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She laughed from behind the door. “How do I know you’re the right driver? Tell me your name.”
Uh oh.This could go badly. Was she being funny or was he on thin ice? He mentally crossed his fingers and went for broke.
“Grant Samson, and I don’t always kidnap people, but when I do, I make sure to follow it up with a blizzard and a head wound.”
Melinda opened the door mid-laugh and Grant swallowed his sigh of relief.
“You’re right on time,” she said with a smile. Then the smile dropped. “You’re not going to let me walk are you.”
“Glad that’s not a real question,” he answered, and lifted her into his arms. “How do you feel about more fish oil?”
“Ecstatic.”
Grant tried to keep his laugh subtle since his mouth was at her ear.
“Actually, I think that first dose made a difference,” she said, fingertips to her scalp where the branch had struck. “When I stood earlier, I didn’t feel like an elephant was using my skull as a Thighmaster.”
“You stood up earlier?” Grant was instantly incensed. “I thought we had a deal!” They were in the kitchen now and he snagged the bottle of pills with one hand.
“For a Kaar driver, you’re kind of bossy,” she teased.
“Okay, okay, sorry. I just don’t want you taking a dive on my watch. Will you promise to tell me in the middle of the night if you have to go to the bathroom?” He navigated the doorway between the kitchen and den, watched her nod, and didn’t believe her for a moment. He lowered her to the couch. “I’m going to sleep on the floor next to you. If you move, I’ll hear it. This is a threat.”
Melinda sighed and rolled her eyes. “All right, Boss Man.”
Grant liked Boss Man less than he liked Mountain Man, but he knew he was right. What if she stood up too fast, lost her balance, and keeled over? Then where would they be? No ambulance was getting up these roads, and he couldn’t handle seeing her blood. The guys on the ice hockey team, sure, no problem. It was barbaric fun when someone bled on the ice—not a lot, of course, just a split lip or gashed eyebrow. Something that raised the stakes a bit. Seeing Melinda’s blood would be a different story.
“Good,” he grunted. Animal, snapped his mind.
Yeah, well, I’m the animal keeping her alive, he snapped back.
Grant shook four more pills from the bottle and handed them to her along with the glass of water. It was time to melt more snow. He’d do it after she dropped off.
“Get comfortable, Mel. Get as warm as you can without overheating. I’m going to stoke up the fire and melt some snow, then I’ll come bed down. Don’t worry about me,” he said. He held up a hand to stop her concerns. “You need the warmth of the fire, and you get the couch. I’m not leaving you alone while you’re out here, and the floor is fine for me. I’ve got pillows and I’ll steal the blankets from the bed. We’re both sleeping in jackets. Get comfortable,” he repeated. “Get some sleep.”
He saw with relief that she wasn’t going to push it, wasn’t going to resist or cajole. Instead she shimmied her body until she lay horizontal on the couch, head propped on a pillow, blankets snugged nearly to the hat she wore.
“Night, Mountain Man,” she said, faint smile on her lips.
“Good night, Melinda,” he said solemnly and watched her breath slow and deepen in the firelit room.
~
Her ears were crying.
Melinda touched trembling fingers to both earlobes and found them wet and sticky. She floated frozen fingers before her eyes and saw the tips red with blood.
Her head throbbed. Someone had hit her. Who had hit her?
She scanned the white ocean in front of her. No one was there. Was he behind her, would he hit her again?
He would. His malevolence closed around her like an evil mist.
She had to get out of there.
Her feet wouldn’t move, why wouldn’t they move? She looked at her feet.
That was why.
