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Then forcing herself to look at him again, she lifted her chin. “My grandfather will be terribly relieved when I return home safe and unharmed. I’m certain he will reward you for any compensation you might feel is appropriate.”
He paused before shaking his head and saying, “You people are unbelievable. Do you honestly believe you can buy anything?”
Immediately, she became offended. “I wasn’t trying to buy anything!”
“No?” Disbelief clearly reflected in his eyes. “Did you consider simply saying thank you?”
Her eyes grew round in anger. “Thank you? For what? Leaving me stranded out in this godforsaken country? Nearly having me freeze to death?”
“Whoa, don’t try to shift the blame for this on me,” he said, equally growing irate. “If I had my way, you would never have come.”
His valid point only fueled her rage. “Well, it was your idea to cross the lake.”
A wounded look flashed across his face briefly, before he swiftly turned away concealing it. Even if she couldn’t see his face, the telling arch of his back revealed the guilt he bore. Swiping a hand across his chin, he said, “I checked it earlier that day. I thought it was safe, but I forgot to take into consideration yesterday’s unusually warm temperatures and the effect it would have.”
Her temper slowly eased and she hated the fact that her own source of remorse made an appearance. “I thought the ice was safe too, Jay. I could have just as easily demanded you check it.”
She was startled when he actually chuckled and looked back at her. “I see pompous is a family trait.”
“How on earth could you contrive that as being pompous?” Her brow wrinkled annoyingly at him. Geesh, the man certainly made it extremely difficult for a person to act courteous toward.
He came and sat down next to her. “This might be difficult for you to comprehend, princess, but not everything falls under the Snowden power.”
“I don’t think that,” she told him. “And neither does my grandfather.”
“I’d hardly expect you to say anything less,” he grinned before looking out at the wilderness.
Erika studied his profile. A man as big and strong as Jay could have been just as great, if not greater a leader as her grandfather. Instead, he chose to take the opposite course. “Why do you hate my grandfather?”
“I don’t hate him.”
She rolled her eyes, hearing this before. “You’re jealous of him, aren’t you? It’s not unusual, you know. Many men wish they could possess his success.”
“I’m not jealous of him,” he said. “And I told you once before, success was a matter of opinion.”
Sneering, she shook her head in disbelief. “What a foolish remark. It’s narrow-minded comments such as that, Jay Colby, which will always prevent you from becoming a success.”
“If that’s not the pot calling the kettle black.” He laughed. “Not only do you have this perverse ability to glorify your grandfather, but your prejudice to the world outside your haughty society keeps you from clearly seeing anything for what it truly is. Take yesterday, for instance, that first couple.”
“I bonded very nicely with them.” She straightened her back to sit as tall as him.
“At best, it was a nice attempt,” he said. “Bonding is not formed by sharing sweets. It’s by finding out what another’s concerns are, they’re dreams, they’re goals.”
This time she gave him a disbelieving look. “In one afternoon?”
He turned and looked at her, the smallest trace of disappointment reflected in his eyes. “Every breathing moment should be considered worthwhile. Do you not understand, Erika, we all have something valuable to contribute. It doesn’t matter who you are. Be it the wealthiest man in town or the poorest.”
She shifted uncomfortably next to him. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t see what those people have that could be of any value to me.”
“The power to change the course of your life.”
It was so ludicrous she would have howled with laughter, but he was looking at her with such an intense gaze, she found herself staring back. When she could not take it any longer, she stuttered, “T-the same could be said of you.”
He smiled softly and shook his head. “One cannot shift the beach without disturbing the pebbles.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“In our society, the rich man dictates our path,” he said. “Take a look at your grandfather and Placid. He may be a powerful businessman, but along the way he has forgotten the human aspect of his decisions. Instead of seeing people, he sees land. Land equals profit. That town has become one huge moneymaking pot for him. A playground that he toils in with no consideration of its inhabitants or foresight to its future.”
