Page 7 of The Mountain Man's Mail-Order Wife
Will he throw me out on my butt? Toss my belongings after me?
I have nowhere to go and no one to help me.
I don’t want to marry a man I don’t know, except at this point, do I have a choice?
FELIX
I’ve got the last of Riley’s bags on the porch and I still haven’t managed to rein in my anger.
We’ve both been conned.
I want to hunt down her uncle or whoever the hell he is and beat him senseless.
She’s young. Younger than her profile listing.
And she’s clueless to the reason she’s here.
I should do the right thing and let her leave. Except with her belongings laid out in front of me in trash bags, I have a feeling she doesn’t have the resources to do it.
With a sigh, I lean down and scratch between Nev’s ears. “What are we going to do, boy? We can’t throw her out. But I can’t marry her.”
It’s too late to find alternative arrangements today. Uncle Granger might know someone looking for a housekeeper or something else Riley would be suited to, but there is still the problem of where she’ll stay. I could ask him to come get her to stay at his place—it’s bigger than my cabin, but doing that doesn’t sit right.
She might not understand the reason I invited her here, but I’m pretty sure the man who dropped her off does.
I’ll have to be the one to break the bad news to her. There is no job. And as much as I like the idea of her staying, I can’t force her to marry me.
Iwon’tforce her.
My gaze lands on the bags again and I can’t help the growl that rumbles in my chest. “Who puts someone’s things in trash bags?” Neville gives a matching growl and I laugh.
Good to know we’re of the same mind about Riley’s situation. It might not be what I planned, but I can’t leave her to fend for herself. I’ll help her any way I can.
“Come on, Nev, let’s get her things inside and dinner served. Maybe with warm food in our bellies, we’ll come up with a plan to help Riley.”
Opening the door a fraction so I can get each bag inside without losing too much heat, I urge Neville through first.
“Go on. Get inside.” He’s through the gap before I finish talking. Nev might be a mutt of some indeterminate kind, but he isn’t stupid and it’s starting to get cold out here.
Glancing behind me, I see nothing but gray clouds heavy with rain hovering above the treetops and know we’re in for another drenching. Best to hurry up and get everyone safely locked inside before the wind picks up or the rain starts.
When I have the last bag inside, the door closed and latched behind me, I toe my boots off on the mat and rub my hands together. It’s not much warmer in here than outside. Looking at the fireplace, I see the fire is no longer burning bright.
Dammit.I forgot to put another log on like I said I would before heading back outside to retrieve Riley’s bags.
Going over, I poke the ashes and glowing logs around before adding a couple more. Some small, some large for longerburning. I’ll have to keep an eye on it overnight to make sure it doesn’t go out.
Riley’s used to living lower down the mountain, close to town where the weather doesn’t get as cold as it does up here. In the mountains, winter comes early. She’ll need thermals if she’s going to stay. She’ll definitely need some to sleep in tonight. If she doesn’t have any, I can loan her some of mine.
Nights are already cold, and with a storm rolling in, I expect tonight will be a little worse than it has been. The cabin is sealed, but it isn’t air tight. Hot and cold air seeps in and out of cracks too small for me to find.
“Do you mind if I put my milk in the fridge?”
Riley’s voice has me looking over my shoulder. She’s in the kitchen, some of her groceries from the bags spread out on the counter. She looks like she belongs. Like it’s normal to see her there. Swallowing, I force my mouth into a smile. “Of course.”
“Thank you.”
I watch her for a few moments before finishing with the fire and moving over to the opposite side of the counter to her. “I’ll just wash up then get dinner served.”
