Shelby River most definitely was not pouting.

Or at least that was what she had kept telling herself during her long, lonely car ride up to Tennessee. Shelby was simply taking some much-needed time to reconnect with herself, not hiding away in the mountains to avoid the River and Roman families.

Shelby gave a resigned sigh as she parked outside the rustic cabin that was meant to be her private winter retreat, but had started to feel more and more like a safe house the farther away she got from Catahoula Creek.

Okay, so maybe she hadn’t anticipated spending Christmas alone this year, but she didn’t see what other viable alternative there was for her. Not when the impromptu holiday trip to Cancun that Remy had talked everyone into going on meant Shelby being the only sad, single person amongst all the happy couples.

“Stupid Walker,” Shelby grumbled to herself as she climbed out of her car. She may have slammed the door shut behind her a little harder than was absolutely necessary.

Shelby sighed defeatedly again as she walked around to the back of her car and popped the trunk so she could unload it.

She knew it wasn’t fair for her to be angry at Walker for going and getting himself hitched, but she couldn’t help it. He and Shelby had been the only two people left unattached amongst their two families. Though they had never acted upon anything with each other, somewhere in the back of Shelby’s mind she had always expected that they would eventually end up together one day.

What she hadn’t counted on was for Walker to go and fall fast and hard in love with another woman. Before Shelby even realized what was happening, it was already too late. Walker was already too far gone.

Not that I’m not happy for them, Shelby reasoned to herself as she hauled out all her groceries with one hand and her suitcase with the other. She closed the trunk awkwardly with her elbow before turning to make her way toward the cabin.

It was true; seeing Walker dote over his new bride made Shelby smile, even if she sort of also felt like crying at the same time. She had never held any real claim over the middle Roman brother, but the loss of what could have been—given different circumstances—bummed Shelby out a little.

Shelby unlocked the double-paned glass front door to the cabin, making sure to stomp her feet to knock off all the snow that clung to her boots before entering. She shivered from the frosty chill of the mountain air that stole in behind her before she could get the door shut again, her southern blood quick to resent the cold.

But as she turned back around and really got to survey her hideaway for the first time, all her dislike for the climate instantly vanished when she got an eyeful of the breathtaking view of the Smoky Mountains that the large bay windows in the living room boasted. The beautiful scenery had been the main reason she’d chosen to sequester herself all the way out here in Tennessee, after all.

Well, that, and the fact that her personal idol, Dolly Parton, had a lot to say about how getting away from the rest of the world for a little while had the power to soothe all things.

Even heartache.

Shelby dumped her suitcase on the couch before carrying her groceries over to the state-of-the-art kitchen off to the left of the living room, wanting to get them put away first before unpacking the rest of her stuff. Shelby had stopped at the grocery store on the way through Murfreesboro, and she hadn’t denied herself a single thing. Salty, sweet, and everything in between found a place in her shopping cart.

Though the pickins had been pretty slim by the time she’d gotten there.

When she had finally reached the limit of her ability to suppress her curiosity about the numerous barren shelves in the store, Shelby had approached an employee to find out what the hell was going on.

Apparently there was a snowstorm looming in from the west and the townspeople had learned from past experiences to stock up on food goods while they could.

So Shelby followed suit, buying enough food and other necessities to last her the entire duration of her ten-day-long vacation, and then some. She hadn’t really planned on leaving the cabin much during her stay here, but the impending storm seemed to solidify her solitary fate.

There was no going back from her solo Christmas adventure now.

When she was done sorting away the food, Shelby walked back into the living room to grab her suitcase before venturing down the short hallway that lead to the cabin’s one bedroom and its adjoining bathroom.

The room was small—being barely large enough to accommodate the four-poster king-size bed, matching dresser, and overstuffed armchair that it held.

But Shelby barely noticed the lack of space, for the floor-to-ceiling windows that dominated the wall opposite the bed made the room feel as vast and endless as the surrounding wilderness.

She plunked her luggage on the bed; nearly breathless with awe as she bore witness to the most beautiful sunset she could ever recall seeing. For the first time since deciding not to go with everyone to Cancun, Shelby felt her spirits begin to lift, if only a little.

Shelby’s lips curled into the barest ghost of a smile; maybe this trip hadn’t been completely in vain after all.