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“I’m fine.” Bells sounds irritated, her breaths coming out in huffs.
“You’re acting kind of weird,” Aurora offers.
“We need to get her to a doctor. Can you go any faster?” Clover turns back to me right as the first fat flakes start to fall.
The weather has already caught up with us.
I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “We can’t make it to town. Not in this.” I wave a hand at the snowfall that seems to be increasing by the second. “The road is already covered too deep, and not even my chains will be able to pull us through.”
“Then what are we going to do?” Clover wrings her hands. “If we’re stranded out here there’s no way we can get the help we need. Bells is hurt, Aurora is freaked out—”
“I’m okay.” Aurora shrugs.
Clover’s voice rises even more. “Okay, well then I’m freaked out, and—”
I reach out and take her hand in mine. “Clover, take a breath.”
“I’m just—”
“Let’s all take a breath.” I breathe in smoothly and hold it until Clover does the same.
We all exhale at once, and Clover takes another calming breath. I rub her fingers between mine, keeping her small hand warm.
She relaxes back against the seat.
“We can’t make it to town, but I have somewhere we can stay. There’s a medic there.” At least I’m pretty sure Barrow served as a medic for the Red Scorpions. He’s a double threat, could kill without warning or save your life.
“Oh my God, that would be great.” The pinched look finally starts fading from Clover’s beautiful face. “They can check Bells, right?”
“Yeah, Barrow’s a good guy. He’ll help if he can.”
“A giant cat,” Bells says, her voice almost dumbfounded. “Out of nowhere.”
The pinched look reappears. “Can we hurry?” Clover asks.
I should tell her it’s not safe, that I can’t push the truck too hard when it has chains on the tires, that we’ll get to the lodge in decent time. But when she looks at me with those big eyes, I can’t say no. Whatever spell she’s woven over me, it’s stuck tight, because there’s no way I will ever disappoint her if I can help it.
“Sure thing. Everyone, hold on.” I turn to Clover and keep her hand in mine as I push the gas pedal farther than I should. “And you, sweet Clover, just hold on to me.”
5
CLOVER
As much as I want to cover my face with my hands, I don’t. If Charles is going to push through, I'm going to sit beside him and do the same. I’m thankful Aurora is too busy fussing over Bells to notice what the hell is going on. I have no idea who taught Charles to drive, but damn the man is a god at it. And somehow I know he’ll get us where we need to be safe and sound.
I hope Bells never finds out about his driving skills. A weird nagging feeling in my stomach hits me when I think about Bells enjoying how Charles can handle a vehicle. It would definitely be something they would both have in common. That’s not the only thing that would make someone notice him, though.
He’s really hard to miss. He’s a giant man. And when I say giant, I freaking mean it. He’s one of the biggest men I’ve ever seen. That’s saying a lot, considering all the different types of people I’ve been around, including bodyguards, security, back up dancers, fighters and any other big muscular type men you could imagine. Yet, none of them even come close to him. I’ve never thought about a mountain man before. Never even imagined one could be so handsome. He might be a lumberjack.
“Are you a lumberjack?”
He flips a glance over to me for asking such a stupid question. I want to facepalm myself, but I don’t think that will help in the moment. I should remain quiet before I embarrass myself further, but there is something about him that has me so curious.
“I can chop my own wood if that’s what you're asking.”
I’m not sure if that’s meant to be dirty or not, but still I feel my cheeks warm. I push my glasses up my nose again.
“That’s a tell, pretty eyes.” The truck gives another jerk, but Charles doesn't stop. You would almost think he hadn't felt it at all. I bet those massive thighs of his are absorbing some of the impact. That’s probably why he doesn’t seem fazed. Oh God, what is wrong with my mind? His thighs are the last thing I should be thinking about. It was that kiss. It had to be. It’s done something to my body.
