Page 106 of One Last Stand

She narrowed her eyes.

He turned around. “Arms around my neck, put your legs through my harness straps, and Bob’s your uncle.”

“Who’d you learn that from?” She realized then that she still held the poker she’d grabbed as a weapon, and now shoved it behind her, into the belt at her back. Then she looped her arms around his neck, pulling up to his strong shoulders. She tried to get her legs into the harness, but yes, the dress prohibited her movements.

“Your friend Pippa. And this isn’t going to work.” He turned, and then, gripping the bottom of her dress, he ripped it. Did the same to the back. Then he tied the ends to themselves, making legs, of a sort. “Now try.”

It worked. She shoved one leg into a harness strap, then the other.

He stood up as if she weighed nothing.

Wow, he was strong, and steady, and solid, and . . . She put her head down on his shoulder and held on as he started off.

His headlamp light cut through the darkness, and they came to stairs etched into the rock, leading up.

“This’ll be fun.”

“I can walk.”

“Just hold on.”

And up they went. He’d gone into rescuer mode. She hadn’t realized how much she depended on that until now. How, in so many crisis moments of her life,Shep had shown up.

“You’re not in this alone, London.”

She didn’t know why that voice strummed inside her, but it seemed to steel her. Turn her almost warm.

“I am still amazed that you were there.”

“Where?” He grunted, one step at a time.

“The avalanche—you came out of nowhere, really, and?—”

“Yeah, about that. Um, your dad said he pulled some strings to get my team up there.”

A beat. “My dad?”

“Yeah.”

“Why did he . . . why would he . . . What?”

Shep had stopped, breathing hard, his hand on the wall. “Uh, London, how much do you know about what your dad does?”

“He’s a lawyer.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“What are you saying?”

He started moving again. “You two should talk. Anyway . . . he knew that if I saw you, then . . . there was no way I’d let anything happen to you.”

Oh.She closed her eyes, set her face against his back, and fell into the rhythm of him climbing the stairs, his strong legs carrying her when she couldn’t.

Oh,she loved this man. Had for so long she’d sort of forgotten what it felt like to realize it anew. And here he was, showing up for her again. InMontelena.

They finally reached the top, Shep breathing hard, his skin clammy. Another short tunnel wound out ahead, but from here, wind streamed in. He shone his light toward it.

“There’s the opening on the other side.”

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