothes, diapers, and wipes are in her room,” he said.

“Got it,” I answered.

“I shouldn’t be gone too long, but if they want snacks, Liam can have a banana and Hadley has those puffy things that melt in her mouth,” he instructed.

I stifled a grin as he rattled off more. It was really cute how much interest he took in the kids. Most guys would let them eat whatever they wanted, but Evan knew the importance of healthy foods. I found it quite endearing.

“I’ll let you know when I’m about to take off,” he said.

I watched him stride down the hallway and I couldn’t peel my eyes away from him. His very broad shoulders tapered into strong, yet slim hips. His legs boasted of muscles underneath his over-washed jeans, but it was his hands that caught my eye. Calloused and rough, but they hung delicately at his sides. He wasn’t nearly as highly strung as he had been the day before, and I found myself wondering why that was.

“Story?” Liam asked.

“What was that?” I asked.

“Read story?”

Hadley clapped her hands as a smile crossed my face.

“I’d love to. Why don’t you go pick out your favorite book and we can read it together?” I said.

Liam climbed down from the table and scampered off as I got up to get Hadley. I lifted her from her high chair and began cleaning her off, wiping down her hands before I made my way to her face. She squirmed and frowned, trying to get away from the cold wipe I was rubbing all over her skin.

I placed her in her playpen so I could wipe down her high chair just as Liam appeared at my side.

“Here,” he said.

I looked down at the tattered green book and recognized it instantly. The Giving Tree. I had loved this book since I was a child, and had read it to my classes when I was doing my student teaching.

“I’m heading out,” Evan said, as he made his way to the front door. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Sounds good,” I said.

I pulled Hadley’s playpen over to the couch as Liam scrambled up beside me. The little girl was playing with one of her toys as I heard the front door open and close and Evan’s heavy boots on the porch. I felt awful that he was going out in the snow to look for my car, but he’d insisted and I knew there was no use arguing. Besides, even if I had found it, it wasn’t like I could dig it out myself.

“Read! Read! Read!” Liam chanted.

“Okay, okay. Just settle down. Here, you wanna flip the pages?” I asked.

I didn’t have to read the pages to know the words of the book. I’d practically memorized this thing as a child. The familiar pictures jumped out at me as Liam’s fingertips ran along them. I snuggled him close against my body while Hadley continued to play. She was jingling one of her toys as it lit up and played music, and I could tell Liam was getting agitated at the noise.

“Hawy loud,” he said.

“It’s okay. She’s just having fun, too,” I said.

“But book,” Liam said. “Book is quiet.”

“Well, we don’t have to be quiet if we don’t want to,” I said.

The look on Liam’s face pulled laughter from my throat. Anyone would’ve thought I just handed this kid the biggest gummy bear of his entire life. He jumped up onto the couch and tossed the book away, his body lunging toward mine while he giggled. I started tickling the small boy just as Hadley’s laughter rose from her playpen, and soon the three of us were rolling around on the floor. Hadley was on a blanket, chewing on a toy. I was crawling around with Liam as he danced his bare feet hard on the wooden floors. I chased him around the house with Hadley in my arms and the three of us simply couldn’t stop laughing.

I took them into the room I was sleeping in and we jumped on the bed. I brought Hadley’s playpen into the room so she could roam without getting hurt, then I started wrestling with Liam on the bed. Hadley clapped her hands and grabbed her toes, falling back onto her back as her giggles filled the air of my bedroom.

My stomach hurt from all our laughter.

Then, I heard the front door open. Liam and I paused what we were doing before we scrambled off the bed, and I scooped Hadley out from her playpen. We ran down the hallway, our chests heaving for air as we went to greet Evan, but I could tell by the look on his face that things weren’t good.

“There seems to be a commotion going on,” Evan said.

“Sorry,” I said. “We sort of got—caught up.”

“No need to apologize,” he said. “Got good news and bad news.”

“I take it the bad news has something to do with the fact that I’m not getting out of here,” I said.

“Yep. But, I was did free your car from the embankment and get it up here. It’s parked outside.”

I went to the window and looked out at my car. The fender was bent and the headlight broken, but everything else seemed to be intact. The snow was deep enough to almost cover the tires and I wondered how in the hell Evan had driven it up here.

“Very slowly,” he said, as if reading my mind. “I was able to clear a bit of a path with the plow on my snowmobile, but it was still a bitch to get it even this little way. That car is not made for mountain driving in Montana.”

I nodded. “I know, but it’s what I can afford right now.”

“It still starts and runs just fine. Just a bit of superficial damage,” Evan said.

“That’s good. When do you think I could head out?” I asked.

“Well, that’s the bad news. The clouds are pretty heavy and it looks to be about to snow again. And even though I cleared a small path, there’s no way you’re getting that little car two miles up the hill to your place. Sorry to say, but you’re stuck here for the time being.”

I sat down as his words sunk in. I needed to get home and make sure my dad was okay. Though he’d sounded okay on the phone and had assured me that he was eating and taking his meds, I was still worried about him being alone.

“I need to call my father,” I said, handing Hadley to Evan as I made my way back to my bedroom.

I picked up my phone and dialed.

“Sweetheart, I’m fine,” my father assured me when he answered the phone. “In fact, I’m feeling better by the day. I think not having you here to do every little thing for me is making me stronger.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said.

He chuckled; a wonderful sound I hadn’t heard in too long. “Don’t get me wrong, I love having you here, but I need to start taking care of myself. I even figured out how to set the alarm on this damn phone to remind me to take my pills.”

“That’s good, Dad,” I said, relieved.

“More importantly, Melanie, how are you? I’m not thrilled that you are stuck with a strange man. You know, you can call the sheriff and he’ll get the plows out if you think you’re in danger.”

I sighed. My poor father had been through just as much as I had, possibly worse. The helplessness that he’d felt during my ordeal had aged him. “I’m okay, Dad, really. Evan is a good man. He’s thoroughly devoted to his niece and nephew and has been nothing but kind and hospitable,” I assured him.

“Well, that’s good. The forecast is calling for more snow, so it looks like you are stuck there for a bit longer,” he said.

My father and I finished up the conversation with me promising to call him later, and him reassuring me that he was getting on all right. My fears were somewhat allayed by the time I hung up the phone.

If only I knew what in the hell I was supposed to do cooped up with a dangerously handsome man for a few more days.