Gage Flynn was not having a good night. He was stuck in the middle of bum-fucking-nowhere, in a shitty rental car that died and wouldn’t restart. He tried for over an hour to get the thing running again, in the pouring rain, but no luck. And because he was in the middle of bum-fucking-nowhere, his cell phone had no reception. He was sitting in the car—wet, hungry, and pissed off—wishing someone would drive by and actually stop for him. He was losing hope. After sitting there for almost an hour, not a single car had gone by. He was sure the weather had everyone tucked in their houses for the night. So, now, he was trying to dry off in the car in hopes of getting warm, but his stomach wouldn’t stop grumbling. Lunch was the last meal he’d eaten, and it was almost nine o’clock now. It was going to be a long fucking night.

He may not have reception on his phone, but he could still listen to music. He scrolled down to one of his favorite playlists, the Counting Crows, and hit play. He was in the middle of belting out “Rain King”, ironically, when an SUV came around the corner and almost ran into the back of his car. The driver slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop, just inches from Gage’s stalled rental car. He peered back and could see her hands clutching the steering wheel as she stared straight ahead, eyes wide with shock. Gage threw his driver’s side door open, jumped out, and ran over, grabbing the handle of her door to open it. He pointed down to the lock and yelled, “Unlock the door!”

Frightened, the woman shook her head no at the same time as she yelled the word. Gage yelled at her through the window, “Are you all right?”

He couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t open the damn door. It was pouring out, for God’s sake, and he just wanted to make sure she was okay.

Pushing the electric window button, allowing it to open an inch, she yelled out, “I’m fine! What the hell are you doing in the middle of the road?”

“Sorry! Damn rental broke down, and I have no cell reception. Do you have a phone?”

Looking down at her phone, she frowned and held up the dark phone to him. She yelled back through her window, “I’m sorry, it’s dead. I’ll call Triple A when I get to my house. It’s only a few miles down the road.”

He shook his head, drops flying from his hair, as he tried to wipe away the water running down his face. “Seriously? It’s pouring rain out here. Can you just give me a ride?”

He could see the wheels turning in her head as she tried to decide whether or not to give this stranger a ride. “Listen, I’m a nice guy. I promise! Just a ride to a phone and you won’t ever have to see me again!”

“Isn’t that what all serial murderers say?” she yelled back through the window. Even looking like a drowned rat, she couldn’t help but notice this guy was seriously good looking. Didn’t Ted Bundy lure woman this way, too?

“I’m freezing here, lady. I give you my word on the bible that I’m not a bad guy.”

She looked down, gnawing on her lower lip, wondering if she’d end up another sad story on the news of a missing woman if she let him in. But the poor guy was soaked to the skin, shaking and shivering in the rain. Her compassion for his predicament overtook her common sense.

“Okay, but you better be telling me the truth!” She flipped the switch and unlocked the doors.

“Thank you! Let me just grab my bags from the car and lock it.” As the man moved back to the rental car, she watched as he grabbed a black duffel, what looked to be a camera bag, and the keys from the ignition, then lock the door and run back. He opened the rear door first, depositing his gear, and then opened the passenger side door, finally getting in and slamming the door.

“Thanks again. I’ve been here almost two hours.” She looked over to him with what must have been shock written on her face. He looked down, taking in the water dripping from him and onto her Italian leather seats. His gaze swung back to her, and he shrugged apologetically. “Sorry.”

“I know, I know.” He must have thought she was aghast at his impression of a drowned rat, but she was actually stupefied by the way his wet clothes clung to his skin, outlining his muscular frame. She shook her head to clear it. “I’m sorry, I know it’s just water. It will dry.”

“I’m Gage Flynn, by the way.” He held out his hand to her, but she just looked at its wet, dripping form and gave him a short wave instead, her eyes raking over his features, taking in the way his green eyes crinkled when he smiled.

“I’m Hope. Where should I bring you?”

“You tell me. It’s not my town at all. I was just here for the day shooting a wedding and was trying to get to the airport to catch a flight out tomorrow morning.”

“Well, I just came from the airport, and I can tell you that not one place appeared to be open when I drove through. You don’t know anyone around here? I really don’t want to drive back to the airport.” She sighed tiredly.

“No one. I’m sorry. Listen, do you have a regular phone line at your place? I can—”

She held her hand up to stop him from talking. “You want to come to my house now? Are you crazy? I don’t even know you. This is how every horror movie starts, and we both know how they end.”

His brow furrowed, and he shook his head in frustration. “Listen, Hope, right?”

She nodded her head. “Yes.”

“First off, I’m fucking starving. I haven’t eaten in almost ten hours. I’m soaking wet, I’m freezing, and I’m tired. The last thing I want to do, or have the energy to do, is rape, hurt, or murder you. You’re a beautiful woman, but really, it’s the last thing on my mind. All I want to do is find a phone, call a tow, get some dry clothes, and eat something.” He took his hand and slicked his dripping, shoulder-length hair back away from his face and looked down in exasperation.

Moving her eyes over his frame, she took in his soaked condition, saw he was shivering from the cold and rain, and realized in that instant what a complete bitch she was being.

“Okay, let’s go then.” Reaching over, she turned the heat and blowers on his side of the vehicle to high. She then put the Rover in gear and pulled out around his car to start back down the road. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything dry to give you. I just got in from New York and keep clothes at the house, so no suitcase.”

He smiled. “No worries, really. I’m just happy you came along. I was afraid I was going to be spending the night there.”

Opening the center console, she pulled out a granola bar and handed it to him with a smile. “I do have this, though. It hasn’t been in there that long.”

“Oh my God! Thank you!” Snagging it from her, he tore the wrapper off and inhaled half the bar in one bite as a groan rolled out of his mouth.

Looking at him out of the corner of her eye, she noticed how his hair was starting to curl up a bit on the edges as it was drying. “Okay, so I don’t think there’s going to be anywhere between here and where I live that will be open. We are in Vermont, after all.”

He looked over at her and gave her a look that basically said, no shit.

“We have a landline at my house, so we’ll give Triple A a call when we get there and see what they say about getting you a tow. Okay?”

“Sounds perfect. Really, I can’t thank you enough.” Reaching over, he grasped her forearm in a quick squeeze of thanks. His touch felt hot and electric, causing her to jump in surprise.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?” His eyes squinted as his brow furrowed again.

She laughed lightly. ‘No, no. Sorry, just jumpy.” She could still feel tingles on her arm where he had touched her. When was the last time a man gave her tingles from a single touch?

“Are you getting warmer yet?” Her trench coat was still on, and even though she had only turned the heat up on his side, a bead of sweat trickled slowly down her back.

“It feels amazing.” He looked over and must have realized she looked a little flushed. “Too warm for you, though?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s okay. Keep it on. Let’s see if we can dry you off a little bit.”

“You’re just worried about these leather seats, aren’t you?”

Looking over at him, she feigned a shocked expression. “The thought never even crossed my mind!”

Laughing loudly, he joked, “Come on! I saw the horror on your face when I first jumped in. What’s this sucker run, a hundred grand?”

“What? Isn’t that kind of rude to ask someone?” She laughed nervously. What if this was actually a setup and he knew she was rich? “Besides, I didn’t pay for it. My father did. I’m more worried about his reaction to the water stains and how I’m going to explain them.”

His expression darkened a bit at the mention of her father. “Oh, I get it now. You’re a daddy’s girl.”

“Excuse me?” Her eyes went wide.

He just shook his head. “Never mind. Sorry I said anything. Really, I’m just hungry and cranky.”

She turned off the main road and started down the dirt road that led to the house. The drive was only about half a mile long, but it wasn’t lit, and it was lined with trees, so she drove slowly.

“We’re almost there.” No sooner than the words were out of her mouth, she was slamming on the brakes again. A tree had fallen in the road, right in their path.

“Shit.” She turned and looked at him. “Now what?”

“We move it. That’s what.”

Brows shot up over her weary eyes. “How in the world do we move that? It’s too big for us to push out of the way.”

He smiled wide, eyes crinkling again. “Not too big for this fancy Range Rover, though.”

She looked at him again questioningly. “What?”

He shook his head. “You didn’t notice it has a wench on the front of it?”

“A what?”

Laughing, he reached for the door handle. “Yep, you’re a city girl, all right.” He opened the door and jumped out. “Just stay put, but leave it running and the lights on for me.”

She watched as he moved in front of the Rover and began pulling on something before climbing up and over the tree, wrapping some kind of wire around it as he went. Curiosity got the best of her, and even though the rain was still pouring down, she opened the door and stepped outside. Her heels immediately sunk in the mud of the dirt driveway, and she cursed the fact that another pair of her beautiful shoes were getting ruined in one day. She pulled her heels up and walked on the balls of her feet over to the tree to see what he was doing.

“Gage!” she yelled at the tree because she could only see the wire. His head popped up from behind the tree.

“What are you doing? I told you to stay put.” He jumped back over the tree and walked over to her. “Now, you’re soaking wet, too. Get back inside!” He grasped her arm and starting leading her back. When he tried to turn her, he noticed she was walking on her tippy-toes. He looked down in question and pointed to her feet.

“What the hell are you doing?” They had to yell each time they spoke so they could be heard above the wind and the rain.

“My heels keep sinking in the mud!”

He just shook his head, and before she could say another word, he scooped her up and carried her over to the passenger side of the Rover.

“Hey! What are you doing?” She grasped onto his shoulders, clinging tightly, noticing how firm the muscles that lay under the wet shirt were, and tried not to enjoy how he was holding her.

“This is faster. Just go with it.” Opening the door with one hand, he placed her in the seat. “Besides, I need to drive for this part so I can pull the tree out of the way.”

Before she could object, he shut the door, ran around, and jumped into the driver’s seat. He flipped a switch on the dash, and she heard a motor turn on and saw the tree jerk. He shifted into reverse and slowly started backing up, pulling the tree with him out of the road. When the tree was out of the way enough for them to be able to drive around it, he put it back in park. He flipped another switch on the dash, and she heard the motor turn on again. She looked at him questioningly.

“Loosening the wire. Be right back.” He jumped out, and she watched as he removed the wire from around the tree. She heard some clanging and then saw him lean up over the hood and smile at her through the rain and wind. Her heart did a little flip. What kind of guy could smile after being stuck on the side of the road for hours, with no food, and then moving a tree in a rain storm?

He jumped back in and turned, still smiling. “Bet you’re glad you picked me up now, aren’t you?” He flipped the switch to the motor one more time to reel the wire back in.

She nodded gratefully. “More than you know. Can we call this karma? A good deed coming back around?”

“Maybe.” He put the Rover back in drive and maneuvered around the tree, continuing the rest of the way down the road.

A minute later, the house came into view, and Hope breathed a huge sigh of relief. She pointed to a spot next to an old pickup truck already parked against the side of the house.

“You can park right over there.” He pulled into the place she indicated and shut off the engine.

“Home sweet home?” he asked curiously.

“Weekend home sweet home. I live in New York. This is where I come when I want to escape the craziness for a while.”

They opened their doors, both of them grabbing their own bags, and then ran up onto the covered porch out of the rain.

“The red key on the ring is for the deadbolt.” She pointed to the keys that were in his hand. He pulled open the screen door and then, putting the key in the lock, turned and opened the door. He held the door for Hope to go in first. She walked in and flipped the switches to the right of the door, but nothing happened. She flipped them on and off again, expecting different results, but of course, nothing.

“Shit. No power.” He walked in and shut the door behind him. He was dripping wet and shivering again.

“Candles?” he asked her.

“Yes, we have oil lamps. It’s not unusual to lose power during storms up here.” She pulled her jacket off and slipped out of her muddy shoes before hanging the jacket on one of a row of hooks stationed behind the front door.

“Stay right here. I’m going to light a lamp and get you a towel.”

“Okay, staying put.” He held up his hands in surrender, like he was afraid to get anything else of hers wet. She padded off down the hall.

Even though it was dark in the house, Hope knew it like the back of her hand and had no problem moving about to get a lamp lit. She walked through the kitchen to the attached pantry and, feeling with her fingers, found a lamp on the top shelf. She carried it to the counter next to the stove, opened one of the drawers, and pulled out a long wooden match. Lifting the glass shade of the lamp enough to get the match in, she struck the match against the slate on the counter, igniting it, and then held it against the wick. It caught, and light immediately flooded from the lamp, so she closed the shade and turned the flame up to brighten it.

Holding the lamp, she went quickly to one of the upstairs bathrooms and grabbed a couple towels for Gage. When she walked back down and into the hallway, he was pacing back and forth.

“We have light!” She handed him the towels, which he took gratefully.

“If you want to take those wet clothes off and leave them there, I can find you something of my brother’s to wear. Does that sound good?”

He nodded his head. “That sounds amazing. I’m freezing, and the only thing in my bags is a suit and some cameras.”

“Okay, hold tight. I’ll go find something for you.” She turned and walked off and was about to walk back upstairs when she realized she left him in the dark again, so she went back to the kitchen and pulled several more oil lamps from the shelf in the pantry. She lit two, leaving one on the kitchen counter and then, carrying two lamps now, headed back to the hallway. Hope rounded the corner, lights blaring, to find Gage bent over, bare ass in the air, trying to pull his wet jeans off the bottom half of his body. His shirt was already off, so she couldn’t help but notice the muscles rippling across his back from the effort of trying to get his soaked jeans off. She could also see he had several tattoos, but before she could look further, she cleared her throat to let him know she was there.

“Um, sorry.” She bent down, placed the lamp on the floor, and started backing away, making sure to keep looking down. “I’m just going to leave this here for you.”

Gage jerked his head up in surprise when he heard her clear her throat, quickly pulling one of the towels off the floor to try to cover his ass. He turned in time to see her setting down one of the lamps then slinking away and wondered how much she saw.

As if she had read his mind, she yelled out, “Don’t worry! I didn’t see a thing! Too dark!” Then he heard her footsteps as she ran up the stairs.

When he’d turned to find her standing there with the lamp, it was the first time he got a really good look at her and noticed what an attractive woman she was. She was wearing what he was sure was some expensive designer dress, in a dark color that offset the pale color of her skin. It was belted tightly around her small waist, accenting the curve of her hips. The back of the dress had a slit that allowed him to see her long legs as she walked away. Her blonde hair was wrapped up in a ball at the base of her neck, but he would bet when it was undone, it was long. She was definitely in a different league than him.

After finally peeling his jeans off, he hung them and his dripping shirt on the hooks behind the door. He placed one of the towels under the dripping clothes to capture the water then took the other and wrapped it around his waist, securing it tightly. Walking over to the lamp, he picked it up and wandered down the hallway. He stopped in amazement at the space that lay before him.

It was a huge open room that was filled with big comfy couches, bookcases, and an enormous stone fireplace. Off to the left was a kitchen that looked like it could cook for an army if required. But it was the wall of windows that captured his attention. Even though it was dark, he could see the lake on the other side of the glass, rain splattering the water and waves crashing into the shore. He imagined it must be beautiful on a day when the sun was shining. The sound of pattering feet had him turning back around to see her as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Oh!” She seemed startled to see him in the living room. “Sorry, I didn’t expect to see you in here.”

“Did you want me to wait in the hallway like a dog?” he asked her jokingly.

“No, of course not.” He couldn’t help notice how she stared at his chiseled chest and stomach, a dusting of light brown hair covering his pecs leading down to what he knew was a well-defined waist. He had that V thing women seemed to love, that started at his hips and dipped below the edge of his towel, and his tattoos were on display. He had a large Celtic cross on his upper left arm and, on his right side, a tribal tattoo that started on the back side and wrapped around his shoulder and down part of his arm. The word Faith was written over his heart, too, but with the angle he was standing, he doubted she could see it clear enough to make it out.

She held out the clothes she had taken from her brother’s room. “Here you go. It’s just a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, but they’re dry.”

He walked forward and took them from her. He pulled the t-shirt over his head and thought he heard her groan. Grabbing the sweats, he started pulling them on under the towel.

“Whoa! What are you doing?” She held out her hands and then turned around, trying to cover her eyes with her free hand.

“What?” He looked up in surprise, saw her embarrassment, and laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not taking the towel off until I’m covered.”

She stammered, “I barely know you!”

“Which is why I’m putting some clothes back on. I do believe I made a promise not to rape or murder you.”

She spun around at that, looking relieved to see he was dressed again. “Not funny.”

He laughed out loud. “You’re a skittish thing, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not.” She put her hands on her hips and stuck her chest out defiantly. “But you are a complete stranger to me. I’m not used to strange men getting naked in front of me.”

“I wasn’t naked.” He smiled again. “Thank you very much for the dry clothes. Phone?”

She looked at him and gave him an apologetic frown. “Out. Sorry, no power means no phone, and without power, I can’t charge my cell phone. Did you check to see if yours has reception?”

“Yeah, I checked when you were getting me the clothes. Not a single bar.”

Her eyes narrowed, and a small frown fell on her lips. “Okay, not a rapist or murderer, right?”

“Right. Still a no.”

“Okay, well, I can’t very well throw you out in the storm, and there is no way I’m driving you all the way back to town. So, I guess you’re staying here for the night.”

Looking her in the eye and nodding slowly, Gage asked, “You sure you’re okay with that?”

“I’ve got a lock on my door, and I’ll sleep with a knife under my pillow, too.” She winked at him as she said this.

A wide grin broke across his face. “Thanks. Really, I appreciate this.”

She held up her hands in defeat and shrugged. “Well, there’s not much else we can do, so it is what it is. Plus, you rescued me in the end with the whole tree mess, so who really ended up being the hero here?”

He pretended to puff out his chest. “Course I did. That’s what us heroes do.”

They both laughed. She walked over to the counter and grabbed one of the oil lamps. “I’m going to go change. The kitchen was stocked this morning, so you should be able to find anything you need in the fridge. I don’t know how long the power’s been out, though, so just be careful, I guess. The pantry has wine, too, if you want a glass.”

She started walking toward the stairs and then turned around. “Do you know how to light a fire?”

“Yep.” He grinned broadly. “Earned my boy scout badge for it and everything.”

“Wonderful. Would you mind starting one for us? The furnace is gas, but it still needs electricity to run, and it might help to keep the house warm for us tonight.”

“No problem.” He walked toward the huge fireplace.

“Kindling, matches, and wood should all be stocked over there. Thanks so much.” With that, she walked up the stairs.