Hard to Handle by Lori Foster Read Free Book Online

like me to call you so that you know he hasn’t gotten your message?”
    â€œYou can call my cell.”
    Anastasia wrote down the phone number and tucked the slip of paper into her purse. The second she hung up, she ran into the bathroom and, feeling even more ridiculous, brushed her hair and cleaned her teeth before changing into warm clothes.
    She was a nice person, she assured herself, even as she pulled on her boots and a thick, hooded sweatshirt.
    Making a run into town in the middle of the night during a near blizzard wasn’t a big deal. She’d have offered to do the same for anyone. It had nothing to do with a desire to see Harley one last time.
    Definitely not.
    Okay, maybe just a little.
    But she was nice, and would have done the same for anyone.
    In no time at all, Stasia was bundled toes to nose. The second she stepped outside, she felt that edgy uneasiness again. It had to be the awful weather, she told herself. A heavy layer of snow blanketed the area, causing tree limbs to bend, ice to crackle.
    As she neared her truck beneath the carport, Stasia noticed that the newly accumulated snowfall almost disguised recent tracks around her property. She bent to study the markings, but the light from the cabin wasn’t adequate to see much other than indentations. And with so many animals in the area, it could have been anything—most likely the deer she’d heard earlier. They seemed larger than deer prints, but the harsh winds could distort anything.
    As proof of that, the carport hadn’t adequately protected her truck from blown snow and ice. Almost frozen over, she had to use her gloved hands to brush over her door until she found the handle. Careful to keep the snow from falling into her seat, she climbed in and started the engine, turned on the defroster and heat full blast, and then used precious minutes to clear the outsides of all the windows.
    By the time she finished, her nose was bright red and despite her thick socks and gloves, her fingers and toes felt frozen.
    Was any man worth this much hassle?
    She doubted it.
    If she hadn’t already promised Uncle Satch…
    But she had, so she might as well get it over with. She got in the truck and carefully steered away from her cabin. Her tires crunched through icy snow and after some guessing, she found the nearly hidden road.

C HAPTER 3
    T HE darkness of the night and the frigid temperatures forced Stasia to use extra caution on the winding, hilly roads. To her surprise, she wasn’t that far from her cabin when headlights showed up behind her. The trailing vehicle closed in, and then rode her bumper, crowding her. The reflection in her rearview mirror nearly blinded her. She couldn’t see the vehicle clearly, but given the height of the headlights, she assumed it to be a large truck.
    Uncertainty curdled in her stomach. Beyond her cabin and Harley’s, there wasn’t much on the road. It led off for a few miles, then finally hooked up with the main drag. Anyone going anywhere—other than to her cabin or the rental cabin—would be better served to use the main roads. Why anyone would be on this road now, especially in a snowstorm, she couldn’t fathom.
    But maybe those tracks around her car hadn’t been caused by an animal after all.
    Telling herself to keep her imagination in check, Stasia tried to encourage the other driver to back off by slowing even more, barely rolling along the frozen roadway. She’d just passed a closed service station, nearly invisible with the outside lights off, when the vehicle behind her revved its engine.
    Seconds later a large muscle truck sped past her.
    It cut so close that Stasia swerved to avoid contact and almost slid off the road. Hands clamped tight on the steering wheel, she reminded herself not to slam on the brakes. If she did, she’d definitely go into a spin and probably wreck.
    She fishtailed, gliding over the icy road, all but stealing the breath