The road is covered in snow, and so I decide to skip calling my usual driver in. I have my own cold weather trucks and can handle the drive myself, so there’s no reason to make someone come and pick us up.

I don’t want to become a rich man like my father. I have the money, but I don’t want to be totally helpless, reliant on all the people that I hire to do things for me. Which is why I don’t have a cook, I don’t have a maid. I cook and clean myself. I take out my own garbage, do my own laundry, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sometimes I give in to the perks and let Albert drive me around, but mostly I take care of myself.

Which is maybe why I partially understand Kylie’s reluctance to take my help. She’s probably not used to people doing things for her, because she’s always been on her own. Or at least partially on her own. Whatever she’s running away from is still there, still inside of her.

I heard her screaming in the night. I considered waking her up, but I decided just to let her sleep. I don’t know what kind of dreams she was having, but it unnerved me. Clearly she’s escaping something, but whatever she left behind is still lingering inside of her.

As much as she hates to admit it, she needs my help. She clearly has nothing but the clothes on her back and a small little carry-on bag stuffed with a few essentials. She needs money, clothes, a place to live, even a job. And I can give her all of that.

The real question I’m trying to avoid is why I’m doing all this. It’s not exactly a good time to be taking in a girl like Kylie. I should be at work today, but instead I’m skipping to be with her, which is definitely a bad idea. I’m walking a very fine line as it is, and I don’t want to jeopardize my future at all.

Elliot will swoop in the second he smells blood in the water. He’ll find a way to use this situation against me, I can be sure of it, despite the fact that I’m doing something good. I should give this girl some cash and send her on her way. She’d be fine and I could easily afford it.

But I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to just give her some money and send her packing. I’m drawn to her, for better or for worse. She’s younger than I’m used to, but I feel strangely protective, and that excites me.

“How long did you plan on being in Alaska?” I ask her as we head into town.

“I don’t know,” she admits. “It was a last second decision.”

“What made you choose here?”

“It’s far from where I used to be.”

I nod, not surprised. “Alaska is pretty much the opposite of LA.”

“More or less.” She looks out the window. “People can be pretty shitty here, too, though.”

I laugh, nodding. “That’s the damn truth.”

“I don’t mean you,” she says quickly, looking at me. “It’s just, last night I must have asked twenty people for help and gotten twenty different answers.”

“People in Juneau don’t trust or like strangers, especially ones that need help.” I sigh, shaking my head. “The shit part is, this town is built on the backs of strangers coming here and working.”

“Have you ever helped someone like me before?”

I glance at her then quickly back at the road. “No,” I admit. “But I hire a lot of people like you. People that come here and need a job. Even if it’s just temporary.”

“What do you do, exactly?” she asks.

“I’m upper management for Price Oil. I guess you could say I’m next in line for the CEO spot.”

“Really?” she says, sounding surprised.

“What, you think only old guys can be CEO?”

“Pretty much,” she says.

“Well, my father is an old guy, and he’s going to pass soon. When he does, the job is supposed to be mine.” I decide not to go into detail about Elliot and the drama just yet.

“I’m sorry about your dad,” she says. “That can’t be easy.”

“It’s not... and it is. I don’t know. Hard to explain.”

“I get it,” she says softly. “I don’t think I’d be upset if my dad died. But I’d feel something.”

I glance at her and the picture of her world suddenly grows. “You and your dad aren’t close?”

“No,” she says firmly. “How much further to town?”

“Not far,” I say, getting the hint. She wants to change the subject and that’s fine with me. I launch into a little monologue about the surrounding area, giving her a little history of Juneau and, by extension, of my family, since we’ve been in this town for as long as it’s existed.

But really what I keep thinking about is her reaction to talking about her father. He must be the reason she ran away from home and came here. I can’t see it any other way.

I don’t know what her father did to her, but I can easily imagine. I’ve lived with a difficult father my entire life, and I’m an adult. My father never outright abused me, though, but it’s very possible that’s exactly what she was dealing with back home.

I pull into downtown Juneau, trying to keep her distracted with talk about the town as we park. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable around me, and I can sense that possibility in the moment. Once I get a spot, we climb out and head into an outdoors store.

“Okay,” I say to her. “Pick out what you want.”

She pauses, looking around. “I honestly don’t know,” she says, laughing.

“Want me to ask someone?”

She shakes her head. “Let me look around.”

“Whatever you want.”

She starts looking through the racks, picking out jackets, checking their price tags, and putting them back with a frown. I follow her at a distance, but I don’t want to crowd her.

It soon becomes clear that everything is too expensive, or at least she seems to think so. As she moves back toward the sale rack, I turn and walk up toward the front of the store and pick up a jacket she had looked at the longest. I guess her size, take it up front, and buy it along with a pair of gloves, two hats, and two scarves. By the time it’s all paid for, she’s standing near the back, shaking her head.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her, approaching with the bag in my hand.

“I just... ” she trails off, looking at the bag. “What’s that?”

“This?” I ask innocently. “Oh, nothing.”

“Carson.”

“Look, you clearly aren’t comfortable letting me spend money on you, so I just did it anyway.” I take the jacket out and hold it up. “Like it?”

She nods her head once but doesn’t reach out to take it. “I’ve never had something that expensive before.”

“It’s just a jacket, Kylie. Take it, put it on, think warm thoughts.”

She slowly takes it, tentatively. “Are you sure? I hate taking from you.”

“Kylie. Put it on.” I step toward her, eyes locked on hers. “Put it on now.”

She bites her lip then slips the jacket on. She zips it up. “What do you think?”

“Perfect,” I say softly. “Warm?”

“Very.”

“Good.” I hand her the bag. “Gloves, scarves, hats.”

“This is too much.”

“We’re just getting started.”

She shakes her head. “Carson—“

“Listen to me, Kylie.” I stand close to her. We’re alone in the back of the store. The lights are low and the music is loud, and I know nobody can see the two of us back here, though someone could walk back at any moment.

“Let me buy things for you,” I say. “You need help. And it makes me happy to help you.”

“I don’t want to be the kind of person that just... takes.”

“Pay me back one day when you can afford it, if that’s what you really want.” My heart is hammering in my chest as I move closer, inches away from her, and reach my hand out around her. I place it on the small of her back and pull her closer to me, lips pressed against her ear. “But I’d rather you just let me spoil you.”

There’s a moment where we’re pressed together, her hands on my chest, my heart beating hard. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. She’s nineteen, a fucking stranger, and yet I’m hard as hell and I want her so badly. It’s crazy, just thinking about buying her things, taking care of her, spoiling her, fucking her deep and rough, it drives me insane. I’ve never felt this way about someone before.

But the spell is broken when another shopper walks back into the sale section. We break apart, a little too quickly, and I clear my throat.

“Come on,” I say. “Let’s try somewhere else.”

She nods and follows me back outside. We stop in a few different shops, and this time she doesn’t fight me as much as I expected her to. I want her to buy more, but in the end she gets a couple pairs of pants and some warm sweaters.

“One more stop,” I say to her as we walk down the street. She moves close to me, holding my arm.

“What’s left?” she asks, laughing. “I feel like we bought everything imaginable.”

I glance down at her shoes. “You need boots,” I say. “Real, waterproof boots.”

“My toes are pretty cold,” she says, frowning.

“Right. And I don’t want to have to check them every day.”

“Liar. You like my feet.”

“No thanks. Not my thing.”

She squeezes my arm. “I have very pretty feet. Men tell me that all the time.”

I laugh at her mischievous look. “I almost believe you.”

“Gross,” she says, laughing. “Come on. You’re the first man that ever touched my feet.”

“Really? I’m honored.”

“You perv.”

“Maybe I can get into feet,” I say, musing. “I do like being a first.”

“Cut it out,” she says. “You’re going to make me gag.”

“I feel like it’s insulting that the idea of me touching your feet makes you gag.”

“Too bad,” she says. “These feet are off limits.”

“Okay,” I say. “Enough foot talk.”

“Thank you.” She nudges me. “Hey, do you know that guy?”

I follow her gaze. Standing across the street is Declan James, the head of Elliot’s security team. “I do,” I say.

“He’s been watching and following us for a while now,” she says.

“Damn,” I say softly.

“Who is he? Looks intense.”

“His name is Declan. And he’s an asshole.”

“Looks like one.”

Declan is about five foot nine, a few inches shorter than me. He’s bald and about forty-seven with a slight paunch and a graying beard. As we head toward the shoe store, Declan crosses the street ahead of us and turns toward me.

“Shit,” I say softly.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

“Carson,” Declan says, approaching. “Who’s this with you?”

Kylie lets go of my arm, sensing the situation.

“This is Kylie,” I say. “Kylie, meet Declan.”

“Pleasure,” he says to her.

She nods but doesn’t say anything. I step toward Declan, putting myself between him and Kylie.

“What do you want?” I ask him.

“Just been checking up on you. Heard you didn’t go into work today.”

“That doesn’t concern you or Elliot.”

“I was curious anyway. And I’m glad I was.” Declan looks at Kylie. “How old is she, Carson?”

“Watch yourself,” I say in low tones.

He smiles at me. “Or what? I think you’re the one that needs to be careful. Walking around with a pretty young girl like that. You know you’re famous in this town, right?”

“Fuck off, Declan. And tell Elliot to fuck off as well.”

“Do you know who he is?” Declan asks Kylie. “This man has never taken a woman seriously in his life. Let alone one that’s what, half his age?” Declan laughs.

I step up into his face, wanting badly to hit him, but I know I can’t. That might ruin my chances of getting the CEO job. I’m sure Declan has someone nearby, taking pictures just in case I did something stupid.

“Go now,” I say to him.

“Have a lovely day,” he says back, smiling.

He turns and walks off. I watch him go, anger rising through me.

“I don’t feel well,” Kylie says, pulling me back into the moment.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I just think... you should drop me at the shelter.”

“The shelter?” I ask, confused.

“You’ve done enough for me. I just need a place to sleep. Homeless shelter will be okay.”

I shake my head. “No.”

“Please. I don’t want to cause you trouble.”

“It’s winter. The shelter has been full for weeks.”

“I’ll work something out.”

“We can go back to my place if that’s what you want. But I’m not leaving you here alone to try and figure this out on your own.”

“You’ve done enough,” she says softly.

“No, I haven’t. We can stand here and argue all you want and get real fucking cold, or we can head back and sit in front of my fireplace. How’s that?”

“Okay,” she says, resigned. “I guess I can suffer through another night at your place.”

I laugh, pleased that she’s making a joke already. “Come on. We’ll suffer through this together.”

We head back toward my truck and get inside. I mentally make a note to buy her a pair of boots online and have them overnighted.

For now though, I’m going to enjoy this. I don’t know what my brother is going to do with this information about Kylie, but I don’t care. I’m sure Declan will think of something suitably shitty. I can’t let that bother me.

I don’t know why, but I found something that interests me, even makes me happy. I’m not going to let that go, not yet at least.