Page 56 of Shielded Hearts

For all her rough, sassy and tomboyish ways, his little sister possessed a tender streak when it came to all animals. She was the Malone sibling who dragged home stray kittens, and they all tried to hide them away from their father, knowing he would get rid of any animal he deemed useless. Unless it was a horse or cow that could bring in a dollar, their father didn’t see animals as having any purpose.

“I hope your horse is all right, Willow.”

“I have Dutch with me. Between the two of us, we’ve got it covered.”

“Dutch is good.” The veteran had been in the program a little over a year now, and after spending all that time totally mute, he was beginning to have breakthroughs. “Call the vet if you need to.”

“Oh, I will,” she breezed out as if that should be obvious. And it was—no one would stop Willow once she set her mind to something.

Colt scrubbed a finger under his nose as emotion struck. “Willow?”

“Yes?”

“I’m damn glad to have you in my corner.”

For a moment, his sister was rendered speechless. Silence throbbed in the vehicle.

“Are you sure you don’t have a concussion too, Colt?”

His rough laugh burst out, and Gray issued a hiss of mirth from the back.

He ended the call and set his phone in the cup holder, reaching for Aspen’s hand once again.

She clasped his hand, and he noted that she wasn’t trembling as much as she had been minutes before.

“Two hours,” he told her and his brother. “Hang in there, okay?”

“If you were a pilot, Colt, you could fly the jet and get us there faster.”

He snorted at his brother’s jab.

“Both of you are amazing.” Aspen’s words came out softly. “Your entire family is beyond capable. I feel so safe with all of you.”

Colt sent her a look, hoping that he was still good at masking his feelings, but the more time he spent with Aspen, the softer he felt himself growing.

He couldn’t let her see a single trace of sadness on his face. Later, once he had her safe behind locked doors, he would break the news to her—that shewasn’tsafe.

Until Gideon was captured…or killed…Aspen wasn’t safe.

* * * * *

The thick woolen blanket that Colt wrapped around Aspen’s shoulders slipped down her arms, and she drew it more snugly around her. She curled into the warmth, but she didn’t seem to gain much from the blanket.

Could this day get any longer? It seemed like a week ago that they’d arrived at the Wyoming cabin. How carefree she’d been, eager to explore the space as a prospective destination for her clients.

And it seemed like ages ago that she and Colt had browsed through the shops in search of specialty items for a welcome basket.

They’d almost died. Theycouldhave died.

The terror of surviving an avalanche felt fresh in her veins.

The leap in her chest at being rescued felt like it just happened minutes ago, when really hours and hours had passed.

Looking up through the hole in the snow only to see Gideon’s face made her stomach bottom out all over again.

Unexpectedly, a huge yawn cut short the rest of her memories of the day. It was too many emotions for one person to feel in a year, let alone in twenty-four hours.

Colt hadn’t left her alone since they arrived at the ranch, hardly venturing more than a few steps away.

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