He took her hands, pulled her to her feet, and handed her the broom, which was sticking out of a drift. Using the handle to balance, she waded through the deep drifts to the car and began sweeping the snow off the windshield.

Conner retrieved the shovel from where he’d dropped it and started by opening up a path up the embankment. If Megan wore herself out and needed to rest, she’d at least have a clear path back to the truck. That done, he began shoveling around the car to clear the wheels. In the front and rear, he hollowed out enough space to attach the tow chain to the axle. Now he needed to decide whether to pull the car forward or back it out. Forward, maybe, since the slope was gentler in that direction.

Megan had finished sweeping off the car. She was covered in powdery snow. Where she stood in the sunlight, it sparkled like diamonds in her dark hair.

“Here.” Conner used his gloved hand to brush the snow off her coat. “You must be frozen. Get back in the truck to warm up. Once the tow chain’s attached, I’ll need you in your car.”

“I’m fine here.” Her teeth chattered slightly, but arguing with her would only take time. If all went well, the car would be back on the road in a few minutes.

“We’ll need your keys.” Conner remembered giving them to her after locking her car last night.

“No problem. I’ve got them right here in my pocket.” She pulled off a glove and fumbled in her coat. “I just—oh, drat!” She reached deeper into her pocket, then into her other pocket, her hand coming up empty. She looked like she was about to cry. “I know I had them with me when I left the house. Maybe they fell out in the truck.”

“Or maybe you lost them when you fell down in the snow. You check the truck while I look around down here. Don’t worry, we’ll find them.”

She clambered up the embankment, leaving Conner wondering where to start looking. He’d moved snow to clear a path after her fall. If Megan’s keys had tumbled out of her pocket, they could be anywhere by now.

On his hands and knees now, he began pawing through the shoveled snow. Megan was an intriguing, challenging woman. He’d have welcomed an excuse to spend more time with her. But this was not what he’d had in mind.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“I couldn’t find the keys in the truck.” Megan scrambled down the embankment to where Conner was digging through the snow. “I looked in the seat, under the seat, and in my purse. I even looked under the truck. I’m sorry. I feel like a fool.”

“It could happen to anybody,” Conner said. “You don’t have a hidden key on the car, do you?”