Page 19 of A Mountain Man Christmas

His words had the opposite effect. Lyla’s gaze dropped from his face. A second later, another scream pierced the air, nearly turning his blood to ice.

Tristan cursed. Muttering a silent prayer, he reached for Lyla’s hand as quickly and carefully as he could. For a moment, he thought she might pull them both over, but he held on. Again, the bridge creaked precariously. He had to be fast. He pulled, lifting her back onto the bridge. Before she could catch her breath, he ushered her toward the other end.

“Let’s go!” he yelled.

She was nothing if not compliant. Together, they sprinted for the columns at the other end of the bridge, the creaks and groans sending shivers down Tristan’s spine as they ran.

“Almost there!”

They reached the other end of the bridge and collapsed onto the snow.

Tristan didn’t realize they had their arms around each other until Lyla’s shoulders suddenly stiffened.

“We made it,” she said, pulling herself up.

He got to his feet, too. “We did.”

They shifted their gaze to the bridge. Surprisingly, it was still intact, except for the plank that had given way. The entire bridge swayed slightly in the wake of their mad struggle across it.

“That was a close one.” Lyla sighed, the fear slowly fading from her eyes. “Good thing we still had the handcuffs on, or I’d have made a huge splat at the bottom of that chasm. Let’s never do that again?”

Irritation flared up in Tristan’s chest. He’d just saved her life, and she couldn’t even utter as much as a thank you. He opened his mouth to utter a biting comment…and closed it instantly, lowering his gaze to their wrists where they were joined.

Of course. The shackles.

It hadn’t even occurred to him until now. He’d been worried that she would lose her grip and plummet to her death, but the whole time, they’d been bound together. She wouldn’t have fallen into the chasm unless he had as well.

“Titanium cuffs,” Lyla said, a faint smile playing across her lips.

“Oh,” was the only word he could muster.

Chapter Seven

A Night in Alfie’s Hanger

Lyla didn’t like near-death experiences. They tended to leave you shaken for weeks afterward, and sometimes, you ended up on a shrink’s couch. Unfortunately, they came with the job.

Tristan handed her a large chunk of meat wrapped carefully in a large leaf. Yesterday’s catch. With a murmur, she accepted it, biting into it.

“Not bad,” she said, chewing and swallowing. “Could use a bit of seasoning, though.”

She grinned at her remark. She was lucky to even be alive after nearly plummeting to her death days ago.

She still couldn’t shake the memory of that bridge crossing. The images flashed through her mind every few hours or so: the plank disappearing from underneath her all of a sudden…her legs dangling above a dark void…Tristan grabbing hold of her silhouetted against the orange sky. She’d been on the brink of death, and he’d done everything within his power to save her.

To hell with the handcuffs—she hadn’t even realized they’d still had them on until they were both lying together in the snow. As far as she was concerned, Tristan had saved her life. But she wasn’t about to tell him that. She’d sooner eat a boulder than give him the satisfaction of knowing she felt that way.

“We’re getting closer to Alfanger,” he announced suddenly, stepping over a tree root.

“Gesundheit,” Lyla said automatically.

His brows furrowed. “What?”

“What?”

His jaw clenched slightly, which she found oddly attractive. “Alfanger is a village.”

“Oh, great. It’s been a while since I saw other people on this mountain.” She shot a sideways glance at him. “Present company excluded, of course.”

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