Snowed in with the Mountain Man (Log Cabin Christmas)

Chapter 4

4

CAITLYN

B uilding a snowman was something a kid would suggest. If I’d have suggested it, I would’ve worried that it highlighted our age difference. He was thirty-five, he’d mumbled as we bundled up to head outside, and I was twenty-three. A twelve-year age difference.

If you’d asked me yesterday if I’d date a man twelve years older, I would have said absolutely not. But that all changed when I met Jake. Suddenly, the idea of being with an older, more mature man appealed to me.

It didn’t just appeal to me. It excited me. It made parts of me warm that had never been warm before.

But if he knew I was a twenty-three-year-old virgin, he’d probably stop looking at me with that intense expression. No, he probably thought I’d been with at least one man. Some nervous, inexperienced young guy who knew less about making a woman happy in bed than I did. And I knew absolutely nothing about it.

“It’s going to be cold,” he said. “Are you ready?”

I gave a nod. Well, as much of a nod as I could give with the scarf under the hood of that gigantic coat restricting my movements. I wore my jacket under it. I only had one winter coat, and it was back in Kentucky. I hadn’t planned on spending a lot of time outdoors, and I definitely hadn’t thought I’d be building a snowman.

I looked at the rolled-up sleeves of the down jacket as I stepped out onto his porch. He’d given me some duct tape to tighten his gloves around my hands. Basically, it looked a mess.

But surprisingly, it wasn’t as cold outside as I expected. The sun was beaming down on us, counteracting the chill in the air. The deck was covered in snow, though. My feet sank into it as I walked.

“Is that a hot tub?” I asked, stopping and pointing to the right.

My voice was muffled, but he was right behind me, having just shut the patio door behind him. He nodded and said, “Maybe we’ll jump in there to warm up after we finish.”

I turned back around, sucking in air as I did so. I didn’t have a bathing suit, so the only way to get in that hot tub was naked or wearing my bra and panties. The idea of sitting in a hot tub, wearing next to nothing, with this guy also wearing next to nothing, sent heat spiraling through me. More thoughts like that, and I wouldn’t have to worry about being cold out here.

“It’s the perfect snow for this,” Jake said a few minutes later as he dropped the snowball he’d built to the ground. Instead of starting to roll it, though, he picked up another patch of snow and began forming it into a ball, then handed it to me. “Okay, now we’re going to start rolling.”

We rolled in different directions, which gave me a little time to clear my mind. What was it about this guy? I couldn’t stop looking at him…or thinking about him. But to him, I’d probably be nothing more than a one-night stand. Guys like Jake didn’t fall for twenty-three-year-old virgins just passing through town for the holiday. Guys like him didn’t settle down at all.

“Hold up!” he called out a while later. I stopped, realizing I’d gotten a little too far away from him. “We have to stack these.”

He pointed to a shady area. I rolled my snowball in that direction, and by the time I got there, it was too big to be the center part. Jake rolled his around to make it even bigger while I got to work on the head. And then we stood back, admiring our creation.

“We need eyes, a nose, and a mouth,” I said. “Got any carrots?”

“Nope.”

He was standing next to me, arms crossed over his chest. We’d made this snowman in the backyard, which meant nobody else could see it, but maybe that was the point. Maybe in Jake’s world, you did things just for the sheer enjoyment of it, not to show off on social media for hundreds of people, most of whom you’d never even met.

“I say we hit the hot tub,” he said. “Then we can troubleshoot what to use for the eyes and nose.”

“And mouth,” I said. “I don’t have a bathing suit.”

He turned his body toward mine, arms still crossed over his chest. Was it my imagination, or was this guy determined to keep his distance from me? Maybe it was the age thing. Or maybe he did that with everyone.

“I don’t think one of your bikinis would fit the snowman anyway,” he said.

He didn’t crack a smile, but he was making a joke. Was there a fun-loving guy beneath that grumpy exterior? The thought intrigued me.

“I meant for me,” I said. “To get into the hot tub.”

“Oh. I can’t help you there. But I’ll go without a bathing suit if it makes you feel better.”

My eyes widened. “Naked?”

Sitting in a small body of water with this man, knowing nothing was between us, would definitely get me all worked up. Would it have the same effect on him?

He shifted his attention and his body back to the snowman. “We can both wear our underwear. Bra and panties for you, boxer briefs for me. Let’s go.”

He didn’t wait for my response, just turned and started crunching his way up the path. Not only did he take off without me, but he was walking at a very fast pace. Either he was really excited about the warmth the hot tub would offer or he couldn’t wait to get me out of my clothes.

Whatever the reason, I couldn’t pass up this call to adventure. I had to see where the day was about to take me.