Page 17 of Garrett

The river. The current. She’ll be swept downstream under the ice. My heart pounds so hard I can barely think, but my body moves on autopilot. I sprint along the bank, scanning the ice for movement.

There - a flash of movement under the surface. My blood turns to ice in my veins.

Not again. She’s my everything - I can’t lose her.

The thought barely registers as I run ahead of where I saw her, dropping to my knees. My fist slams into the ice, again and again. Pain shoots up my arm but I barely feel it. Blood smears across the white surface but I keep punching, making the hole bigger. My knuckles are raw, probably broken, but none of that matters.

The hole is barely big enough when I plunge my arms into the water. The cold is like knives, but I reach deeper, straining.

Something brushes my fingertips.

I grab hold and pull with everything I have, hauling her limp body through the hole. She gasps for breath. Her lips are blue. She looks at me, and then her eyes roll back.

“Don’t you dare,” I growl, lifting her in my arms. “Don’t you dare leave me.”

The cabin seems miles away but I run anyway, cradling her against my chest. Inside, I strip off her wet clothes with shaking hands, wrap her in every blanket I can find. I rub her arms, her legs, trying to warm her slowly like I learned in wilderness training.

“Come on, baby. Come back to me.”

Her eyes flutter open, unfocused.

“Garrett?”

The sound of my name on her blue-tinged lips breaks something inside me. All my careful walls crumble to dust.

“I thought I lost you.” My voice is rough, raw. “When I saw you under that ice, I- God, Rachel. I can’t lose you. I can’t lose someone I love again.”

Her eyes widen slightly. “Love?”

“Yes, damn it. I love you. I’ve been fighting it because I’m terrified of getting hurt again, but watching you trapped under that ice...” I pull her closer, pressing my face into her damp hair. “I don’t want to leave. I don’t want Colorado or any other job if it means being away from you. You’re home to me now. You’re everything.”

Her cold fingers touch my cheek. “You’re bleeding.”

“Worth it.” I catch her hand, press a kiss to her palm. “Everything’s worth it if it means keeping you.”

“Stay,” she whispers, and it sounds like a prayer. “Stay with me.”

I gather her closer, feeling her shiver against me. “I love you, Rachel. I’m not going anywhere.”

She burrows deeper into the blankets, her body still trembling but her eyes clearer now. “Good. Because I love you too, you stubborn idiot. Even if your timing seriously needs work.”

I laugh, the sound rough with relief. “My timing?”

“Couldn’t you have figured this out before I had to fall through the ice? A nice dinner conversation maybe? Or even a dramatic kiss in the snow?”

“You’re the one who decided to go ice skating without skates.”

“I was making a point.”

“About what? How good I look playing the hero?”

She tries to glare but can’t quite manage it. “About how much I hate goodbyes. Although I have to admit...” Her lips curve into a weak smile. “The whole carrying me to safety thing was pretty hot. Even if I was mostly unconscious for it.”

I press my forehead to hers, breathing her in. “How about we skip the near-death experiences from now on?”

“Deal.” She shivers again. “Although right now I wouldn’t mind if you did that body heat sharing thing they talk about in survival guides.”

“That’s a very unsubtle way of asking me to get under these blankets with you.”

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