Look at her. She’s fucking amazing.
“Easy there, tiger.”
She scowls and then sighs and collapses against me.
“I can’t change it,” she says with a sigh. “I just don’t like it when people use someone else to get where they want to go, and that’s exactly what she did to you.”
I bury my lips in her hair, brushing them back and forth, breathing her in.
“I guess I hadn’t thought of it like that.”
“It happens to Max, too. I’m sure it happens to most people, in all kinds of careers. It’s dumb. I’m a fan of a strong work ethic.”
“It’s one of the things I admire about you.” I pull her close and sigh when she wraps her arms around my torso, hugging me tightly. “You’re a fierce woman, and it’s fucking fantastic.”
“Well. What’s the point of being anything else?”
I smile as she turns up the volume on the movie. We are quiet as the show finishes, curled up together while it silently snows outside. The media means absolutely nothing.
Nothing.
I can’t say that I’m not ready to get back to work because acting is what feeds my soul, but being here with Jenna also feeds me in ways that I didn’t know I was lacking.
I feel at home here, and I don’t know if I’ve ever truly felt that way anywhere before, aside from on a stage or a movie set.
It seems that Jenna is what I’ve been searching for my whole life, and now that I’ve found her, how do I keep her?
She’s breathing evenly, so I lean forward to check on her and, sure enough, she’s fallen asleep against my chest. I turn off the TV and lift her easily. She wraps her sweet arms around my neck and buries her face against my chest as I carry her around the tree house, turning off lights and making sure the door is locked before I take her to bed.
I’d planned to make love to her again tonight, but she’s exhausted, and if I’m being honest, so am I. It was a trying day.
One I’m ready to be over.
Once I tuck Jenna into bed, I make a trip to the bathroom and take a quick, hot shower to wash the rest of the day away. When I return to the bed, Jenna is curled up in the middle of it, her legs tucked up to her chest, and her sweet lips tipped up.
I wonder what she’s dreaming of?
I slip in next to her, and she immediately seeks me out, wrapping herself around me. Sleep hovers around my mind, closing in on the worries from today, and before long, I’m sleeping with her, tucked safely in the trees and snow of Cunningham Falls.
Chapter Twelve
~Jenna~
“THANKS FOR STAYING WITH US,” I say to the older Canadian couple who came down to spend the week in the Ponderosa with their family. “I hope you enjoyed yourself.”
“We did,” the wife says with a wink. “And we’ll be back next year.”
“Excellent. Drive safely.”
I wave them off and walk into the unit and do a quick walk-through to make sure there’s no damage.
I wouldn’t expect a nice family to destroy anything, but I’ve learned the hard way that it can—and does—happen.
Thankfully, the tree house only requires a good scrubbing, not new drywall.
My phone rings in my pocket. “Hello?”
“Hey, famous friend,” Willa says. I can hear the smile in her voice. “You didn’t tell me that you and Christian are an item.”
“There’s a long conversation over wine needed very soon,” I reply as I lock the Ponderosa behind me and walk over to Christian’s unit. He’s skiing now but should be back any time.
“Oh, yes. And the sooner, the better,” she agrees. “I’m actually not calling to give you shit about your love life.”
“Oh, good.”
“I’m calling to remind you that we’re doing our annual girlfriend gift exchange tomorrow night.”
“I wouldn’t forget that. It’s one of my favorite nights of the year.”
“Me, too. We’ve changed the location from Hannah’s to Grace’s house.”
I frown as I pull a bottle of water from the fridge. “Any particular reason?”
“She just has more space,” she says, but I don’t think that’s the whole truth. Before I can ask any other questions, though, she says, “Alex just got home from school, so I have to jet. I’ll see you tomorrow night at Grace’s.”
And with that, she hangs up.
It doesn’t really matter to me where we have it, as long as it isn’t cancelled. We’ve done this for years, buying small gifts for each other and having a party before Christmas to exchange them and enjoy our friendships.
Plus, I love giving presents, and I can’t wait until they see what I got them this year.
“Honey, I’m home,” Christian says in his best Ricky Ricardo voice from the front door. He shuffles around for a bit, shedding his gear, and then strolls into the living room and leans over the couch to kiss me soundly. I grab onto his shoulders and pull him over onto me, making us both laugh.
But it totally works to initiate a hot make-out session.
“How are you?” he asks when he comes up for air. I didn’t see him this morning because he left for his ski session before I woke up.
“I’m good.” I brush his hair off his forehead. It’s getting longer, and I think it’s sexy when it’s all mussed up from my fingers. “How was your day?”
“Cold and snowy,” he says then pushes off me and walks to the kitchen to brew himself some coffee. “Did the guests in the Ponderosa leave this morning?”
I love that he listens. That he pays attention and takes an interest in my day.
“They did, and there’s no permanent damage.”
He cocks a brow. “Is that a surprise?”
“There were ten of them staying there if you count the kids, so I never know what I’ll walk into. One of my houses downtown was missing drywall after a bachelor party came through, so I now have a strict policy of no bachelor parties, no Super Bowl parties, stuff like that. Hell, I’m not even excited when I hear there’s going to be a baby shower in one of my units.”
He sips his coffee and sits at the opposite end of the couch from me, so I put my feet in his lap, and he gives the arch of my foot a rub.
I might just purr.
“Have you heard any more from Nina today?” I ask.
“Nah, it’s Sunday, so most people aren’t in the office today. And I heard that there was a big scandal last night involving one of the Kardashians, so I think everyone has moved on.”
“It’s ridiculous, you know. The media frenzy.”
He watches his hand move over my foot. “I know.”
“I know I don’t have a claim on you, and it’s not my place to talk about this with you because I don’t live it every day, and it’s really none of my business, but I think that it’s hard on you, and it seems to me that it could be hurtful. And I don’t like that.”
He looks up at me. “Thanks for that. I don’t disagree.”
I just nod, not sure of what else to say.
“Do you need anything?”
“Yes.” I smile lazily at him. “If you don’t mind getting cold again.”
“How cold?”
I cringe. “Well, it’s going to be pretty cold where we’re going, but I’ll bring hand and toe warmers, and we can sit in the hot tub later to warm up.”
His eyes light up. “Naked hot tub sitting?”
“The other two units are empty tonight, so I don’t see why not.”
“Deal.” He jumps up and starts pulling on his snow gear again, then pauses and frowns. “Where are we going?”
“Somewhere special.”
***
“This is my favorite time of year in Glacier National Park,” I inform him as I park my SUV where the road is blocked. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s always beautiful. And summer is spectacular because you can see more of it. Right now, most of the park is closed to visitors.
“But it’s a trade-off because in the summer we hav
e more than three million visitors to the area.”
“Wow,” he says as he pulls his gloves and hat on. “That’s a lot of people.”
“But right now, there’s hardly anyone up here, and definitely not where we’re going.”
I smile and hop out of the car, circle around to the back, and open the hatchback.
“I have snowshoes for you,” I inform him. “And poles.”
“This is new,” he says with interest and watches as I step into my snowshoes and fasten them. He does the same, and I get the car locked up, grab the supplies, and then stop to take a deep, cold breath.
“We only have to hike in half a mile, but it takes longer on three feet of snow.”
He grins. “Lead the way.”
I set off down the road that hasn’t seen a plow in weeks. The evergreens are heavy with snow.
It looks like a movie.
Or a postcard.
“My property is back here,” I inform him as I trudge through the snow. “I’ll never be able to access it by road in the winter. They don’t plow back here. But I’ll get a sled, load it down with supplies, and pull it on a rope like this.”
“That sounds like a crazy workout,” he says. I turn back to look at him, amused that he hasn’t even started to breathe hard. I know he could go faster than this, but he’s patiently moving at my pace.
“It will be,” I agree. “But so worth it. It stuns me that so many people are here in the summer months, and then I can come up here on days like today, and it’s quiet. As perfectly quiet as you can get. Stop walking.”
We pause in the middle of the road, the snow-laden trees towering around us.
It’s completely silent. The only sound is my heart in my ears and our slight breathing.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced anything like it,” he says, his eyes pinned to mine.
“It’s incredible,” I whisper and wonder if we’re still talking about our surroundings. “And at night, the darkness is absolute. There’s no light noise. If you thought the stars and northern lights were incredible up at the tree houses, you’d be stunned to see them up here.”
“You love it here.”
I smile and turn to continue walking to my property.
“With my whole heart,” I agree.
“Are there animals here?”
“Many.” I shrug and keep going. “We have black bears and grizzly bears, although they’re both sleeping now. Mountain lions, goats, elk, deer, moose, wolves—”
“Jesus,” he mutters. “Are we going to need a gun?”
“I have one,” I reply.
“Wait. You do?”
I turn to look at him. “I do. For animals, if I were to be attacked. Mostly by wolves, but a mountain lion isn’t out of the question. The others most likely won’t care that I’m here.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Come on, city boy.” I chuckle and lead him off the road and down toward the shore of Lake McDonald. “My property line started at the road and comes all the way down to the lake. I have three acres.”
“This is incredible.”
I smile, pure joy bubbling up inside me as it always does when I’m here. This is truly my favorite place in the whole world.
It’s warmer in the trees than down by the water, and the lake isn’t completely frozen over. The edges are crusted with a light coating of ice.
There are animal tracks that lead down to the water. They look like deer tracks.
I lead Christian to the shoreline and set my pack down. He’s standing, transfixed, looking at the mountains on the other side of the lake.
“Jenna,” he says and swallows hard. “This is…unreal.”
“It’s real.” I join him and slip my hand into his. “And this little piece of it is mine. It’s everything that I want in the world, Christian. It’s the perfect place.”
He glances down at me. The tip of his nose is red from the cold, but it doesn’t seem to bother him.
“Okay, let me show you my vision. You’ve seen the view, now turn and look at my vast property.”
He does as I ask and leans on his pole. “Okay, tell me.”
“So, it’s going to look just like the Ponderosa,” I begin, using my arms as I talk, so I drop my poles and trudge my way through the snow. “And it’s going to sit back here in the trees. I want it to look like it’s always been here, blending into the flora.
“I’m only going to knock down these trees that are already dead. The others stay, and it should give me plenty of space for the building. I’ll reconfigure the inside a bit so there is a view of the lake from pretty much every room.”
I prop my hands on my hips and take in the trees facing the water, weighed down with powder. I can see it so clearly in my head.
Now, I just have to make it a reality.
And I will.
“There are so few private residences in the park, Christian. It’s rare, and it’s a privilege to have this, to be able to share it with others. It’s a magical place.”
I turn back to him now and find him watching me with hungry eyes.
I can’t read his expression.
“Well? What do you think?”
He looks back out to the water, and then the shoreline and the trees around me, then walks to me.
“I think it’s amazing,” he says. “I think you’re amazing. And absolutely stunning as you talk about this passion of yours. You’re so fierce, so determined, and I admire the hell out of you.”
He takes my face in his hands and leans down to kiss me.
“You said earlier that you don’t have a claim, and that my life isn’t any of your business.” His voice is hushed, the silence surrounds us, and it’s as though we are truly the only two people in the world. “But you’re wrong, Jenna. You do have a claim, and you have a say. I love you.”
My breath catches in my throat. My God, did he just say what I think he did, or is the cold freezing my brain?
“For a thousand reasons, many of which I’m still learning, I love you. Your kindness, your passion for everything around you. You have quickly become the most important part of my life, and I’m so honored that you brought me here today, to share your dreams with me.”
“It’s important to me,” I whisper, and gaze into his eyes. “And you’re important to me.”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he says honestly and tips his forehead against mine. “But I can tell you that I’m crazy about you, and I will be forever grateful that I met you, Jenna.”
“I love you, too,” I whisper and then tip my head back to take a long, deep breath before tackling us both into the soft snow. “You’re a crazy man, you know that?”
“Crazy about you, fancy face,” he says, then pins me down, kissing me silly. “I’m tempted to see if we can get this snow to melt.”
“I refuse to get frostbite on my lady bits,” I inform him, but I happily let him kiss the hell out of me some more.
Holy shit! Christian Wolfe just professed his love for me. I have so many questions, and the type-A side of me wants to drill him, make plans, figure it all out right now because I’m not one who loves surprises.
Well, the “I love you” was a good surprise.
But I’m going to take Natalie’s advice, and I’m going to go with the flow. This is one thing in my life that I can’t schedule the hell out of.
“I love this place,” he whispers against my lips. “It’s absolutely amazing, and I can’t wait to see it when it’s done.”
That means he’s planning to come back!
I’m full of hope and love. Desire.
“I can’t wait to show you,” I reply. “I hope I don’t have issues with my contractors like I did last time, but we’ll see.”
“You’ll handle it,” he says, his voice strong with confidence. He stands and pulls me up to my feet. “Should we head back?”
“Yes. It’ll start to get dark soon, and I promised you some hot tub sittin’.”
/>
“Naked hot tub sitting,” he reminds me as we gather our poles and supplies. “And I’m collecting, sweetheart.”
“I should hope so.”
***
“So, what are you doing?” Max asks on the phone an hour later. I’d missed three texts and two calls from him, all of which came through once we found a cell signal, as there isn’t one inside the park.
“We’re driving back to town from the park property,” I reply.
“Did you show Christian?”
“Yep.”
“Are you heading home or up to the tree house?”
I frown and glance at Christian, who just shrugs as if to say no clue.
“I was going back up to the tree house, but do you need something?”
“Can you swing by my place?” he asks.
Max has a house on the lake, and it’s on our way back to the tree house.
“Sure, I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”
“See you soon.”
I hang up and then shrug. “Sorry for the detour.”
“No problem, the hot tub will still be there,” Christian replies, takes my hand in his, pulls it up to his lips, and plants a wet kiss on my knuckles. “He sounded…concerned.”
“He did,” I agree, wondering what’s up.
The roads into town are clear, so it doesn’t take long before we arrive at Max’s house on the lake. His home is big, probably closer to what Christian is used to. And Max bought it for similar reasons.
Investment.
Because God knows that one man doesn’t need a ten-thousand-square-foot house.
“Wow,” Christian says with surprise. “I figured it would be nice, but this is really nice.”
“He’s wealthier than even you,” I say and laugh when Christian narrows his eyes at me. “Well, he is. So, yeah. Investment.”
“I get it,” he says as he follows me to the grand front door that has an evergreen tree carved into it.
I don’t even have time to ring the bell when Max opens the door. His dark hair is disheveled. He’s in sweats and a ratty old sweatshirt.
“You look like shit,” I say as I walk into his house, shed my coat, and hang it on a hook by the door.
“Thanks,” he says grimly and leads us into his kitchen.