The SUV skidded sideways a bit as Patrick Murphy eased it into park. The small compact car was pulled off onto the side of the road, nearly covered with snow. It was a city car with its Georgia tags proclaiming the owner to be a resident of Fulton County, he could only imagine what an Atlantian was doing driving in the West Virginia mountains in the middle of a freak snow storm. With a gloved hand, he knocked on the snow covered window.
“Hello? Do you need help?” There was no answer. He reached for the door handle and found it locked, but from the muffled shriek, he knew the car wasn’t empty. “Look, I’m not going to hurt you, but you can’t stay out here all night. You’re going to freeze to death.”
He cursed the foolishness of people who didn’t have the common sense to stay home, himself included.
Just as he was about to give up, the window rolled down a slow, painful inch at a time, revealing a face that he knew only too well. Kayleigh Donnelly was as gorgeous as ever with her bright green eyes and silky chestnut hair. He knew that when the light struck it just right, there were strands of a deep, rich red buried in it.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded. “You should know better than to try these mountains in the snow!”
“I didn’t roll the window down so you could yell at me, Murphy! I can’t get cell service out here. If you’ll just call Steven, he can come pick me up and we can pretend we never set eyes on one another!”
“You can’t call your brother, Kayleigh, because he’s out of town... and you’ve lived in Atlanta for too damned long if you think anyone gets cell service up here.”
Kayleigh wanted to cry, but she was just too cold. She hadn’t called Steven ahead of time because she hadn’t actually planned on seeing him. The intent had been to sneak up to the family’s cabin in the woods and lay low for a bit until she figured out what she was going to do to fix the mess she’d made of her life. Now, Steven was out of town and she was stuck with Patrick Murphy, her nemesis from time immemorial. It had started out innocently enough in childhood, with a bit of hair pulling and name calling. Over the years, it had grown worse. They couldn’t be in a room together without sniping at one another. Of all the people to discover her stranded on the road, it had to be him.
“Can you take me to Steven’s house?” she asked, though it goaded her to do so.
“No. The whole house is torn apart. He’s had workmen in there doing demolition on the bathrooms and kitchens. There isn’t even running water right now.... Get your bag. You can stay at my house.”
“Look, if you can just pull me out of the ditch I can probably make it to the cabin...”
“I have a four wheel drive, Kalyeigh, but if we stand here jabbering all night, even that won’t do us any good. Grab your gear and let’s go, or so help me God, I will haul you out of that car and toss you over my shoulder.”
Kayleigh didn’t doubt for a minute that he would do it. There were few men of her acquaintance who were strong enough to manhandle a woman her size, but Patrick Murphy, with his broad shoulders and well muscled chest was one of them. Reaching into the backseat, she grabbed the bag of clothes and toiletries, along with her laptop bag. Since the driver’s side door was jammed against the side of the ditch, she passed the bags to Murphy and climbed over the console. The snow was slick beneath her feet, her high heels having been intended for the failed job interview she’d gone to that morning rather than a
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