Cold Foot Komodo (Wreck’s Mountains Book 2)

It was cold as balls in here.

Where had that saying even come from? Balls, in her experience, were warm.

Sasha sat up in her new bed and rubbed her eyes, then looked around the chaos in the dim light of dawn that filtered through the broken blinds of the windows.

She was surprised she couldn’t see her breath. The flooring was just the plywood sub-flooring. Her suitcases were in the corner, with a pile of boxed belongings. The covers were crispy and still had the wrinkles from the bag on account of she hadn’t been able to wash them. Even if she trusted the ancient-looking washer in a closet in the hallway, Reed had tested the water to it and the line was clogged.

This was the moment—the what-am-I-doing-here moment.

Her body was sore from the intensity of moving, the house smelled like paint, and she had to make sure she slipped her feet directly into a pair of house shoes in case any of the small floor-nails were still hanging around.

She stood and stretched, twisting back and forth to try and ease the tension in her back. Her alarm rank a second time and she turned it off, then checked the time on her phone screen. Her heart thumped harder as she saw the text.

It was from Reed.

Check your porch. Have a good first day at work. Go get ‘em, tiger.

A smile took her face as she scrambled into a fluffy robe and shuffled double-time through the living room and to the front door.

Outside, on the brand-new welcome mat she’d bought yesterday, there sat an iced coffee. She already knew what the label would say before she even read it. He’d gone and bought her the exact coffee she’d ordered yesterday.

Huh. He was a man who paid attention.

She stepped outside and looked around, hoping he would still be there, but the street was quiet.

The time on his text was half an hour ago. The snow was falling in earnest, but while the other cars parked on the street were covered in snow, she only had a thin layer. Had he…had he scraped the snow and ice off for her? She took a few steps out toward her truck, and yeah. Someone had definitely cleared it off.

“Oh my gosh,” she murmured, stunned at his thoughtfulness. Never in her life had a man done anything like that for her.

He wasn’t supposed to start his shift for another hour, which meant he’d gotten up early to start her day off good.

She took a sip of the coffee and rolled her eyes closed at how perfect it was. It hadn’t frozen yet, and was perfectly chilled.

She made her way back inside and texted him back.

Good morning. You are up early! The coffee is perfect, and if that was you who cleaned off my truck, well…you put a smile on my face first thing in the morning. Thank you so so sooo much. For everything. If you’re driving, don’t message back until you are stopped and safe. I’ve seen too many accidents from that stuff, and you have precious cargo in your truck. I’m talking about your dick. Keep my boner safe. Send. And then she typed out a number eight, several equal signs, and a capital D, just so he could have a laugh at her cartoon wiener before the sun was even up. 8====D. Send.

She started getting ready for work as she waited for him to respond. He was probably driving.

By the time her phone dinged with a text message, she was already dressed in her scrubs, had her makeup and hair done, and was heading out the door.

Woman. I tried to be romantic, and you sent me a cartoon dick in your thank-you.

Too much? Send.

Absolutely not. Still laughing. Can I call?

She grinned huge and yanked the door to her truck open. She’d already started it automatically to warm it up, so all she had to do was plug her phone in and the call connected through her speakers.

“Hello?” he answered.

“I got nervous last night about work, and I couldn’t sleep well,” she blurted out.

“Well, that’s probably normal.”

“Probably? Were you nervous for your first day here?”

“No. I don’t get nervous.”

She scoffed and poked the address of the hospital into her maps function. “Is that a shifter thing?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t really talk to anyone about that stuff. Just so you know, you’re going to be just fine. They’re going to love you.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

The street only had a thin sheet of snow on it, even though it was coming down in big flurries now. She pulled up to the stop sign to turn onto the main road out of her neighborhood, and to the right, the road was cleared, and salted, looked like. But to her left, it was still packed with snow. She frowned as something began to dawn on her. She turned right, as her GPS instructed, and followed the cleared road for a bit before she was instructed to take another right, and again, the road she needed was cleared.

“Reed?” she asked.

“Yep?”

“Why are you up so early?”

“I picked up the early shift. One of the guys called last night asking to switch. His lady is pregnant, and she’s having one of those ultrasounds this morning. He wanted to be there. I’ve been clearing since three.”

Another turn, another perfectly-cleared road leading her straight for the hospital. She should just ask. “Reed, did you clear the way to the hospital?”

He cleared his throat. “I’ve got to get going.”

“Wait! Did you?”

She could hear him blow out a breath. “I don’t know how much experience you have on icy roads.”

“Oh my gosh,” she whispered, in awe. She didn’t even need GPS directions. Every turn was cleared so obviously.

He’d cleared the snow on a thirty-minute drive.

“Thank you, Reed. You’re spoiling me though. I have experience driving in the snow, and I’ve got my four-wheel drive truck with a winch on the front if I slide off a road. Plus, some hot guy fixed my tire. Don’t worry.”

He blew out another breath, and admitted, “I couldn’t sleep last night either. And just so you know, I don’t worry. It’s not my way. You’re fucking with my head.”

He’d cursed, but it sounded like a compliment. “I am?”

“Big-time.”

“It’s because I text you wieners, isn’t it?”

He chuckled. “It does add to your charm.”

“You think I’m charming?”

“Are you fishing for compliments?”

“Umm, yeah.”

She loved the sound of his laugh. “You have me charmed, Sasha. I’ve got a call coming in. It’s my boss, I’ve got to take it. Good luck at work today. Text if you need anything.”

“Okay. Bye, Hot Reed. That’s what I have you saved as in my phone.”

“Oh Lord. I thought I was Lizard Boy.”

“Bye-bye, Hot Reed Lizard Boy.”

“Bye,” he said around a chuckle.

The line went dead, and she slurped a sip of her coffee and heaved a happy sigh. She’d had a moment this morning where she had forgotten why she was here, and while Reed wasn’t in the original plan, having a man be so nice to her was definitely a bonus.

She was ready now. She actually appreciated that Reed had told her he didn’t get nervous. She wanted to channel that mentality this morning as she headed into the unknown.

Already the day had started out ten times better than she’d expected.