Page 14 of Annika's Aurora

The closing of the door woke Logan from where he’d fallen asleep on the couch. He jumped up and looked out the window in time to see Annika turn her face to the sky. His heart clenched as a small smile turned the corners of her lips up while she let the snow melt on her face. Could anything be any more beautiful?

Heart thudding hard as she ran off down the road, he turned away from the window and went into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, wondering what he should make them for breakfast. Most likely, it would be the same as yesterday since that was all he knew how to make. As he fixed his coffee, he decided to wait to make breakfast until he could see her making her way back up the road. No sense in it going cold while she ran.

He took his coffee back to the couch, surprised he’d actually fallen asleep on it again. And the nightmare hadn’t come back either. Peeking out from under the couch, the picture frame he’d been holding lay on the floor. He’d forgotten it had fallen there when he fell asleep. Thinking it would be awkward if Annika spotted it, he quickly picked it up and put it back on the mantel, not wanting to have to explain why he’d been sleeping with her picture. The last week had been awkward enough. He wanted more than anything to have the conversation they needed, but he’d never been very good with words. He spent most of his time planning the right words to say, but each time he tried, his mind went blank, the words sticking in his throat.

It became easier and less painful to avoid each other, which did neither one of them any good. He needed to man up and wrest the words out. And soon. Even if she did turn her back on him every time he tried to speak.

He sat to wait for Annika. Maybe today she’d let him talk to her. They couldn’t keep tiptoeing around each other, or they’d both go crazy. He’d apologize, and she’d forgive him … eventually. She had to. He couldn’t live without her in his life any longer.

Curious, though, why it was suddenly so important to him after fifteen years to have her love and friendship back. It had been a lonely fifteen years. Sure, there had been other women; he hadn’t been a monk. But none of them had ever filled him with joy the way a simple smile from Annika could.

He’d once thought she was like a sister to him. Although, in those last few months before everything went to hell, he’d started to feel differently around her. Every time she’d reached for his hand, every hug she gave him, his response to her grew more intense. He’d found himself becoming aroused around her more often. Even the smell of her shampoo made him hard. And oranges. Christ. He couldn’t eat an orange without thinking of her and how her scent had surrounded him that last day they were together.

He’d started to crave her touch in their senior year. And that last day when he’d pulled her down on top of him, he’d wanted so badly to kiss her. He thought she wanted to as well if the look in her eyes was any indication. Logan still remembered how her pupils had dilated, and her tongue had darted out to lick her lips. Tempting him.

But as soon as the desire flared, they both quickly suppressed it, each of them knowing they had a good thing, a rare friendship. They didn’t want to muss everything up with sex. And he was very aware that Jamie was his best friend and Annika’s brother. The unspoken bro code was always hanging in front of him.

Logan glanced out the window … again, beyond worried as the time closed in on two hours. It was snowing harder, and the wind was picking up. It must be bitingly cold out there, and her spandex didn’t offer much protection from the windchill. Something must have happened to her.

Making a decision, he went to the closet, grabbed his parka, and started for the front door. But before he could reach it, he changed direction and headed to his room, grabbing his rescue pack that the Nighthawks took with them everywhere. In it, he had everything he’d need on a rescue, including a coil of climbing rope, a harness, and a med pack. He raced out the door.

Fighting the wind that threatened to topple him, he did his best to follow Annika’s footprints, which were quickly being covered by the blowing snow. Reaching the bend in the road near the bluff, he knew. His heart squeezed painfully as he followed her path to the edge. Something had obviously drawn her here. He could see handprints in the snow. She must have crawled under the overgrowth. He carefully inched closer to the edge spotting the area where a recent collapse had been. He peered over the edge.

Fuck.

She lay at the bottom, twenty feet below, on her side facing away from the lake. Unmoving. The water lapped at her back, and her blonde ponytail floated while the waves undulated beneath it.

No!

She couldn’t be dead.Shit.Pleasedon’tbe dead.Moving quickly, he tore his rope out of his pack and tied one end off on a tree far enough back that he wouldn’t have to worry about erosion claiming it. Not bothering with his harness, he climbed down to her, the rope burns on his hands going unnoticed.

“Annika!” He’d called to her the whole way down with no response. The wind was intense, repeatedly banging him into the cliff. He ignored that pain too.

He jumped the last few feet and ran to her side, sliding to his knees beside her. He touched her cheek; it was ice cold. Feeling for a pulse, he called to her again. Still nothing but he felt the steady beat under his fingertips.

Steadying her neck as best he could in case she had a neck injury, he rolled her to her back. That placed her more in the water, but it couldn’t be helped until he ascertained her injuries. His paramedic training kicked in and took over. He felt her limbs for broken bones, and finding none, he moved to her head to see why she was unconscious.

There it was. A large goose egg on her temple, sticky with blood. A concussion but no broken bones. But she was cold. Too cold.

Hypothermic.

He had to get her out of here and get her warm. Figuring it was safe enough to risk moving her, he picked her up and moved her out of the water. Once on drier land, he put her down and tore his coat off. He put it on her, one arm at a time. Even zipping it and putting the hood up.

He tried to block the worst of the wind with his body. It was essential to get her out of the wet clothes, but he needed to get her inside first. He reached in his pack and pulled out the emergency blanket pack. Ripping open the packaging, he unfolded it and wrapped it tightly around her.

Now to figure out how to get her up out of here. He thought about carrying her up the beach toward the house. There was a path that wound its way up the bluff?if it was even still there. But the water was right up against the bluff most of the way. It would be too dangerous. One slip on the rocks, and they’d both be in trouble. He couldn’t afford to get hypothermic too. So, the only solution was to get her up right here.

He grabbed his knife?the same one Annika had given him so many years ago?and cut off the excess rope. He fashioned a harness for her so that he could tie her to himself. Needing his hands free to climb, the rudimentary harness would have to do.

“Okay, Sunfire. Let’s get you out of here.” He stepped into his own harness and hooked himself up to the rope. Squatting in front of Annika with his back to her, he grabbed the ropes he’d rigged up, lifted her, and tied her to his back. Once he was done, he bounced up and down a few times, testing his handiwork until satisfied she’d stay in place in the makeshift sling. Having trained so often during his SEAL days carrying either his heavy pack or a fellow teammate, Annika’s weight on his back was comparatively slight. He’d never imagined he’d be thankful for that part of his SEAL training in his civilian life. Still, he would have liked to have his teammates as backup, but he couldn’t wait the amount of time it would take them to arrive.

Tamping down the nerves that hit him as he let go of her, he grabbed the rope he’d used to climb down, choosing to trust in his skills. After a deep breath, he began to make the slow arduous journey back up the bluff, hoping she didn’t wake up mid-climb and panic.

Once he’d pulled himself high enough, he braced his feet against the cliff, using hands and feet to climb. The wind tried it’s hardest to hamper his movements, buffeting against him. Rocks crumbled under his feet, causing him to slip several times, but he kept climbing. He ignored the strain in his muscles, focusing entirely on his task. At one point he feared Annika was slipping, but he pressed on, forcing his muscles to work harder and faster.

Back up top on solid ground after taking a battering from the snow and wind, he untied her from his back and lay in the snow willing his muscles to relax. Once the shaking had subsided, he stood and reached for Annika. With one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, he left the ropes and ran, carrying her back to the house.

His relief at reaching the house was short-lived. The wind had knocked the power out, and the house was cold. Logan knew time was of the essence to get her warmed up and couldn’t wait for the paramedics. He doubted they could get to him quickly through this mess anyway.

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