Nick caught Mary’s smile and returned it as if he couldn’t hear a word they were saying.
Ed glared at Nick. “That could change.”
Mary touched the other man’s arm and smiled gently. “I like you, Ed, but I’m not interested in dating you.”
Nick grinned and waved. “Thanks, Ed. The engine sounds good. Mary and I will have it back to you before dark.” He raised his brows. “You ready, darlin’?” he said in his best southern drawl.
Her cheeks bloomed with color. “Yes, I am.” She climbed on the back of the machine and wrapped her arms around his waist. “See you later, Ed.”
When Nick took off, the surge of the machine forced Mary to squeeze her arms tighter around his waist. A gloved hand covered hers for a brief, reassuring moment.
Mary directed him west, heading out of town toward the Tanana River, parts of which were frozen over by a month of freezing temperatures. The machine raced down streets until the roads turned to paths through the trees. How long had it been since Mary had been out to Moose Lodge? Would she be able to get them there safely?
* * *
As the trails wound through valleys and over hills, across frozen creeks and farther out into the wilds, Mary wondered if she was headed in the right direction. Her most recent memory of Moose Lodge was from a fishing trip with her father during the summer seven years ago.
Snow blurred the terrain, limiting visibility to less than ten feet in front of them. Nick slowed the machine to keep from ramming into a tree or boulder submerged beneath the fluffy white blanket.
Perched on the back, her arms clutched around a stranger, Mary questioned her sanity. What was she thinking heading out into the wilderness at the mercy of a man she’d known less than twenty-four hours? Was she so concerned about her father she’d failed to consider her own safety? Her arms tightened and Nick’s hand covered hers as if reassuring her that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
That little bit of reassurance went a long way. If Nick was going to hurt her, he’d had plenty of opportunities before now to do so. Deep down, Mary believed that he was there to help. Which left her on the backseat of a snowmobile, her legs wrapped around a man she’d seen nearly naked only last night. The image of him in nothing but a towel surfaced and the juncture of her thighs ached, rubbing against his backside.
Though her hands and feet were freezing, a fire deep inside warmed her body. Just what I need. To fall for another transient. A man who has no intention of sticking around, another man I know nothing about.
Mary shook her head. No way. Hadn’t she had her heart broken already? Wasn’t once enough?
Still the solid feel of Nick in front of her, the breadth of his shoulders shielding her from the worst of the snow pelting her face and eyes, was downright sexy. Her cheeks flushed with heat about the time Nick slowed at a fork in the road.
“What do you want to do?” he yelled.
Wrong question. She wanted to take him to bed and explore what she hadn’t seen beneath the towel the night before. “Wh-what?”
“Which way?”
“Oh.” Her face burned hotter.
Nick swiveled in the seat to stare at her. “Are you all right?”
No. She wasn’t all right, she was falling in lust with him and she couldn’t stop herself, like being swept over the edge of a cliff. Damn, she was going to crash and burn all over again. “Yes, yes, of course.” She nodded to the left. “Take the left fork.” And please quit staring at me with those brown-black eyes that could melt my resolve to stay clear of men like you.
After what felt like an eternity, probably only a second or two, Nick returned his attention to the trail and sped forward along the route she’d indicated.
Mary lifted her face to the wind, the icy air chilling the fire in her cheeks. Did the man have this effect on all women? Or just this one? Mary wasn’t sure what answer she preferred.
Nick hit the brakes and the snowmobile skidded sideways on the crusty snow beneath the fresh layer, before coming to a halt. If she hadn’t been holding on so tightly, she’d have ended up flying into a tree. With a quick flick of his wrist, Nick turned the key, cutting the engine.
“What the heck?” Mary swiveled around to stare at the trail ahead. Barely masked under the thin layer of new-fallen snow were tracks left by another snowmobile.
“Shh!” Nick leaped from the machine, grabbed Mary’s arm and yanked her off. He tugged her through three feet of snow and shoved her into a drift behind a large spruce tree. She fell face-first into the snow. The more she struggled, the deeper she went. After several clumsy seconds, Mary struggled her way out of the drift and brushed off the snow clinging to her eyelashes. She fought her first inclination to shove Nick for slinging her around like a rag doll.
Nick crouched beside the tree, his hands holding a pistol, aimed at the trail in front of him.
Forget shoving him. Mary’s heart slammed against her rib cage. The man had brought his gun. Why hadn’t she noticed it? Wouldn’t she have felt it beneath his jacket? Was he going to shoot her father? She took a steadying breath and asked in what she hoped was a calm voice, “What’s wrong?”
“Fresh tracks beneath the new snow.” He nodded toward the trail. The tracks appeared to lead in from another direction, converging several yards ahead of them. “How much farther to the lodge?”
Mary studied the trail, the creek running alongside and through the trees. “Should be just around that hill ahead.” Despite her best effort, her voice shook. “You aren’t going to hurt my father, are you? Tell me again you’re not one of the bad guys.” Her words faded away when Nick turned toward her, a frown making him look even fiercer, more deadly with the gun in his hand.
