As the water heated up, he figured his easiest, or possibly hardest, option might be to go to the Kicking Horse Lodge to see if someone recognized her. The main problem with that was if her attacker chose to stay there after assaulting her.
Was it worth the risk?
He had to hope it was. Their options were limited, and as much as he and Ace might like it, she couldn’t stay with them forever. She deserved to have answers to her questions. To know who she was.
Rushing through his shower, Nick tried not to think about the way she’d looked staring at him. Her green eyes had been hooded, trying to hide her lustful thoughts. Her breathing had picked up with every inhale. It was the first time in the four days she’d been with them that there’d been any indication she felt what he and Ace did. The connection they all shared was magnetic—a force of its own. Completely unlike what he had imagined it would be.
His father had told stories of the draw he felt towards Nick’s mother for as long as he could remember. They’d clicked from the start. He always said Nick would know when the right girl came along, and that he and Ace would both be enthralled with her. They wouldn’t be captured by her beauty or smarts; it was going to be her soul.
His dad confided that when the right souls collided, they fit together like a puzzle, and as soon as they did, he would feel it. There were no limitations as to how many pieces it would take to fit, either. With Snow, even before she opened her eyes or spoke, he knew, Ace knew, they would be bound together for life.
Their work was cut out for them if they all planned to make it work. Hell, who knows if she even wanted it to.
“Fuck,” he cursed, stepping from the shower. A move couldn’t be made with Snow until they knew, at the very least, who she was. And even then, when she got her memory back, she may not want to stay with them. She may want to go back to wherever it was she lived.
Son of a bitch.
There went his cheerful mood.
Dressing in his uniform, he decided he’d go into town on his own and speak to the employees at Kicking Horse. Ace could stay with her while he did. He had to get out of the hou
se. Clear his mind.
Snatching his keys and coat, he walked out to the kitchen to see Snow making breakfast in a pair of his boxers and a sweater.
Son of a bitch.
He got the feeling he’d be thinking that a lot.
She fit. In his clothes, her voluptuous curves made them look good. Having her in his kitchen was messing with his mind. He had to leave.
Now.
“I’m going to town,” he announced.
Ace looked back from his slouched position on a stool. “Why?” His eyes roamed searchingly up and down Nick’s uniform as if the answers would be there.
Unable to look at their gorgeous guest yet, he explained in a clipped voice. “Might as well see if anyone recognizes her from the Kicking Horse Lodge.” Which reminded him. “I need a picture,” he snapped at Snow as she turned to him. His phone captured her startled image, and he was out the door, not leaving room for questions he couldn’t, or maybe didn’t, want to answer.
As Nick sped down to the highway, all he could picture in his mind was the hurt in Snow’s eyes as he’d barked at her. He was an ass. It couldn’t be helped. If she decided to leave, he didn’t want be attached to her. Having his heart broken wasn’t an option. He knew he was jumping the gun on everything. Judging her before she had the chance to decide. Thinking about a future when he didn’t even know what was in store for any of them.
Hell, maybe they’d all hate each other.
“Fuck!” he cursed again, slamming both hands down on the steering wheel. Being so indecisive wasn’t him. He made decisions and stuck by them. With this, them, her, everything was out of control, and he could barely stand it.
His father. He needed to talk to his old man. He would help Nick work through his chaotic thoughts.
He hoped.
For the amount of snow that had accumulated over the course of four days, it was unseasonably warm. Thankfully, the plows had been through, or he wouldn’t be going anywhere. Rolling down his window, the fresh air felt good, helped him clear his mind a bit. Focus on what he was currently doing.
Grateful there weren’t any cars in ditches, he enjoyed the warm glow of the sun and the shine from the fresh snow. The trees covered in the fluffy white stuff were what postcards were made of. The view he had now was the reason he loved a precipitous Canadian winter.
Natural beauty. Mother Nature’s child. There wasn’t a more beautiful sight than snow-capped mountains.
Except her.
Fuck.