I turned to her fully and raised an eyebrow.
“Isis, this isn’t one of those‘do you feel like helping’type questions; it’s anorder.Around here, warmth gotta be earned. So either you come, or you freeze. Ain’t nobody over here playing house while you play princess. If your arms are too delicate to carry wood, maybe you are built for the cold. But if you wantwarmth? You gotta clock in, sis.”
I didn’t wait around for her rebuttal. I swung the heavy door open and stepped outside, letting the icy wind slap me like it had a personal grudge. The chill hit my cheeks with a sharp sting, causing me to gasp involuntarily. I tucked my chin into mythick coat, pulled the fur-lined hood tighter around my ears, and power-walked forward through the thick, white snow.
I spotted Bryce a few feet away, hunched over a short stack of freshly cut wood like he was preparing for winter in Alaska.
“Hey,” I called out, jogging slightly to close the gap.
Bryce looked up. His woolen hat was dusted with a layer of snow, and his face was flushed from the cold. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow with the back of his glove.
“Everything good?” he asked, a small frown creasing his forehead.
“I’m just here to help bring in some wood,” I offered, reaching for a nearby log.
He squinted at me. “Nah, go on back inside. I’m good.”
Like I figured.
Sometimes I listened to Bryce and let him be a man, but I didn’t need him out there too long, risking getting sick. I wouldn’t have minded nursing him back to health—been there, done that, and lowkey liked it—but if another bear came and he was too ill, I would’ve probably been screwed. I definitely couldn’t depend on Adrian. That fool would’ve probably offered the bear a sandwich and asked if it wanted to play Uno. And Isis? That girl would’ve gotten all of us killed trying to take a selfie with it for her story. But knowing Bryce, sick or not, he still would’ve protected me… probably with his last breath, a fever, and a busted rib. That was just who he was.
Possessive… overbearing… but mine, once.
And sometimes, when I looked at him too long,stilla little bit mine in my head.
“Bryce?”
“I said I got it, Chesteria.”
“And I said I’m helping.”
He finally looked up, eyes narrowing like I was a stray dog that refused to be shooed off.
“You’re still hard-headed as ever, huh?”
I smirked. “And you’re still bossy as hell, huh?”
Bryce shook his head and chuckled under his breath, brushing the snow from his gloves.
“You do remember how sick you got the last time you insisted on being out in this kind of weather?”
I froze for a second, because yeah… I remembered.
Eighteen degrees… a crowded shed… and two naked fools trying to “try something new” just to prove a point.
We were sweating and moaning one minute, then shivering and sneezing the next. My immune system had packed its bags and left for a week straight.
“That was different. That involved less wood and more… friction.”
His jaw ticked, and I caught the tiniest shift in his eyes like the memory slapped him right across the face.
“Besides, webothgot sick,” I reminded him with a laugh, nudging his arm. “And the way you’re dressed? You’ll definitely catch pneumonia before me.”
He chuckled low and sultry. “Yeah, I remember. But if Idoget sick, you’ll be my nurse, though, right?”
“Unlicensednurse,” I smirked. “I know a little, but whatever knowledge I lack, that’s where Google comes in handy. Every four hours, you can expect tea, soup, Vicks, and a whole lotta bossy instructions ‘til you’re back on your feet.”
His brow lifted, amused.
