CHAPTER 39
Phoebe
He seems to be guiding me somewhere in particular, but I’m not sure where. I don’t know what I’m supposed to be seeing. Not that I can see much of anything through the curtain of blowing snow and ink-black darkness.
“I’ve started on an emergency shelter!” He points, shouting over the howl of the wind.
He snaps a nylon rope around my waist and then reaches behind him to a huge lump of snow and ice. He brushes off about a foot of snow with his glove and finds a tie-down ring on the front of his ATV, attaching the line with a carabiner.
The beam of his headlamp strikes a scooped-out indentation in the snow. I’m still confused.
“But that’s not going to happen, right?” I yell. “Because you’ve been clearing off the roof!”
“Shit happens—I’d rather not be caught completely by surprise!”
I shake my head.
“Just keep shoveling out the inside—try to keep the floor as level as possible!”
A flash of fear goes through me, and I raise my eyes to his.
“I’m overly cautious—only planning for every contingency!”
I think I’m supposed to find that reassuring, but I don’t. Evander is the most practical man I’ve ever known. If he thinks we need to dig a hole in the snow “just in case,” then there’s a darn good reason for it.
I suck it up and nod. I wanted to contribute, and this is what he needs. So this is what I’ll do.
“I’ll be on the roof!” He points toward the shack. “Do not leave this spot. Promise me!”
I nod again.
He uses a smaller carabiner to clip the lantern to the rope around my waist. “I’ll be back to check on you in thirty minutes. Will you be okay for that long?”
“Yes! Go!”
He leans down and touches his wool beanie to my parka hood and squeezes my upper arm. I get one flash of those violet eyes, and he turns to go. I watch him walk away, his form disappearing into the night as if he’s been vacuumed up.
Gone.
And all of a sudden, I’m standing here in the darkness, alone. A stinging snow swirls around me and icy winds scream.
A shiver goes up my spine. My stomach drops.
What kind of storm is this? Where did it come from? And how long can it go on like this?
It has to run out of momentum eventually, right?
I grab the shovel and get to work. It’s obvious what Evander means to do here, and he’s already made a lot of progress. Unfortunately, snow has blown back inside the space he’s carved out.
That’s where I start, using the back of the shovel to scrape drifts away, then flipping the shovel to scoop it up and throw it off to the side.
Shovelful by shovelful, I hack away at the indentation in the snowdrift, keeping the doorway small but hollowing out the opening, expanding the depth, height, and width.
As I go, I smooth out the inside walls and the floor, keeping in mind Evander’s request to keep it as level as possible.
It’s hard work. The snow’s heavy. Each time I carry a shovelful out of the entrance, I can barely see. I have no idea what time it is, but there’s not even a hint of light in the sky.
But I keep going.
I really, really hope we won’t have to use this little cave. The idea of crouching inside an igloo makes our little shack seem like whatever that London hotel Evander mentioned—the Peninsula, I think.
As I work, my mind wanders to my family. My poor mama must be hysterical. I wish somehow I could send her a message that I’m okay, that I’ll make it home safe.
That I’m in good hands because I’m with Evander.
My dad’s got to be beside himself. As I learned a long time ago, the one thing Gil Travis can’t tolerate is feeling powerless. It’s been one of the most horrific parts of his illness.
He’s a third-generation self-reliant rancher, as tough as nails. It kills me that my absence will add to his feelings of helplessness.
Yet again, I can’t grasp how in the flaming hot Cheetos I’m even still alive and breathing.
It’s because Evander found me. Despite the odds.
I throw a pile of snow over my shoulder.
My mind wanders all the way back to that night of the ice cream incident, when Evander dried my tears and drove me home, only to be met with my brothers’ anger and accusations.
Ugh.
I’ve never understood what the issue is with my brothers and the MacLaines.
Maybe I’m not equipped to understand, since my bloodstream has never been burdened with toxic levels of testosterone.
I just wish they’d all grow up and put the junior high rivalry behind them.
We’re all adults now. It’s time to move on.
And when this storm is over, if my brothers even think of lashing out at Evander…
I fling another shovelful behind me.
“Hey!”
I gasp and spin around, my hand going to my chest. Evander stands not three feet away from me, snow dripping down his face mask.
“I'm sorry!”
He uses a glove to sling the snow aside. It seems the poor man can’t keep his face dry when I’m around.
“How’s it going?” he asks.
“Great! See?”
He steps closer and wraps his arms around me. We’re both layered up like the kid brother from A Christmas Story, but somehow, I still fit perfectly inside his embrace.
“It’s lookin’ good, Travis. Nice work.”
I glance up at him. “Are you done on the roof?”
“Halfway. Are you cold? Want to go in?”
I shake my head. “I’ll keep going until you’re done. We’ll go in together.”
He nods, then leans in to give me another wool-covered kiss. “Be back in thirty.”
He disappears through the thick curtain of snow once more. I don’t like it. Not one bit. But I can’t help but think that I should get used to the sight of him walking away.
Oh, boy.
I’ve certainly done it now. I’m totally, completely in love with Evander. Body and soul. The whole enchilada. And when this storm is over and we’re back to our lives, I don’t know how I’ll manage to keep going.
Without him.
Too late to change any of that, though. What’s done is done. I’ve had the experience of a lifetime, and I know that I’m one lucky girl. I’ll never forget this, as long as I live.
When I’m an old lady, I’ll think back on how, once upon a time, I got snowed in with Evander MacLaine in the middle of nowhere, and I learned why my relationships hadn’t lasted, and why none ever could.
Because that’s when I learned that he’s the only one for me. Always has been. Always will be.
I sigh in resignation and lift my face to the black sky, feeling the snowflakes melt on my eyelids. I remind myself to enjoy this, every single moment of it, for however long it lasts.