Page 21 of Scotch & Shortbread

Santa's House. Somewhere in the North Pole.

Quinnwasnotgonnago down today. She had too much life left to live, damn it, and she had a novel to write. More scared and more determined than she’d ever been in her life, she waited.

Holding steady on the trigger, her finger itching to press and let it fly, the sniffing grew closer. When the sniffing gave way to raucous barking, she nearly flew twenty feet in the air. For a brief moment, Quinn’s panicked mind jumped to a wolf, but then sweet relief washed over her when she realized it was a dog.A dog. She could have cried. The bear spray dropped out of her hand as her body slumped with relief. It was a dog barking, and just like that, fear was replaced with hope. It suddenly dawned on her how stupid she’d been. It was winter. Bears hibernate in the winter. The cold must be numbing not only her body but her brain.

A tawny masked face with a black snout poked through the pine boughs sniffing at her and then the head of a German Shepherd nudged past the boughs and excited golden brown eyes took in the sight of her. Quinn’s heart nearly burst. Never had she been so glad to see a dog, and he looked as if he’d found a missing toy, he was so pleased with himself. The sweet furry beast barked excitedly at finding her. She laughed as her body coursed with pent-up adrenaline. Reaching out, she let him sniff her before she ruffled his ears.

“Hello, Beautiful,” she cooed.

“C’mon, outta there.” She heard a man’s voice call. Another wave of relief washed over her. Oh, thank God, a person! Her furry newfound friend rushed off at the call of his master. The wind and snow were still swirling like a tempest, but Quinn quickly got herself out of her makeshift shelter.

“Wait,” she cried out, hearing the panic in her voice. The blessed dog bounded back to her. She could just make out a large dark figure coming towards her. Her mind briefly flew to Mean Hot Cop, but there was no way in hell she’d run into him up here.

“I’m lost,” she called out over the roar of the wind.

The figure approached her, but it was hard to see much other than his size in the blowing snow and darkness of the evening.

“Come.” His voice was calm through the whipping of the wind. It didn’t matter to her that he was a total stranger and could be an axe murderer for all she knew. He was her only hope tonight, so she followed him without question.

The world had become a dizzying snow globe with no clear direction, but somehow, the man seemed to know where he was going. It wasn’t easing keeping up while he moved almost stealthily through thick snow, but Quinn worked hard to stay close on his heels. She wasn’t going to risk losing sight of her only hope of survival tonight.

It felt like they trudged through the blowing snow for ages. Her toes had lost feeling, and she felt exhausted. Quinn looked up as they came across a log cabin. It seemed like a mirage after the hellish hike. Emotion swept through her at seeing a warm light glowing through the window. She could’ve wept at the site. The past couple of hours of her life had been so intense, so surreal. She’d genuinely wondered if she’d freeze to death if this would be her last day on this earth. She shuttered thinking about it. It was hard to process all that had occurred.

“Oh, thank God.” She let out a shaky breath.

The man got the door open and let her in. Quinn almost lost her footing as her dog saviour barrelled past her. The first thing her eyes took in was a modest fire crackling in a stone fireplace. From her current perspective, she was certain that it was the most beautiful and welcoming sight she’d ever laid eyes on. Despite being colder than she ever knew was possible, the relief of being inside this warm inviting cabin spread over her like a drizzle of hot caramel on an ice cream sundae.

“Here come, take off yer coat and warm by the fire. I’ll make ye a hot drink.”Oh, shit.That voice. That accent. The cop.No way. She thought he was supposed to be on holiday. Her stomach sank. God, she was an idiot. She spied him as he pulled off his snow gear. How did she not recognize him sooner? That tall broad frame.Hisdog. Good Lord, her brain really must be frozen.

15

The Thaw

Partofherbraincringed, but a bigger part was too damn cold and fragile to care. God, what were the chances though? She watched his broad form as he walked to the kitchen and memories of the night before jumbled in her mind.

Feeling too many things all at once, her body shivered still not accepting the warmth of being inside. There was a wooden bench at the front door. She slid down onto it and tried to will her frozen fingers to work so she could get her boots untied. Fingers fumbling, she was not getting anywhere. Mean Hot Cop approached her, towering above her where she sat fighting frustrated tears.

“Ye’re freezing lass.” He knelt in front of her, taking her frozen hands in his. He cupped his large hands around hers and blew warm breath onto them. Quinn welcomed the warmth, but his gentle compassion overwhelmed her. It was the last thing she expected from him.

She felt spent and on the edge of a tidal wave of emotion, barely contained.

Hot Cop continued to blow hot breath onto her hands and gently rubbed them in his. Sweet relief began to trickle through her as her hands thawed under his ministrations.

“Thank you.” Her voice shook. Tears pricked her eyes. She could’ve died out there, the thought was sobering. The cold still seemed to have its grip on her, but it was getting better and she felt safe now. Safe with him.

He glanced up at her face for the first time, and Quinn saw in his intense blue eyes the instant he recognized her. She braced herself, fearing he’d turn into Mean Cop again—disapproving and cold. She felt so frayed and was already so cold. She’d probably crack if he did.

“Where are your friends?” he asked concerned, tension etching between his dark brows.

“Oh no, they weren’t with me.” She assured him realizing he must have assumed she’d been hiking with her friends, and they were still out there. Thank God, that was not the case. “They headed home this morning. I was hiking alone…” Her voice trailed off. Regret bit at her, she should have stayed at the inn. Worked on her novel. She should have known better than to hike alone, not to have turned around when the snow got thick.

He didn’t say a word as he let go of her hands. Quinn felt a harsh stab of disappointment, but then to her surprise, he went to work untying her boots. She tried to contain the flood of emotions that were threatening to consume her. Perhaps it was all the pent-up adrenaline, but his kindness was hitting every emotional cord in her.

Exhausted and cold, she just watched him as he silently worked. It was strange to see the hulking muscled man kneeling before her. He wore a dark long-sleeved fitted shirt, and she could make out almost every detail of his perfectly sculpted shoulders and biceps. His head was down as he focused on the task of her boots which allowed her to take in his thick clean-cut dark hair with a little extra messy length on the top. Even now, she couldn’t deny that she found him stupidly hot. This time, it was maybe his kindness that made him even more appealing though. He seemed far from the jerk cop she’d witnessed. When he realized it was her he’d rescued, she’d half expected him to kick her out of his cabin. But instead, he was seemingly taking care of her, and she found herself truly grateful.

Quinn had always been a strong independent woman. She’d had to be. Despite everything life had thrown at her and all she had faced, she always found the silver linings. But she had never experienced anything like tonight. On that mountain under the branches, while the wind and snow were a torrent around her, she genuinely feared that she might freeze to death before getting out. To be so completely at the mercy of her environment, with her very existence on the line, left her feeling as tenuous as an icicle in the late winter's sun.

The man kneeling in front of her had rescued her—saved her life. Overwhelmed by a vulnerability that shook her to her core, she found herself completely surrendering to his care. She’d done her best to stay strong on that mountain, but now she felt the strength she’d held onto so tightly begin to melt away under his touch and kindness. For once, she let go of the need to be strong. Her energy was zapped, and her strength felt depleted. Somehow, instead of feeling weak though, she felt herself mindlessly relax into his warm care. Until this moment, she wouldn’t have known how to allow someone to take care of her, but she had nothing left to resist his help—and she didn't want to.

---