Page 28 of A Heart to Find
Stay calm.
Jared wiggled forward on his belly, spreading his weight evenly so he wouldn’t break the ice more. She held strong to his hand, but he knew he only had a short window before she would succumb to the cold and lose her strength. He needed to get a better grip on her arm so he could pull her effectively.
“I’ve got you, Keira. I’m not letting you go.”
Her head bobbed to the side, her hair spreading across the ice around her. The hole remained small, only big enough for her slender body. He needed to get the right angle to pull her out.
With a surge of power—as if she suddenly found the energy to fight her way out—she reached her other arm out of the dark water and grabbed his upper arm. Together they worked her body out of the hole and onto the ice, where he pulled her to the safety of the snowy woods.
He jerked her onto his lap and hugged her shivering body tight. That could have gone a lot worse.
“Guess I should have done a little more world traveling, huh? Or at least listened to the wisdom of my guide.” Her teeth chattered around her words.
He shook his head and grinned, but his heart pounded so hard he thought it might shatter his ribs.
“Let’s get you to your room.”
He shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around her, ignoring her protests and insistence that she wasn’t c-c-c-cold.
When he helped her stand up, he noticed immediately that she was unable to put her weight on the foot that had first fallen through the ice.
“Is it pain or numbness?”
“I’m not sure. It feels like I twisted the ankle, but it’s definitely feeling numb from the ice. I’ll be okay.”
She winced as she tried to walk on the injured foot. Information then registered in his shocked brain that she was shoeless and trying to walk on lightly stockinged feet.
Not wanting to ask first and risk a protest, he lifted her into his arms and started the journey up the hill to the hotel. She protested mildly, more out of embarrassment from the sounds of it. Didn’t matter. He refused to let her hurt herself any more than she already had.
Because of him.
“Put your head against my chest. You’ll be warmer that way.”
She did as he directed, cuddling her body into his warmth.
He ignored the looks of the hotel guests gathered in the main lobby as he increased his pace toward the elevator. He didn’t want to humiliate her any more than necessary.
“No boys allowed in my room,” she teased. Her voice cracked and sounded weaker than he had ever heard it.
“They’ll make an exception.”
As they boarded the elevator, hotel staff rushed on with him, asking what had happened and offering assistance.
They followed him to the room, one of them calling the EMT they kept on staff. When they reached the room, a staff member opened the door to grant them access, then followed as Jared carried her to the chair next to the fireplace. A staff member had the fire roaring to life almost before Keira’s butt hit the chair.
“Sir, if you could wait in the hall, we’ll get her situated here.”
Keira straightened her shoulders, her cheeks blazing against the paleness of her face and her teeth chattering once again. “I’m okay. I can take care of myself from here. Thank you so much for all of your help.”
She tried to stand, but her leg crumpled beneath her, causing her to collapse into Jared’s waiting arms.
“I’m sure you can, but you don’t have to. I know you’re used to being the helper, but please accept the help being offered to you. You don’t want to do further damage.”
She sat on the chair, melting him with her discouraged pout. He brushed her sopping wet hair away from her smoky-from-smudged-makeup eyes, feeling his heart expand in ways he couldn’t fathom.
“Sir, we’ll take it from here.”
“Told you they wouldn’t let a boy come in.”
