“Good!”

  “And we’re supposed to get a lot of snow.”

  “Not my problem!” he called over his shoulder.

  “Milo is going to get awfully cold outside!” I huffed. “Don’t you care at all?”

  Spinning on his heel, he marched right back over to the imaginary line and got in my face. “The dog is not mine. Do you know what I care about?”

  “Tell me. I’m dying to know.”

  “I care about keeping muddy prints out of my house. I care about fleas and ticks staying outdoors where they belong. No animal will ever live in my house, no matter what!”

  I was seething, angrier than I’d ever been in my life. The dog worshipped this man for whatever reason, and he didn’t care at all. The dog didn’t come to my house. He only sat outside JR’s, and when the storm hit, he would freeze to death.

  And for what?

  Because JR couldn’t be nice enough to open his home to a dog who obviously adored him?

  “Josie?” someone called out.

  I was so busy in my staring contest with JR that I didn’t hear anyone pull up. Tearing my gaze from his, my eyes connected with the one man I really didn’t want to see. Brody was nice, but his mother had been trying to push us together for years.

  “Brody,” I sighed. “What are you doing here?”

  “Uh…Ma said to drop these off for you.” He lifted a plate of cookies in the air, but his eyes were locked on the exchange between JR and me.

  “Who are you?” JR snapped.

  “A friend.”

  “Those better not be dog treats.”

  Rolling my eyes, I made a point of smiling sweetly to Brody as I walked over. “Well, your mother is very nice. Thank her for making these for me.”

  “She sort of forced me since you haven’t been by this week.”

  “I only had time to drop off her order.”

  “Well, she was worried and kept saying over and over again that something must be wrong and that I had to stop by to make sure you were okay.”

  “I’m perfectly fine.”

  His gaze shifted warily to my neighbor, who I just realized had come to stand beside me. Glaring at him, I thought he might back off and mind his own business, but instead, he crossed his arms and stared Brody down.

  “Next time, stop for the cookies. I haven’t heard the end of it for the last week. She calls me at work just to find out if I’ve heard anything about you.”

  “I will. I should have more time this week.”

  “Maybe,” JR grunted.

  “Excuse me?” I asked, spinning to face him.

  “Well, who knows. You might be hiding under my porch or sneaking around with the dog.”

  Brody chuckled nervously. “Um…am I interrupting something?”

  “Just a neighborly dispute.”

  “Yeah, she won’t stop feeding the damn dog.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?” Brody asked, his eyes searching for the dog.

  “It is when the dog isn’t mine.”

  “So…she’s feeding a stray dog.”

  “She’s feeding the dog on my property,” he bit out.

  “Because the dog likes you!”

  “That doesn’t make him mine!”

  “Okay,” Brody chuckled. “Well, this has been fun. Really. But I think I’ll head out now.”

  JR stalked forward, a menacing scowl plastered on his face. “Yeah, why don’t you do that.”

  “JR!” I gasped.

  “Do we have a problem here?” Brody asked.

  “No,” I said quickly, hoping to diffuse whatever pissing match JR was trying to start.

  “Why are you really here?” JR asked.

  “Because I was dropping off cookies. You can see them. They’re in her hands,” Brody said, his attitude kicking up a notch. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  “Nope. No problem at all. Just keep your cookies on that side of the property and we won’t have a problem.”

  “Well, since I don’t intend on bringing you any cookies, I think we’ll be just fine.”

  “Good.”

  “Good.”

  I watched the back and forth, wondering what the hell was going on. Were they actually arguing over what side of the property line cookies would be?

  “Uh, well, anyway,” I said, trying to break up whatever the hell this was. “Thank your mom again for the cookies.”

  “I will,” Brody said, his eyes still trained on JR.

  “Right.” I backed up a step, then another.

  Geez, this was intense. And just when I thought they were about to pull out swords, Brody shook his head and waved before getting in his car and driving away.

  And for some reason, this really pleased JR. It was written all over his face—like he had won some sort of imaginary battle.

  With a satisfied smirk, he turned to me for just a second and actually looked happy to see me. Then his eyes dropped to the cookies and the scowl returned.

  “Keep the food off my property.”

  And then he stomped away.

  11

  JR

  “You’d better get out of here,” Lizzy said as she rushed out of the back, carrying a leather bag with what looked like every paper to ever pass through this bar.

  “I’ll head out in a minute. I’m just making sure everything’s shut down.”

  “They say this storm is gonna be bad.” Rushing over to the register, she grabbed what was left and stuffed it in a bank bag. “I would keep the bar open, but getting stuck here in a snowstorm with a bunch of drunks is not my idea of a good time.”

  “Not mine either.”

  Spinning, she blew out a huff. “Okay, I think that’s everything.”

  “Are you okay to get home?”

  “Yeah,” she waved me off. “I’m used to driving in snow.”

  “I’ll lock up behind you.”

  I pulled on my coat as she headed for the door. Over the past couple of weeks, I had gotten a few things for the winter, but nothing that would rival a snowstorm. I was completely unprepared for snow in Montana.

  After locking up, I waved to Lizzy and waited for her to pull out before heading home. The roads were already slick from the drop in temperature and the sleet blowing hard.

  Hardly anyone was out right now. They must have seen a million of these storms and knew when to head home and hunker down.

  I cranked the heat in the old truck even though I was only five minutes from home, but with the way the wind was cutting through the windshield, I doubted it would warm up at all before I made it home.

  Once I got out of the downtown area, the roads turned even worse. With houses spread further apart, snow drifted over the blacktop, forming heaps on both sides of the road.

  “I can’t believe I moved here,” I muttered, bringing one hand to my mouth and blowing hard to try to warm myself up. Fuck, it was freezing out here.

  There was already a car in the ditch up ahead with its blinkers on, and this wasn’t even the worst of the storm. I almost kept driving, but when I saw it was Delilah, I pulled over.

  “Dammit, now I’m even starting to think of the car by its damn name.”

  Jumping out, I hustled over to the car and pounded on the window. Josie grinned in her usual cheery manner as if she wasn’t stuck in a ditch with snow piling up all around her.

  “Hey, neighbor!”

  “Get out of the car,” I growled.

  “Oh, sure. Let me just grab a few things.”

  “Hurry up. It’s fucking freezing out here.”

  She snorted out a laugh, not at all concerned that she was about to be stranded here for the foreseeable future. “I should have left the shop earlier, but I had a few deliveries to make, and just when I thought I was done, I remembered that I hadn’t returned Mrs. Bennett’s platter from her cookies. So, I swung past her place, and of course, I got talked into staying for a half hour while she made tea—” she glanced over at me, a sweet smile on her face, “which is always amazing. Really, she must have some secret on the best ways to make tea.”

  “Can you hurry this up?”

  Shoving her purse through the window, she waited expectantly for me to take it. Rolling my eyes, I tucked it into my side and then grabbed the various other things she shoved my way. A bag of something from her shop, a small bag of dog food she no doubt intended to spread all over my property, and a few grocery bags.

  “Josie, I’m not an octopus.”

  “Oh, right,” she laughed. “Well, I think that’s everything.”

  She rolled up her window and shut off her car, then checked her car one last time for anything she might have left behind.

  Unlike me, she was prepared for the storm. With pink gloves and a matching hat, she looked like a little girl out to play in the snow.

  “Ready?” she asked, cheery as ever.

  “Sure.” Turning with loaded arms, I stalked back to the truck and piled everything into the back seat, then slammed the door.

  It was shocking how much the truck cut the freezing temperatures, even though it wasn’t warmed up.

  “Is this normal for around here?”

  “What? The snowstorm? Absolutely. We always get at least one cold front, followed by a terrible storm, before the season ends. This is actually mild compared to previous years.”

  “And you thought it was a good idea to stay out in it?”

  “Well, I hadn’t planned to stay out. As you can see, I did all my shopping earlier.”

  “You should have done it yesterday,” I snapped.

  I felt her eyes on me, but she wasn’t upset. Rarely had I seen her actually mad. Even when we sparred, it was like she was trying to goad me.

  “Maybe, but I don’t see you bundled up in your house either.”

  “I was at work.”

  “Funny how that excuse works for a man, but not a woman.”

  “You ended up on the side of the road,” I pointed out.

  “Yes, but that was more human error than anything else.”

  I didn’t want to hear it, to know how this woman got herself into a ditch in the snow, but it wasn’t the snow’s fault.

  And yet…

  “I give. How was it human error?”

  “Well,” she bounced cheerily in her seat as she shifted to face me. “See, I was digging through my purse to see if I had my keys on me. Because I didn’t want to get all the way home and then realize I had locked myself out. That would be horrible. I’d have to drive all the way back to the store, and then all the way back home. And⁠—”

  “Yeah, I get it. But what about your brother?”

  “Sawyer?”

  “He is your brother, isn’t he?” I asked, getting more irritated by the second.

  “Oh, he’s out of town. Yeah, I convinced him he needed to get away for a few days.”

  “So, he’s just wandering the countryside?”

  “God, I hope not,” she snorted. “So, anyway, I’ll have a nice, peaceful snowstorm in my pajamas with popcorn and hot chocolate and movies. It’ll be amazing.”

  It sounded horrible to me, but who was I to judge?

  I pulled into my drive and quickly got out, grabbing the multiple bags from the back seat to haul over to her house. She was already running through the drifts to unlock the door, and by the time I bounded up her steps, she had the door open.

  “Thank you so much!” she beamed, taking off her hat and laying it out to dry on a table.

  “Sure.”

  Turning, I stomped down the steps and trekked back through the snow to my own house. I had never been through a snowstorm like this. In all my life, I’d only ever lived in mild climates. The most snow we ever got was a couple of inches, and usually, everything shut down well before the chance of getting stuck anywhere was even an option.

  Shucking my coat, I tossed it on the chair and headed into the kitchen for some lunch. It was already two in the afternoon, but I knew Lizzy wanted to get out of there before the storm got too bad, so I didn’t bother grabbing anything to eat.

  Opening my fridge, I sighed at the meager contents. Some leftover pizza, a few containers of Chinese food, and beer. That was hardly going to last me the whole night, but I’d make do.

  Snagging a beer, I popped the top and went back to the front window to check out the storm. The wind was blowing like crazy and the snow was drifting in piles in the driveway. There had to be someone who could plow⁠—

  “What the hell?” I muttered, watching as Josie ran around outside, trying to catch the damn dog. But whenever she tried to pick him up, he refused to be held.

  She ran all the way across my front yard, then back the other way, chasing him as he purposely led her on a wild goose chase. She was going to freeze to death trying to catch that dog.

  Sighing, I set the beer down and pulled on my coat.

  I knew I was going to regret this.

  12

  JOSIE

  “Josie!”

  I heard his voice on the wind, but was too distracted by the dog in front of me to turn around and search for him. I was so close to catching Milo. Just another foot and I would have him.

  I inched forward, holding out my hand with the treats, begging him to just give in and come inside with me. He’d freeze to death out here.

  “Come on, Milo. You know you want your nummy nums.”

  He panted as his eyes drifted to my hand, then back to my face.

  “I’m gonna eat them if you don’t,” I teased.

  He cocked his head at me in challenge.

  I brought the first piece of food to my mouth, hoping he would take the hint and not make me eat this horrible, dried-out food. But he just yipped, as if to urge me on.

  “Alright, if you don’t want it, I’ll eat it all for myself. It’ll be so yummy, and you’re going to miss out on all the treats.”

  The food came closer and closer to my mouth until finally, I had no choice but to take a bite. “Mmm!” I hummed, but the disgusting flavor only took seconds to hit me, making me gag.

  Spitting out the food, Milo rushed over and ate the tiny piece I spit out.

  “Milo, come on! You’re going to freeze out here!”

  “Josie, what the hell are you doing?” JR called.

  “I’m trying to get Milo to come inside!”

  “Leave him alone! He’ll be fine!”

  Spinning around, I glared at my neighbor. “How can you be so callous?” I called out as he stomped toward me through the drifts. “The storm is only going to get worse, and he’s going to freeze!”

  “He’s got a coat of fur!”

  “And he’ll still freeze!” I reiterated. “Either help me or go back inside!”

  I turned back to Milo, giving him another pleading look. “Please, Milo. I don’t want you to die. It would break my heart if I came outside tomorrow and found you frozen like an ice sculpture. And although you might be beautiful made of ice, once you thawed, you would most definitely not be beautiful anymore.”

  Milo rushed past me, and for just a second, I hoped I got through to him. But when I spun around, that hope was dashed when I saw him jumping at my grumpy neighbor, who didn’t even care whether or not Milo lived or died.

  “I’ll help you get him in the house, but that’s it,” JR called out.

  “Fine.”

  I stomped across the snow, angry that I was doing everything possible to take care of Milo, but he only wanted JR. It wasn’t right. I would be a good pet owner, even if I couldn’t take him into my home permanently.

  But on the upside, at least Milo would be safe and warm tonight.

  “Come on, dog,” JR muttered, following me to the house.

  “He’s got a name. It’s Milo.”

  “No wonder he’s not following you around.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I spun around, thrusting my hands on my hips.

  “It means you gave him a name that makes him feel small. You should have given him a tough name.”

  “But he’s a small dog. Should I have named him Butch?”

  “God, no. But something a bit more masculine.”

  Rolling my eyes, I shoved the door open and beamed when Milo followed me inside. Shaking off the snow, he circled around the blankets I laid out on the ground for him before he finally plopped down with a yawn.

  “There, I did my part.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

  But as soon as he turned to leave, Milo’s ears perked up and he raced over to the door, ready to leave with JR.

  “No, I’m not taking you home.”

  “Maybe just for tonight⁠—”

  “No,” JR snapped. “No dogs in my house.”

  “But he’ll freeze out there.”

  Milo yipped, spinning in a circle before looking up at JR expectantly.

  “He’s not coming home with me.”

  “Then stay for a few minutes until he gets more comfortable. I’ll even make you lunch.”

  JR scowled, but didn’t object. “It won’t have sprouts, will it?”

  “Sprouts?”

  “Or grass?”

  “Why would I put grass on a sandwich?”

  “Because you’re some hippie chick.”

  Cocking my head at him, I tried to see myself through his eyes. Why would he assume I ate grass? That was just insane. “Well, I don’t usually eat grass on snow days. I save those for when the weather is just right and you can derive the most nutritional value out of the plant.”

  “And when’s that?”

  “Why? You want to try some?” I asked, kicking off my boots as I headed into the kitchen.

  “No. Just wondering when I should steer clear of you.”

  “Not until August, so you’re safe for today. But the sprouts, on the other hand, make a delicious sandwich. Sit. I’ll make something to eat.”

  It was just a normal living room like anyone else’s, but he inspected the furniture like it was going to suddenly spring to life and trap him in a spell. Very carefully, he sat on the couch, adjusting back and forth before finally settling in.

  Chuckling to myself, I dug through my fridge until I found the leftover roast beef. I always felt it was better on the first day, but it made excellent sandwiches. I warmed up the beef in the sauce on the stove while I grabbed the hoagies and laid out the plates with chips.