Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
8
CARTER
“You sure about this?” Tristan asked as I set my laptop on the worktable in the center of the cabin. Our guest was nowhere to be seen. She’d been quiet during lunch and had retreated to her bedroom immediately afterwards.
“Sure. It’s the least we can do for the woman we spent half a day rescuing.”
Tristan rolled his eyes. He knew me well enough to ignore statements like that, although I occasionally shocked the hell out of Drew. “We had to,” Tristan said. “It was the only way to see if she was as hot as you claimed she was.”
I smirked. “And?”
“Yeah, you sure called it. Damn.”
That last word was drawn out, which was unlike him. Usually, he was Mr. Business. Not stuffy, no way I’d be best friends with someone like that, but… focused. That was a good word. Usually, nothing got between him and his goals, but apparently, this new girl had.
Speaking of being business-minded, Tristan put his hand on my laptop. “You know you can’t use this as an excuse to slack off, right?”
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. “I do most everything on my phone anyway.” It was true. I did my best thinking when I was moving, like during my morning run or a hike through the woods. Or a drive up the coast. My phone was always with me, so that’s what I used for work. “She won’t be able to see my stuff, will she?”
Tristan grinned. “I thought you said it was mostly on your phone?”
“Yeah, but there are probably some things in my browser history that would send our young guest running for the ice-covered hills.”
“Good point. But Drew set it up so that you won’t be able to see her stuff and she won’t be able to see yours.”
I must not have looked convinced, because Tristan elbowed me. “You don’t think she’s a corporate spy, do you? Maybe some rival company sent her up here with a mission to throw herself under a tree and seduce us once we pulled her out. Damn, we fell right into her trap.”
The seducing part I was okay with, but she didn’t look like the type to engage in corporate espionage. Then again, there was something she wasn’t telling us. I’d searched for Sierra Brogan online and there wasn’t anything about her. At all. Now, I was all for wasting less time on social media, but seriously? Absolutely nothing on her? She was definitely hiding something.
Almost as if she’d heard my thoughts, the door to the bedroom opened and she emerged. I never would’ve guessed that anyone could look that hot in Drew’s sweats, but she managed. She nodded at us but would’ve passed by in silence, probably on the way to the bathroom, if I hadn’t spoken. “Here. Tristan said you needed this.”
I handed her the silver computer and she took it gingerly, with the quietest “thank you” imaginable. Shit, you’d think I’d passed her a plate of Brussels sprouts or something gross like that.
She looked up long enough to catch my expression. In an instant, her demeanor changed. She straightened up, looked me in the eye, and said in a voice that carried across the room, “I really appreciate it. Whenever you need it back, just say the word.”
What the fuck? Her green eyes gleamed with sincere gratitude, her cheeks had a rosy pink glow on them, and hell, even her ponytail looked fuller and bouncier. What had happened to the mousy girl from a moment ago? “Will do,” I said, still trying to figure her out.
Tristan appeared oblivious to the change in her. “Drew made a new profile on it, so you don’t have to worry about anyone seeing your writing. Good thing you had it saved in the cloud.” She’d mentioned that at lunch when Tristan and Drew questioned her about her work.
“Sounds great.” She grabbed the charger and carried it and the laptop back to the room, closing the door behind her. Guess a working computer was more important than a bathroom break.
Tristan gazed absently in the direction she’d disappeared in. “She sure is gorgeous.”
“Yeah.” And a mystery—one I was determined to figure out. “Is Drew still upstairs?” He hadn’t slept too well on the couch last night, so he was taking a nap in Tristan’s room.
“Yeah. We should probably wait until he’s up before making plans for the video call tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. I’m going to go for a run.”
Tristan laughed. He knew how badly I wanted to do that, but it would be like trying to jog over an ice floe. But there were other ways to work up a sweat.
By the time I got all my gear on, Zeus was dancing in front of the door, eager to join me. He had no problem on the ice. I grabbed the axe, and we walked out into the Ice Age.