Page 26 of My Secret Santa Mason

12

MASON

The lake was a solid sheet of ice, smooth and hard, with a light dusting of snow on it. The sky was ominously gray overhead, which fit my mood. Down in the valley, Silver Ridge was a twinkling maze of Christmas cheer, and the excitement was thick in the air. Christmas Eve was still a couple of days away, but the town acted like we were having Christmas every fucking day.

I didn’t see the point in celebrating all this shit. It was just a distraction, useless activities that did nothing.

The snow compacted under the weight of my boots as I moved, scanning the area around the lake’s edge. The cold was biting, the kind that sinks into your bones, but it didn’t bother me today. Adrenaline pumped through my veins. Besides, after so many years in the mountains, weathering these storms every year, I was used to it.

I was out here despite the cold. I still wasn’t completely sure, but if Wallace was out there somewhere, I wasn’t about to let my guard down. I couldn’t afford to think that I might have been wrong. Rather be prepared than get caught in a trap Ididn’t see coming. It was always better to be overprepared than underprepared, and as a former soldier, I knew all too well that danger could fuck me up the moment I let down my guard.

The wind had started to pick up, whistling through the trees that bordered the lake. When I looked up, storm clouds gathered in the distance, dark and heavy. It would be here in a while, but not yet. Winter storms were a part of life out here in the mountains. Nothing new.

I slowly moved further along the frozen shoreline, scanning the area, when the wind shifted, suddenly stronger, colder. It was as if the storm had snuck up on me, and in the span of a few minutes, it went from a light snowfall to a full-blown blizzard.

What the fuck.

I pulled my collar higher around my neck as the snow whipped against my face. The storm was getting worse—fast. I needed to head back to the cabin before things gotrealugly.

The wind howled, cutting through the trees with a ferocity that wasn’t there before, and it sliced through my winter clothes like I wasn’t wearing anything warm. The snow came down so thick now it blurred my vision, turning everything into a white haze. The once familiar path back to the cabin was now hidden under a fresh blanket of snow, and I had to rely on my instincts to guide me.

I knew this landscape like the back of my hand but snow could fuck with anyone’s senses. You could get lost in no time at all if you weren’t careful. I didn’t try to see through the snow. I focused on what Iknewinstead. That was the only way to—

That’s when I saw her. At first, she was just a hunched figure, almost invisible in the snow, but as I stepped closer, I realized it was Cami struggling against the wind. Her coat was pulled tight around her, but I imagined it did little to shield her from the storm. She was out in the middle of this mess. Clearly, she had no idea how to judge the weather.

But this storm had caught even a seasoned guy like me off guard.

I cursed again.

“Cami!” I shouted over the wind, but my voice was swallowed by the storm. I moved toward her, fighting against the snow already piling up around my boots. Every step away from my cabin was dangerous, but I couldn’t leave her out here. She wouldn’t get out of the storm.

It was too far out of town, and I doubted she knew how to navigate the white landscape wrapped in a blizzard.

“Cami!” I shouted again.

She didn’t see me at first, fighting to keep her footing in the thickening snow. But when I got closer, she looked up, her eyes filled with fear, her face panicked.

“You shouldn’t be out here,” I growled, reaching her side and grabbing her arm to keep her steady.

“I can handle it,” she shot back, her voice sharp despite the howling wind. Her face was still riddled with panic.

“Like hell you can,” I muttered. “This storm’s only going to get worse. Come on. My cabin’s not far.”

“I’m not going to your cabin.”

“Your place is too far away. You won’t make it.”

She glared at me, wanting to fight. Her eyes narrowed, and I could already see her forming the words, but another gust of wind sent her stumbling into me, and I caught her before she hit the ground.

She trembled against me while I held her steady.

“You don’t have a choice,” I barked. It was getting more dangerous by the second. “Let’s go.”

She nodded. The wind whipped around us and it would have taken her words away even if she did argue, but she didn’t fight me on it anymore. Together we made our way back toward the cabin, the storm growing fiercer with every step. I let myknowledge of the area guide me, letting my feet find the way because I couldn’t see shit.

Cami had grabbed my hand at some point, her fingers freezing, and she clung to me. I led her into the forest, and the trees warded off the worst of the storm. The snow still swirled around us, and the wind drove through us as if we didn’t exist, but it was better than the blinding white haze out by the lake.

By the time we reached the door, the snow was falling so thick that I could barely see a few feet in front of me, even between the trees. I pushed the door open, pulling her inside before slamming it shut against the raging wind.

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