Page 40 of SEAL by Fate

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“THE FIRST THING we’re going to do when we get home is—”

“Call a wrecker to get your vehicle towed?” Stormy said while watching him dig the shovel in the snow. Although she was cold, the layers of clothing and the tarp as well as Lola laying close kept her from freezing. She felt sorry for Gray because he was working furtively to dig the car out of the drift.

“Okay. The second thing. I’m having Doc Tanner look at your head.”

“I’m fine. No headaches. Nothing. The doctor needs to look at your knee. You’re still limping.”

He straightened and looked at her. A sheen of sweat covered his brow. “There’s nothing he’ll say that I don’t already know.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah. Tanner’s a great doctor. I’ve known him all my life, but he can’t fix my knee.”

“I told you I can help shovel. I’m not worthless.”

“And as I told you, I’ve got this. A few more shovelfuls and we’ll be good. I mean it, you should go sit in the vehicle. You can turn the engine on again.”

“We have to save gas. Neither of us expected that the assholes would drain most of the gas from the tanks. Anyway, we used enough when we first got here.”

He didn’t argue. Probably because he knew she was completely right.

“The roads are still covered. How will we get down the mountain?”

“We’ll be down in no time. Ever been sledding?”

She clenched her hands. “I guess that’s better than staying here where there’s a lunatic on the loose.”

“I have to agree.”

“You’re taking me to your childhood home with you? Will your dad be okay with this?”

Gray laughed, and the rich, powerful sound made her nipples tighten. “Don’t worry.” He straightened and rounded the car, tossing the shovel into the back seat. “I think we’re good. Ready?”

Lola jumped into the backseat and Stormy took the front seat. Once Gray started the engine and turned up the heat, she defrosted and was able to relax some, but they weren’t out of trouble yet. Because the tires were so small on the car, instead of gripping the snow and pulling out, it spun and the smell of burnt rubber filled her nostrils. Gray’s frustration shown in the hard set of his jaw.

“I’m going to have to push it out,” he finally said.

“What? You can’t.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“No. What about your knee?’

“Come sit in the driver’s seat and when I give you the command, lightly press on the gas. Okay?”

Although she wanted to argue, to say something to convince him that he shouldn’t do this, he was dead-set on pushing. So when he climbed out she slid over to the driver’s seat and waited. Once he gave her the command she did just as he told her to do, and amazingly, the vehicle spun, caught hold and they were out.

And on their way down the hill.

*

The relief of being on the road released some of the tension from Gray’s muscles, but once they were turned around and heading toward the small town at the basin of the mountain, the roads were nothing but ice. He hoped he’d made the right decision in getting Stormy out in the weather. No doubt Phantom would have made a move after his leg was taken care of, and then Gray and Stormy would have been at the mercy of that bastard.

Neither of them spoke as he drove carefully on the slick, icy road. The tires were nothing against the snow, but once he got the perfect speed and just enough pressure on the brake pedal, the car ate up feet and finally a mile.

Out of his peripheral he saw Stormy, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. “It’ll be okay.” About the same time those words were out of his mouth he saw that the road was blocked by a snow drift as high as the car’s fender. He pressed on the brake and the car resisted and slid sideways, slowly sliding until it smashed up against the drift in a loud thud.

“Damn.” He struck his palms against the steering wheel and then he felt a soft touch on his forearm. He looked around to find Stormy watching him and he forced his muscles to loosen. She didn’t need to see is irritation. She was in this as deeply as he was, and he didn’t want her to worry.

“At least we made it most of the way down the hill.”

He liked that she could see the positive side of things. Yeah, he was glad they had made it this far, but it wasn’t nearly as far as he would have liked. A snow mobile could eat up the distance in less than an hour, but they were in a car. All he could hope is that Phantom was babying his leg and resting. But Gray knew it would take hours to dig a path through the snow drift. And then what? He couldn’t ask Stormy to walk because the only things she had on her feet were delicate flats. She’d packed for a vacation, not a hike in the snow at below zero temperatures. Thanks to him, the snow shoes were somewhere on the mountain.

“Look what I kept from the cabin.” She reached into the backseat and brought out the unopened bottle of whiskey. “If we’re going to be stuck here we might as well stay warm.”

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