Tessa stopped her joyful movement through the snow when Amber walked past Tessa without acknowledging her. She and Josiah watched her get into her rental car and drive away.

"Mission accomplished?" Tessa turned to Josiah and asked.

"Yes, come on in, before you freeze to death," Josiah instructed as he opened the front door and waited for her to pass him.

"How are you so unaffected by the beauty of it?" Tessa asked as she stopped in front of Josiah and looked over her shoulder at the heavy snowfall.

"I've been around it most of my life, and to ranchers, all it means is more work." Josiah looked down at her, watching her again.

Tessa gave a contented sigh and entered the house, utterly oblivious to Josiah's newfound fascination with her. She was not, however, oblivious to the feel of his fingers brushing her neck as he helped her remove her coat. She gave a little shiver and hoped he blamed the temperature for it.

She kicked off the large boots, moved to the table, and cleared the dishes to cover the awkwardness of being alone with him.

"I'll clean up, why don't you put your feet up. I know you're tired," Josiah suggested.

"I'm not tired anymore." Tessa shook her head as she walked the dishes around the island and placed them in the sink. Josiah followed behind her with the rest.

He was about to throw the leftovers in the trash when she reached out and took them from him.

"Nope, I really did enjoy it, and that's my dinner tomorrow."

"I'm surprised there's enough left," Josiah teased. "I've never noticed how enthusiastic an eater you are."

"I was hungry, some wuss was unable to handle his personal life and needed me to step in and save the day, so I sort of missed lunch," Tessa reminded him as she transferred everything to a container to put in the fridge, while he moved to the sink and started to load the dishwasher.

"Why don't you put on some coffee. I'm sure you have questions, and I'd rather get them out of the way now." Josiah said over the rattling of dishes. Ignoring her wuss comment.

Tessa did as she was instructed, and she had the coffee ready when he finished the dishes.

She set her cup on the low coffee table and moved to close the curtains, taking a moment to admire the snow again. "Will you be alright to get home?"

She missed Josiah's lip quirk in amusement.

"Yes, we're used to driving in it around here. I'll put the truck into four-wheel drive." Josiah sat in the armchair next to the couch. "Do you want me to light a fire?"

"No, I'll probably go to bed when you leave. I have an important meeting with my boss tomorrow, and I'll have to tell him all about the corned beef incident." Tessa sank onto the couch, pulled a throw across her lap, and reached for her coffee.

"I hope he doesn't give you too much grief about it," Josiah mused.

"You never know. Either way, I'll have to find something to do with Becky. I don't want to fire her, but she's not kitchen staff material."

"Cleaning staff, maybe?" Josiah offered.

"No, too many toxic chemicals. Not to mention, vacuum cleaners can be iffy." Tessa shook her head.

"Front desk staff?" He tried again.

"Maybe. I'm unsure about her being in charge of booking someone's room for them." Tessa leaned back and closed her eyes. "I'll find something."

They were both silent for a few moments, and Tessa couldn't help but think of him being Levi's adopted son. It at least explained the dramatic difference in their appearance.

"I'm sure you have questions about some of what Amber said." Josiah drained his coffee cup and placed it on the table.

"Sure, I have many questions about many things," Tessa admitted.

"Go ahead and ask them," he instructed.

The most important question she wanted to ask was about his and Trinity's relationship, but she was hesitant to ask. If he said yes, she would be jealous, but she might be able to control her newfound feelings for the man. If he said no, then those newfound feelings would run rampant. At least not knowing kept her attempting to control the feelings without feeling jealousy toward Trinity.

"I only need to ask two." Tessa set her coffee cup down next to his and started to play with the tassels on her pillow. "Are we going to have to go through this charade often? How many ex-girlfriends do you have?

Josiah smiled. "To be fair, Amber was never a girlfriend. We went out a time or two, but it was never serious, so I was surprised that she showed up out of nowhere, and I may have panicked a bit."

Tessa rolled her eyes.

"But to answer your question, I don't think it will happen again." Josiah lifted an eyebrow while waiting for Tessa to ask her second question.

"What's in Denver that requires you, Levi, and Trinity to take a trip there tomorrow?" And would Trinity have her own room, Tessa asked herself.

"Our lawyers are there. We're meeting with the company you recommended for the spa to try and work out a deal," Josiah explained. "I'll fly us over. We'll be gone until Friday evening."

"You'll fly – you fly?" Tessa asked, surprised.

"Yes. Normally, Levi would fly us, but he's not quite up to it since the accident, plus he wrecked his plane, so we'll take mine."

Tessa nodded, attempting to hide the fact that she was impressed that he could fly a plane and that he owned one.

"You don't need to worry about the deal, but when the paperwork is signed, that's when you'll become part of the planning," Josiah informed her as he picked up their coffee cups, put them in the dishwasher, and turned it on.

"That's all the questions you have?" Josiah asked suspiciously as he rejoined her.

"I was going to watch the news for half an hour. Would you like to join me?" Tess asked with a smile, noting that he was still looking at her suspiciously as he sat again.

"The rest is your private life, Josiah. I learned that not all was well with your mother and that you don't want to discuss it." Tessa reached for the remote and turned on the television.

"And the bit about Levi? Did you already know that?" He was watching her closely.

"No, but it doesn't really matter. It explains why he's fair-headed and you're not, but other than that, he's your dad and you're his son. At least he got to pick you. My dad didn't get to pick me, and I'm a disappointment to him. I'm sure he would have chosen differently if he could have."

"I'm sure that's not true." Josiah shook his head.

"Either way, I don't want to talk about it either," Tessa informed him.

They both turned their attention to the television and watched the late news. Josiah explained some of the local stuff to her, and they had a few debates on the national news. Overall, it was stimulating and pleasant not to be alone for the evening, and she told Josiah as much as he prepared to leave.

"Maybe we can do it again soon. Dad's been busy lately and eating alone gets lonely sometimes." Josiah admitted.

Tessa followed him to the door and onto the porch.

"Oh, Josiah! It's lovely!" Tessa looked at everything blanketed in white. It was soft-looking, like a pillow, and her voice sounded muffled.

Josiah looked around and shook his head. "I've enjoyed seeing it through your eyes, but I can't agree with you. I'll be up before sunrise tomorrow to help Levi check on the cattle. It's not a fun start to any morning."

"Be careful going home," she instructed.

"No worries, I know the roads well and it's not that far of a drive." Then he bounded down the steps and toward his truck.

She was glad she only had a short walk to work tomorrow. She realized she would have to wear Josiah's boots, which were too large for her.

Talk about walking a mile in his shoes. The thought made her smile as she locked up and prepared for bed.

It had been a pleasant night despite Amber's invasion of it, and to give her credit, it wouldn't have happened if she hadn't shown up for a visit.