Snow Follies by Chelle Dugan Page A

knowing what to do. He didn’t even know what chains were, and now he was supposed to install them?
    He opened the plastic box, took out the contents, and read the instructions. It didn’t look too hard. The cables needed to be laid out on the backside of the tire. Great. Good thing he had long arms and big hands. The snow was a little bit higher in the back and he had to scoop away the snow to level it out. He was practically lying under the car. He scooted out from underneath and tried to stand. He grasped the door handle on the car for leverage and pulled.
     Thank goodness, the hot and hunky cop wasn’t looking in his direction. Eric was still sitting on the ground, and his glove was no longer on his hand. His glove was so wet it had frozen on the outside, hence no grip. He was a scientist, he should know these things. He rolled over so he was on his knees and slowly stood up. The snow was now falling so hard he had to wipe it off his face.
    Eric gripped the cables and managed to get the top clasp to snap together. The bottom was a little harder because of the snow. When he had the first one done, he actually did a little jig in celebration. He was not going to let the weather gods spoil the day.
    Cameron Gallagher was keeping an eye on the desert rat. He looked like he was getting the hang of putting the cables on. Cameron watched as the man put both hands up in the air and danced a little. He sure did look proud of himself. Too bad he wasn’t done.
    Cameron went back to his truck and got his thermos of coffee. It was a good way to break the ice. Here was someone that he wanted to get to know better. His replacement had arrived and he wanted to make sure this guy was on his way before he left. The thermos of hot coffee he had in his car was offered to the weary traveler.
    “Thank you. My hands and face feel like they’re frozen.”
    “It’s the wind. It’s really blowing today. I see you have the cables on. Let me check them and make sure they’re tight.” He squatted next to the front tire and pulled on the cables. The tensioner still needed to be fastened, and he did that in five minutes for both tires. He stood up and faced the desert-dweller. “You hadn’t set the tensioners. Your celebration was a little premature.”
    Eric was startled to hear the officer say that he had watched his dance. Maybe he could blame it on the weather? “Oh, I wasn’t dancing. I was stamping my feet and shaking my arms to get the blood circulating.”
    Cameron looked at him in disbelief but did not call him on it. “Okay, you’re all set. Just remember that you can only drive thirty miles an hour or so. Take your time. You’ll be in Flag in about an hour. Do you need to contact anyone?”
    “Oh, shit! My sister is probably freaking out. Thanks for reminding me.”
    “Go ahead and make your call. I’ll follow you after you start out to make sure you’ll be okay.” He hoped that sounded like what a police officer would do. He had never gone this far for a motorist, but he was attracted to this man and he wanted to extend their time together. He looked at the traveler as he spoke on the phone to his sister. He was tall, had a regular build, black hair and blue eyes. He had the look of an Irishman, and Cameron had always been attracted to that. He looked to be in his thirties. Cameron liked older men. They did not seem to have the angst that his contemporaries had. It seemed like men his age only wanted to get laid every weekend by someone new and then wondered why they were alone. Cameron actually wanted to date one person at a time and find someone to spend his life with.
    “Shannon, I’m fine.” Eric looked at the officer standing not two feet away and rolled his eyes at the phone. “I’m at Stoneman Lake Road. About an hour. I have my very own police escort. Okay. I will.” He closed his phone and smiled at the officer. “My sister is a bit of a worrywart. You would think I was twelve instead of thirty-two. I