Page 7 of My Mountain Man Valentine
I nod, trying to show more confidence than I feel. But when I step away from the rock wall and put pressure on my foot, the pain shoots through it.
“Here, lean on me.”
Ethan slides an arm around my waist, and I lean into his bulk. He’s warm and sturdy, and even through the rain his scent reaches me, wet pine needles and a subtle musky aftershave.
We move slowly, and I hate that I’m holding him back. But the trail is uneven, and every step is uncertain. It doesn’t help that the rain falls heavier as soon as we leave the cave.
It seems to take forever to loop around back to the river. The gentle waters are now a gushing torrent, and sticks and debris bob along in the angry white peaks.
Ethan frowns at the river and the partially submerged rocks of the river crossing. The ones that aren’t covered with water are almost completely submerged and slick with rain.
“Shit,” Ethan mutters. His keen eyes scan the river, but I already know what he’s going to tell me.
“We can’t cross here. The river’s swollen and it’s not safe.”
Not with a twisted ankle, is what he leaves unsaid. He might have made it on his own but not with me weighing him down.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “If we go back the other way, I’m sure I can scramble down.”
Ethan peers up at the sky. Progress has been slow with my sore ankle and with the heavy clouds. The late afternoon is fast turning into evening.
“I hope you don’t have any plans for the night, Lucy.”
I frown at him, wondering if he can see into my mind. “I do actually.”
He shakes his head. “Sorry, but it’s not safe to cross the river, and even being out in these conditions with night approaching is unsafe.”
An uneasy feeling starts in my stomach. “What are you saying?”
“There’s an old trappers’ hut not far from here. The safest thing to do is shelter there for the night. Hopefully it will rain itself out, and we can get a team in tomorrow to carry you out.”
“I don’t need carrying out.” I need to get home, is what I don’t add. I cannot spend tonight out in these woods. Not tonight of all nights.
“Sorry, sweetheart.” He looks generally concerned. “I know these woods, and I know when I’m beat. We need to take shelter before it gets dark and one of us ends up with an injury that requires more than ice and rest.”
I think about the satin underwear waiting at my place, that new dress and the heels I’ve been practicing walking in around the house.
“No.” I say it forcefully, like I do when I need to get the kids’ attention in the classroom. “I need to get home.”
His expression darkens. “Your boyfriend will understand.”
Before I have time to protest or explain that I don’t have a boyfriend, my feet leave the ground and he hoists me over his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” My voice is lost in the rain.
Ethan makes a beeline for the woods, walking faster without me leaning on him.
“I’m getting us to safety while we still have light.”
I pound on his back and try to ignore the way my body shivers and my core clenches against him. “Put me down.”
He ignores my pleas and carries me deeper into the woods.
5
ETHAN
Lucy hangs limp over my shoulder by the time we reach the trapper’s hut. She pounded on my back for the first ten minutes, but once she realized I wasn’t stopping until we reached shelter, she resigned herself to her fate and let me do what I do best: get both of us to a safe place for the night.
