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He wished he could at least apologize to his brothers. He had a lot of regrets, but the way he’d treated them…yeah, top of the list. They hadn’t asked to be born into this shitty family any more than he had. He should’ve been nicer to them. He should tell Bree to let them know he was sorry.
He kicked in a circle—and that took a lot more effort than it should have—until he was facing her again. Or at least the direction he thought she was, but he couldn’t see her. Disoriented, he kicked in another circle, but the whole world looked the same. White on white on white, with the occasional thicket of evergreens poking up from the whiteness. He opened his mouth to call for her but only a pathetic croak came out. His teeth chattered too hard. He couldn’t manage another sound, croak or otherwise.
So she had left. He didn’t blame her. He was the idiot who had jumped into ice water. Not her problem. He deserved to die alone, exactly as he had lived his life.
No. What? He shook his head. Fuck that. He wasn’t giving up now. He had things to do, amends to make.
And what about Peanut? He loved that crazy little creature and couldn’t trust anyone else to make sure she had the right organic dog food and the perfect pink sweaters.
From the day he’d come screaming into the world, he was a survivor. He wasn’t going to stop just because things got a bit icy.
He studied the edges of the hole. It was hard to focus, his thoughts tumbling over one another, but he thought the ice looked thicker in a spot near where he’d lifted Moonbeam out. He side-stroked over and grabbed hold, his numb fingers digging for purchase in the snow and ice. It didn’t immediately crack. So far, so good. He kicked as hard as he could until his body was horizontal with the ice and then used his arms to army crawl across it. Just when he thought he was home free, he heard it crack, felt it shift under his belly. He had to move faster. Had to—
A loop of rope landed in front of him, a few precious inches out of his reach. He gazed up and saw Bree in snowshoes, edging out onto the ice.
“Don’t,” he tried to tell her but again, he couldn’t manage a coherent sound.
“Ellis, listen to me! Grab the rope. Put it over your head, under your arms.” She mimed the instructions. “The dogs can pull you out.”
He shifted his focus from her to the rope and kicked as hard as he could, raising himself another few inches. The ice shifted and crackled under him. He ignored it and stretched as far as he could. His numb hand hit the rope, but his dead fingers couldn’t grasp it. He nudged at it and finally,finallyit was close enough to hook his wrist through. He tugged it toward him—
The ice collapsed under him, dumping him back into the water. He went under and, for a long moment, he didn’t think he had the strength or energy to kick back to the surface.
But he had to. He owed it to his brothers to apologize in person. He dug down to the bottom of his energy reserves and broke the surface with a gasp.
“Ellis!” Bree’s voice sounded far, far away. “C’mon, you can do this! Put the rope over your head, loop it around your body.”
The rope.
What rope?
Right.Therope. The one she’d tossed to him. The one that somehow, miraculously, was still twined around his arm.
He ducked his head through the loop and clumsily wiggled it into place. He didn’t know how to alert her that he’d done it. She was on the ice, but still too far away. He tugged on the rope hard, twice, hoping she got his meaning. The answering tug told him she had. A moment later the rope tightened around his chest. He kicked hard to help… but it wasn’t necessary. As soon as the dogs pulled, he popped out of the water like a cork out of a champagne bottle, sliding across the ice on his back.
The sky was still a crisp, brilliant blue. The morning arctic sun still shining pale yellow.
He’d forgotten how beautiful the sky was up here. Different from anywhere else in the world.
And speaking of beautiful…
He tried to smile when Bree leaned into his field of vision. She and her loyal dog pack had gathered around him. Moonbeam nuzzled his cheek. He lifted a hand to give her an awkward pat. She was a sweet girl. Dumb as a rock, but sweet.
As he drifted into unconsciousness, he wondered if the same could be said about him.
9
This man was a puzzle.
Bree had never liked puzzles, but she couldn’t deny that she wanted to figure Ellis Hunter out.
But first, she had to warm him up.
Once they were back on the solid ground of the lakeshore, she stripped off his sweatshirt and jeans, already frozen stiff, and bundled him into an arctic sleeping bag. She made a fire and dragged him as close to it as she could without risking a burn, then hung a pot of snow over the flames for hot cocoa. She always brought packets of the powdered mix with her into the bush, and he needed something warm. She also had a hot water bottle she could fill and tuck under his feet. While she waited for the snow to melt, she set up the two-person tent, again as close to the fire as she dared, and threw down some hay for the dogs. They’d be happy outside in the snow—they were made for these conditions, after all—but she did invite Moonbeam into the tent. Poor girl was still wet, and they were a long way from veterinary help if she became hypothermic.
She checked on her pot. Ellis couldn’t drink while unconscious, so she’d fill the hot water bottle first. She poured the water into the bottle, then scooped more snow into the pot. While she waited for it to melt, she warmed her fingers over the flames and stared out over the lake. She again saw that heart-stopping moment when her dog fell through. Saw Ellis bolt across the ice in nothing but his socks and fall in himself before he reached Moonbeam.
For several horrifying seconds, she’d thoughtthey’re gone.She’d lost them both. Her sweet little girl and the man she didn’t want to like. But, dammit, she did like him. Every passing moment she spent with him she found it more and more difficult to dismiss him as the worthless playboy that rumors said he was.
