Chapter 8 – Ellie
Pressing my face into the crook of his neck, I fight the urge to cry.
I’m not in overwhelming pain. I’m fighting back all my emotions because Henry is a damn hero. I have no idea how he’s doing this.
We’re both shivering from the cold rain that hasn’t stopped since we started out for the ranger’s cabin. From where I’m gripping Henry around his neck, I can see the blue hue of my fingers.
Henry hasn’t said a word since the rain began to fall other than to ask me directions and to ensure I’m okay. He’s been moving up the mountain like a man on a mission. Like he’s lived in these hills all his life.
I sniffle, hoping that he thinks the noise is because of the rain and not because I’m on the brink of tears. This man is too damn good and so damn sweet.
If my heart hadn’t already been his, this moment would have clinched it. He was kind and selfless. Stoic but curious about everything around him.
He was too good for me. That much was clear. Even if I took his royal blood out of the equation. But damn did I like him. Like like him. A lot.
It was hard to picture a future for us. If that was even something he’d want. I knew he liked me, but I wasn’t sure what this was for him. For all I knew, it could just be curiosity on his part. Slumming it with a normal.
I cringed, knowing that’s not what this was at all for him. The rain and my throbbing ankle was making me dumb. Henry wasn’t the kind of man to play games and lead someone on. He went after what he wanted with single-minded focus.
And right now all that focus was on me.
A shiver of delight, not cold, cascades through my body.
His voice breaks through my thoughts, causing me to lift my head and scan the area.
“There it is.”
It takes me a moment to see the cabin through the trees, but as soon as I do, relief hits me. We made it!
Henry’s feet slip and slide through the thick mud path that leads to the front door of the cabin. His hold on me tightens as he slows his pace. I can feel his frustration at being so close but having to slow down to make sure he doesn’t fall as we near the finish line.
And then, he’s done it. He’s gotten us to shelter and safety.
The creak of the old wood steps is music to my ears. The pitter-patter of rain hitting my clothes ceases, and Henry comes to a stop.
“You did it,” I whisper into his ear, giving his chest a squeeze and then another longer one. I’m so proud.
“We made it,” he corrects me, his hand coming up to grab my wrist and give it a similar squeeze.
Slowly, he helps me down. My muscles protest as I stretch out my legs and arms. Henry does the same, dropping his backpack and rolling his shoulders to ease the tension that surely built up there from carrying so much.
And wow, he really had carried a lot. There has to be a couple pounds of mud caked on his boots and jeans. He’d had to negotiate uneven ground and hilly terrain all while physically holding me and my backpack and his backpack. Plus the psychological burdens he held on to as well. The pressure to get us here safely. Fear about my injury.
I couldn’t imagine everything else he was shouldering for others. Surely the fact that he couldn’t get in contact with his team either made him worry about them. He was caring like that.
A thank-you is on the tip of my tongue, ready to burst out along with a few tears. My mouth opens, but no words come out. Sensing my emotions, Henry turns to me and steps into my space. His arms wrap around me, holding me tight against his hard body.
His clothes are wet, we’re both caked in mud and slightly shivering. Yet this hug is warming me from the inside out. The simple gesture of needing me close, needing the reassurance that we’re here and okay.
Tilting his head down so that his face is buried in my damp hair, he inhales. I do something similar, rubbing my nose against the material of his vest.
With one last lingering hold, Henry releases me in small increments until we’re far enough apart that our eyes connect. Pools of dark ocean blue stare back at me, crinkling in the corners and making my heart skip a beat.
The rumble of thunder overhead breaks me out of my trance and brings me back to reality.
“Umm, can you test the door? See if it’s open.”
Henry doesn’t move or say anything for a long moment, continuing to look at me. I take a deep gulp of air when he finally turns around. My God, what was that?
When the knob turns in his grip and the door opens with a long, creepy groan, I tip my head back to the sky and send up a silent thank-you. After all we’d endured today, a BE wasn’t something I wanted to add to my list of new experiences.
Leaving the door wide open, Henry turns back to me. Before I know what’s happening he’s picking me up and carrying me through the entrance, bridal style.
“Henry!” I cry, surprised. “Let me down. I’m okay to walk.”
“No way, I’m not chancing you hurting yourself further. It’s only a few more steps, no big deal.”
I stop flailing, instead wrapping my arms around his neck. His face is dangerously close to mine, my gaze locking on his full lips. I want to kiss him again. No, I desperately need to, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t sure if his feelings for me had changed thanks to this disastrous turn of events.
I was more trouble than I was worth now probably.
Tearing my eyes away from temptation, I focus on the cabin. The place was a mess.
Dust everywhere. Knickknacks and other random objects are scattered all over the floor and it looks like the back window has a pane of glass missing.
“An animal must have gotten in and trashed the place.” Henry’s voice is lined with amusement.
“Why is that funny?” I ask, honestly curious.
“After the day we’ve had, of course this cabin had an unwanted furry guest.” Gently placing me down and making sure I was steady on my own, Henry rights a fallen chair and indicates for me to sit. “I’m going to do a quick walk-through.”
I scan the small space. The cabin is literally one room.
“Umm, you realize this is it, right? There’s no hidden wings or secret doors that lead to a five-star luxury hotel.”
With a quirk of his lips, he nods. “I thought by now you’d stop thinking of me as a spoiled royal. I do realize this is the entirety of the cabin, thank you. I’ve been in worse.”
“No you haven’t,” I snort in disbelief. My eyes flick up to him when Henry doesn’t make a noise. He has an eyebrow raised. “Wait. Really?”
“Yes really,” he says, turning his back to me and beginning his search around the cabin. “In my youth I joined my country’s military and went through basic training. I vividly remember having to sleep in dirt ditches and waking up so cold I feared I would never be able to wiggle my toes again.”
“You were in the military?”
“For about two years. I had to resign when my great uncle passed and more royal duties fell to my family.”
The cabin goes silent, the only sounds Henry’s steps as he continues to wander the space.
“Do you miss it?”
He stops to contemplate my question, staring out the window. “Yes and no. I miss working with others, being a part of something that was bigger than myself, and the friendships I made. But I know that wasn’t the path for me, even while I was a part of it. I loved it,” he almost whispers, his head turning to me so that the weight of his words hit me right in the solar plexus, “but it didn’t fulfill me.”
I understand. I’ve felt the same way too. The career I had in the city didn’t bring me an ounce of fulfillment. It was only when I came here to Calgary and surrounded myself with nature that that spark finally consumed me.
To know that Henry had also felt this need, this desire to discover more from life just anchored me to him further.
He claps his hands together to break the tension in the room and opens his arms wide. “Looks like the furry invader is no longer here. I say we start to settle in for the night and get cleaned up.”
“Oh man, yes. I feel like the mud on my clothes is turning to ice. I’m so cold.”
Henry laughs his agreement, grabbing his backpack from the floor and placing it on the bed.
It hits me then. We’re going to be spending the night here. Together. Alone.
I turn my head to look at the far corner of the room. And there was only one bed.