Page 71 of Ice Me Baby

Dean laughs. “The guys packed them before we left. I think I put them by the front door.”

I race from the back of the house to the front, finding my skates next to the front door. Snatching them up, I race back outside.

Mac arches a brow as I make my way back to the pond. There’s a small bench, so I sit to switch my shoes for my skates. “What are you doing?”

As I lace up my skates, I say, “I’m going to skate on the pond.”

“Not sure that’s safe, Liz.”

Standing from my spot, I walk over to the ice-covered pond. “It’ll be frozen solid by now. I’ll be fine.”

“Stay away from the center. There’s no telling how solid that ice is.”

I wave a dismissive hand. “Yeah. Yeah.”

He huffs as he watches me glide onto the ice.

After skating for a few minutes, I look up to find Mac watching me. There’s a content smile on his face as he tracks me across the ice. I skate past him as I call, “Come out here and skate with me.”

He shakes his head. “I’m not getting out on that ice.”

I huff as I circle around him again. “Oh, come on. It’s not that scary.”

“You are small and light; I am large and heavy. I will break that ice, Roe Roe.”

Skating backward, I keep my eyes on him. “Don’t trust me, Mac?”

His eyes soften. “I trust you with my life on a daily basis. I, on the other hand, do not trust that ice won’t break under my weight. If you wanted someone to skate with you, you should have asked Dean while you were inside.”

I pout a bit, but I understand. The ice could break under his weight. I slowly get closer and closer to the center of the pond when he yells out, “Too close! Get out of the middle!”

It looks sturdy out here, but I don’t want to scare him. As I make my way to the outer part of the circle, I hear a crack. Now, when you hear the ice crack underneath you, you shouldn’t stop and freeze where you are. I do, though. I freeze and lock eyes with Mac. He must have heard it too.

“Skate, Liz!”

I begin moving again, but as soon as I do, the ice shatters under me. My eyes meet Mac’s as I scream. His eyes widen in horror as he rushes onto the very ice he refused to set foot on a minute ago.

Thankfully, I manage to catch the edge of the ice before I drop straight into the freezing cold water. Mac makes it to my side, falls onto his stomach, and slides closer to me. He reaches out to me as he says, “Grab my hand!”

My hand slaps into his, and he gradually pulls me out, being careful to avoid the ice breaking even more. As soon as I’m out of the icy water, my teeth chatter from the cold. We make it to a thicker patch of ice before Mac stands, pulling me up with him.

His breath fogs around me as he lifts me into his arms and runs toward the house. “Dean!” he shouts.

Dammit, I should have listened. I’ve already managed to ruin our trip.

His eyes meet mine as he runs. “We’ll get you warm, Chérie. Hold on.”

My teeth are chattering so badly that my words come out choppy. “I’m…s…s…sorry.”

“No need to apologize.” He rushes through the backdoor right as Dean opens it.

“What happened?” he questions, following behind us.

Mac moves closer to the fireplace. “She fell through the ice. Get a fire going.”

Dean nods, rushing over to start the fire while Mac sets me down. “I need to undress you, Liz. We need to get these wet clothes off.”

I nod. “O—okay.”

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