Page 28 of Finding Love on the Slopes

“I didn’t realize it took so little to make you happy.” Enrique chuckled at her enthusiasm and then moaned at the pain.

“Little! These things cost a pretty penny, and honestly, I was expecting a bucket back here. If I were lucky, it would have a wooden seat and a lid. Whoever built this cabin had to have had a wife at some point because I don’t know many hunters who would waste good money on one of these. Then again, the single bed kind of kills that idea.”

“Maybe they like to cuddle, so a single is all they need,” Enrique quipped, grinning at the blush he imagined tinting her cheeks.

“There is cuddling, and there is suffocating your partner. That tiny bed is definitely the latter. No, I am going with an old timer who switched the bed when the wife died for extra space but kept the toilet.”

“Why old timer? It could be a younger man,” Enrique debated.

“Nope, old timer, definitely. That couch is older than I am. I’m thinking the wife wanted new furniture, and he agreed to keep her happy but kept the couch for his hunting cabin. He paid good money for it and didn’t see any point in throwing it away.”

“You have quite a vivid imagination. Where do you come up with this stuff? Are your parents like that?” he inquired absentmindedly.

The silence that filled the next few minutes was uncomfortable. He could almost feel the temperature in the room drop. Realizing what he had said, he slapped himself on the forehead and let out a yelp of pain.

Leigh threw back the curtain and went to his side, “What happened? What’s wrong?” she asked, clearly concerned about his wellbeing. Her soft hands pushed his away and tenderly cupped his cheeks as she inspected his injuries.

“What did you do?” she demanded. “This head wound is bleeding again, and it had a nice scab forming when I saw it at dinner. How did this happen?”

“I, uh, realized what I had said about your parents and slapped myself in the head over my stupidity. I’m sorry, Leighann. For a minute, I forgot that you were Curtis’ sister, and I know what happened to your dad. I’m sorry, I spoke without thinking.” His warm brown eyes begged her for forgiveness.

Leigh’s heart melted a little. This was the first moment of genuine concern he had demonstrated since they met.

“It’s fine. But now we need to get you cleaned up before you drip blood all over these nice new thermals. Not that my brother wants them back, but… looking at blood on your clothes for the next few days will be kinda gross.” Turning to head to the kitchen, she stepped off the rug before the fire and onto the worn plank floor and sucked in a breath, hopping on one foot.

“What is it?” It was Enrique’s turn to be concerned as he stepped up beside her and steadied her by placing his hands on her hips. He looked down where she gripped her right foot and started laughing.

“It’s not funny!” Leigh whined, looking down at the couch and then over to the corner, where her wet snowsuit lay in a heap on the floor, forgotten in her haste to reach Enrique. “Let mesee you walk across this frozen floor without losingyourbreath.” Her stunning blue eyes glared death rays at him as he continued to laugh at her discomfort. Punching him lightly in the arm, she scowled, “Stop laughing at me and go get my sock. I seem to have dropped it when I was mistakenly worried about you.”

Laughter still shook his body even though it hurt his ribs. Bending slightly to bring their faces closer together, he teased with a cheeky grin, “What’s the magic word?”

Punching him in the arm a little harder this time, she responded with “Please,” forced between gritted teeth.

Enrique ensured she was steady on her sock-covered left foot before stepping away to collect her remaining woolen sock, which lay atop the toilet. He then draped her wet clothing over the back of the second chair before the fire and made his way back to her side. He held her shoulders steady as she reached down to put her sock on her right foot while continuing to balance on the left.

When her bones were in his hands, he noticed how small her frame was. With all her gear on, she looked much bigger, much stronger. Not that Leigh was weak by any stretch of the imagination; she was an athlete, after all, but in this instance, she seemed much more fragile than he originally assumed.

He grinned at the thought. She would probably punch him again if she had any idea that he had just used the word fragile to describe her. Still, it struck him suddenly that she needed protecting, and he had been taking her for granted all this time. No doubt, if Curtis had witnessed his actions, he would havepunched him, too, right in the kidney. His friend was nothing if not a protective brother.

After Leigh had both feet covered in warm socks, they made their way to the kitchen. Both chairs were being used to dry their clothing. So, after inspecting the sturdiness of the table and deciding it could probably handle his weight, he sat atop the scarred surface to allow Leigh easier access to his face.

She tore open antiseptic wipes and pulled several butterfly stitches from the first aid kit, asking him to hold them for her. Then she grabbed a bottle of ibuprofen and tipped out three tablets. Handing them to Enrique along with an enameled metal cup full of water, she instructed, “Take these. Whatever pain you are feeling is going to be worse by the time I finish with you.”

Smirking but not doubting her words, Enrique tossed the pills into his mouth and gulped the water down before handing her the now-empty cup.

Setting the cup aside and pulling his face down to a better angle, she admitted, “This is probably going to hurt; I apologize in advance.” She then proceeded to wipe his face with a warm washcloth that had been dowsed in alcohol. Dried blood covered his chin and neck from his busted lip, while blood from his head injury had managed to cover most of his forehead and cheek and even smeared his ear. He must have hit his head early on his trip down the mountain, and it bled the whole way down. The fresh blood had trickled down his eyebrow.

A grin pulled at her lips as she continued wiping his face clean, rinsing the dirty rag in the pan of boiled water when it turned red.

“What do you find funny?” he asked curiously.

“Nothing funny, really. I was just thinking it’s a good thing you can’t see your reflection right now. Your face was quite gruesome when I started. It’s looking better now. You’re still banged up pretty good, but not nearly as grotesque. You seem to put a great deal of emphasis on your looks; the current state of your appearance would likely make you swoon.” She chuckled at the images playing out in her mind.

“For the record, I’m sure my face has looked worse. As for swooning, I resent the implication that I am so vain I would pass out seeing myself in a disheveled state. I have spent time in the wild with your brother and looked quite scary, lacking any resemblance to a gentleman when I returned home. It is actually quite liberating once in a while not to care about how I look or the appearance I present to the world,” he stated matter of factly, and she wondered briefly if she had insulted him.

Taking a moment to look into his eyes, she saw humor reflecting back at her. She relaxed, knowing his ego wasn’t so big that he couldn’t take a joke.

Chapter Twenty-Two

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