Page 27 of Snowbound with the Santas

Which means we somehow have to take her with us and hope for the best.

“I don’t mind staying,” Rayne says finally, scraping the remains of her bowl. “If it’s too dangerous to go, I’m more than happy to stay. I saw you have lots of books, so I can just read.”

“And if the power goes out?” I snap slightly. “If the storm comes and blocks you in? How will you break the ice in the water pump? What will you do for food?”

“Archer,” Nick scolds sharply, cutting off my words before I can really get started.

Rayne frowns at me, then turns her attention to Frankie who cleans up her bowl.

I’m not trying to be a dick. I just need her to understand that it’s dangerous here. Just because we’re inside four sturdy walls doesn’t mean we’re safe from the will of the mountain, especially at this time of year.

“You can’t stay,” Nick decided, patting Rayne’s shoulder as he moves past her. “While it would be ideal, we’d have no way to contact each other if you needed help or if we ended up falling down the mountain.”

“Makes sense.” She nods.

“Staying together is best,” Frankie agrees, glancing at me with concern in his eyes.

I grit my teeth.

So be it.

“What about a sled?” Frankie asks. “We could get her up the mountain that way.”

“Oh, please, no.” Rayne chuckles. “I can walk. I don’t want to be a liability.”

“That’s stupid. You already are one. Walking risks making you a bigger one if you make that wound worse,” I say tightly.

“What’s stupid,” Rayne snaps suddenly as she locks eyes with me, “is being in the mountains closed off from everyone like fucking Santa Claus, so I guess you’re all as stupid as I am.”

The heat in her words sends a swirl of something tight across my gut. She switched from meek to fire within ten seconds, and I’m surprised. I didn’t think she had it in her.

Nick’s amused face only serves to piss me off, though, and I frown deeper.

“We can take the lower trail, then,” Nick says. “It’ll take us longer to reach the tower, and we’ll have to camp halfway, but we should still make it back before the storm hits. That’s all that matters.”

“Unless the second storm knocks us back to square one.” Frankie snorts, earning a swift shove from Nick.

“Don’t you fucking jinx us.”

With the decision made, Rayne heads back to her room with instructions from Frankie on how to use the shower.

“Hey.” Nick catches my elbow as I move toward the back door. “What’s got you so sour?”

“I’m not sour.”

“Yes, you are. Ever since we found her, you’ve been acting like she’s personally offended you or something.” Nick’s grip softens on my arm slightly and concern bleeds into his eyes. “Are you alright?”

There aren’t enough words to explain how I have never been alright. How my years are haunted by the men who died under my care, or how I couldn’t save any of them, and rescuing Rayne from the snow has brought it all back up like vomit.

I can’t express how much anxiety bleeds into my heart at the thought of putting her in any danger because the last people I tried to save ended up dead. And each step we take here with her risks her meeting the same fate.

I can’t find the words, and instead, Nick and I stare at each other in silence until he releases my arm.

“You’re not alone,” Nick says quietly. “Try to remember that.”

I brush him off and head outside.

The cold ispainfulbut I embrace it as I trudge through the snow toward the generator. If we’re leaving for a day or two, I need to make sure this survives the cold.

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