An Avalanche of Love

I was alone in his room for five minutes, and I ended up in his lap making out with him. What’s going to happen if we’re stuck here all night together? I’ll end up handing him not only our family's mountain but myself on a silver platter too.

“I should check in with my family and see if Jen is okay. Oh gosh, she and Bear were probably close by.” She took him while I’d gone to talk with Walker. I try to dart back toward the room, but Walker doesn’t let me go.

“We stay close to each other at all times.” His tone leaves no room for argument. Something about it flares through me and then settles between my thighs.

“Okay,” I agree, licking my lips. He turns me into a docile kitten. I want to roll over and let him pet my belly as my reward for doing as I’m told.

He leads me back to his room, and I see my purse lying on the floor next to the table. The phone inside is already going off like crazy. I send a text in the family group chat first to let everyone know I’m okay. Everyone else has already checked in, and now they’re all demanding I respond. I no sooner get my text sent than my phone is ringing.

“Tell me you’re okay. You can’t be dead if you’ve answered your phone,” Jen rushes to say.

“I’m fine.” I glance at Walker, and it dawns on me that he doesn’t have any family to check in with. My heart breaks thinking about it because I could never imagine not having my family. Hell, I might not be blood related to everyone in this town, but honestly, we’re all family too. “We’re fine,” I add. “Are you and Bear okay?”

“We’re totally good. That was crazy. It was like the damn avalanche was aiming for the inn or something. It looks to have taken the hardest hit, but who knows? Only time will tell.”

“Well, we’re safe and unharmed for now, so if rescue and manpower is needed somewhere else more urgently, we can wait. Somehow we've still got power.”

“Seriously? You have power? All I can see is the damn chimney.”

“We were really lucky.”

“Not luck,” Jen responds. “It’s that Bear Mountain magic.”

“Whatever. Just tell the sheriff and rescue team what I said. I need to respond to my brother.”

“All right, don’t forget if you need to keep warm, use your body heat. The two of you—” I hang up before she can finish, and when I see Walker smirk I wonder if he heard her. Probably. My phone starts to ring again, and my brother's name lights up the screen.

“Is that your brother?” Walker asks, glaring at the screen on my phone.

“Yeah,” I say before I answer it. “I’m okay,” I repeat, telling him again even though I’d texted it to him seconds ago.

“You’re in the inn? Someone sent me a picture. It’s almost completely covered.”

“I am, but I swear I’m okay. Their electricity is still on,” I try to reassure him. “You guys are all good, right? Everyone is okay?”

“Yeah, nothing here. All of our houses are so high up, and it’s on the other side.” I should have known that.

Both Wilder and Connor are good about watching out for avalanches on our land. From time to time, they’ll cause small ones of their own to stop a potentially larger one from ever happening, but damn, in the heat of the moment, my mind was not thinking straight. Walker was, though. He had us in the pantry in seconds.

“What are you even doing at the inn? Does this have something to do with you and Jen’s post on the town's webpage about some suit everyone is supposed to ignore?” I flick my gaze to Walker again, and his brows lift high, confirming that he does have excellent hearing.

“Maybe.”

“Is that who you’re with right now? Is anyone else there?” Oh gosh. I do not want to answer this question. “Natalie,” he pushes when I don’t respond fast enough.

“Just him and me,” I finally say.

“I want to talk to him,” Wilder demands.

“Why? You don’t need—” My phone is plucked right out of my hand. “Hey!” I protest, but Walker is already talking to him.

“This is Walker.” I try to make a grab for the phone once again, but it’s pretty dang pointless with how tall he is. Walker doesn’t speak for a long moment, listening to whatever my brother is saying. His hearing is way better than mine because I can’t make out a single word. “I’ve got her. I promise you that,” he finally says. “I understand. You have my word.” His eyes lock with mine when he says the last past before finally handing me the phone back.

“What was that?” I ask immediately.

“Man stuff.” I growl into the phone, making my brother chuckle. “I remember you taking my woman off for girl talk.”