Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Lincoln
I huff out an aggravated sigh when I see the snowdrift blocking the cabin door.
Awesome. I’m freezing and exhausted from walking for what felt like at least twelve hours. Not to mention cranky as shit from not finding a damn thing other than more snow and trees. And now I have to dig my way inside.
There’s a snow shovel leaning against the cabin near the front door, which helps. I scoop and throw enough snow to get the door open, breathing hard when I put the shovel back.
It’s different exercise than I’m used to, but at least I’m staying active. That’ll help me get right back on the ice when I get home.
When I open the door, Trinity turns and looks at me from in front of the fireplace, where she’s using the metal poker to move wood around and stoke the fire.
“Hey.” She smiles. “I was hoping that was you out front and not a bear.”
She’s changed out of the long underwear and is now wearing black leggings and a men’s flannel that’s oversized on her. For a second, I imagine we’re at a five-star lodge for a long weekend of skiing, about to settle onto the love seat with some wine. I’d offer her a foot rub and my hands would roam up her calves, to her thighs and then...
“Did you find anything?” she asks, standing.
“No.” I drop my gloves, hat and scarf, then take off my coat and add it to the pile. “Thanks for keeping the fire going.”
I go over to the fireplace and crouch down, holding my hands out to warm them up. The warmth makes me want to groan with satisfaction. I started fantasizing about this around hour four of walking.
Trinity sits down on the end of the bed. “Sorry about my mood earlier. I have a headache, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“It’s okay.” I glance at the kitchen area. “Have you eaten anything?”
“I had some peanut butter.”
My stomach growls just from the sound of it. “Hell yes. I could eat an entire jar. I’m dying for some protein.”
“There’s beef jerky in the storage room. Do you want me to get you some?”
I stand. “No, you should rest that ankle. I’ll get it.”
When I reach the storage room, I scan the well-organized shelves. Most of the items have labels. Rice. Oatmeal. Beans. As soon as my eyes land on the plastic containers of beef jerky, I grab one and tear it open, taking some out and biting into it.
This time, I do groan with satisfaction. The savory flavor of the meat is intensified by my hunger. I’m beat; I need food, water and sleep before I can think about our next step.
“Was it pretty rough out there?” Trinity asks.
This cabin is so small that she’s not very far away even though we’re in different rooms. I step back and look through the doorway so she’s in my line of sight.
“Yeah. I didn’t see a damn thing.”
She gets up and limps over to the record player. “Want me to put on some music?”
“Sure.”
I’m so tired I could sleep through a live Metallica concert, so I don’t care what she picks. Still, I find myself surprised when she chooses Nat King Cole.
“What I wouldn’t give for a working faucet on that bathtub,” she cracks.
Her blond hair is loose around her shoulders. The feeling that we could easily be here on a date returns. When Trinity’s smiling at me instead of snarling, she’s actually beautiful. I was deliberately avoiding thinking about it before, because she’s Dalton’s little sister.
Now that we’re alone here, though, I find myself intrigued by what she’s like beneath her sometimes prickly shield.
I bury the thought because I can’t go there. No matter our circumstances, she’s still my teammate’s sister. I’ll protect her and take care of her, but that’s it.
“It looks like there’s a heating element in there,” I say, pouring myself a glass of water. “That has to be what the switch is for. After I get some sleep, I’ll fill it with water, and we’ll see if we can figure out how to heat it up.”
She gapes at me. “Really? A hot bath would be heavenly. Even a lukewarm one. Anything, really, just to get clean.”
I imagine her undoing the flannel buttons one at a time, her eyes locked on mine as I watch her.
Fuck me. I just shut that line of thought down thirty seconds ago and it’s creeping back in. I force myself to look away from her and drink my water. When I finish and glance at her, she’s rubbing her temple, her expression one I know all too well.
I’ve seen teammates try to mask their pain to stay in games. Hell, I’ve done it myself. And that headache Trinity mentioned has to be a doozy from the look on her face.
“Hey, can I give you a little hockey player advice?” I say as I walk over to her.
Looking puzzled, she says, “Sure.”
“Dehydration is a major cause of headaches. Even if you think you’ve been drinking a lot of water, with all the walking we did, it might not be enough. Take some Tylenol and drink enough water that you have to pee every hour. It’ll help.”
She nods. “I will. And I’ll keep the fire going while you sleep. You haven’t gotten more than a couple of hours in a row since we got here because of the fire.”
“Thanks.”
I can’t manage more than that word because I’m so exhausted. My T-shirt is sweaty in places from my walk and I don’t have the energy to change from my jeans into the long underwear. Instead, I just pull my T-shirt off, drop it to the floor beside the bed and climb in, jeans and all.
I feel myself falling asleep within a minute.
When I wake up, my nose is cold but I’m warm from the neck down, buried in covers. I raise my head from the pillow a few inches and see Trinity curled up on the love seat, engrossed in a book. The fire is going strong and music is playing at a low volume.
It’s dark outside, but that doesn’t tell me much about the time here since it’s dark so much of the time.
When I sit up, Trinity looks over at me. “Hey. Feel better?”
I scrub a hand down my face, still groggy. “Yeah. How long did I sleep?”
She looks at the small clock on the fireplace mantel. “Ten hours.”
“Damn.” I get out of bed and grab my shirt from the floor. “How’s your headache?”
There’s a quick pause before she says, “It’s better.”
I can tell she’s bluffing, but there’s a glass of water on the little table beside the love seat, so at least she’s drinking water.
After I hit the outhouse, I drink some water myself. Our snow-supplied water is getting low. Probably time to get out one of the five-gallon jugs. I realized while I was walking that the smartest thing is to drink water from one of them and then refill it with melted snow. Then I won’t have to fill every pot, bowl and cup in the cabin.
My stomach growls and Trinity laughs lightly.
“I heard that all the way over here. Why don’t I make us some rice and we can eat an actual meal?”
“Yeah, I’m down for that. I’ll start filling the tub while you do that.”
Her smile lights up her entire face, making me feel like I just won a prize. I don’t know why I’m finding it so damn hard to turn off my attraction for her. Denying it may be impossible, but I won’t act on it.
“Thank you.” She gets up from the couch and limps to the storage room.
Even with the biggest pot the cabin’s kitchen has, it’s going to take me a long fucking time to fill up the tub. And then the snow has to melt, which will move faster if the heating element works.
Is this what the cabin’s owner does? I’m starting to think this cabin has never gotten much use. Maybe someone built it as an escape if the world goes to shit, and they’ve never actually had to fill this tub.
Trinity’s busy at the kitchen stove, my gaze wandering to her every time I bring in a pot of snow to dump in the tub. I catch a glimpse of her expression and sense again that something’s wrong.
She’s in more pain than she’s letting on, but I don’t know if it’s from her ankle or her headache.
“Hey, why don’t you sit back down and I’ll finish that?” I say.
She turns to look at me. “No, I’m okay.”
I should accept her answer and return to filling the tub, but I hate the thought of her hurting.
“It doesn’t bother me at all, you know. If I’m doing more than you are. You’ve got a jacked ankle and a headache.”
“I’m fine. Keeping busy helps me push past it. Just lying in bed all the time isn’t good for me.”
I set down the pot and walk over to her. “Helps you push past what? Is it the ankle or the headache?”
A flicker of annoyance passes over her expression. “I said I’m fine.”
What’s with her? Why won’t she just tell me what’s bothering her?
“If there’s something going on with you, I need to know about it.”
She scoffs. “Why?”
“Because...we’re in this together.”
She takes a deep breath, pinching her brows together. “I’m trying to be in a better mood, okay? And while I’ve felt better, we were in a plane crash almost a week ago. I think eating might help, so I’m going to finish making our food.”
I nod, not liking it but trying to give her space. The lack of food has taken a toll on me, so maybe that’s what’s going on with her, too. I don’t think so, though. It’s all I can do not to tell her to strip down so I can inspect every inch of her and make sure she doesn’t have an infected cut somewhere or something.
Nothing is as simple here as it would be at home. I can’t take her to a hospital for antibiotics. But I can’t force her to tell me what’s going on, either. All I can do is wait, which isn’t easy for me. I solve problems and never avoid dealing with things head-on.
Fighting won’t help anything, though, so I return to filling the tub. About half an hour later, Trinity announces that it’s time to eat.
I sit at the kitchen table, my mouth watering when she sets down a plate of hot white rice covered with chili. Her plate only has about a cup of rice and a cup of dried bananas.
“You need protein,” I tell her.
She shakes her head. “This is what I’m eating. I don’t think the chili would agree with my stomach.”
“But--”
She cuts me off. “Let’s just eat, Lincoln.”
I hold her gaze for a few seconds, something I see in her eyes making me back down. “Call me Linc. All my friends do.”
She sits down. “Am I your friend?”
I grin at her. “With this meal, you just became my best friend. How’d you do this?”
“With the hot plate I found in one of the kitchen cabinets. It took forever to boil the water and cook the rice, and it’s just canned chili, but it’s better than beef jerky and protein bars.”
“Much better. Thanks for making it.”
“Thanks for the bathwater.”
“It’s heating up right now.”
She smiles. “I can’t wait.”
The first bite of my first hot meal in nearly a week doesn’t disappoint. I nod with approval and we both eat in silence for a minute. Trinity made me an enormous plate and I plan to eat every last morsel.
“I’ll go out again tomorrow,” I say. “I figure I’ll try a different direction.”
She nods, her expression telling me she’s not a big fan of the idea.
“I saw a plane overhead when I was out. It was too far up for anyone to see me.”
“Do you think it was the search party?”
I shrug. “It could have been a commercial plane, I don’t know.”
“At least we have a safe place to wait it out,” she murmurs. “And plenty of food.”
She nibbles at the food, only half of it gone by the time I’m finished with my entire plate. My concern for her is at the front of my mind. Something’s not right.
My only chance to look her over for injuries might be when she’s taking a bath. I don’t want to look like a perv, but I have to know if she’s hurt. An infection while stuck here would be serious. I’m not sure what I’ll do if I find out she’s got something going on that needs quick treatment, but it’s not knowing that’s making me crazy right now.
“You should eat the rest of that,” I tell her, nodding toward her half-empty plate.
“I can’t.”
“Why not? We’re literally starving here.”
“I’m just not hungry for more.” She picks up both of our plates and takes them over to the counter. “I’m going to wash these and then take a bath.”
I press my lips together, willing myself not to argue with her. We’ve got to get along, or we’ll both be miserable.
Whatever’s going on with her, I’m going to have to figure it out on my own.