Page 25 of Holly and Ivar
“You have no idea.”Her attempt to suppress an embarrassed laugh failed.“I think if you weren’t here, I’d be in these for days.”
“Don’t worry,” he replied with a chuckle.“It’s more common that you think.”
“It is?”
“No.Not at all.”
Holly laughed outright, nearly losing her balance in the process.“Glad to know I’m setting new records in athletic grace.”
He bent to help, still grinning.“You’re doing great for someone who may never walk again.”
Their hands brushed as he bent over.It was brief, perhaps half a second, but it was enough to send an unexpected spark through her and chase off the winter chill.She brushed at her coat as if that would wipe the feeling away, grateful Ivar’s attention was on her feet.
As soon as he’d eased her feet out of the snowshoes, she turned to toss her pack in the cab.
And froze.
Nestled against a bag in Ivar’s truck bed was her broom.
Her.Broom.
For a moment she could only stare.It was as still as a regular old broom, yet a faint, electric pull made her bones practically buzz.How long had it been there?She hadn’t touched it since the night she arrived.
Had it come to her in the forest?To Ivar’s truck?That was crazier than Ivar’s magical tree.
His voice broke through her daze.“When did you toss that in there?”
“Right before we left.I told you it’s a good luck charm.”
He raised a brow.“I thought you said it was for sweeping away bad first impressions.”
“That too.It’s kind of a family thing.”She managed a faint smile.
“Okay.”He nodded, apparently satisfied, and turned back to the cab.“You know, you surprise me more and more each day.”
Holly climbed in and stared straight ahead as the truck rumbled to life.
Outside, the forest blurred by.Inside, her thoughts refused to still.
She was supposed to be here to assess logistics.Not legends.Scout a site, go home.
But Ivar Nilsen was searching for a tree that matched the description of a legend.And now, her broom wanted to join the search.
Something was happening in Winterwood.But what?
13
oh what fun it is to spy
Ivar
Thestillnessoftheranger station was almost suspicious.
Ivar leaned back in his chair, boots crossed at the ankle, one hand loosely holding a lukewarm tea.Across the room, Al lay in his usual spot under the desk, snoring softly with legs twitching like he was chasing snow hares in his dreams.
After dropping off Holly, Ivar had stopped by work to finish a few reports, despite it being his week off.
But his mind was somewhere else entirely.
