Devoted to the Blizzard: A romantic winter thriller (Tellure Hollow Book 3) by Adele Huxley Page A

Really, don’t sugar coat anything.”
    His warm smile touched the corner of his weathered eyes. “I’m a cautious man, so I’m going to assign someone to you at all times until we figure out who’s behind this. I think you might have an overzealous fan, or perhaps another skier who isn’t too chuffed about your being here. Either way, I want you to feel safe while you’re here.”
    So, in other words I’m going to protect you, but you shouldn’t worry about anything. Right . “Thank you, Henry.”
    “We’ll talk to that Nicole and try to track down the bartender. I’ll send a guy out to the mountain tomorrow morning and ask around, just in case.”
    I walked him to the front door, thanked him again, and then turned to Josh.
    “I’m so, so sorry this is happening to you,” he said. He held me by both shoulders, and stooped his head to meet my eye. “If you need anything, seriously anything, you call me.”
    “Thank you, I will. And I promise I’ll get the rest of those questions over to you tomorrow.”
    “No! Don’t you worry about a thing, I’ll take care of it. You have enough on your plate,” he said as he pulled me into a tight embrace. I tried to fight it, but couldn’t resist the firm safety of a hug.
    Bryan sniffed as he walked past on his way to the bedroom, a commentary on Josh’s last sentence. I nodded tightly and stepped out of his grasp. “Thank you again. I’ll give you a call tomorrow morning.”
    I shut the front door and waited for Josh’s car to pull out of the drive before turning off the hallway light. The exterior was still fully lit, the very corner of the police cruiser shining in the darkness. I took several deep breaths in the dark before heading to bed.
    When I reached the bedroom, I found Bryan half naked, washing his face in the bathroom. Every part of me wanted to pick a fight. Therapy was good for learning to recognize that urge at least. So rather than launching straight into an assault, I sat on the bed, threaded my fingers together, and waited quietly.
    Bryan stood and toweled off his face, spotting me over the top. “Whoa. I didn’t expect you to be sitting there.” He hung up the towel and stood in the doorway, his broad shoulders filling the frame. He eyed me suspiciously. “You okay?”
    I sucked on my bottom lip before speaking. “No. I’m definitely not okay ,” I replied calmly. “I think we should talk before going to bed.”
    Bryan, although tense and obviously not in the mood to deal with any of this, still came and sat beside me on the wide bed. “What would you like to talk about?” he started.
    I stared straight ahead, my fingers gripping the thick, downy comforter like I was afraid to float away. I tried to access the tools my therapist had given me to manage my temper, but came up short. When I spoke, it was in a quiet, measured tone that still dripped with anger. “I’m trying not to take my frustration out on you right now, but I need you to understand that I am upset by your actions.”
    “Uh huh,” he said casually.
    Use your words , I thought to myself. “When I saw you sharing our wedding binder with another woman, it made me feel uncomfortable, like you were being unfaithful.”
    “Unfaithful,” he repeated in a tone he knew drove me crazy.
    I took another breath and dug my nails into the palm of my hand, out of his line of sight. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t plan our wedding with another woman, especially one who wants to skewer herself on your dick.”
    Bryan scoffed and leaned back on his hands. “Seriously?”
    “Christ, will you work with me here?” I snapped. “I’m trying to do this maturely, but if you want a raging bitch on your hands, this is the best way to bring her out.” I glared at him, becoming even more enraged by his calm demeanor.
    “Am I allowed to talk now?”
    I swear, my nostrils probably flared like an angry horse, but I somehow kept my cool. “Of course.”
    “I think you’re