Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

SHAE

The drive was painfully long. We didn’t leave until after four because he had to finish up some work. With it being late fall and very cloudy, it was already dark when we left. Dean put some alternative rock music on and turned it up just as soon as we left my street. I pulled out my tablet to review some photos from a wedding I needed to edit.

I loved pictures and cameras, so I majored in business and marketing in college while honing my photography craft. There were a few classes for photography, but I knew I’d need some business sense to make it work. Although, you got a crash course when you were in the real world. College and actual experience were two totally different things. The first year was a little rocky but I was able to stay with Mom and save up some while I built my portfolio and figured out marketing.

Now I had a thriving business. We lived in a small town in North Georgia that was also near the mountains and a ton of touristy spots. There were loads of wedding venues and I made pals with some of the businesses and got a lot of work that way, as well as using my social media presence and eventually word of mouth as I grew. Still, it would be hard to scale at the rate I was going. I had to spend so much time online. I’d rather just be taking pictures and making edits.

Scrolling through the folder I saved for the recent event, I marked potentials for the final product to be edited and sorted the rest into another folder. I hoped staying busy would keep my mind off how good Dean smelled or the way he sat, with his hand casually on the wheel. My eyes kept roaming in his direction, staring at his long, thick fingers.

“Do you need something?” Dean asked as he watched the road.

“What? No. Why?”

“You keep looking over here. If you need to pee or something, just tell me. We’re about to be off the beaten path. May not see anything for a while.”

Well shit. Busted. “Oh, uh, yeah.”

Dean sighed but switched lanes. It was a four-lane highway but was practically empty and there were long stretches with no exits, no stores, or restaurants. I didn’t need to pee, but I didn’t know how else to explain the wandering eyes. Suddenly I was hot, so I whipped my hair up into a messy bun to get it off my neck.

We pulled off the next exit and he followed me to the door, pulling it open before I could grab it.

“Such a gentleman.”

He didn’t reply, instead walked inside and looked around. I went to the drink cooler and perused their selection of adult beverages.

“What are you doing?” he asked from behind me. He was so close in the small space, his warm breath danced over my exposed skin.

Turning just my head since he was so close, my eyes landed briefly on his lips. Clearing my throat and forcing my gaze up to his, I answered, “Looking at drinks. I know you brought some, but I was checking for these cooler drinks I like.”

“I meant why aren’t you going to the bathroom.”

Damn it . “I had to walk past here to see. Geez.”

I shuffled the opposite way and found the questionable bathroom. After a short fight with the toilet seat covers, then practically getting a shower from the faulty sink, I used my hoodie to open the door since there were no paper towels or air dryers.

He was at the counter, but I walked back to look for my grape flavored malt beverages again.

“Shae, come on,” he called from the door.

“Oh my God, hold your horses. I just wanna find these drinks.” Man. He is so uptight .

He lifted something, waving it above his head. “You mean these?”He was dangling a whole case of my purple drinks.

“Oh. Yeah.” I walked toward the door, still wiping my hands on my hoodie. It was cold outside and they were still damp. When I got to him, he pushed the door open. “Thanks.”

“I need to put these in the cooler.”

Nodding, I walked to the vehicle and jumped as an arm came around me. The passenger door opened but he flew past me to the back where the tailgate was opening. Was semi-chivalry a thing? He was raised to be polite and open doors, but he needed work on his communication skills.

Once he put the drinks in the cooler, he got back into the driver’s seat, the gush of chilly air whipping me in the face. It was already significantly colder than when we left, and we’d only driven an hour. I rubbed my hands together then cupped them to my face, blowing warm air into them. He turned on the engine and adjusted the heat, then turned the music back on.

We drove another half hour or so and I’d been working on my tablet again. The music went softer so I looked up and around. “Snow,” I said.

“Yeah, the clerk back there was saying something about a storm coming in but I checked the weather before we left. I thought he was just running his mouth but it’s coming down.” Dean leaned toward his wheel, looking up as he kept driving. “Hopefully we can make it to the cabin.”

Just as he said that, my phone dinged. I leaned down, rummaging through my purse. Digging my phone out, I swiped to read the text in our group chat.

Jenna: We had to pull off. We got hit by some crazy snow storm. We’ll see if it passes but wanted to let you know. We’re at a restaurant somewhere a couple of hours away.

Me: It just started snowing here, too! But I think we can make it.

Jenna: Ok, keep us posted!

Lisa: Traffic was hell! We are nowhere near the cabin!

Annie: Got caught up at work! And now the weather is not looking good. We may not get there until tomorrow!

Billy was driving Jenna and Tommy was driving Lisa. Annie had planned to pick up Seth and Lindsay on the way. Oh shit…we were about to be alone in the cabin.

“Was that Jenna?” Dean asked.

“Oh, uh yeah. Everyone is either getting hit with snow, too, or stuck in traffic. But we’re all supposed to touch base in a while.”

He gripped the steering wheel but didn’t say anything else. Well, this ought to be fun.