Page 10 of Creed

“But you remember everything before that?”

“Yes.”

“I agree with your therapist, you’re blocking it out.” Abbie directed Creed to make a left turn. He followed her instructions until they reached a gate, where he parked the truck.

As they stared out at the blowing snow, Creed couldn’t help but mutter, “Damn, I hate getting out in this.”

Abbie grinned mischievously. “I think I’ll just sit right here and stay warm.”

“Thanks a lot,” Creed replied sarcastically.

“Hey, do I look like a livestock agent to you?” she joked.

Creed looked at her with amusement. “None of the ones I work with.” With a resigned sigh, he braved the freezing snow and wind as he opened his door and stepped out into the stormy weather, while pulling on gloves.

****

Abbie’s eyes followed Creed as he made his way toward the gate, using his hand to keep his hat in place. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what he went through that fateful night. It must have been terrifying for all of them, but Creed didn’t remember any of it.

Abbie couldn’t help but wonder about the cause of his wife’s death, but she knew better than to bring it up. She realized with surprise that she wanted to know more about him, despite their initial encounter where he had rubbed her the wrong way. He wasn’t actually rude; perhaps he was just having a rough day. Plus, she couldn’t deny that he was extremely handsome even with the scar and broken nose. Even though at first, she didn’t think he was, but there was something very sexy about the man.

The jagged scar running through his cheek lent an air of danger to him, only adding to the already alluring aura of his dark good looks. As he walked through the open gate, his gaze remained focused on the ground, though she knew the thick layer of snow must have obscured much of what he could see.

Suddenly, he crouched down and began brushing away the snow from something hidden beneath it. She couldn’t help but admire his determination, even in the midst of such freezing temperatures. The blinding snow continued to blow sideways, but he remained steadfast in his task.

After a few minutes, Abbie watched as he started heading back toward the truck, still keeping his head tilted down against the biting wind. She noticed him pause to pull up the collar on his sheepskin coat and couldn’t help but smile at his tenacity despite the harsh weather.

As he climbed into the truck and moved to close the door behind him, a gust of cold air blew in and made her shiver. She couldn’t resist teasing him.

“Close the door,” she said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

He stopped, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Hey, if I have to be cold out here, so do you,” he quipped with a grin.

“Where’s the logic in that?”

He chuckled and shook his head in amusement before closing the door behind him.

“There is none,” he replied with a playful smirk, removing his hat and running a hand through his thick, dark hair. Abbie had to clench her fists to stop herself from reaching out and doing the same.

“Did you find something?” she asked eagerly.

“I think I may have found the tracks your grandfather mentioned seeing,” he answered with a note of frustration in his voice. “But with all this snow, it’s impossible to follow them. Your grandfather said they disappeared before reaching the road, so there’s no way of knowing which direction they went.” He sighed heavily, clearly disappointed.

“What happens now?”

“I’ll run the photos of the tracks through our database to see if we can match them, and then I’ll look into any other thefts that may be related.”

“Thank you for coming out in this weather.”

“It’s all part of my job. Let’s head back so we can warm up.”

“You must be freezing in those cowboy boots.”

“These are actually insulated, so they’re warmer than you’d expect.”

“Cowboys and their boots.”

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