Page 18 of An Alaskan Wedding (Alaskan Grooms 1)

“This, too, shall pass. She can’t stay mad forever,” Grace said. The sudden urge to comfort him surprised her.

Boone scoffed. “You don’t know my sister. She thinks I stood in the way of her one true love.” He made a clucking sound with his teeth. “That type of anger burns for a while.”

The car slowed down as Boone turned into a private road lined on either side with huge spruce trees. Just as she was about to ask if they were close, a house appeared out of nowhere. The little log cabin nestled in the woods resembled something from a fairy tale. It looked tranquil and serene, as if nothing could touch it. Long icicles resembling daggers hung from the front porch. A soft light emanated from the window. There was no way of telling from the outside that tragedy had marred the lives of the occupants of this house. Everything looked so perfect.

Once he stopped the car, Boone quickly made his way over to the passenger side and helped her out of the vehicle. Grace stood a few steps behind Boone as he rapped on the door. Kona sat next to Boone wagging his tail. When no one came, he knocked again, this time more insistently.

The door opened with a flourish, providing a blast of warmth and light from inside the house. Instead of one Dr. Liam Prescott standing in the doorway, there was a young woman with long, chestnut-colored hair, gray-blue eyes and a sardonic expression on her face.

“Well, I guess the gig is up. Aren’t you going to welcome me back to Alaska, big brother?”

* * *

Seeing his beautiful little sister positioned in the doorway of Liam’s house caused a myriad of emotions to swirl around inside him. Disbelief. Joy. Curiosity. Anger.

“Honor?” Her name came out sounding like a question. Shock roared through him at the notion that his sister was actually here in Love. Why wasn’t she in Minnesota? Why hadn’t anyone told him she’d come home?

She tipped her head in his direction by way of greeting, even though he would rather have hugged it out. “Hi, Boone.” Her eyes drifted toward Grace. “Why don’t you come in? Your girlfriend looks frozen.”

“She’s not my girlfriend. Honor, this is Grace Corbett.” He placed his hand on the small of Grace’s back and gently guided her into the house. Kona followed dutifully behind him. There really wasn’t any time for pleasantries. He scanned the immediate area for his brother. “Where’s Liam? She needs to be checked for hypothermia.”

Honor’s eyes widened. “He’s putting Aidan down for the night. I’ll go get him.” Honor hurried off down the corridor, stopping at the last door on the right. He watched as she gently turned the knob and entered.

“Aidan is my nephew,” he explained. Just the thought of him caused his chest to tighten with emotion. His life had already been marred by loss at such a young age.

Boone turned toward Grace, eager to make her comfortable. “Grace, let me take your coat off.” He unzipped her coat, noticing that her lips looked slightly less purple. She was still shivering.

“Come sit by the fire, and I’ll get your boots off.”

Grace sank down into an oversize love seat right next to the fire. He immediately began to take off her boots and socks. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see a roaring fire.” He watched as her lids began to get droopy. She could barely hold her head up.

“You can’t go to sleep, Grace. That could be a sign of hypothermia,” Boone warned her. Grace’s lids flew open, and once again he found himself basking in the brilliance of her blue eyes.

He felt a sudden wave of anger toward his grandfather. What in the world had gotten into Jasper? This was all his fault. How could he have sent Grace to get help in a remote, wooded area she wasn’t even familiar with? The whole situation had been a recipe for disaster! Things could have gotten much worse if Grace had wandered farther into the woods and toward the mountain.

Liam walked into the room, his stride full of purpose and a sense of urgency. He was in doctor mode at the moment. It would have made Boone smile, but for the fact he was still worried about Grace.

“Boone. What’s going on? Honor said it was a medical emergency.” His eyes swung over toward Grace.

“Liam, this is Grace Corbett. Grace here got lost in the woods this afternoon when she went spelunking with Jasper. She was out there for almost two hours before we were able to rescue her. I’m a little worried about how long she was exposed to the elements.”

Liam walked over and crouched down so that he was on his haunches. He gave Grace one of his most endearing smiles. “Hi, Grace. I’m Liam. I’m going to check out your hands and toes for hypothermia, okay?”

Grace bobbed her head up and down. “Sounds good, Dr. Prescott.”

“You can call me Liam,” he said, peeling back Grace’s sock to reveal toes that looked a bit gray. He began examining her feet and fingers, earning himself

a few cries of pain from the patient.

He glanced back at Boone. “We’re going to warm up her toes first. Go get a tub of warm water for me. There’s a basin under the kitchen sink.”

Boone did as Liam instructed and filled the basin almost to the top. When he returned to the living room, Grace was wrapped up in another blanket. He set the basin down in front of her, anxiously watching as she slipped her feet in the water. Grace let out a contented sigh as she did so.

“How’s it looking?” he asked Liam.

“Pretty good considering the weather. I’d say she was very fortunate to have those boots, a heavily insulated coat and two layers of mittens. As it is, she probably has frostbite, but nothing that requires further medical attention. I’m going to continue to warm her body up slowly and put some bandages on her toes and fingers. She’s got a few blisters that might be uncomfortable for a few weeks.”

“Are you sure?” Boone asked. “She was out there for a long time.”

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