Page 55 of Snowbound with the Santas

I continue upward and climb up onto the roof, then I turn and hold out a hand to help Rayne as she climbs up after me.

“What the fuck,” Rayne gasps out with a laugh. “It’s so fucking cold!”

“I know.” I chuckle, wedging the hatch in place once she joins me on the roof. “But this is worth it. Trust me. Just follow behind me exactly, okay?”

“Okay.” Rayne’s voice trembles, and I can tell she’s scared. It’s still dark, so being on the roof is only scary in theory. We can’t see the edges since the glistening snow on the roof simply melts into the liner of snow around us. I lead Rayne along the roof and then I sit down right next to the chimney. When Rayne is close enough, I pull her down next to me and she lands with a squeal.

“Oh, wow.” Rayne immediately leans into the chimney. “It’s so warm.”

“That’s because we keep the fire burning all night.” I gently drape one arm over her shoulders. “So, what do you think?”

“What do I think of why you’ve brought me up to the freezing cold roof in the ungodly hours?” Rayne snorts. “I’m debating how to put it nicely.”

“Just trust me, okay?” I pull her snugly against me. “Watch.”

Right on cue, the world suddenly wakes up around us. The first streaks of the early morning sun warm the horizon, pushing back the darkness with streaks of pink and orange. With each passing second, the colors get stronger and stronger until finally, that ball of fire peeks over the horizon. The snowy world around us immediately lights up like a field of glitter, and as every crystal shard in the snow blasts, it’s a sparkle for the world tosee. From the snow on the roof around us and the frozen ground to the clumps clinging to the sea of trees below us and the mountain faces, our little corner of nowhere becomes a sea of diamonds.

Rayne gasps softly. Her sweet, beautiful face softens as she stares around her. Her mouth drops open and she shoots one hand out to grasp my knee.

There’s no view quite like this, and words simply don’t do it justice, so showing Rayne was the best way. The sun rises swiftly, bringing an array of peach, pinks, and yellows across a pale blue sky. There isn’t a single cloud in the sky, and no one would know a storm had even been here if not for the heaps of snow climbing up the walls of the cabin. But at this time in the morning, with the sun warming every crystal in sight, we’re surrounded by riches.

“Holy shit,” Rayne breathes, and when she turns to me, she has tears in her eyes. “This is stunning.”

“Isn’t it?” I reach for her cold cheek and cup her face, then I gently slide my thumb underneath her eye to catch the tears. I can’t tell if they’re from emotion or the cold, but I will wipe them away, regardless. “I thought you’d want to see this.”

“I feel like I’m in a painting,” she says softly, and then she laughs. “This is seriously magical. Consider yourself forgiven for waking me so early. Fuck.” Rayne tilts her head away and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”

“Because it’s beautiful. And peaceful. It’s so easy to get caught up in things, don’t you think? We torment ourselves and forget to see the beauty in the world around us.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Rayne sniffles and continues to wipe at her eyes. “Damn. I wish I had a camera to remember this but also, I kind of want to keep it a secret. Does that make sense?”

“It does.” I settle back against the chimney and take a deep breath. “Rayne, there’s something I want to ask you.”

“Anything,” she replies easily.

“The night we found you… it was pretty clear you were running away from something. The dress you were wearing, on top of the road we found you on. You were quite literally in the middle of nowhere on a hiking trail, and no one with a destination in mind would drive out that far in a storm.”

Rayne tenses like a board and her hands drop stiffly to her lap.

“We just want to help you because helping you get back to your family has us worried that we’re returning you to a distressing situation. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’ve come to care for you. Quite quickly, actually, so none of us want to see you upset.”

After a long moment of silence, Rayne meets my eyes. “What if there’s nothing?”

“If you tell me that’s the truth, then I won’t ask anymore. But I would hope that really is the truth.”

Rayne puffs out her rosy cheeks and nods slowly. “I—” She pauses and clasps her hands together, then tucks them up into the sleeves of her jacket. “I don’t know how to say it. It’s like… if I talk about it, then it will suddenly all be real again and this place will be different.”

“Nothing will change here, I promise.”

Rayne turns her attention back to the sunrise, squinting as she tracks the light. Her silence feels final, so I decide not to press it further. There’s only so much we can do, but it’s inevitable now. With the storm passed, all we needed to do was clear the surrounding snow and wait for the all-clear from Mountain Rescue. Then, Rayne will return to her life, and we will miss her.

Terribly.

Her arrival in my life, and the light she’s brought with her, is similar to the first time I met Archer. Sure, he was a grumpy asshole far too rough around the edges with months of physiotherapy ahead of him and a broken heart, but I missed my brother. And Archer was right there to help me.

Rayne didn’t arrive at a time of pain, but her presence did remind me of what it’s like to have companionship. Someone to kiss and touch. Someone to be close to. I’d closed myself off from that kind of relationship, but ever since Rayne quite literally dropped into our lives, it’s been on my mind.

Her leaving would mean losing that, and I’m scared of that. Or I’m more scared of asking her to stay and the prospect of her saying yes.

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