Chapter 5
Visibility was so bad the cabin appeared as if out of nowhere, a dark shape coming into focus through sheets of snow. For the first time, I wondered how Hawk knew the path to the cabin so well. And right after that thought hit, the follow-up struck me: Why had he been on the trail to the cabin in the first place?
I shot a glance at the inches of snow already on the ground, and I knew I”d have time to ask my questions. For now, we weren’t going anywhere except inside the cabin.
“Door unlocked?” Hawk asked, his voice low.
“The key’s in my pack,” I said. “If you put me down, I’ll get it.”
A grunt. My weight shifted, and Hawk set me on my feet so gently my injured ankle barely twinged. As I was finding my balance, my pack lifted away from my back. I looked up to see it swinging from Hawk’s hand.
“Where?” he asked.
“Top pocket,” I said. “On a key ring.”
Hawk found it and pulled it out, the key dangling in front of him, a little pewter hedgehog hanging from the other end.
“Cute hedgehog.” Hawk turned to unlock the cabin door, wiggling the key in the cold lock.
I didn’t know why I cared that he thought my key ring was cute. But just like when he’d complimented my escape down the ravine, my chest glowed with warmth. I’d been obsessed with hedgehogs when I was younger; something about their spiky bodies and adorably friendly faces calling to me. I’d always thought I’d own one someday, but it had never happened, and for good reason.
Hedgehogs, it turned out, were not low-maintenance pets. And pets were for people who had a home. A stable life. At the moment, I couldn’t bring myself to sleep indoors. Not exactly the responsible adult I pretended to be. Maybe when this thing with the will was over, and I could leave Heartstone Manor for good, I’d consider a pet. A hedgehog. And a dog. I’d always wanted a dog to take hiking, but Prentice hated them, forbidding dogs and cats not just in the Manor but on all Sawyer property, including my guide business.
Despite my throbbing ankle, freezing wet pants, the weather, and everything else that had gone wrong, I smiled. Prentice was gone. His days of manipulating me were done. I still had the will to deal with, but that was a remnant. A ghost. Soon enough, the terms of the will would expire, and I’d finally be free. I just had to be patient. And not get kidnapped or freeze to death in the meantime.
I tried to hop after Hawk, following him into the cabin. His arm came out, blocking and steadying me at the same time.
“Wait.” Leaving me leaning against the doorway, Hawk disappeared into the cabin. He was back less than a minute later. “It’s clear. Let’s go.”
His arm came around my waist, taking the weight from my right side, helping me step-hop into the cabin. We made our way between the sofa and the woodstove to the table and chairs beside the small kitchen.
Hawk hooked a chair with one foot and pulled it out, lowering me to sit. He sat on a second chair and lifted my right leg, balancing my foot on his thigh. I was a block of ice, my wet pants clinging to my skin in the winter-cold cabin. So cold, yet still a rush of heat hit my cheeks as Hawk cradled my foot with such care, carefully picking at the frozen laces.
He lifted his head, his serious eyes meeting mine in apology. “We need to get this boot off. It’s too cold in here. You need dry clothes, and I need to get back out there and do another check of the woods before the sun goes down.”
I glanced out the window and saw only clouds of white swirling against the glass. It was darker than I’d realized. I’d been so focused on getting to the cabin I’d forgotten the passing time. Sunset wasn’t for a few hours, but with the cloud cover and the snow, it would be too dark to see anything long before the sun was officially down.
I wasn’t planning to freeze to death now that we were inside. “How long do you need out there?”
Hawk”s hands stilled on my laces and he looked up. “At least thirty minutes.”
“Then wait on the boot. Go now. I can get the fire started and?—”
“No. You’re colder than you realize. You need to get out of these wet clothes, and we need to wrap that ankle. I want to pack it in snow to stop the swelling.”
I shivered at the thought of snow touching my skin, but he was right. I’d been cold like this once before when I’d hit rapids in a kayak and tipped into a river chilled by snowmelt. Just like then, my head was fuzzy, my limbs heavy with fatigue. I wasn’t thinking clearly, inching closer to hypothermia with each second I sat here in wet clothes.
“Fine. Help me get over to the woodstove, and I’ll get the fire going. There’s a first aid kit under the sink in the kitchen. There should be an elastic bandage in there. I might even have an ice pack.”
Hawk was silent for a moment. Then I was in his arms as he picked me up, the heat of his body reminding me how cold I was. I wanted to stop, to burrow into him, inhale his scent of spice and snow, and just stay there, safe and warm. A second later my cold, wet butt hit the even colder cabin floor right in front of the stove. At some point, probably when he redid the cabin, Prentice had added a slate surround to the woodstove. Great for fire safety, but it was like ice against my wet hiking pants.
Everything would be toasty as soon as I got this fire going. Grateful I’d thought to cut plenty of firewood before my vacation, I arranged a fire starter, kindling, and logs. A flick of my lighter, and we were in business. I liked knowing I could start a fire with flint and steel if I had to. Sometimes I preferred it. Like in the summer, when I wasn’t on the verge of freezing to death. I watched the fire flare to life in seconds and felt more spoiled than if I’d been draped in diamonds and fur.
Heat blazed over my face, my skin prickling, reminding me that I was dangerously cold and needed to get into dry clothes. With another glance at the flames, I checked that the starter and kindling weren’t going to burn out before the logs caught. So far, so good.
Looking up, I saw Hawk, a bandage in one hand and a plastic bag in the other. “Stay there,” he said, nudging the pack beside me. “Find some dry clothes while I get this boot off.”
I pulled the pack closer and unclipped the top, digging past several waterproof, stuff sacks filled with supplies before I got to the one holding my clothes. I hadn’t packed much. Clean underwear, socks, and silk long underwear filled one sack. From another, I pulled out a fleece sweatshirt with a hood. It was too big but cozy as hell, especially with the hood.
I’d managed to ignore the twinges from my ankle as Hawk worked on the laces, but his first tug to remove the boot itself sent a bolt of agony straight to my brain. I sucked in a sharp breath, gritting my teeth against the whimper that wanted to come out.
“Hang in there, Quinn.” Hawk’s voice was low and rough, as if it hurt him to hurt me.
But I must’ve been reading him wrong. In all the time I’d known him, he’d never given me any sign he cared. “I’m okay,” I managed to say. “Just pull it off.”
“Patience,” he countered, tugging the laces looser and pulling the side of the boot wide. Blood rushed into my ankle, igniting the nerves, and I fell back to the cold floor, trying to breathe through the pain.
“I’m okay,” I breathed. “It’s okay.”
We both knew I was lying, but the boot had to come off. One more tug, another gasp from me, and the boot dropped to the floor. Hawk’s fingers wrapped around the swollen flesh of my ankle with a light touch, probing, testing. I winced. The pressure of his fingers throbbed, but it wasn’t the sharp stab of a break. I could handle a sprain. I healed quickly, usually. If I was careful, it would probably be much better tomorrow. Fingers crossed. I wasn’t going to let a sprained ankle ruin my vacation.
What about a rogue kidnapper in the woods? a little voice asked in the back of my head. I ignored it. I wasn’t thinking about the crazy man in the woods. Not yet.
“I want to pack snow around your ankle,” Hawk said, interrupting my thoughts. “Before I wrap it, we need to get you into dry clothes.”
We?Had he said we?
It wasn’t that I had a problem with Hawk seeing me naked. The thought had crossed my mind more than once. Okay, it had crossed my mind a lot. Daily. But not like this. I hadn’t looked in a mirror since we got here, but I could feel my face. My icy, dripping nose was probably bright red. My hair was wet from the snow, strands falling from my braid.
In my wildest dreams, I’d imagined seducing our silent, strong security chief, maybe stripping down to black lace underwear until his eyes popped out of his head. Never, in all my lustful dreams, had I been freezing, injured, nose running, and hair a tangled mess.
I let out a sigh. He was right. The fire was growing, putting out stronger and stronger waves of heat. Soon, it would be time to add another log. Even with that, I was freezing, my damp clothes leaching my body heat despite the fire.
“Turn around and I’ll change,” I said, knowing there was no way I could get myself into the bedroom and behind a closed door.
Hawk stood, turning his back on me. “Let me know if you need any help.”
“Yeah,” I said, forcing the mental picture of his hands on my bare skin out of my head so I could focus. I could dress myself, even with a bum ankle. Right?