17. Eva

The words on the page of my book may as well have been in Swahili for all the sense they made. I'd read the same paragraph at least ten times already. I couldn't concentrate on anything, and it was all Tanner's fault.

He'd ruined the fragile equilibrium I'd found since Silas rescued me from the car. Even Brent barely registered in my thoughts these days. I'd not forgotten about the risk he posed, but somehow, up here, isolated in this cabin with three ridiculously hot men, he seemed unimportant.

I knew Brent was a problem I needed to face, but for now, I was happy to push him aside. If it wasn't for Tanner, life would be good.

Both Cole and Silas had made it more than clear they were happy for me to stay as long as I liked. I had no intention of abusing their kindness indefinitely, but until the weather cleared, it was obvious I couldn't leave.

And if I was being honest, I didn't want to.

Cole looked after me like nobody else in my life had.

Silas cheered me up and made everything a bit brighter.

And as for Tanner…well, we weren't going there.

"Christmas is in a few days," Silas announced as he sat next to me on the sofa.

I looked up, throwing the book aside with an irritated huff.

"Is it?" Christmas didn't register with me. Dad had never celebrated it and Brent treated it as an opportunity to make my life even more miserable than normal.

"Yes, sugar, it is!" Silas grinned and I couldn't help but smile back. He reminded me of a large, excitable dog: always wanting to have fun. The exact opposite of Tanner, who took being a broody asshole to a whole new level.

"Do you guys celebrate it?" I glanced at Cole, who'd walked in with a coffee for me. Tanner was AWOL as per usual. Working on something, Cole had said. He was always working when I was around, holed up in his office with the door locked.

Not that I'd ever been in there. I wasn't the nosy type, although I had to admit, I was curious about what he was doing in there.

Silas's jaw dropped. "Of course. Are you saying you don't?"

"Well…" I looked down at my hands. "Erm… not usually, no. Dad wasn't much of a celebration kind of guy." Nor was Brent.

Silas grabbed my hands in his and squeezed. "This year will be the best Christmas you ever had, trust me."

It was clear I didn't look suitably convinced because he pulled me to my feet. There was a small spark between us, but I ignored it. Things with Tanner and I were already complicated enough, and I had no intention of adding to the confusion. Besides, neither Silas nor Cole had given me any indication they were interested in me like that.

And why would they? I was a plain Jane with nothing to offer any man.

The fact Tanner had shown any interest in me was baffling. I had a feeling that with him, it was more about control than anything else. He seemed to get off on making me uncomfortable.

"Come on, you can help me find the stuff we need in the attic."

"I don't like spiders," I admitted, not enjoying the idea of poking through dusty old boxes full of spiders.

"Big baby," he scoffed with amusement. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from the scary eight-legged freaks."

Not giving me a chance to voice any more complaints, he dragged me to the back of the cabin, past Tanner's office and two more rooms with closed doors, and into a space with some storage shelves containing dry food provisions and lots of cans. There was a drop-down ladder in the ceiling, and above, a large open attic space.

"After you," I said, gesturing upward.

He chuckled and disappeared up the ladder. A light switched on and then he reappeared at the top of the steps.

"No spiders, you're safe."

Pushing my spider-related anxiety aside, I climbed up the ladder and stepped out into a massive space that covered the whole of the cabin. It was surprisingly warm up here. Not as warm as downstairs, but warm enough that I wasn't shivering.

"We're looking for a box that says ‘Christmas Decorations' on it. I know it's up here, but I can't remember where I put it."

I scanned the attic. There were dozens of boxes and a ton of random junk. It surprised me a bit because the cabin downstairs was far from cluttered and extremely modern.

"Is this all your stuff? As in, it belongs to you guys?"

"No, most of it was our parents'. Dad built the cabin in the 50s as a weekend retreat. After they died, it was empty for ages, then we moved in and gutted the place." He moved a couple of boxes and then discarded them with a frown. "A lot of the stuff up here was our mom's. There are boxes of photos, journals, her art stuff. All things we didn't want to get rid of."

I walked over to a stack of boxes and opened one. It contained a bunch of old sketchbooks, so I peeked inside the top one. There was a charcoal sketch of a landscape I didn't recognize and some pencil drawings of a baby. "Your mom was really talented," I told Silas.

He looked sad. "Yeah, she was. The paintings downstairs are hers. She loved the forest and spent as much time here as she could." Then he smiled brightly and carried on searching for the elusive Christmas decorations.

"We don't have a tree, so what are we decorating?" I pointed out once I'd checked another two boxes.

"That's a job for this afternoon. We'll head out and you can pick a suitable tree."

"But how are you going to bring it back?"

Silas grinned. "I'll chop it down and me and Cole will drag it back between us. All in a day's work, sweetheart!"

My jaw dropped. Was there nothing these guys couldn't do?

"Oh, I've found a box of clothes!" Silas sounded excited, which was odd. What was so great about some old clothes?

"Erm, OK?"

He held up some jeans and a sweater. "These should fit you. Mom must have been the same size as you."

"I'm not sure I should wear your mom's old clothes. Isn't that weird?"

"No, they're just clothes, and you need some that fit you. Our stuff is massive on you, and you must be sick of wearing Cole's boring sweatshirts. I swear that guy lives and breathes Abercrombie Fitch."

I stifled a laugh. He was right - Cole had a certain style that was at odds with both Silas and Tanner. Silas seemed more comfortable in jeans and plaid shirts, whereas Tanner prefer black everything to vibe with his satanic personality.

"OK, we can take the box of clothes and I'll try them on. There better not be any spiders in there!"

Silas brought the box over and dumped it by the entrance to the ladder. "If there are any spiders, I promise I'll save you." He tickled the back of my neck and I shivered, but not from fear.

"I'll hold you to that," I said, turning my head to glare at him. Only the amused expression he'd worn a few moments earlier had vanished, replaced by heat and a sort of longing I couldn't explain.

His eyes did that weird thing where they morphed from brown to gold, and I shivered. "I'll always protect you, sweetheart," he murmured, stroking my cheek. "Not just from spiders. You know that, right?"

I knew that. Silas was my protector, and he made me feel safe. He smiled when I nodded. It felt like he was going to say something else, but then Cole stuck his head through the hatch.

"Hey, have you found the decorations yet? I've made a quiche for lunch."

Silas stepped back, his hand falling away, leaving me slightly bereft, as if I'd lost something important. Something I needed more than anything.

"Not yet." His voice was tight. I didn't miss the way Cole's eyes narrowed as they flicked between us.

"Well, hurry, yeah? How hard can it be to find one box?"

Not liking the sudden tension between the guys, I scurried over to a stack of boxes neither of us had checked. "Bingo!" I called. The box on top of the pile had Christmas scrawled on the side in red marker. It was also less dusty than some others.

Silas hurried over and grabbed it before I could lift it down.

"Let's go eat and then we can go find the perfect tree."