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Chapter 4
Sam bolted to his feet. “Brooke?”
No answer. The bed was empty, the pillows and blankets scattered haphazardly.
Shit.
He strode to the front door. Her boots and coat were both gone.
His heart thudded hard against his ribs. Shoving his feet into his boots, he yanked open the door. A gust of snow-drenched wind blinded him. He walked onto the porch, squinting through the darkness. No tracks in the snow, not that they’d be visible with this accumulation.
Her car was still parked off to the side, the tires half-buried in the slush and the body obscured by untouched snow.
At least she hadn’t been foolish enough to drive, but where the hell was she?
He grabbed a flashlight and crossed the cabin to the back door. Booted footprints, dusted with fresh snow, marked the back porch.
Quickening his pace, he stomped toward the covered woodbin. The bootprints disappeared within a yard of the porch.
“Brooke!” The wind drowned out his shout.
He reached the woodpile and looked out into the trees surrounding the cabin. He’d hiked out here a number of times. The forest went on for miles with no hint of civilization. The closest she’d come to another cabin was a ranger station twenty miles down at the base of the mountain. If she’d gone out there, she was doomed.
“Brooke!” Lifting a hand to block the sting of the wind, he shone the flashlight ahead of him and made his way toward the woods.
Through the swirling snow, caught in the flashlight beam, a blurry figure emerged from behind a grove of trees and started toward the cabin.
Relief hit him so hard his knees almost buckled. Sam plowed through the snow to reach her. She was bundled into her coat, the hood pulled over her forehead. Her cheeks were pink, and snowflakes clung to her eyelashes.
She stopped. “Sam, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you wearing your coat?”
“What’swrong?” He fought to keep his voice even. “I woke up, and you were gone. That’s what’s wrong. What the hell are you doing out here?”
“Looking for a cell signal.” She pulled her gloved hand out of her pocket and waved her cell phone at him.
“Looking for a…” With a curse, he grabbed her arm and hauled her back toward the cabin. “You came out in this mess to use your goddamned phone?”
“Well, I…oof, would you slow down? I’m getting snow in my boots.”
He set his jaw and yanked open the back door. “Get your coat and boots off, and go warm up. Now.”
“Hey, you don’t have to….” Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of his face. She pushed her hood back and lowered her hands to the zipper of her parka.
Sam shoved his boots off and stalked to the fireplace. He stoked the flames, added kindling and another log, then went to the kitchen. As he filled a cup with water and stuck it in the microwave, Brooke appeared in the doorway.
“Were you…worried about me?” she asked tentatively.
His shoulders tensed. “There’s a blizzard outside, no other shelter for miles, and you were nowhere around. Was I supposed tonotbe worried?”
“I’m sorry.” She rubbed her nose. “I’d promised my mother I’d call her when I arrived yesterday, but with no cell service…I was hoping I could find a signal outside. I didn’t intend to go far, and I kept the cabin in sight. I just know she’s anxious that she hasn’t heard from me, and I don’t have any way of contacting her.”
A heavy sigh collected in his lungs. He took the cup from the microwave, added instant coffee, and handed it to her. Then he went to the shelf near the back door, where an old radio and mic sat amidst the dusty books.
He flipped a few switches and the dials lit up. “This emergency radio connects to the ranger station. We can contact the rangers and ask them to tell Felix to call your mother for you.”
“Really?” Relief brightened her face, and she hurried to his side. “I had no idea.”
“I’d have told you last night, if I’d known you needed to contact your mother.”
