Page 22 of Rebel
Winter wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to make it the rest of the way through the storm, but she had to try. She knew that he had to be alive but proving it hadn’t been easy. She could tell that Rebel was keeping something from her about Jace. Every time she brought up the subject of Jace to his sister, Rebel, she’d change the subject. Winter couldn’t wait her friend out for the truth anymore. She needed to reach Jace, and that was the force driving her through the snowstorm from hell. Well, that and probably a whole lot of prayers and luck, since she had never driven in snow before.
She had fought with herself for over a half a year now about whether or not Jace had a right to know about the baby. They had spent one night together, and she ended up with a consolation prize that he had no clue existed. Winter even thought about telling Rebel about the baby to get the truth out of her, but she wanted Jace to be the first to know about their son, so she kept her secret hidden under black, baggy clothes and blamed her weight gain on her love for sweets. That was partiallythe truth because this kid only wanted her to eat cake—twenty-four, seven.
Winter had waited months for any answer as to where Jace was, and when she overheard Bolt and Rebel talking at Savage Hell, she finally got some answers. From what Rebel said, her brother was staying up North in a small town in Minnesota. That and the name, Winnibigoshish, which, with some research, she found out was a lake. Maybe packing her warmer clothing and driving halfway across the country into elements that she was unprepared for wasn’t her finest decision, but there was no turning back now. Hell, she couldn’t find the road to turn around on, even if she wanted to.
The snow was coming down fast and furiously. The guy on the only radio station that her car picked up said that it was “Whiteout conditions,” not that she knew what that meant. All she knew was that the snow was trying to bury her alive, and if she stopped her car for any reason, it would probably succeed.
The baby felt as though he was doing somersaults inside of her, and she loved that he was so active. She worried that this trip might have been too stressful for both of them, but not telling Jace about their son wasn’t an option. Her car had other ideas, though, and when it slid off the road into a ditch, she knew that she wasn’t going to find Jace any time soon.
“Crap,” she said, rubbing her belly. “What are we going to do now?” she asked. The only person she had programmed into her cell phone was Rebel, and calling Jace’s sister just felt wrong, but she had no other choice.
She pulled out her cell and unbuckled her seatbelt, giving herself a quick once-over to make sure that she and the baby were both fine. Luckily, she didn’t seem any worse for wear, and the baby still felt as though he was playing soccer inside of her, so she assumed he was okay, too.
She called Rebel and said a little prayer that her friend would answer the phone. “Hey,” Rebel said.
“Um, hi,” Winter breathed. “I’m in a little bit of trouble, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Okay, what kind of trouble?” Rebel asked. “Do you need me to come over?”
“No, I’m not home,” Winter admitted.
“Where are you then? I can come to you,” Rebel offered.
“I’m in Minnesota,” Winter admitted. She closed her eyes and sighed. “Don’t be mad, but I overheard you and Bolt talking at Savage Hell, and I figured I’d drive up here to try to find Jace. I just didn’t count on this storm.”
“Oh, God,” Rebel breathed. “Jace called and told me that it’s bad up there.”
“Yeah, and that’s kind of why I’m calling. I slid off the road, and I need someone to come get me. Do you think that you can get Jace to come find me?” she asked.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “Send me a pin and I’ll figure out how close you are to my brother’s cabin,” Rebel ordered before she could answer her question. Winter held the phone away from her ear and did as her friend asked, thankful for technology.
“Done,” Winter said.
“Oh, you’re only a quarter of a mile from Jace,” Rebel said excitedly. “Do you think that you can walk it? His cell phone is spotty at best out there. I’m surprised that you got a signal.”
“In this storm?” Winter asked. She looked out of the windshield that had quickly been covered with snow, and then to the backseat where she had tossed her coat and boots.
“I think that I can,” she agreed. “I have everything that I need to get through this snow. Can you send me his address, and I’ll GPS it while I walk. The snow is really coming down out there,” she said, shivering at the thought of how cold it was going to be.
“I’ll try to reach my brother, and you start walking. Hopefully, I’ll get through, and Jace will come to pick you up. Be careful, and please let me know when you find his cabin,” Rebel ordered. She smiled at how bossy her friend was and agreed to all her terms and conditions, ending the call.
As soon as she was bundled up, Rebel’s text with Jace’s address came through, and she set up her GPS. “You ready for this, kid?” she asked her belly. She wasn’t sure if she was waiting for him to answer or delaying the inevitability of having to brave the snowstorm. She took a deep breath and let it out. “Here we go,” she said, opening her car door. The winter wind hit her in the face, practically taking her breath away as she stepped into the shin-deep snow. She knew that a quarter of a mile was going to feel as though it was a few states away, but she needed to get to Jace—her little one was depending on her to do so.
Finding the cabin proved nearly impossible, and when she stumbled upon it, she thanked her guardian angel, or whoever had her back. Practically falling into Jace’s cabin wasn’t part of the plan, but he had taken her by surprise, and now, she was pretty sure that she was going to do the same to him with her news.
When he insisted that she change into his clothes, she wanted to tell him that she was good in her sopping wet ones. But he was right—she needed to get out of them if she was ever going to warm up, and right now, that was all she wanted. Walking through the storm had really taken it out of her. Winter felt as though her skin was on fire from the wet, cold clothing that she pulled off her body, and God, she felt as though she could sleep for years.
She smoothed her hands over her belly, checking herself out in the gray sweats that Jace had let her borrow. There was no hiding her baby bump in them, and she worried that springing all this on him might be too much. But there was no turning back now. She was there, and her baby would be joining them in just a few months. She couldn’t hide him from the rest of the world anymore.
Winter slowly walked out of the bedroom to find Jace in the kitchen, making her some tea. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten that day yet, and she protectively rubbed her belly. “Would you mind making me something to eat, too? I haven’t had anything all day.”
Jace nodded his head, not looking up from the tea kettle as he poured her a cup of hot tea. He was so cute, concentrating on making her something to warm her up, but she knew from experience that he didn’t like anyone to call him that—not even his sister. For a biker, being called cute was the kiss of death. And for some reason, being a big, tough biker along with an FBI agent made it even worse.
“Why did you leave?” she almost whispered. When Jace didn’t respond, Winter cleared her throat to make sure that he had heard her. “After our night together, why did you leave?” she repeated.
He shrugged, still not looking at her as he swirled her tea back in the hot water. “You know what I do for a living, Winter,” he said, as though that would explain everything to her.
“I do, but that doesn’t explain why you left,” she insisted.
