Page 14 of An Avalanche Hero Christmas

“We should eat now,” he told her, and he set down the bag he’d made out of his shirt, unraveling it to reveal the food he’d gathered. Between some nuts and meat, they had enough food to last them at least a couple of days.

They ate in silence, leaning against opposite trees so they could watch each other’s backs. Lance found himself staring at Mallory. She still hadn’t gotten used to this place, he realized as he watched her eat. Whatever her world was like, it was clearly a lot different from what Frost Mountain offered. It would take some time before she got more comfortable with this place.

Time.

Time was a resource they had in abundance. The way Lance saw it, they had all the time they wanted to keep running, keep hiding from Boris. All the time they needed to get to know each other. All the time to do whatever they wanted. The problem was, so did Boris. And he was certainly taking his time withthem. Why hadn’t they come across him yet? Something didn’t feel quite right.

The more he thought about it, the more the discomfort inside him grew. Lance pushed the thought aside. It took him a moment to realize Mallory was staring back at him; her eyebrows raised either in confusion or in question.

His gut clenched, but he wasn’t sure if it was because of this woman’s beauty or the gravity of their situation. He decided it was the latter. He had a duty to help this woman, to protect her from Boris. She was alive because of him. Boris would have finished her off that very day if not for the avalanche.

Even as the thought took root in his mind, Lance scoffed. A duty? He didn’t have todoanything. Helping this woman had been a choice, nothing more. He’d always had a choice, hadn’t he? And the last time his options had been presented to him, two years ago, he’d chosen wrong.

***

“Thank you for letting me in,” the fae woman said, rubbing her arms. Despite being seated by the fireplace, she shivered slightly. “It’s been a cold morning.”

Lance nodded, handing her some warm water to drink. In the firelight, he could see her more clearly. She had a round, pretty face, with blue eyes that glistened as she blinked at him.

“It’s okay,” he told her, unsure what to make of her presence here. He didn’t get many visitors, especially not women like this. “I’m Lance.”

“Julia.”

Julia.“Did you get lost?”

“Something like that.” She took a sip of water, then lowered the cup onto her lap. “I was being pursued, and I got away, but then I realized I was lost, and this blizzard—”

“Pursued?” Lance frowned. “By whom?”

“My father, Henri.” Julia’s expression darkened at the mention of the name. “He wanted to force me into a marriage to a man I did not love. I refused and ran off in the middle of the night, but he sent his men after me. I almost didn’t escape them.”

Two thoughts crossed Lance’s mind then. One, this woman’s father sounded like a very powerful, dangerous man, and he was probably crossing a line by harboring her. Two, this woman looked like she’d been traveling for days with little rest.

“That’s terrible,” he managed. “Do you have anyone else to go to?”

She blinked at him, and it took him another second to realize he’d probably said the wrong thing.

“Sorry,” he told her. “I meant to say—”

“I was hoping you could help me.”

Lance felt his gut tighten. “Help…you?”

She nodded. “Could I take shelter here for a little while, at least until this blizzard subsides? Or until my father gives up and leaves me alone.”

He said nothing but simply stared back at her.

“Please.” This time, she took his hand. Those blue eyes had never gleamed so bright. “You’re my only hope.”

Her hand snaked up his arm, and a shiver coursed through Lance’s body.

A defeated sigh parted his lips. He withdrew his arm, though with some hesitation. “Okay. You can stay here until the blizzard ends.”

***

The way Lance saw it, there were three problems with helping other people sort out their personal issues. One, it usually meant abandoning your concerns to focus on that. Two, it took a lot of time and effort. Three, it often landed you in trouble.

With Julia, all that had happened. If only he’d remained in bed and ignored her, the problems that had followed might have simply brushed past him like a cold wind. But how could he have known she was trouble when he let her into his home? Not to mention, he couldn’t have ignored the persistent banging on his door. That was the thing with people in need: Somehow, they seemed to drop right into your lap and give you little choice but to give them your undivided attention.

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