No response.
The cold temperatures in the chalet worry me—almost as much as the fact that Camille isn’t answering. I turn toward the garage to check on her old, rickety furnace. The pilot light is on, but the fan isn’t running. Ricky has been concerned that the motor might go soon. If it isn’t the motor, maybe the thermostat malfunctioned.
Not willing to waste another second, I rush upstairs. I hate going to her bedroom, but I know something is wrong. If she gets mad at me, so be it. I’d rather her be mad and know she’s alright than risk not checking.
Her bedroom is empty, and her bed is cold. I check every room upstairs, and she’s nowhere to be found. Rushing back downstairs, I call out for her again.
Still no response.
I check the thermostat, and it’s off. I flip it a few times, but the furnace doesn’t kick on. “Dammit.”
I grab my phone and shoot a quick text to Ricky. He isn’t scheduled to come out today, but if the furnace is busted, I’ll need him to fix it.
He responds immediately and says he’ll head out soon. Hopefully, he can fix it because there’s no way Camille can stay in this house with these temperatures. My hands and feet are already numb from the short time I’ve been here.
“Camille! If you’re here, answer me.” I call out again.
Silence.
She must have left and stayed somewhere in town last night. That’s the most logical thing for her to have done. I wish she called me, though, so I wouldn’t worry. Plus, I could’ve arranged for Ricky to come out and take a look at it sooner.
I head toward the front door to grab my tools and plans from the truck when I stop. Something still doesn’t sit right with me. If Camille left the house because of the furnace, she would’ve told me. I’m certain of that. Then, the image of her car in the garage hits me. I was so focused on the furnace; her car didn’t register.
She’s excited to get this renovation underway, and there’s no way she’d forget I’d be here today. Furnace failure or not, Camille’s too actively involved in the process to not be here.
I turn around and start a systematic search of the house. Most of the rooms are empty. She’s moved the majority of her unpack boxes to the garage and left her furniture in the living space closest to the front door. But there are several more roomsand open spaces toward the back of the house that overlook the mountains.
As soon as I enter the last room, my nerves settle. I finally find her in the one room farthest to the back of the chalet with the only working fireplace. She’s curled into a ball with several blankets over her. The fire is down to nothing but embers. It’s not burning enough to produce any heat. Especially not for a room this size.
“Camille!” She doesn’t move when I call her name. When I reach her, I panic at the sight of her pale face. She’s trembling, and her lips are a faint purple-blue. I place the back of my hand to her cheek, and her skin feels almost as cold as the air around us.
I give her a slight shake to wake her, and she mumbles as she rolls toward me.
“Camille. Can you talk to me please?”
Her eyes flicker open and meet my worried gaze. “S … So … So cold.”
“All right. Let’s get you warm.” Starting with the fireplace, I add more kindling and wood until it’s blazing. I tuck Camille in closer to the hearth where the heat can reach her faster. “Stay close to the brick. I’ve got a portable heater in my truck. We’re going to get you in a hot bath. Be right back.”
I rush out of the house with my phone in hand. I have one portable heater with me, but several more back in the office. I shoot a quick text to Ricky asking him to swing by and grab more before he heads out. He responds before I reach my truck and says he’s already grabbed them and will be here in ten minutes. I can always count on Ricky and should’ve known he already thought to grab them. Especially considering the cold front that came through last night.
With the heater in hand, I run upstairs to her bathroom and plug it in. If I shut the room up, the heater should warm thespace quickly. A hot bath would be the fastest way to bring up her body temperature. Between that and the heater, she’ll be warm in no time.
I turn the water to the hottest temperature I can withstand and then dial it back a notch. I don’t want to shock her body, only warm her up as fast as possible. I can already feel the heat pushing out the cold from the heater alone.
With the bath water running, I shut the door and run back downstairs to get Camille. She’s passed out again. I sweep her up in my arms and hold her close to my chest. Her head falls into the crook of my neck, and despite how cold her lips are when they touch my skin, a rush of heat runs through my entire body.Dammit, this woman does it for me.She’s freezing half to death—literally—and my body ignites with so much lust and desire I should be ashamed of myself.
My arms tighten around her—more out of reflex than anything. The urge to protect her is strong, and I hate that she was alone in this house with no heat on one of the coldest nights we’ve had in weeks. The temperatures are well below zero outside and are predicted to stay this low for the next several days. If Ricky can’t fix her furnace, there’s no way she can stay here.
“Worry about that later, man.” I mumble to myself.
“Hmmm.” A soft breath from her lips tickles my neck.
I reach the bathroom and slip inside as quickly as I can so as not to let the cold air in. It’s already considerably warmer here than in the rest of her house. “Can you stand?”
She nods, but I’m not convinced. Instead, I sit her down next to the tub, so she can lean against it without falling over.
“I’ve got a hot bath running for you. I’ll turn the water off in a minute. Do you think you can get yourself in?”
