A Bad Day for Sunshine (Sunshine Vicram #1)(61)

She drove out to the search area just as the snow started falling. Levi’s truck was still in the same place, her note still on the windshield. They were probably camping on the mountain instead of coming all the way down.

It was freezing. She should have been doing exactly what Levi was doing. She should’ve been out there, on that mountain, searching for Hailey’s son, blizzard or no blizzard. Instead, she sat in a warm cruiser with heated seats and ambient lighting.

Guilt assaulted her fast and hard. Oh yeah. She was going to make a great sheriff.

Despite her inability to do anything even remotely resembling productive, she stayed put, waiting and hoping Levi and his cousin would come back with Jimmy. And even Sybil. The winds howled, and sleet pelted the truck from all directions.

It was no wonder. The forecasters had predicted this was going to be the worst storm the county had seen in a decade.

Sun kept the cruiser on for a while but ended up turning it off to save gas. And she waited, mulling over her day. Only one word seemed to sum it up and tie a nice bow on top: clusterfuck.

Or was that two words?

She huddled inside her coat to stay warm, and her lids grew heavy. Before she knew it, the digital clock read 1:00 a.m. She needed to get home, but hope won out again. She watched the mountain like a mama bear watches her cubs, looking for any sign of them, until her lids staged a rebellion and refused to cooperate any longer.


Slowly freezing to death, Sun tried to climb out of a snowdrift in the wake of an avalanche. Wind whipped around her, and she wondered how she’d gotten there. How she’d been buried neck deep in ice and snow. But she couldn’t remember getting out of the SUV. Or the avalanche cascading down the mountain. Or the gentle crackling of water as it solidified into an ice block around her body.

Before Sun could open her eyes and make sense of her surroundings, a loud crash jerked her awake. She bolted upright and looked around, trying to figure out how she’d gotten back in her cruiser.

She turned to her left and saw someone short and stocky standing at her window, wearing coveralls, a face mask, and goggles. He lifted gloved hands and motioned for her to roll down her window. She shook her head. Then another sound caught her attention. Someone was at her passenger window, but this guy she recognized. Somehow, through all the layers and survival gear, she recognized him.

Levi Ravinder motioned for her to open the door. He also wore a face mask and goggles, but he looked far less ridiculous than his cousin for some reason.

He opened the door, and Sun realized the rocking in her dream had been caused by the wind rocking her cruiser. Levi climbed inside and closed the door with some effort before removing his face mask and lifting his goggles to the top of his head.

“You’re turning blue,” he said, breathing hard. He tossed her a blanket. “It’s as cold in here as it is out there.”

She jutted out her chin, the one underneath her chattering teeth. “I look great in blue.” Even with all her bravado, she shook out the blanket and wrapped it around her.

“Right.” He motioned for his cousin, who was still standing outside her window, to get to the truck. He gave a thumbs-up, then did as ordered, stumbling twice before he managed to get inside the massive vehicle.

Sun leaned forward, turned on the cruiser, and amped up the heat. Then the reason she was there hit her, and she gasped, wide-eyed, and asked, “Did you find him?”

Levi shook his head, his disappointment evident in the set of his shoulders.

“Oh, my god, Hailey must be sick with worry.”

The ice in his hair had started to melt. He wiped moisture off his face with a large hand, the act so everyday and yet so sensual. “Since when do you care about Hailey?”

“Since never.” God, she was going to make such a great sheriff. “Of course I care about her; I just don’t think she cares much for me.”

They’d sworn a pact to keep up the pretense no matter what, but she did want to tell him that she cared very much for his little sister. That she had grown to love the woman. A woman who, like Levi, grew up in a horribly broken home.

But she didn’t dare. Doing so could put Hailey in danger, as well as Jimmy and Levi.

“You’ll be able to leave in a few minutes. We called out the crew to clear the road to town.”

“You can do that?”

“When it’s your crew, yeah.”

“What are you going to do?”

“We’re going back to the house to change again and get back out there. There’s a trail where we can take our ATVs up.”

“Levi, does he know what to do? How to survive?”

“Yes.” He bit down and looked out the window. “I’m just worried he panicked and went too far into the forest. He knows how to make a shelter and start a fire, but this is more than even most experienced hunters could manage.”

She tried to swallow the turmoil wreaking havoc on her chest. “Can I go out with you?”

He studied her a moment, a long, tense moment, then shook his head. “You’d only slow us down.”

Sun didn’t take offense. He was right. He knew this area and knew how to cover it quickly. If he had to watch out for her while doing it . . .

It was the first time she’d ever truly been alone with him, and the circumstances were the worst kind imaginable. But it was nice to hear his voice.