Page 30 of Finding Love on the Slopes

Leigh jerked back, wiping the tears from her eyes so she could see him more clearly, “You are worth it! Don’t ever say that again. I don’t know what happened to make you hate women and doubt your worthiness to be loved, but you are worth it. I didn’t risk my life and limb coming down the out-of-bounds of Avalanche Crest in the middle of a blizzard for nothing! My brother would not have encouraged me to take the chance on you if he didn’t feel you were worth it. We love you, each of us differently, but love you all the same.” Grabbing his face between her palms and holding his gaze, she said forcefully, “Yes, it’s true. We. Love. You. Every arrogant, prideful bone. Every overindulged, perfectly placed hair. You are worthy of love and so much more.” Tears flowed freely down her cheeks now, and she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, wondering for amoment where that outburst had come from but knowing deep down it was the truth.

Enrique was shocked by her words. He pulled her back into his arms while his bruised brain tried to process all the information she had just shouted at him. Curtis loved him and sent his sister down that dangerous trail to save him. He knew they were friends, the best kind of friends. Curtis knew all of his secrets. He had never thought of it as love, though. He loved his brothers. He loved Hannah… He would do anything for Curtis, so it made sense that it was love. And Leighann? He had been insanely attracted to her from the very moment he laid eyes on her. He had gone out of his way to be annoying to keep her at arm’s length, to protect his heart from getting involved, but here she was... in the middle of a blizzard, caring for his injuries after risking her life to save him. If that wasn’t love, then what was it? His own mother wouldn’t have done that. They had only known each other for three or four days now. Could it really be love or just an infatuation? Risking your life to save another formed strong attachments, but didn’t they wane after the danger passed? His mind was spinning, and he didn’t have the mental capacity to process this information accurately.

Enrique caressed her back and held her until her breathing regulated, and he felt confident she could proceed.

Speaking softly into her hair he suggested, “If you think you can handle it, wrapping my ribs would probably be a good idea. I don’t know if they are broken or just bruised but securingthem would probably feel good. If it will upset you too much, hand me the bandages and I will wrap them myself.”

Leigh shook her head, stepping back and wiping her eyes once more. “I can do it. I was just shocked when I saw the damage at first. I will be fine now. Just hold your shirt out of the way, and I will wrap them as quickly as I can. Let me know if it is too tight.”

Rummaging through the first aid kit, she pulled out a large roll of ace bandage and removed the clips holding it closed. Enrique held the strip just below his armpit on his less injured side, and Leigh walked around the small table, taking in the coloration on his back before circling back to the front.

“The back looks the same as the front, perhaps a little lighter in color. Seems the worst of the impact occurred to the front of your ribs. We need to be careful not to break them away so you don’t get a punctured lung. I don’t have the training to deal with that. We are going to have to find ways to pass the time, you shouldn’t sleep for at least twelve hours. I think wrestling and pillow fights are off the table.”

She said this in such a deadpan manner that it took Enrique a moment to catch the meaning of what she was saying. When it finally registered, he let out a bark of laughter and then moaned again. “I think your retribution doesn’t come in the form of pokes or pinches but tiny little jabs to the limbic system. You keep making me laugh even though you know it hurts me,” he accused.

She shrugged, “Laugh or cry. You made me cry; I returned the favor.”

Enrique smiled; she was pretty good with the comebacks. He had to admit he enjoyed her sense of humor. It had been a very long time since he had laughed with anyone or carried on a nonsensical conversation like they had over his abs.

“Hey, now that you have gotten a good look, what do you think? Sticking with bird chest or changing your answer?” His charming grin was back in place and shining on all watts when she glanced up from what she was doing.

“You just need that affirmation to stroke your ego, don’t you? Heaven help you if the woman administering first aid doesn’t take notice of your physical beauty and charm,” she retorted while resuming her work.

“What are you saying you didn’t count? I have a full six-pack, in case you really didn’t notice. I may not be the perfect specimen to act in a Thor movie like your brother, but I’m in excellent shape. Even us computer geeks know how to hit the gym and eat right.”

She couldn’t tell if he was joking with her again or not. Considering his previous arrogance, she wouldn’t doubt it if he were truly offended that she didn’t sing the praises of his stellar physique. And what was this about being a computer geek? Google said he ran a fashion empire or something. She didn’t read anything about computers, did she?

Pulling the end of the bandage tight over the center of his chest, she attached the hooks to secure the wrap from unravelingand turned to the sink to wash her hands in the now-cold water using the antiseptic wash she had found in the ranger’s kit.

“I’ll have to take your word for it. Now, if you want to go get comfortable by the fire, I will clean this mess up. I just remembered that I didn’t call Curtis. The storm is raging outside, and I doubt the call will go through, but I should at least try. Will you look and see if you can find any blankets?”

As Enrique made his way across the room and looked around for anything to help keep them warm through the night, she took out her satellite phone and punched the number for Curtis. She was worried he might have been trying to reach her to know for sure that they had made it to safety, but as expected, the call didn’t go through. It had been a long shot. Satellites were powerful, but even they couldn’t get a signal through the thick cloud cover and atmospheric disturbance that came with a storm like this. They would all just have to wait and bide their time until the storm passed to get in touch with the outside world and be rescued. Hopefully, that wouldn’t take four days like the ranger predicted. Unless they found firewood tomorrow, they wouldn’t last that long.

Chapter Twenty- Four

Leigh approached the fire and noticed that Enrique had found two fluffy blankets hidden somewhere and had turned their suits over on the chairs to dry the other side. She hoped the inside would dry as well. She wasn’t sure how it happened, but snow had gotten inside her snowsuit and drenched her thermals underneath. Either that or she had worked up that much of a sweat on the way to the cabin. If her suit was that wet, she could only imagine how bad his had been after rolling down the mountain and laying in the snow for at least thirty minutes.

Feeling the suits inside and out, she was relieved to find they had dried completely. These would go a long way to keeping them warm tonight.

“These are dry. I’m not cold, just chilled. We should put them on before we get cold, though, so our bodies don’thave to fight to heat back up. We only have a few pieces of firewood left and at least six hours of darkness. We need to burn it as slowly as possible to keep the fire going enough to keep this place and us from freezing.”

Enrique nodded his head in agreement and took his suit, pulling it on over his thermals.

“Let’s see how warm we are in these. If it starts to get really cold or the fire is going to go out then we need to add our other pair of thermals over the top. This should work well for you since I brought a pair that is a little too small. Hopefully, the pair you were wearing was a little roomier and will fit nicely over the top if necessary.”

Leigh slipped her snowsuit on quickly and moved the chairs back into the kitchen. “I was thinking about the sleeping arrangements. We need to stay as close to the fire as possible. That bed is going to allow a draft up from the bottom, which will steal warmth away. I think it will be more effective if we lay the mattress on the floor in front of the fire. We can take the cushions off the couch and lay them on the floor, too. That will provide a nice large area for us to rest and still be close enough to stay warm. Any arguments?” she asked, turning to Enrique from her place by the bed.

“Nope, your guess is probably better than mine as to how to survive this. Why not move the couch closer, though?” he questioned.

“I thought of that but… that is an old couch. More than likely made before fire retardant laws were put into place. I have heard horror stories about folks falling asleep with cigarettes and burning their house down when their couch caught fire and went up like a doused bonfire. I think we should be safe rather than sorry and keep the couch where it is to decrease the chance of a spark catching it on fire and taking us and the cabin with it.”

“Oh, in that case, I agree. Let me help with that,” Enrique started to get up from his position on the couch, but Leigh stalled him with a raised hand.

“No, rest. I can handle a little twin mattress. We aren’t sleeping for a long while, so as long as you are warm, you are fine where you are on the couch.” A few seconds later, she dropped the old mattress on the floor, and the gust of air from its landing made the flames dance in the hearth. “I have some hot chocolate, tea, or coffee. Does any of that sound good to you?” she asked as she retrieved the steaming coffee pot from its place over the fire.

“Hot chocolate sounds wonderful. I hate to admit it, but I have a bit of a sweet tooth.”

“I had already figured that out,” Leigh confessed as she carried the pot to the kitchen and prepared two steaming mugs of chocolate.

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