A Safe Surrender: A Donnelley Brother's Novel (Donnelley Brothers Book 2) (6 page)

A harsh jerk forward slammed my chest into the locked seatbelt, holding me in place against the seat as the nose of my little car lodged itself deep into the snow. Opening my eyes, I stared ahead at the complete darkness. I’d driven into a deep pile of snow and the white was covering my windshield, completely encasing my car in darkness. Only the lights from my dash lit the small space.

As I stared forward, I tried desperately to wrap my mind around my horrible situation, but the pounding in my heart never receded.

A heavy knock sounded on the driver’s window and I jumped, my knocking heart climbing quickly into my throat. Peering through the swirling snow, I saw the outline of a person - a man - illuminated by headlights. I didn’t move.

Before I knew it, the man was pulling on the door handle almost frantically. Through the ringing of my ears, I heard shouting.

The man was shouting. “Hey? Are you alright in there? Open the door!”

I didn’t move. I was numb.

The man knocked again, his deep loud voice seeping through the glass. “I’m going to count to three and then I’m breaking the window. If you can, close your eyes or turn your head.”

He was going to break my window? Why? Understanding found light in my mind and I shook myself of my haze. If I didn’t unlock my door, this man was going to break my window to get to me. He thought I was hurt.

Moving my shaking hand, I hit the unlock button on my car door. It thudded and the man instantly pulled my door open. Before I knew it, his hands were on either side of my face and he was turning my head, forcing me to look at him.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?” His eyes were frantic - and dark. They were so dark.

Slowly, I looked him over. This man was the complete definition of strength. Everything about him made me feel safe and protected. Okay, maybe it was the overdose of adrenaline and fear pumping through my bloodstream, but damn, this man made me feel so fantastically secure.

And then, shamefully, my eyes filled with tears that rolled, with embarrassing speed, down my face. Violent sobs wracked through my body and sounded on my lips while I tried desperately to suck them back. Oh God, what was wrong with me?

“Shh, it’s okay. You’re okay.” His voice was both firm and gentle and the sound of it soothed me. Crouching down, the man placed his kneecaps against the floor of my car. I felt his eyes search over my face as he moved my head gently from side to side. “You’re not bleeding from anywhere I can see. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Finding my voice for the first time since seeing this man, I murmured through a sob. “I don’t know.”

A frown pinched his brow. “I have to get you out of the car, alright?”

“What?” I shook my head. “Why?” I was so confused.

His dark eyes were tense. “You’re car’s stuck and it’s snowing too hard to try towing it out of the ditch. I have to get you somewhere warm.” He sighed and his voice lowered. “I think you might have a concussion.”

“Why?” He made a weird face and I continued. “I didn’t hit my head.”

“I still need to get you somewhere warm.” There was a firm edge to his voice that told me if I argued any longer with him, he would remove me from my car himself - without my permission. After Rhett and everything he had done to me, to my body, without permission, I knew I should be afraid. But I wasn’t. I wasn’t afraid of this nameless man in the least. He made me feel completely safe in a way Rhett never had. I trusted this man in a way I hadn’t trusted Rhett.

Slowly, I nodded. The man took that as my permission as his hand dropped from my face to the seatbelt sitting against my hip. He popped the clip open before pulling the strap away from my body.

He asked, “Do you think you can walk?”

I nodded, wiping my tear stained face. “Yeah.”

My answer didn’t faze him. His hands found my waist and he practically pulled me from the car before standing me cautiously on my feet. Even then, he didn’t remove his hands from my waist. It was as though he feared I might collapse without his sturdy hands holding me upright. I had been correct in my first assumption of this man - he was strong. Really, really, strong.

“Can you walk?” He asked gruffly.

As soon as he asked the question, I felt the shaking of my knees - but that wasn’t a weakness I wanted to admit to him. His strength was inspiring and I wanted, for reasons unknown to me, to show him that I was strong too. I nodded. “I can walk.”

“Good.” He turned me toward a truck with a sturdy hand on my lower back. I could barely see the vehicle through the blowing snow, but by the height of the headlights, it couldn’t have been anything else.

Around my feet, deep snow crunched as I tried to pull myself from the ditch. My knees were weak now that the adrenaline had faded, leaving a depressed feeling of weight behind. Stumbling through the white mass, I righted myself, praying he hadn’t noticed.

This prayer was unanswered. And before I knew it, I found myself cradled in his arms and against his chest as he climbed through the snow, entirely unfazed.

I gasped, blushing furiously. “I’m fine, really. You can put me down.”

“You can barely walk.” He announced in reply.

“It’s just the snow.” I grappled for a retort. “I’m not used to it being so deep.”

He grunted. “You’ve just been in an accident. It’s best you’re not walking around before you’ve decided if anything is hurt.”

“I can’t just decide I’m hurt.” I scoffed. “It doesn’t work that way.”

“Adrenaline often masks pain.” He was now walking on the road, carrying me with ease. “I’m not putting you down.”

I didn’t say anything else as he moved to the passenger side of the truck. He opened the door with my body still cradled against his hard chest before placing me gently in the seat. This man didn’t know me, but he treated me with a solid care I had yet to experience from a man. It was refreshing. Maybe there were good men in this world. Maybe they didn’t all hide behind easy grins, promises and water-blue eyes.

“You should probably put your seatbelt on.” He said softly, his dark eyes sweeping over my face. “And uh, there’s Kleenex in the glove-box if you need it.”

I hadn’t realized until then, that I was still crying. Crap, he must think I’m such a child. Forcing the words from my throat, I spoke. “Thank you.”

He nodded, “No problem.” His hand moved to close the door when I jumped.

“Wait!” My voice was louder than usual and I instantly lowered my tone, as his eyes looked me over. “My purse is still in my car - and my groceries.” I could feel my face flaming red, but I couldn’t leave all my groceries. I couldn’t
afford
to leave everything I’d purchased to freeze out here all night. “I can’t leave it here.”

Pursing his lips, he nodded. “You stay here, I’ll get everything.”

“I can help.” I waved off his worry, stilling in the seat as he pinned no-nonsense eyes on me.

“If you move from this truck, we’ll be leaving everything behind, because I will drive away.” His tone was all deep and growly, but still, I wasn’t afraid of him. I simply wanted to relax in the seat and trust him to honor his words. “I’ll get your groceries and purse so long as you remain here where I know you won’t injure yourself further.”

I promised. “I’ll stay here.”

The corner of his lip twitched in what resembled the formations of a smile. “Good.”

The man closed the door of the truck and I tried to watch him through the windshield, but there was no point. I could barely see a thing. Instead, I opened his glove box to retrieve the Kleenex he’d been talking about. Dabbing my eyes, I tried to wipe away the evidence of my panic. I wasn’t much of a crier, so it was shocking that I’d cried so hard for so long. It was also embarrassing. Whoever this man was, was stronger than any other man I had ever encountered. His strength was solid and quiet, but known. And I’d broken down into a blubbering mess in his presence. I hoped - prayed, that I wouldn’t see much more of him past this night.

My thoughts were interrupted as the back door of the truck was pulled open and groceries were placed on the floor and seat behind me. He didn’t say anything as slammed the door shut, encasing me once again within the heat of the cab. It didn’t take long for the driver’s door to open and the man to climb inside.

He glanced at me. “Your car keys are in your purse.” His eyes swung forward and he pulled slowly from the shoulder of the road. “Are you planning on staying at the Ranch for a while?”

I frowned. “Why do you ask?”

“You’ve got a lot of food.”

“Yeah, I’m planning on staying for a while.” I smiled to myself. “I’ve actually just been hired on at the Ranch. I’m excited to start.”

“Huh,” the man glanced at me again. “What were you hired for?”

“I’m actually going to be working with Kyle Donnelley. I’m not sure if you know him, I haven’t met him yet, myself, but I hear he’s quite nice. He leads the mountain climbing tours and I’m very excited to learn from him. Apparently he’s very skilled.”

The man’s attention was on the road and I had a chance to really study him. His build was large and muscular - I could tell even through the layer of black leather he wore. He carried himself confidently, but he didn’t seem like the boasting type. If anything, I would consider him a little more shy than the average guy. He had dark hair that peaked out from beneath a black suede cowboy hat and dark eyes to match. He was tall and his jaw was hard and square. His lips were full and for reasons unknown to me, I wanted to see them curl into a smile.

His voice was deep when he spoke. The sound rumbled through the cab of the truck before rumbling through my body, warming my toes. “I’ve heard of him.”

“Have you met him?” I asked eagerly. I wanted to know a little more about the man I would be working with.

“You could say that.” He grinned. His lips curled upward at the corners in a slightly lopsided smile that was even better than I’d thought it would be. This man was really something else. He was strong, handsome, and actually a little adorable - in a manly way. There was just something about him that I liked. Actually, I couldn’t help but like him more and more with every minute that passed.

“Is he nice?” I wiggled in my seat before wincing. “Ouch,”

His eyes swung to me once again, and this time worry clouded their dark depths. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” I settled back into the seat. “Wow, my chest really hurts.”

“Your chest?”

I nodded. “I think it’s from the seatbelt.” As I spoke, I tucked the seatbelt I was currently wearing behind my body. “When the car stopped, it was kind of abrupt, and my seatbelt stopped me from hitting the dash. I’m pretty sure I’ve got a bit of a bruise.”

“Sounds like it’s a little more than a bit of a bruise.” He said darkly. “Do you think you might have cracked rib?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I’m pretty sure it’s just a bruise.”

“Hmm,” he grunted. “Well, you should probably have it looked at.”

I shrugged, “Honestly, I’m fine.” He opened his mouth - presumably to argue with me - and I hurried to pepper him with another question. “So, back to Kyle.” I blushed at his piercing gaze. “I know I’m prying, but I’m really nervous to meet him. Is he nice?”

“He’s usually pretty nice.” He offered, but that was it.

“Usually?” I felt my heart leaping in my chest with nerves. “Have you had a bad experience with him?”

He shook his head. “Nope.” He focused on the road again.

“You’re kind of mysterious, you know that?”

He smiled again, and again, I felt my heart flutter. It had been so terribly long since I’d felt my heart flutter because of man. Rhett had been anything but charming lately, and as I thought of Rhett, I was reminded of just how much I didn’t need a man. Any man - including Mr. Strong Arms here.

What I needed was to reinvent myself. Actually, I just needed to invent myself, never mind reinvent. I’d been with Rhett since I was fifteen. I was everything that Rhett had allowed me to become. The man had molded me into who I’d always been, cautious, quiet, and his. But now I was my own person and from here on out, I would do only what I felt in my heart and soul was right. That meant no men. At least not until I figured out what I really wanted and needed from life.

Taking a chance on dating meant I would have to consider the other person. I’d have to consider their feelings, their wants, dreams, desires, and even their demons. I’d done all that with Rhett and it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. For now, I had to do me. I had to worry about me, my dreams, wants, desires, feelings, and even my demons. Until I did me, there was no room for anyone else.

The man spoke, interrupting my thoughts. “I don’t know about mysterious so much as I’m not much of a talker.”

“Really?” I trained my eyes ahead and felt him looking at me. “I never would have thought.”

“Are you being serious?” He asked.

“No,” I said dryly. “That was sarcasm in my voice.” I flashed him a grin. “You couldn’t tell?”

He shook his head. “No, I couldn’t tell.”

“You know, you’re making me really nervous.” I announced, leaning my head back against the seat, watching him.

He frowned. “I’m making you nervous? How?”

“You’re evading every question I ask about Kyle. I’m beginning to picture him as some really mean ogre.” I teased good-naturedly. In all honestly, I just figured that the man wasn’t really one for talking about other people. And that was fine, but I didn’t want to fall into awkward silence.

He chuckled, surprising me. “That’s funny.”

“What is?”

He didn’t answer me. Instead, he asked gruffly. “What’s your name?”

“My name’s Kami.” I replied politely.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kami.” His dark eyes were practically grinning at me. “My name’s Kyle Donnelley.”

My mouth dropped.

Chapter 6

Thirty seconds later my mouth was still hanging open. Kyle Donnelley, aka Mr. Strong Arms, aka my soon to be partner, was laughing whole-heartedly at me.

“Oh,” I covered my face with my hands, moaning into my palms. “Oh my goodness.”

Still laughing, Kyle assured. “It’s alright, Kami.”