AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ransom took another gulp of coffee. “A relaxed version of you.”
I sniggered. “Maybe the overthinking can take a vacation while every other aspect of me-ness can shine in the Minnesota sun. It really is much quieter here.” It was incredibly quiet. Like pin-drop quiet. Could I handle the quiet? Was I good at quiet?
Ransom pushed up to get more coffee. “You suck at quiet, but I don’t care.”
I watched his muscles bunch and ripple while he lifted the coffee pot and bit my fist to stop myself from saying something. Holy shit, that man had the hottest body ever!
When he turned, his brow was furrowed. “Didn’t catch that last one.”
I lifted one shoulder. “Never mind. Go get dressed and then take me to the bacon-mobile!”
He huffed out a laugh, then took his coffee with him to the bedroom. Pressing my back to the counter, I fanned myself. Between the cool stone of the countertop and leaving the coffee aside for a few minutes, I got my hot flash under control. By the time I felt almost normal again, Ransom emerged in a long-sleeved T-shirt molded to his body and a pair of dark jeans. I felt my cheeks redden and thought my whole body would ignite.
“Travel mug?” I asked, not seeing one in my earlier perusal.
With a few large steps, he was at my side. He wasn’t quite a foot taller than me but still looked down at me when we were side-by-side. I felt my heart rate ratchet up as he stared into my eyes. Without looking at the cabinet, Ransom reached directly above my head to a top shelf and pulled down two travel mugs. When he closed the cabinet, I had to look away. I was going to spontaneously combust.
Adding what remained in my cup with some fresh coffee and ice, Ransom looked at me like I was crazy.
“What?” I said defending my choice. “I like a good iced coffee.” Truth was I needed ice to cool me down or I would never make it through the day without making a fool of myself.
He lifted one shoulder, refilled his mug, and nodded toward the garage. I yanked on my sweatshirt and he handed me a plaid mountain man jacket.
I looked at it suspiciously. “What’s this?”
He grunted. “It’s cold.”
Accepting his offering, I turned my attention to the giant truck in the garage.
Now, I wasn’t short by any stretch of the imagination. Au contraire. I was five foot eleven. Tall by any woman’s standard. That was also why I wore size ten in shoes. But looking up at his Chevy truck it was going to be a little more athletic to get in than I thought.
“Oh, for God’s sake.” He set his coffee down and grabbed me at my waist.
“What’re you gonna do?” I asked but then I was being raised in the air. “You’re gonna hurt yourself!”
Flopping into my seat, I looked down to see him scowling at me. “You know, I bench press four-fifty at the gym and you’re nowhere near that. But all this fighting and kicking makes it harder.”
I winced when he slammed the door behind me. I knew he was strong, but the way he manhandled me made me feel things I was trying not to feel. I took a few deep breaths and focused on the scenery.
The drive was quiet as I looked out over the crispy white landscape. Wide open fields covered in snow with deer running in the distance. I’d only seen a mile or so of the land yesterday when we arrived, so being out here today was a brand-new experience. And it was beautiful.
When we arrived at the Food Truck Park, only the bacon truck was open. Snow was piled at least a foot high on the outline of the parking lot. The temperature read twelve degrees. Okay, well maybe I did need a coat.
Moaning at the delicious smell of bacon as Ransom helped me down from the truck, I pointed around. “Do they all shut down for the winter except for the bacon place?”
He slammed the door shut behind me. “No, but it’s the only one open in the morning. The other places come out for abbreviated hours most of the winter. It gets pretty damn cold up here, I’m told.”
I pulled on the coat he gave me, then looked over at him with only a thermal shirt. “Do you want your coat?”
He lifted one shoulder. “I’m good. You wear it.” He took my hand and led me over a large snowbank to the food truck.
The closer we got, the more excited I felt until I realized we weren’t alone. There were other bacon-addicted people here too.
“You didn’t say there’d be people here,” I muttered, hiding behind Ransom.
He twisted around to see me, furrowing his brow. “What? You think you’re the only one who likes bacon?”
“But I didn’t put any makeup on, Ransom,” I hissed, starting to panic. “I didn’t even do my hair!”
