Page 66 of Snowed In with Four Firemen
“I mean Axel—you’re not with me, are you?”
The question catches me completely off guard. I choke on my sip of orange juice, sputtering. “What?”
Sam clears his throat, glancing at Hailey. “You might want to fill her in, Hails.”
Hailey sets her fork down, her expression growing serious. “Oh, right. I can’t believe I didn’t mention it earlier.” She leans closer, lowering her voice as if sharing a dark secret. “There was a fight last night. Down at the bar. Whit and Axel got into it.”
My heart stutters. “What? Are you serious?”
“Yep,” she says, nodding solemnly. “From what I heard, Whit took a swing at Axel, and then—bam—Axel hit him right back. I thought you knew.”
“Is Axel okay?”
“He’s fine…and Whit is okay, too, I guess. Though he was insisting we call the cops on Axel.” She winces.
“I had no idea,” I say.
“It’s just…” She hesitates, her gaze searching for mine. “It’s clear there’s a lot of…tension. Like, between everyone. I’m worried about you, Em.”
But I’m barely listening anymore. The wordsAxelandfightkeep reverberating in my head, mixing with a rising tide of guilt and confusion. He got into a fight—overme. I didn’t want this, it’s what I’ve been trying so hard to avoid.
“I have to go,” I say abruptly, pushing my chair back and standing up.
Hailey blinks, startled. “Wait, where are you going?”
“I need to find Axel,” I say, my voice strained. “Make sure he’s okay.”
“Emily—” Hailey starts, but I’m already turning away, my mind racing. I ignore the questioning looks of the other guests as I hurry out of the dining hall, my heart pounding.
The corridors blur around me as I search for him, my footsteps quickening as a dozen thoughts swirl in my head. Where would he be? What do I even say when I find him? God, I knew things were tense, but I didn’t think?—
I spot Tanner leaning against a wall near the main entrance, and relief floods me. He looks up as I approach, his eyes widening slightly.
“Hey, whoa, where’s the fire?” he asks, pushing off the wall and stepping in front of me.
“Where’s Axel?” I blurt, out of breath. “I need to find him.”
Tanner’s smile fades, his brow furrowing. “He’s outside, checking on something by the maintenance shed. Why? What’s going on?”
I barely hear him. I’m already turning away, heading for the exit. The cold air hits me like a slap as I step outside, scanning the grounds. Snow crunches under my boots as I hurry toward the small maintenance building tucked at the side of the property. And there he is, standing alone by the shed, his back to me, staring out at the stormy horizon.
“Axel!” I call, my voice breathless.
He turns, his face unreadable as he watches me approach. There’s a bandage on his jaw.
“I heard what happened,” I say, my words tumbling out in a rush. “Hailey told me about the fight with Whit—are you okay? What were you thinking?”
His gaze softens, just a little, as he takes a step toward me. “I’m fine, Em.”
“You don’tlookfine,” I retort, gesturing to the cut on his jaw. My heart aches at the sight of it, anger and guilt swirling together. “You shouldn’t have—God, Axel, why did you have to fight him?”
“Why?” he echoes, his voice low. “Because he was messing with you, Emily.”
I open my mouth to argue, but the intensity in his gaze stops me short. He looks at me like I’m something fragile, something he’s willing to fight for, and it sends a jolt of emotion through me that I don’t know what to do with.
“Emily,” he says softly, stepping closer. “I don’t regret it. Not for a second.”
“Even if you get hurt?” I whisper, my voice shaking.
