Of course, he was probably working today. Even in Land’s Cross, the day after Thanksgiving was a retail tradition, and as the owner of the biggest feed and seed store in the county, Danny would be hard at it all day. It would be a huge imposition, but at this point, desperation demanded she ask.

The hike back to the cabin took only twenty minutes. Now that she had a plan, she couldn’t wait to put it into action. Brinks trotted along beside her, breaking away every now and again to chase a squirrel. By the time they escorted Kyle to Hunter’s Pass and returned to the cabin, both she and the dog should sleep like rocks.

Finally. Some good news. If she didn’t catch up on her rest before tomorrow night’s pageant, she’d be one cranky Ms. Noel.

When she reached the cabin, she noticed the smoke curling out of the chimney and the light shining in the kitchen. The scene stopped her in her tracks. It had been a long time since she’d returned to anything other than an empty home.

She patted her fingers over her heart, missing her daddy more keenly than she had in quite a while. As if sensing her sadness, Brinks dashed over and butted his head against her hip.

“Thanks for the support, boy.” She ruffled the hair between his ears, then walked around to the backyard.

The hinge on the porch screen squeaked as she let herself in, pausing to kick out of her nasty rubber boots before entering the mudroom. She hung her overcoat on the hook without breaking stride and continued into the kitchen-where she came face-to-face with Kyle, brandishing the fireplace poker like a sword.

“Shayna!” His shoulders slumped in relief as he lowered the poker to his side. “Damn it, I thought you were still upstairs asleep.”

“Nope.” Refusing to notice his cute case of bedhead or the fact that the top three buttons of his dress shirt were undone this morning, she brushed past, tossing him the car key as she went. “I went down to check on your car. It looks totaled.”

He caught the key smoothly. “You walked down that ice-covered mountain all by yourself?”

“Brinks went with me.”

“The dog doesn’t count.”

“The dog counts more than most people I can think of.” She shot him a glare, then grabbed the phone and began dialing. Her eyes tracked him as he returned the poker to its spot next to the fireplace.

After the third ring, a familiar gravelly voice filled her ear. “Robertson Feed and Seed. Charlie speaking.”

“Hey, Charlie. It’s Shayna.”

“Hey, girl. Heard you got some weather up there.”

“Yeah, between the bridge and the sinkhole, I’m penned in. Listen, is Danny there?”

“He’s around here somewhere. Hang on a sec, and I’ll find him for ya.”

“Thanks.” She waited several long minutes, concentrating on the sounds of a busy sales day filtering through the phone rather than thinking about Kyle, who had returned to the kitchen and was rattling around behind her.

Finally Danny picked up. “Hey, sweetie, you missed a great spread yesterday. How’d you weather the day?”

“Cold and cranky. You’ve got no idea how much I wish I’d been able to make it to dinner.” She could have avoided her current pickle altogether if she’d been able to stick to her original plans. “I know you’re busy today, but I need a favor. A big one.”

“Anything for you. You know that.” His immediate assurance warmed her heart. They didn’t come any better than Danny.

“Can you meet me on the north side of Hunter’s Pass?”

“Hunter’s Pass? This time of year, the path will be little more than a cow trail. What’s going on?” The question was a mixture of worry and suspicion.

“Well, the storm stranded an unexpected visitor up here, and he needs to get off the mountain. As soon as possible.”

“Shayna, are you okay? Has this guy-”

“No. No. Nothing like that.” Okay, so it was way too much like that, but she didn’t see any reason to share her embarrassment with anyone else. “But now that the storm has passed, it would be best if we weren’t stuck up here alone any longer. You know how people love to talk.”

A warm, creamy cup of coffee appeared at her elbow, startling her. She turned her head and saw Kyle, his expression blank, a cup in both hands.

“Okay, there’s obviously more going on here than you can tell me about right now.”

She wordlessly accepted the cup Kyle had doctored for her. “That’s right.”

Danny’s breath huffed through the phone line. Shayna could easily picture her abnormally tall friend towering above everyone in the store, raking his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair, his mind sorting and organizing, seeking solutions to problems, looking for a way to answer her plea while still tending to his business.

Guilt started working its way through her pique. She was asking too much. “Listen, don’t worry about it. I’m sure the store is really hopping today. Mr. Anderson will just have to cool his heels one more day. The sand truck will have the bridge cleared by tomorrow.”

“Nonsense. You obviously need to get rid of this guy, or you wouldn’t have called. I can be there by noon. Can you hang in there for a couple more hours?”

“Noon is perfect. Thanks, Danny. You’re the best.”

Kyle pounced the instant she disconnected the call. “Shayna, talk to me. What’s going on?”

“The bridge is still too dangerous to cross today, and your rental’s not going anywhere under its own steam. The only other way off the mountain is on foot, so a friend of mine is gonna meet us on the other side of the gulch in a bit. I don’t suppose you had hotel reservations, did you?”

“Of course not. I wasn’t planning on staying overnight.”

“Oh, that’s right. You expected me to fall for your charm and blindly sign that paperwork so you could get back to your rich, powerful L.A. life.”

She tried to push past him, but he grabbed her arm, stopping her. “Shayna, last night-”

“Last night I let myself forget you were just a pawn in my father’s power play, and as a pawn, you simply do whatever you’re told. Apparently you were told to get into my pants if that’s what it took to secure my cooperation.” The faint flush creeping up his face confirmed her suspicions. Gosh, these people were something else.

“But thanks to Patty-” man, didn’t that sound odd “-I’ve got my head back on straight. You need to leave, today, and the only way to do that is on foot, so I suggest you bundle up. I’ll get you some duct tape to wrap around those fancy shoes of yours. Might be the only chance you have to get out of here without breaking your neck.”

She shrugged out of his grip and dug through the kitchen junk drawer, pulling out a roll of gray tape.

“You can’t kick me out without giving me a chance to explain.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Kyle. This is my home, and I can do whatever I damn well please.”

“Fine.” He snatched the tape from her hands. “I’ll go, but this isn’t the end of things. Not by a long shot.”

Kyle feared his lungs would explode before they reached wherever the hell Shayna was leading him. He wanted to ask her to slow down, but since her legs were a good six inches shorter than his, his pride wouldn’t allow it.

They’d been hiking up and down a pig trail at breakneck speed for nearly an hour. After fifteen minutes of trying to get her to talk to him, Kyle had given up and concentrated on not passing out. At home, he spent four days a week in the gym, religiously. He could bench press two-hundred thirty pounds and run an eight-minute mile, but scaling this mountain in a pair of tape-wrapped Italian loafers was kicking his butt.

To top it off, in an effort to stave off hypothermia, he’d piled on his suit, the coveralls, the stained sweatshirt and his wool trench. He felt like the freaking Michelin Man, waddling instead of walking.

Finally, the forest thinned and Shayna stopped. Here, the water was shallow enough to see the pebbles littering the bottom. The gulch was approximately thirty feet wide, and on the other side the mountain looked even steeper.

Brinks charged into the water, but after a few steps, he quickly turned and retreated. “Water can’t be more than forty degrees,” she said, although not necessarily to him. She hadn’t spoken a word to him since before they’d left the cabin.

She took a swig from a canteen then held it out to him. He drank gratefully, trying not to gulp it down like a dying man in a desert.

“The ride back to town shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes from here. I called Mrs. Windsor, who runs the Sheltering Arms Bed and Breakfast, and she’s got one room available. I told her you’d take it. Danny can drop you off. When you contact a wrecker, make sure you call a local service and tell them your car’s in the ditch about a tenth of a mile northeast of the bridge at Shiner’s Gulch.”

After such a long stretch of silence, her words flew fast and furiously, but when she’d said what she needed to say, she locked her lips and turned her gaze to the far bank.

Now that he finally had her contained, he tried again to apologize. “Shayna, I’m sorry about last night.”

“I’ll bet you are. If only Patty had waited another half hour or so, you could have finished the job.”

“Kissing you had nothing to do with the job. That’s the reason I’m sorry. Acting on attraction makes business relationships awkward. It’s a line I’ve never crossed before, but with you, I couldn’t stop myself.”

“Uh-huh. Next thing I know, you’ll be promising to respect me in the morning.”

Before Kyle could finish his apology, Brinks rushed back to the water’s edge and started barking excitedly. He turned to see what had captured the dog’s attention, and at first, he thought he was witnessing a Sasquatch impersonator.

Even from a distance, the man coming down the mountain, dressed in jeans and a tan corduroy jacket, looked as big and sturdy as a tree. As he came closer, Kyle estimated him at six and a half feet. A John Deere ball cap covered his head, but his steely brown eyes glared right through Kyle.

The ride back to town promised to be interesting.

Shayna skipped over to stand beside the dog, waiting for the giant to cross the quickly moving stream.

“Danny!” The minute the man touched dry ground, Shayna launched herself at him and disappeared within the circle of his humongous arms. Holy crap. This guy could send professional wrestlers running home to mama.

Kyle watched Shayna’s face as she embraced the other man. He had to admit he was relieved to see the connection wasn’t romantic.

Eventually Shaq junior put Shayna back on her feet. The minute his arms were empty, Brinks jumped him, the dog’s paws extending only to his waistline. His hand stroked the dog as he eyed Kyle, doing a quick sweep. Kyle had to give the man points for not mentioning his absurd outfit. Still, he couldn’t help but straighten his spine, as if he could stretch himself a bit closer to the six-foot mark.

“This him?” the man asked, not bothering to disguise his distrust.

“Yes. Danny Robertson, Kyle Anderson.” Shayna made the introductions without bothering to look Kyle’s way.

Kyle extended his hand, half expecting the behemoth to crush his fingers in a territorial show of strength.

“Hear the weather caught you by surprise.” The handshake was firm, and Robertson looked him straight in the eye. They were traits Kyle had always considered indicators of an honest man.

“Sure did. I ended up taking a nosedive into the ditch Wednesday night. Fortunately, Shayna and Brinks were kind enough to take me in.” Instinct told Kyle it would be healthier to downplay his attraction to Shayna around Danny Robertson.

“That sounds like our Shayna. Always taking in strays.”

Kyle didn’t miss the insult but opted to let it pass. It had to be at least twenty miles back to town, and he damn sure didn’t want to risk having to walk it. “I appreciate you taking the time to come out and give me a lift back to town.”

“Just you?” Danny swung a curious glance back to Shayna. “I figured you’d be coming, too.”

“Nope. I’m going home to enjoy the peace and quiet.”

“Sure you’re going to be able to make it for the pageant tomorrow?”

“The bridge shouldn’t be a problem by then, but if push comes to shove, you can drive out here and rescue me.”

“Like I said, anything for you, darling.”

“I hate to be pushy,” Kyle interrupted testily. Seeing her flirting with this man was pissing him off. “But you’ve got to get back to work and I’m freezing my ass off out here, so I’m ready whenever you are.”

Not that he was looking forward to following this guy’s mile-long legs up the mountain, but no matter how much his body complained, Kyle would match him stride for stride.