She’d imagined him a hundred times. Every leaf flutter was the tail of her wolf sprinting through the trees. Every sway of tough winter grass peeking through the snow was her wolf’s fur.
Nicole had made a mistake and pushed him too hard, too fast and now, she’d lost him.
When she’d driven to his cabin, he wasn’t home, and more disturbing than anything, when she’d opened the door, the fire was out in the stove and the inside of his home was almost as cold as outside. He was gone.
In a panic, she’d driven into town, but he wasn’t there either, and no one she talked to had seen him.
She’d never felt so alone.
Full of regret, she made her way onto the front porch and opened the door to Buck’s cabin, but a soft sound halted her steps. She angled her face to the road and waited as the sound grew louder. It was the loud whine of a snow machine engine. With a frown, she stood on the top porch stair as a mixture of dread and hope unfurled inside her.#p#分页标题#e#
Link stood up on locked legs as he maneuvered the snow machine up the thick packed road. He pulled to a stop near her truck and hit the snow without hesitation.
“Oh, my gosh,” she murmured as she bolted off the stairs and ran for him.
Link caught her and lifted her off the ground, crushing her to him so hard she couldn’t breathe.
“I missed you, I missed you,” she chanted. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. You were right.” Link eased back enough for her to pull his sunglasses off.
His eyes were darker, more gray than silver today. Squeezing her eyes closed, she kissed him and reveled in the feel of his lips moving against hers. It had been so scary thinking she would never have this connection with him again. She laid little kisses on his cheeks, then rested her chin on his shoulder and hugged him as tightly as she could.
“I’m going to fight for us, Nicole, but you have to know it might not work. You have to come to terms with that, okay? I can’t do this thinking if I fail, you’ll be destroyed.”
“You won’t fail,” she said.
“I’m being serious.”
“What can I do to help?”
“Just keep doing whatever it is you have been. You make this easier by just being around me. The out-of-control feeling is more manageable when we’re together.”
She butterfly kicked her feet at the potent happiness that filled her. Jerking her chin toward the lumber-filled sled attached to the back of his snow machine, she asked, “Did you decide to help me with Buck’s cabin?”
“Yes, on four conditions.”
“Name them.”
“You stop calling it Buck’s cabin. It’s yours now, and I’m not fixing it up for you to sell. I’m fixing it up for you.”
She inhaled deeply at the thought of making this place a home instead of a temporary stop in her journey to discover where she wanted to be. “Okay,” she murmured, rubbing her gloves over the three-day designer scruff on his cheeks. “And what are the other conditions?”
“You help. This place will mean more if you have a hand in rebuilding it.”
“Done, and?”
“You don’t pay me.”
“No deal, Mr. Nibbles.”
“I’m not taking your money.”
“Do you know what the cost of living here is compared to Mission? I was just an administrative assistant for one of my stepdad’s companies, and I paid off this cabin and the land and still have enough in savings to live out here for half a decade before I have to get a job in town. I’m paying you. Now, what you do with that money is up to you. For example, you could buy us some cows, like you said Elyse runs. Or you could buy trapping supplies, or you can start an official construction business in Galena, or—”
Link’s lips collided with hers, and she giggled and gave in, melting against him.
“Stubborn,” he accused against her mouth as he walked them up the porch stairs.
“Wait, what was the last condition?”
Link set her down gently on the hollow floorboards of her entryway and pulled something out of his pocket. “The last condition is that you watch this.”
He handed her a clear case with a white DVD inside. In black marker, the words Buck Lund had been scribbled across the top.
“Did you bring a computer?” he asked quietly.
“Yes,” she said in a barely audible squeak. She cleared her throat delicately and asked, “What is this?”
Link didn’t answer. Instead, he kissed her forehead, looked around her cabin once, then left, closing the door gently behind him, leaving her alone holding the mysterious treasure he’d brought her.#p#分页标题#e#