Christmas on 4th Street (Fool's Gold #12.5)(43)

“What happened?”

As she spoke, he checked her eyes and then urged her to take a couple of steps. Her balance was steady and she didn’t seem to be in pain.

“The snow got too heavy for the trees and it fell. It happens. At least it wasn’t an avalanche.”

She shivered. “I got snow down my back and in my boots.” She drew in a breath. “Okay, I’m done. There’s no perfect tree. I’m not going to win the window competition. We’ll just go with what we have.”

He drew her against him and kissed her cheek. “We’ll find you a nice domestic tree back in town.”

She nodded. “Okay. Sure.”

He didn’t like the resignation in her voice. His Noelle was exuberant and excited. She wanted to win the best Fool’s Gold window, or whatever the hell the contest was called.

“What happened to showing up with joy?”

“I’m too cold and I was attacked. My joy is temporarily beaten.”

“Let’s get you back to the truck,” he said, putting his arm around her waist and helping her wade through the drifts. The ax was heavy in his free hand. “You’ll feel better when you’re warm.”

She nodded, but didn’t speak. He felt her shivering. The cold seemed more intense and the snow fell harder. They used their own trail to make the going a little easier but eventually it filled in completely.

It was only when they were within sight of the house that Gabriel realized his mistake. It was snowing. They weren’t in town or even right off a highway. They were a quarter mile from a regular road that was three miles from a well-plowed highway. The little he could see of the truck wasn’t good. Snow came up past the bumper and it was getting dark.

Noelle looked up and saw the truck. “That’s a lot of snow.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Are we going to be able to drive out of here?”

“I don’t know. We might be stuck until the storm passes.”

She shuddered. He studied her in the fading light and saw that she was pale and shaking. He ripped off her gloves and touched her fingers. They were wet and freezing.

There was no guarantee he could get them out tonight. From what he could remember from the forecast, it was supposed to snow until at least midnight. He looked at the small cabin. There was a chimney and the little he could see was well-maintained.

“Let’s go inside,” he said. “We’ll get you warm and settle in for the night. I’ll see if I can dig us out in the morning.”

He waited for her to make a joke, but there was only the sound of her teeth chattering.

He helped her toward the cabin. They found steps and climbed up them onto the porch. He thought he might have to go looking for a key, but the door opened easily.

Inside was much warmer than outside, but incredibly dark. Gabriel reached for a switch on the wall and was surprised when lights came on.

“They still have electricity,” he said, wondering how long until it went out. “I’ll get you settled and warm, then go find some firewood.”

“You think we’re going to lose power?” Noelle asked through her chattering teeth.

“If it keeps snowing.”

He found the controls for the furnace and turned the thermostat up from forty-five to seventy. A quick tour of the cabin told him it was small—maybe six hundred square feet of open concept. A double bed was at one end, the kitchen at the other, with a living area in the middle. The only closed-off room was a small, three-quarter bath. He checked and there was still running water, although it wasn’t especially warm.

He led Noelle to the sofa and peeled off her jacket. It was soaked all the way through. She must have gotten snow inside when she’d fallen and then it had melted. Her shirt was damp, as were her jeans. She was shaking.

He had her sit, then quickly removed her boots. Her socks were soaked and her feet frozen. He got up and walked to the bed, where he stripped off the blankets. There was a cedar chest at the foot of the bed with more blankets inside. He grabbed all of them and returned to the sofa.

“Stand up,” he said, helping her to her feet. “We have to get you out of your clothes.”

He waited for a funny retort, but she only nodded. She was shaking too hard to undo her jeans, so he reached for the button at the waistband, then lowered the zipper.

The cold, wet fabric clung to her. He eased it down, ignoring her smooth skin and long legs. She stepped out of the jeans, then pulled off her sweater. The long-sleeved T-shirt came next and she was standing in front of him in bikini panties and a bra.

She was long and lean, with small br**sts and narrow hips. Her pale skin was puckered with goose bumps, and she shivered and trembled. As much as he wanted to take a moment and enjoy the view, this wasn’t the time. He quickly wrapped her in the blankets and began to rub his hands up and down her arms and legs.

As he moved over her, he reminded himself that he was a doctor. His actions were purely professional and enjoying them was wrong on multiple levels.

He worked on her until she stopped trembling so hard. “Curl up on the sofa,” he told her. “I’ll get us settled.”

She nodded, still unable to speak.

He checked the vents. Warm air drifted out, but there wasn’t a lot of force behind it. No doubt the unit was small and old. It would take a couple of hours to get the cabin up to temperature. He draped her damp clothes over chairs he placed near the vents. The shirt and sweater weren’t as wet as her jeans, but eventually everything would dry.