Troping Through the Snow by Alexa Riley

When I get to the front door, I elbow my way past Clause to see Jack and Tinsel. Jack’s got his hand over her eyes, and his other arm is wrapped around her waist to keep her from going anywhere.

“Put on a shirt.” Jack glares at Clause.

“Oh shit. What time is it?” It's bright outside.

“It’s I-thought-you’d-been-murdered o’clock!” Tinsel snaps.

“Crap. Okay, okay.” I have to get to the bakery. I hope the staff opened on their own, or everyone is going to be wondering where I was and what I was up to. Clause would be the talk of the town, and I don’t think he’d like that because he’s private. I rush back into the house to find my clothes and quickly get dressed, but I hear banging on the door again.

“Did you lock them out?” I ask as I grab my purse and see my phone is dead.

“Yes,” Clause says, pulling a shirt on.

I pull on my boots and almost fall over, but Clause catches me. “Thanks.” He puts me on my feet, and I lick my lips, still feeling him there. “So I guess—”

“Open this door!” Tinsel shouts, cutting me off.

“You know I’m alive!” I shout back.

“Did she yell at me?” I can hear her muffled question from the other side of the door. “She never yells. What did he do to her?”

What has Clause done to me? I don’t want to leave, but he’s not asking me to stay, and I have a bakery I need to check on.

“I should go,” I say, and Clause only nods before walking over to the front door.

“You don’t have to come tonight,” he says as he opens the door, and his words shock me. He doesn’t want me to? I want to ask him, but Jack and Tinsel are staring at us, and Clause is looking anywhere but at me.

“Okay” is all I can get out.

“Hey,” Tinsel calls after me as I hurry past her and over to my car.

“I have to get to the bakery,” I tell her because I want to get out of here. Still, Tinsel rushes over before I can get into my car.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” she asks, and I blink quickly so I don’t cry. “If he—”

“It was me. I threw myself at him,” I whisper so Jack and Clause can’t hear. Tinsel’s eyebrows rise in surprise. Normally I’d relish shocking her but not this time. Not right now. “I have to go.”

Tinsel purses her lips but steps back so I can open my car door and get the hell out of here. As much as I want to leave, I’m scared I’ll never be back.





CHAPTER 8





CLAUSE





Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

What did I just do? I mauled Frostie and then sent her running from me as fast as she could go. I told her not to come, and she didn’t even blink. I couldn’t explain because I was so tongue-tied after what happened, and then the fucking sheriff showed up.

That was a whole other can of worms. Tinsel glared at me for a full sixty seconds before Jack practically dragged her back into the car and drove them off my land. Then I sat in my living room looking at all the decorations that Frostie put up and felt like my heart was breaking. She’s gone, and I’ve fucked it up.

I never drink or set an alarm. I’m usually up before the sun just because I’m used to it, but after last night, I was exhausted and fell into bed so perfectly with her. It was like we’d been doing it our whole lives, and we fit together like missing pieces of a puzzle.

Of course she had to get up and open her bakery this morning. What the fuck did I expect? After a while of sitting in my own self-loathing, I decide I’ve got to make this right with her. I can’t just let her run out of here without an explanation and then never see her again because of a misunderstanding. That’s not going to happen.

Once I’m ready, I drive into Troping, but instead of going straight to Frostie’s, I pull up in front of the sheriff’s office. When I go inside, I say hello to one of the ladies on dispatch and ask for Tinsel. She pokes her head out of her office and scowls when she sees me. Then she steps out from behind her door holding a mug that reads Details are sketchy.

“Come to confess to your crimes of kidnapping?” Before I can answer, she turns to the elderly lady outside her office. “Mabel, grab my cattle prod.”

The lady doesn’t so much as look up from her wordsearch. “I would, but you broke it when you tried using it to kill mosquitoes.”

“Damn it,” Tinsel says to herself.

“I need to talk to you,” I say and nod to her office. “In private.”

“Not without my lawyer.” Tinsel turns to Mabel again. “Call Jack.”

The older lady sighs and circles a word on her page. “He’s at the deli getting you a sandwich.”

“Double damn it,” Tinsel hisses before finally agreeing. “Fine, but just know Mabel here can do karate, so I’d think twice before coming at me.”

“Noted,” I say as I follow Tinsel into her office and we both take a seat.

“So, why did you kidnap my friend and then make her cry?”

“She cried?” My voice is louder than I mean it to be, and I start to stand up.

“Okay fine, maybe she didn’t cry, but I know Frostie, and she was upset.”

“I’m going to talk to her, but I wanted to see you first. She and I are…” I don’t know how to say I’m blackmailing her to be with me in a nice way, so I settle for a partial truth. “We’re seeing each other.”