Page 60 of Holiday Hostage
Shock stiffened my spine and snapped my head up to stare out the window across from the bed.
The world outside glittered white with fresh snow that still pummeled the glass.
The storm hadn’t abated. If anything, it had strengthened.
The few tree limbs I could see bowed with the wind, then whipped into a frenzy as the storm howled around us.
“I was supposed to be home by now.” A crushing weight landed on my chest, and I struggled to breathe. “Dad must be worried sick. He’ll be all alone for Christmas.” I was supposed to be there. It was the one tradition we kept no matter what. I traveled throughout the year for my blog, but I’d never missed spending a Christmas with Dad. The tears returned in earnest, gathering thick on my lashes. I tried to sniff them back.
Tarron grazed my cheeks with his thumbs. “It’s okay, Payton.”
“We tried reaching him. But even with the satellite phone, it’s impossible with the storm. The weather is just too bad.” He held me close, my back to his chest, and rocked us side to side. “I’m sorry.”
“He knows you’re safe.” Reed slid closer and kissed me again. “He heard your voice, and he knew we were stuck in the storm. That is the best Christmas present short of letting you walk into his office and surprise him. We’d have done that for you if we could.”
“I know.” I trusted them to hold up their end of the bargain. No one could move in this storm.
I’d only been in Alaska a couple of weeks, and it was enough to show me the land’s chaotic mystery was not something to be trifled with.
“We’re going to give you the best Christmas we can.” Tarron’s voice held that edge of promise that drew me in. “Even if we can’t take you home, you deserve a great Christmas.”
“How?” I scrubbed the tears from my cheeks and peeked at Mav behind me.
A slow smile tempered the ruggedness of his face. “Ice fishing.”
“And survival skills.” Reed rubbed his hands together.
The white bandage on his shoulder stood out in stark contrast to his bronzed skin and tattoos, but the wound hadn’t slowed him down at all.
“And Mav will cook dinner tonight.” Tarron grinned as he moved off the bed with a stretch that highlighted every dip and curve of his impressive torso.
I turned away with a blushing heat in my cheeks.
I had no reason to feel flustered, but the mere sight of him made me want to usher him back into bed for another round of scintillating sex.
Later.
The promise shone from his eyes, and he held out his hand. “Ready?”
“Always.” I laughed when he hauled me to my feet and spun us in a circle. “What are we doing first?”
“Shower. Then ice fishing.” Reed headed to the bathroom ahead of us, and an instant later, the sound of gushing water bounced around the room.
An hour later, after a slow shower and rooting through all the clothes they’d brought and what was left behind in the cabin, we’d bundled into as many layers as we could stand and followed Reed to a small wooden shack on the lake.
Wind howled around us, but the structure held.
Much to my surprise. I eyed the rickety walls and fisted my hands around the pole Reed pushed into my hands. “What do I do?”
“Wait.” Reed shrugged. “You don’t have to hold the pole the whole time. You can set it in one of those things and wait.”
I followed his pointing finger to a strange contraption hammered into the wall.
Once I set the butt of the pole in the notch, it made more sense.
A long strap wrapped around the reel to keep the pole in place if a fish took a bite and tried to run. “What else should I know?” I crouched in front of the hole in the ice and stared into the depths.
Nothing moved. Even the ice seemed too cold to venture any further than the edge where Reed had pushed the piece he’d cut loose.
