Harlequin Romance March 2021 Box Set Cara Colter (the mitten read aloud TXT) 📖

private plane to Parry Sound in the middle of autumn, Red had been mesmerized by the forests ablaze with brilliant hues of red, orange and yellow. And now that he had moved in, he was taking a month off for the simple pleasure of making this house a home.

And now, he couldn’t deny that he was attracted to Ronnie.

And he was fighting it.

She wasn’t free. Whatever fates had decided to slide her into that field and send him trudging through knee-deep snow to rescue her, had just complicated his life. He had thought that after getting over Sofia, and reconciling himself to the sad fact that his relationship with Marco was over, as well, he would be immune to another relationship if it involved a child. He had been adamant that it would never happen again. He couldn’t take the thought of building a relationship with a girlfriend’s child, only to have to deal with the acute grief of having it come to an end. He had vowed over and over again that any future relationship would happen only if the woman were free. Childless.

So even if his body was physically attracted to Ronnie, his mind would not allow him to encourage any emotional attraction. He had had to ignore the spike of his pulse when he had lifted her and carried her to his truck, the thud of his heart when she had huddled against him, the empathy that had stirred in his chest at the thought of what she had had to endure, and the pleasure of laughing with her…

Red shifted in his recliner. It was going to be a long night. He closed his eyes. His thoughts flitted back to the moment he had seen the vehicle in front of him begin to skid. His heart had jolted, and he had immediately slowed down, hoping the driver wouldn’t careen into him. He had been more worried about the impact on the smaller vehicle than on his considerably larger truck. And not for the vehicle itself, but for the passenger or passengers inside. Were there children in the car? Elderly folk?

He had watched it spin out and stop, still upright, off the shoulder and in a field, its tires buried in deep snow. It had all happened in mere seconds. And in a matter of seconds he had maneuvered his truck safely onto the shoulder, leaped out, and trudged through the snow to make sure the driver and any passengers were okay. He’d call 911 if he had to, although with the icy conditions it would certainly take longer for an emergency vehicle to get there safely.

He had proceeded to the car with his head down to avoid the sleet, his heart thumping erratically. Through the partially glazed windshield, the female driver sitting with her hands on the wheel had looked dazed but unhurt. But he had needed to make sure…

Discovering Ronnie’s connection with Casson had surprised him, but the memory of some of the details about her and her son had jolted him. It was one thing to have had Casson tell him about his remarkable cousin who was tiny but tough, a real “mama bear,” dealing with her son’s illness and treatment, but to be with her in person was even more revelatory. He could sense her determination and desire to be independent.

Despite the fact that she had allowed him to carry her back to his truck, he had no doubt that she would have trudged through thigh-deep snow herself had he not stopped to check on her.

Red closed his eyes. He wondered if Ronnie was asleep or awake and thinking like him. And if she was doing the latter, who was she thinking about? Her son? Probably. Him? Probably not.

* * *

He couldn’t hear the sound of her breathing with the crackling of the fire. After what he felt was a reasonable amount of time, Red turned in his recliner to glance over at Ronnie. Good. Fast asleep. “Sweet dreams,” he whispered.

She had pulled the blanket up to her chin, and gazing at her small outline and the way her long lashes rested on her heart-shaped face, Red felt a surge of protectiveness.

And contentment, knowing she was safe.

He inhaled and exhaled deeply, and allowed himself to drift off, hoping his dreams would be just as sweet…

CHAPTER FIVE

THE TANTALIZING SMELL of food cooking woke Ronnie up. Disoriented, her eyes opened to take in an unfamiliar ceiling, an unfamiliar room and a crackling fire. A turn of her head revealed an empty recliner. And then awareness returned.

She was in the home of Red Brannigan, her Viking rescuer…

From the amount of light in the room, she figured it must be midmorning. She couldn’t believe she had managed to sleep that long. Or even that she had fallen asleep so quickly. After turning to find Red’s gaze fixed on her, she had felt a shiver running through her. He had given her a casual smile before turning the opposite way, no doubt having sensed how awkward she had felt. She had turned the other way herself, and closing her eyes, had wondered how she could possibly fall asleep with the vision of those intense blue-green eyes imprinted in her memory.

She had pulled up the blanket, feeling somewhat vulnerable. Not because she felt frightened in any way; knowing that Red was a friend of Casson’s was enough to reassure her of Red’s character. Rather, it was more of a feeling of suddenly being aware of a few uncontrollable physical reactions she was experiencing in Red’s proximity. And not wanting him to know it. It was silly, really. How could he possibly know how his presence—his height, his strength, the way his russet hair looked after he ran his fingers through it, his crystal-clear Viking eyes—was affecting her?

Her body was a traitor. She didn’t want to be attracted to Red. She didn’t need that kind of distraction in her life. Her life was full. More than full. Her responsibilities as