Chapter 12 #2
“Let me see if I can do the push-off part.”
“Yeah,” I said hoarsely. “Do it.”
Luke pushed off and kept going—one foot and then the other, keeping his weight over his heels exactly like I’d taught him.
“Holy smokes! Webb! Look! I… Oh, shoot!”
The moment Luke went down was one of the scariest moments I’d ever experienced that didn’t involve Aiden.
His skate caught in a divot in the ice, and I winced as he fell forward onto his hands and knees, thinking he was gonna bruise.
I’d already started skating in his direction to help him up when the ice made a booming, cracking noise…
and Luke disappeared into the icy water with a splash.
Holy fucking shit.
My brothers and I had skated out here all the time as kids, and I knew there was no such thing as total safety, no matter how cautious you tried to be.
Back when I was a kid, Reed and one of his friends had fallen in, and after my dad had dragged them out, he’d insisted that we all learn basic ice lifesaving techniques.
I’d made sure my younger brothers had learned it, too.
But I’d be damned if I could recall any of that knowledge in the moment. My vision flickered at the corners, my heart pounded in my throat, and though I was skating fast, I felt like I was moving through concrete.
Luke’s head popped up, and he gasped in a breath.
Thank fuck he wasn’t trapped beneath the surface.
Somewhere behind me, the kids began screaming.
“Call for help,” I yelled over my shoulder at Mark. “And keep them back!”
I didn’t turn my head to see if he obeyed. My entire focus was on the man in front of me.
I dropped to my knees several feet away from the hole where Luke had disappeared and laid out flat. “Luke,” I called as calmly as I could. “I’m right here. I’m gonna get you out.”
“W-webb,” Luke managed to get out. “Oh, f-f-f-fudge, it’s cold.”
“I know. I know it is. But listen to me. Control your breathing as much as you can, okay? Focus on your breathing.”
“Y-yeah.”
“Now lay out flat. Stretch your arms toward me. No! No, no. Don’t try to lift out. Just stretch out your arms like you’re swimming. Yeah, good! Now kick your feet and wiggle. Kick and wiggle. Yes. Yes! Yes. That’s it. You’re doing it.”
Thank fuck, thank fuck, thank fuck.
“Just a little more. A little closer,” I coaxed. “Small movements.”
The second he was in grabbing distance, I grasped his hands and pulled him toward me while wriggling backward myself. When we’d gotten a good distance away, I pulled his soaking, shivering form against me and held him there tightly, needing to convince myself he was really okay.
“Don’t try to stand up,” I warned. “We’re gonna roll, okay? I’ve got you, and you’re doing so good, baby.” I rolled us until we were within a few feet of the shore. “Okay. Okay, now I think we can try to stand. Let me help you.”
Luke nodded, his teeth chattering, and let me pull him to stand up. With an arm around his waist, I half carried him to the shore where the kids were waiting.
“Mr. Williams!” a little girl shouted, clearly concerned. “Are you okay?”
Luke managed to lift a hand and give an approximation of a smile. “F-f-f-f—” he started to say.
“He’s gonna be fine,” I interpreted. “He did exactly the right things: he listened to me, and he stayed calm. So now we just need to get him warm.”
“Hey!” Mark the helpful Herd Leader hurried down the shore with a load of emergency blankets, panting like he’d run all the way back to his truck to get them.
He helped me strip Luke’s parka, along with his gloves, hat, and skates, then wrapped several of the blankets around him.
“I got my kit, and I radioed dispatch. If we need an ambulance, I can have one here in three minutes.”
Oh. Right. I belatedly remembered that Mark was a paramedic and felt marginally more okay with his helpfulness.
Maryanne managed to keep most of the kids back, but Aiden broke free and ran forward to throw his arms around Luke. “I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have left you.”
“Oh, g-gosh no. I am so g-glad you weren’t with me, so you didn’t f-fall in.”
“Aiden.” I tugged at his arm. “Move back, or you’re gonna get all wet, too. He’s gonna be okay, kiddo.”
“You promise?”
“I swear,” I said firmly. I would make sure of it.
Aiden nodded, his eyes shining.
“Luke, do you want to go to the hospital?” Mark asked. “Your core temperature’s fine. I don’t think you were in there long enough to get hypothermia, but we can take you to the hospital over in Keltyville and get you checked out—”
“N-no.” Luke shook his head vehemently. “No hospital. Just s-so c-cold.”
“I know. Let’s get you home,” Mark said. “My truck’s parked up on the hill.”
Luke’s panicked eyes met mine. I imagined he didn’t want the whole town to descend on his run-down house.
“I’ll take him back to his place,” I said gruffly. “It’s only a quarter mile if I cut through the orchard on the 4x4.”
What I was not going to do was stand around talking about it anymore.
I leaned down and grabbed Luke under his knees to hold him against my chest and started walking up the bank.
I was only vaguely aware of Mark squawking in protest, but I heard Maryanne say, “They’re handfasted. Remember?”
“Get him warm as quick as you can, Webb!” he yelled after me. “Dry clothes. Warm drinks. Share body heat.”
My arms tightened involuntarily at the idea.
“Aiden,” I called, “come on with us.”
“No need,” Maryanne said. “I’ll make sure Aiden gets home. In fact, I’ll take him back to my place, and he and Olin can warm up there. Focus on Luke.”
I turned at that and looked at her, then at Aiden. Aiden nodded at me. “I’m okay. Feel better, Mr. Williams!”
Luke didn’t respond, which was worrying. He huddled against me and let me carry him up to the 4x4.
When I’d gotten him seated, I decided he’d be better off without his wet shirt and sweater, so I stripped them off…
Which was when I remembered that sweet, buttoned-up, little Luke Williams had pierced fucking nipples, and a wholly inappropriate burst of lust speared through me like wildfire.
I quickly stripped off my own jacket and put it on him instead.
“Hang on,” I said hoarsely as I buckled him in. “Just… hold on.”
I drove up the hill to the orchard and then cut down a hill toward Luke’s place. In my haste, I’d forgotten about the retaining wall that separated our properties—except the wall was so crumbled and sunken in spots that I was able to get around it without a problem.
It wasn’t until we got inside Luke’s trailer that I remembered why bringing Luke back to his trailer was actually a terrible idea. The place was only maybe five degrees warmer than the outside air.
I half carried him to the bed area, and he stood, still and docile, while I stripped him down to his boxer briefs, and then I hesitated.
My fingers itched to strip him bare, but that idea was too tempting.
So instead, I got him out a pair of dry underwear, closed the curtain, and made him a cup of tea while he put them on and crawled into bed.
When I opened the curtain a few moments later, Luke was still shivering with cold despite being covered by a mound of afghans, and I had a moment of fear that maybe I should have taken him to the hospital.
“I’m s-sorry,” Luke said softly. “G-good G-god. It’s r-ridiculous. My body won’t st-stop.” He shuddered out a laugh. “I’ll be f-fine in a minute.”
I wasn’t sure that was true, though. And I knew that the best way to help him was precisely what Mark had said—sharing body heat.
I didn’t want to… specifically because I wanted to so fucking badly, and that felt incredibly dangerous. But then my mind helpfully replayed the footage of Luke plunging into the water, and I didn’t care anymore about what was the safest for me.
I pulled off my sweater and undershirt and threw them on the table.
“W-what are you doing?” Luke demanded.
I contemplated my jeans. I really should leave them on, but the cuffs were soaked through and the knees weren’t much better, and the last thing I wanted was to make Luke colder, so I stripped those off, too.
“What are you doing?” Luke repeated, shocked and panicked.
I pulled back the blankets. “Hush. I’m just warming you up.” I climbed in beside him, gathered him in my arms, and drew the blankets back into place.
Luke held himself stiffly for a moment. “You sh-shouldn’t…” he protested. “You… Oh my Godddddd.” His whole body relaxed against me, and he melted into a puddle of Luke-scented goo, nestling his nose into my neck. “You are the warmest human in the universe.”
I grunted in response. His nose was fucking freezing against my neck, his feet were blocks of ice against my calves, and his hands, which were trapped between us, were snow-cold.
Still, within minutes of his skin touching mine, I felt like I was being roasted alive from the inside out, and my brain short-circuited.
I began rubbing his back—my palm coasting up and down the long, smooth length of it—because I simply couldn’t help myself. It felt like we were in a cocoon together in that tiny trailer. A step out of time. One secure minute in an incredibly unsafe world.
“T-talk to me,” Luke said softly.
“Talk?” I repeated warily. “About what?”
“I don’t c-care. Tell me a story. Or tell me what you ate for breakfast. Your voice is so deep and rumbly. It warms me up,” he said blearily.
My heart, which hadn’t recovered from the sight of him falling, lurched again at that.
It reminded me of that night at the Bugle, when Luke had looked so happy to see me, even though we hadn’t been friends yet…
and all the times since then when he’d shown me the same expression, even when I hadn’t deserved it.
In my life, a lot of people needed things from me, but very few of them simply wanted me—my presence, my voice. Things that cost me nothing but meant something to them.
“Okay,” I said gruffly. “Uh… How much do you know about heirloom apple varietals?”
“N-nothing? I know there are red ones and green ones, though?”
“Jesus. That’s a freakin’ tragedy, Williams. We’re gonna have to fix that.”