Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Two hours earlier
Kat spat every curse she could think of. Her mother was probably standing somewhere nearby with a bar of soap in her hand wishing she could cross the veil and clean every vile thing Kat had said out of her mouth.
That thought brought a momentary smile to her lips.
She wished her mother was still alive. There were so many things that Kat wanted to ask her—to say to her. About her job. Her father. Leo.
The scowl returned to Kat’s brow as she continued to stomp through the weeds and wild growth in the woods.
How could Leo say something so… mean? She growled as she whacked away a low-hanging branch.
Why wasn’t karma doing its job? If there was anyone in need of being knocked down a peg, it was Leo Chambers.
She growled again when a branch she didn’t see coming snapped into her cheek, leaving a sting in its wake.
This was stupid. She shouldn’t have gone tromping through the woods when she didn’t know where they were. She should head back even if she was livid with the man she’d left behind. She’d lost track of time and her phone was still back at the cabin.
Why on earth hadn’t she remembered to grab it on her way out?
Because Leo was a monster who made it hard for her to think clearly, that’s why.
There were a lot of things she was upset about. But the worst one?
She’d let Leo get to her. She didn’t know why, but she cared what he thought about her.
There was no logical explanation for it, either.
The only thing she could think about was the fact that he hadn’t tattled on her when she’d trapped him in a chicken coop without any way to get out.
And maybe those looks of longing had done something to her.
As much as she hated it, she wanted him to care.
Not romantically. That would be far beyond insane.
But she wanted his respect. She wanted to work with him on a level where they could be partners. She couldn’t recall if she’d even wanted such a thing with Chaz.
Kat huffed as she came to a stop and closed her eyes. Breathing in deeply, she allowed the sights and sounds around her to encompass her very being just so she could calm down and center herself.
But then she opened her eyes, realizing the only sounds she heard were that of the thunder overhead and the whistle of the wind through the branches. The storm was getting closer. Shoot!
She whirled around and looked at the ground, only then realizing she’d wandered off the path at some point. How had she managed that? No wonder the branches were knocking into her.
Kat lifted her face to the sky and groaned.
Then she heard something.
Thrashing.
The sound of an animal.
Something bigger than a bunny.
Without thinking, she darted away from the sounds of whatever creature was headed for her.
She lifted her arms to prevent the branches from attacking and ducked when she could.
Every so often she glanced behind her to see if the creature was on her tail.
She couldn’t see anything, but that was what predators did when they hunted their prey, right?
Her heart fluttered desperately in her chest making her painfully aware that was exactly what she was.
Prey.
Her foot snagged on something.
Down.
Down.
Down she went.
With an oof, the wind was knocked from her lungs and a sharp stinging shot through her ankle. She thrashed on the ground for a moment before she realized that her foot was stuck. She’d been caught!
Kat scrambled into a seated position, wincing at the pain in her ankle as she took stock of her situation.
An overgrown root had been the perfect snare for her foot and somehow she’d managed to get her heel through it.
But just like when a child’s head gets stuck between two rails of a banister, unable to be pulled loose, she found her foot in the same predicament.
No amount of twisting or pulling allowed her to escape. The location of the root also blocked her ability to unbuckle her boot to remove it. Kat slammed her hand onto the ground with an anguished, frustrated cry. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
The sound of scuffling returned and she whipped her head around in that direction.
No!
Her heart no longer fluttered. It thrashed and collided with the sides of her ribcage, demanding to be set free so it could escape.
Her wide eyes remained locked on the clearing.
Anticipation building, she held her breath.
She would have shut her eyes if she wasn’t so intent on seeing what would be the last thing to see her alive.
In a flurry of brown and orange, a fox burst from the thicket. She screamed. It froze. Then it stared at her for a moment before scurrying away.
Kat panted, her breaths coming out ragged and short.
She felt lightheaded. All her pent-up fear had put her body into a state of adrenaline rush she couldn’t escape from.
Then she collapsed against the ground and stared up at the further darkening skies.
A strangled laugh burst from her chest when her heart returned to its usual steady pace.
And only when she felt the first drop of rain did she realize how much trouble she was truly in.
Throat sore from calling out to Leo, Kat finally succumbed to her fate. Countless shivers wracked her body as the rain above pelted her body. Her teeth clacked against each other, but it wasn’t her doomed situation that had her upset.
Nope.
Right about now, she was more furious with herself because she knew—she just knew—that the second Leo found her, he’d make it perfectly clear that she was an idiot. The worst part? He was probably right.
She’d taken off without thinking. How many times had her father warned her against her impulsive behaviors? In the moment, she’d been hurt. His words had sliced so deep that she’d been blinded by her emotions. And for what? Why should she care what Leo thought? Why should his opinion matter?
Kat wished for the hundredth time that she had an answer to those questions. If she’d been able to brush off Leo’s cutting words, maybe she wouldn’t be in this position.
Loud thrashing sounds came from the direction she’d come, followed by a distinct, angry holler. “Kat! Kat, you hear me?” Then he cursed.
She blinked back the rain on her lashes and straightened slightly. Was she hallucinating? “Leo?” she croaked.
The crunching of leaves and branches halted. “Kat?”
“Leo!” Her voice was stronger this time, though her throat still hurt. Maybe it was the cold. Maybe it was the fact that she’d screamed for him for what felt like hours. Either way, she had a feeling she would be losing her voice by morning.
Her knight in shining armor burst through the trees and for a moment a flicker of relief flooded his eyes. But just as quickly as she’d noticed it, his eyes darkened with fury. He swore as he darted down at her side. “Are you hurt?”
Kat’s whole body shook from the cold and her teeth clacked again. “No, j-just… c-cold.”
His sharp eyes darted to meet hers. She couldn’t read anything but anger and she wanted to shrink away from him. Unfortunately, no amount of scrambling would get her free of him. The tree root had seen to that.
He muttered another expletive. “Your lips are blue. It’s freezing.”
“Y-you th-th-think?” She chattered. She prepared herself for the lecture she knew was coming. Based on the way he was looking at her, she could tell he was just itching to ream into her.
Leo tore his eyes from her, muttering something else she couldn’t hear over the falling rain. Then he whipped out a hunting knife from somewhere and started sawing at the root. A gasp had lodged in her throat when he’d brandished it but she forced herself to swallow it down.
His large hand wrapped around her booted ankle to keep her steady as he worked. She took the moment to really observe him, the rain running off his wavy hair in rivulets. His jaw worked and the muscles in his arms flexed as he focused on his task.
Dang, he was gorgeous.
Suddenly, the pressure fell from her foot and she startled when Leo jumped to his feet. He held out his hand to her. She reached for it and he pulled her to her feet.
Immediately, pain reverberated in her ankle.
It was her turn to mutter a curse. Well, this was just great.
“What?” he demanded, worry lacing his tone. “Is it broken?”
Kat shook her head. “No, b-but it m-might be sp-sprained.” She grimaced as she attempted to put weight on her foot. She refused to meet his stare. This was just one more thing he could judge her for. “I’ll b-be fine,” she chattered.
“No, you won’t,” he snapped. In one swift movement, he scooped her into his arms.
“Leo! W-what are you d-doing? P-put me d-down!”
He didn’t listen to her, and she didn’t have the energy to push him on it. Leo carried her like she weighed nothing more than a rag doll as he stomped back through the thicket in the direction of the cabin.
Heat emanated off Leo, easing the chill that wracked her body. She found herself leaning into him, soaking up what little warmth he could offer. They moved through the trees in silence and the closer they got to the cabin, the angrier Leo seemed to become.
By the time they arrived at the cabin, Leo seemed to have turned into a live bomb, ready to detonate.
His body seemed to vibrate with that fury.
The rain was now coming down hard enough that there were streams flowing down worn trails.
She didn’t know if this place was prone to flooding, but she wouldn’t be surprised.
The horses were nowhere in sight and she hoped they’d be okay in this weather.
Leo kicked open the door and it banged against the wall before slamming shut on its own. She half-expected him to drop her unceremoniously onto the floor, but he surprised her by taking her toward the fireplace and lowering her carefully to a seated position.
“Take off your clothes.”
“What?” she gawked. “You c-can’t p-possibly—”
“You want to catch hypothermia?” he barked. “You were out in near freezing temperature in the rain for nearly two hours.”
Still, she gaped at him. “I’m n-not going t-to—”
Leo let out an exaggerated groan before stalking through the cabin and returning with some winter clothes. A sweater and some sweatpants. “I’ll start a fire and you get changed.” He paused for a moment then gave her a pointed look. “And don’t worry. I won’t peek.”
She let out a disgruntled scoff. She hadn’t been thinking about that until this moment. Still, what he said made sense. She couldn’t stop shaking and a fire sounded like heaven.
With numb fingers, she worked at removing the clothes that clung to her body. It took her longer than normal to change and by the time she was done, Leo had a fire running. Still, her shaking remained uncontrollable. “Are w-we g-going to g-go h-home?”
He glanced at her. “It’s not a good idea to head out on horseback in this weather. But if you want to call Jane, we might be able to get someone out here to pick us up in a truck.”
She nodded, then reached for her clothes and froze.
“What?” he muttered.
Her eyes lifted to meet his. “My phone. It’s not here.”
He let his head fall back as he closed his eyes, and another expletive slipped past his lips. “You’re kidding me.”
She scowled at him. “I’m s-sorry. I f-fell and m-must have l-lost it o-out th-there.
What a-about y-you? Where’s y-your ph-phone?
” Her eyes followed him as he paced on the other side of the room.
He was still in his wet clothes and she bit back the instinct to tell him he should get changed, too.
But that thought process came to an abrupt halt with his next words.
“My phone’s dead.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re ph-phone’s d-dead? S-seriously?”
He threw a finger in her direction. “Don’t you dare blame me. If you hadn’t gone running off, we could have left on time and beat the rain.”
“So th-this is m-my fault?” she stammered.
His eyes darkened, making it clear that was exactly how he felt.
They were stuck here. In this cabin for the night—maybe longer.
And there was only one bed.