Troping Through the Snow by Alexa Riley

There I go again making up my own storyline for him. He could be hooking up with every woman over in Westchester. You know who could find that information for me? Tinsel. Too bad she’d be all up in my business if I asked. For now, I’m going to keep my mouth shut and hope she doesn’t notice my nightly trips out here. She’s so wrapped up in Jack that she might not, but the girl can spring up out of nowhere.

“I’m a far better baker than chef, but I can make a stir fry from what I see in your fridge.” The thing is fully stocked, and so is the giant pantry.

“I’ll eat whatever you make,” he grunts.

“You have a lot of food for a single man out in the woods. Are you a doomsday prepper? Is that why you’re out here in the middle of nowhere with all the goods?” I tease.

“I wouldn't say I’m a doomsday planner, but I am always prepared.”

“What do you do out here besides wrestle bears?”

“I don’t wrestle the bears. In fact, some of that meat in the fridge is for Maggie and her cubs.”

I stop cutting the bell peppers. “You feed bears?” I whisper like one is coming up behind me.

“If she’s around.”

“You’re serious!” I gasp with excitement. I know we have bears because everyone else is always spotting them, but I’ve never seen one, and I grew up here. “Will she come tonight? Can I see her? She has cubs? How many?” I fire off one question after another.

“I fed them tonight already before you came, but tomorrow I’ll wait.”

“No, don't make them wait. I’ll get someone to close for me tomorrow so I can be here to see them.”

“Okay,” he agrees, leaning back in his chair as he goes back to watching me.

I know I’m here to cook for him, but it’s something more. Maybe he wants something romantic. So I do what I do best and I talk as I cook, telling him random stories. I think he’ll grow tired and make an excuse to leave and come back when the food is done so he doesn’t have to listen to me ramble. But instead he listens to every word I say as I fill the silence and tell him more about me.

“You don’t have a Christmas tree,” I point out once I have the stir fry going and get to work on my frosting. “I can’t believe this is a home in Troping. I bet you’re breaking a few laws out here because from what I’ve heard, I think decorations are mandatory.” I’m teasing him again.

Clause glances around his home to where the kitchen opens up into the living room. He gives one of his grunts, but I’m not sure what that one means. Either way, maybe tomorrow I’ll get him to share something, anything, really about himself. Now more than ever I want to know who Clause is.

Even if he is blackmailing me.





CHAPTER 6





CLAUSE





The next night, I get a text from Frostie saying she’s coming over early. As soon as she said she was on the way, I walked out onto the porch to wait for her. When her headlights approached, my heart somehow beat faster, and it was the happiest I’d been all day.

“Have the bears come yet?” is the first thing out of her mouth when she gets out of her car.

“Not yet,” I say, and she squeals with excitement and rushes inside. Tonight she doesn’t have bags of things with her because I guess everything I got was what she needed. “Come through to the back. I’ve got supper waiting on them.”

Without really thinking it through, I take her hand and lead her to the deck that looks out on all the land I own. In the distance, there’s a great big stump from where a hundred-year-oak died a few years back. I left it there as sort of a serving dish to feed the bears. This keeps them far away from the house but close enough so that I can watch them.

The sun is setting as we walk on the porch, and I let go of her hand. Not because I want to but because I’m afraid she doesn’t want me to keep holding it.

“They should be along soon. It’s usually about twilight when they show up.”

At the back of the house, the land flattens out a little before it slopes to a creek and gives a beautiful view of the mountains above the tree line.

Frostie steps forward and puts her hands on the rails and shakes her head. “Damn, Clause.”

“What?” I ask, moving next to her and trying to see what she’s looking at.

“I get it now.” When she turns to me, her smile is soft, and all I want to do is kiss her.

“Get what?”

She nods to the view. “Why you’d give up living in town. This view.” She shakes her head again as she turns to face the setting sun. “It’s priceless.”

“Well, unfortunately there was a price, and it was pretty damn high.”

Frostie snaps her head in my direction and then busts out laughing. “I guess you’re right. But whatever it was, it was worth it.”

My eyes don’t leave her as I nod. “I agree.”

We wait a little longer, and then in the distance I see movement. Frostie is beside herself as I point it out, and then as if on cue, Maggie and her cubs come through the bushes and begin to feast. Watching Frostie’s reaction is the best part, and I drink it in as she enjoys the show.

“I can’t believe it. You’ve basically got pet bears.”