Page 20 of SEAL by Fate

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STORMY STOOD AND made sure the knot of the towel was still tight. “Are you okay?” She wasn’t sure because he stood three feet away, staring.

“Medicine?”

Taking a step, she felt a little faint and wobbled. He was beside her in a flash, lifting her into his arms, carrying her back to the couch. Once she was safely sitting, she looked up at him, seeing the lines of concern around his patient eyes. “Don’t worry, Gray. I don’t have diabetes and need insulin. Or a heart condition. I have low blood pressure that is triggered by stressful situations. I usually don’t have much of a problem, but I guess all the chaos has gotten to me.”

He dropped beside her, looking a little pale for her taste. “Okay. Where is your medicine?”

“In my car.”

“Oh.”

She nodded. “I have a prescription and salt tabs I take when I start feeling a little off. They work right away.”

“But what if you don’t have your medicine?”

“I get dizzy and feel nauseated, sometimes I will pass out.”

“What can I do to help?”

She had a strong urge to smile at his willingness to do what she needed. “Lots of fluids and adding extra salt to my food can help.”

He stood. “You didn’t eat. I’ll make you something.” Before she could say a word of resistance, he was in the kitchen.

Feeling some of the dizziness subside, she got up and went to sit at the counter on a wobbly stool. “Have you heard any updates?”

He nodded as he opened a pasta box. “Just before you came out of the bathroom.”

“Good news or bad news?”

“Good news is, we’re safe here. There’s plenty of food and wood so if the electricity goes out, we’ll be fine. Bad news is, we’re going to get hit again.”

Watching with interest as he moved about the small kitchen, his T-shirt stretched across his broad back and the arms clung to his thick biceps. The backside of his jeans cupped his tight bottom and eased down long legs to bare feet. She’d never paid much attention to a man’s feet before, but he had nice toes. Drawing her attention back up, she leaned her chin on her hand, closing her mouth so she didn’t drool. “It stinks that the snow is coming again.”

“I have an idea.” He leaned against the edge of the counter. “I can walk back to the scene of the accident and get anything you need from your car, especially your medication, before it starts again.”

“That’s too much to ask.”

“You didn’t. I volunteered.”

“But your knee. You said it was injured.”

“It feels a little better and this time I won’t have you to carry.” He went back to stirring the pot.

She plucked at a paper napkin, questions rolling through her head. “This assignment that you’re on. I know you said you can’t tell me the details, but…well, are we in danger here?”

“No.” He set the spoon on the counter and popped the lid to a jar of sauce and poured it into a pot. Immediately the room was filled with the tangy, fragrant smell of Italian spices. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she needed to eat something. “I was on his tail. Not the other way around.”

Dampening her lips, she decided to skip to another important question. “What about a wife? Significant other? With no cell service and no way to reach out, will someone be worried?” In truth, she wasn’t sure her curiosity leaned more toward concern or personal interest. She didn’t see a wedding band, or a tan line on his ring finger, but these days one couldn’t rely on a missing ring as evidence of relationship status. Just as in her own circumstance, she wore an engagement ring, but she was no longer engaged. She touched the prongs of the diamond setting and realized how sharp the points were. Over the last six months she’d snagged the ring on everything, ruined more pieces of clothing than she could remember. The two-carat diamond was beautiful, but it had lost its metaphoric shine.

“No.”

There was that one-word answer again. She couldn’t let it deter her. “Well, at least you didn’t tell me to mind my own business.”

“Oh, that was an option?” His eyes glinted.

She also realized he liked to tease. “Certainly, but you know, just as you worried about a disgruntled groom showing up, I too have concerns. I wouldn’t want someone getting upset that you’re stranded with a woman in a remote cabin.”

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