Chapter 5
Five
It was after five, and Jess was freaking out.
She’d been calling Ryan for almost an hour and he wasn’t answering.
It was dark out and the snow was falling furiously and she had no idea what she was supposed to do.
There was no way she could make it up the hill to check on him, but could she really just sit here doing nothing either?
“Screw it!” Standing, she put on her heaviest clothes, slid on her boots, and grabbed her coat, hat, and gloves. In the pantry closet, she’d seen a flashlight, so she grabbed that and hoped it was bright enough to either see him or guide him to her.
Out on the front porch, she went to the edge and shone the light toward the main cabin. The light really didn’t go far, but she still moved it around to scan her surroundings as she silently prayed she’d find Ryan walking toward her.
But she didn’t.
It was so dark and so cold and she was shaking so hard, but she’d never felt more helpless in her entire life. “Ryan!” she called out, and continued to until her throat was raw.
She had pulled a snow shovel out of the shed the other day to clear away some of the snow from the front steps, and she used it again to clear a path down.
When she made it to the driveway, she shined the flashlight and started calling his name all over again.
Her face was numb and every minute that passed, her fear intensified.
What if something happened to him up at the cabin and he was lying there hurt?
What if he fell on his way down the hill and was unconscious and slowly getting covered by snow?
What if…
“Jess!”
Pausing, she looked around frantically. The sound was faint, but that was definitely Ryan calling her name. “I’m here!” She waved the flashlight around frantically. “Follow the light! Where are you?”
He said her name again, this time sounding closer. It felt like hours, but it was probably only minutes for her to spot him stumbling toward her out of the darkness. Carefully, she ran toward him, wrapping her arms around him as he slumped against her.
“I’ve got you,” she whispered. “I’ve got you.” Wordlessly, they worked their way up the stairs and into the cabin. Slamming the door behind them, Jess watched helplessly as Ryan sagged to the floor.
Even as relief at having him here washed over her, a fresh wave of worry also hit.
He didn’t look good and she knew she had to get him warm fast. Yanking his boots and snowshoes off was first, and then she yanked everything else off of him until he was naked, telling him the entire time how she was here for him and going to make sure he was okay.
Grabbing as many blankets as she could find, she covered and tucked them all around him.
Then she did the same for herself.
If he wasn’t so much bigger than her, she would have dragged him across the room and into the bed, but there was no way she could do it, so she had to do the best she could right here on the floor. By the time she pressed her body against his, she felt like he was warming up a bit.
“I’ve got you,” she said, snuggling closer.
“You need to wake up and be okay. I can’t lose you a second time, Ry.
I love you too much to lose you again. Please be okay.
Please.” And that’s when she finally let herself cry.
She’d been running on adrenaline since she first stepped outside and now it was all catching up to her.
With her head on his shoulder, she cried and continued to beg him to wake up and be okay.
She had no idea how much time had passed when she finally heard him whisper, “Couldn’t even wait to get me on the bed to get me naked, huh?”
Lifting her head, she stared down at him and saw him grinning up at her. There was a snarky comeback on the tip of her tongue, but she was too relieved that he was awake and decided to kiss him instead.
His arms banded around her, holding her close. When she broke the kiss and lifted her head, she saw tears in his eyes too. “I left late and slipped going down the hill and lost my bearings. I don’t even know how long I was out there.”
“I was calling you and calling you—first on the phone and then from the porch—but you never answered.”
“I left my phone up at the cabin. When I stood up after the fall, I figured I could use it—use the flashlight on it—to help me, only to realize I’d forgotten it. At some point, I saw the light you were using.” Reaching up, he caressed her cheek. “You totally saved me.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my whole life,” she admitted. “But I have to say something to you.”
“O-kay…”
“We totally need to work on your tardiness. It’s been getting you into trouble more and more lately, and this time it literally could have killed you. And as much as I appreciate you wanting to get here, I would have totally understood if you couldn’t make it. Your safety should always come first.”
But he was shaking his head. “No. I promised you I’d be here and I wasn’t going to renege on that. I told you I was going to make things up to you, and breaking a promise wasn’t an option.”
“Risking your life isn’t either,” she chided, before resting her head on his shoulder. “But I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Believe me, I am too.” He kissed the top of her head before adding, “But we really need to get up off the floor and onto the bed. It’s killing my back. Plus…I’m sweating.”
Laughing, she had to agree, and together they got up, put on dry clothes, and crawled into bed. “I know this is a weird time to bring this up, but…are you hungry? Because I’ve got…”
“What’s the soup of the day?” he teased.
“Stuffed pepper,” she told him. “Maybe we could have something to eat and then come back to bed. What do you think?”
Pulling her close he kissed her. “I think you’re the most amazing woman in the world and I’m so glad you’re mine.”
She felt herself blush, but took the compliment. “Come on. Let’s eat.”
“This has been a wild day. Well…two days.”
“Definitely.”
“But I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t see it all happening quite like this.”
“Me either.”
They had just sat down the following day to their little Thanksgiving dinner when the power had gone out.
Now, they were eating by firelight and neither seemed fazed by it.
They’d survived his nearly dying in the snow, both of them escaping hypothermia, and essentially getting snowed in together when they weren’t even speaking.
So a power outage really wasn’t a big deal.
Still…it was the most perfect Thanksgiving ever in Ryan’s mind.
“The universe—or Mother Nature at least—really wants us together,” he mused. “And I’m kind of glad.
Laughing softly, Jess picked up her wineglass and nodded. “She didn’t need to be quite so dramatic about it. We would have gotten here eventually.”
He wasn’t quite so sure, but he kept that to himself.
His girl had a stubborn streak, so he was going to simply be thankful for snowstorms and tiny cabins and second chances.
The snow had finally stopped, but he was going to reach out to Holly’s parents tomorrow and let them know he was going to need some extra time to get the work done.
He wasn’t going to put himself at risk again just to get back up the hill.
Besides, he had a beautiful woman snowed in with him and this time, he was going to enjoy every minute of it.