“You’re sitting on it.” Fin opened the hatch and helped a horror-stricken Hailey outside.
“Holy crap, is this safe?” She stiffened her legs, which in her mind, was the only thing keeping them from falling through the ice.
“I don’t know,” Fin said as he transferred their gear to a waiting snowmachine. “Better not bend your knees or else the whole lake might cave in,” he teased.
He buttoned up the plane then handed her a pair of goggles.
“Relax,” he said as he cinched her hood for her. “This ice is at least two feet thick. Now, it might get cold back here, but if you hunker down behind me, I’ll block the wind for you.” Something serious darkened his expression, but then he smiled.
“Well, hop on.”
“How did you get a snowmob—a snowmachine out here?”
Merely winking in response, Fin adjusted his goggles and revved the engine.
Sounding more like a chainsaw than a vehicle, the snowmachine whined and roared as it skimmed across the snow-covered lake and up a gentle hill. They wound around a few trees and parked in front of a beautifully rustic log cabin resting on stilts with a snow-covered roof over its head.
“This is it,” he said proudly.
“It’s sss-sss-so c-cute.” The ride across the lake was a lot colder than she’d expected, and though her parka had kept her chest warm, the wind blew up her sleeves and cut right through her pants.
Fin hurried her inside, where it actually felt colder.
“That’s mm-mm-much better,” Hailey said with a crooked smile as Fin threw a log into the woodstove.
“Give it a second, and it’ll be nice and toasty in here.” He lit a fire, and he was right. Less than ten minutes later, she was shedding her parka. By then, Fin had the generator going, lights on, hot chocolate made, and blankets deployed on the couch. Then he clapped his hands together.
“I’ll be outside catching dinner,” he told her, and he grabbed a fishing pole next to the door.
Hailey knew exactly nothing about fishing, but she was pretty sure you needed water. She had no idea how Fin planned to break through two feet of ice. “The lake’s frozen, Fin—how are you gonna catch anything?”
He cocked his head and held up a giant corkscrew.
“It’s not frozen solid, my little southerner.”
Hailey looked over his shoulder through the window with a skeptical frown.
“Thar be trout in that lake,” he said like a pirate, which made Hailey laugh out loud. “And we’re gonna eat it—I’ll make my special glaze and some rice and beans…” He pointed his finger at her. “And YOU will owe me an apology, ye of little faith. Keep the fire going,” he reminded her as he headed out the door.
Through the window, Hailey watched him auger through the ice, bait a hook, and drop it through the hole. Almost immediately, he pulled out a fish. He held it up and pointed at it, nodding his head as if to say, “Told you so.”
Smiling, Hailey took a look around the cabin. It was divided by a couch into two small rooms. In the kitchen area was a small propane stove for cooking, a utility sink, a tiny fridge, and a heavy wooden table.
Less than half an hour after he grabbed his fishing pole, Fin was back inside with four trout and a triumphant smile.
“I’ll have that apology now,” he said as he took off his coat.
“You’re amazing,” said Hailey, feigning her best swoon. “I never should have doubted your skills on the ice,” she continued, and then she bowed her head and batted her lashes at him. “Can you ever forgive me?”
“Alright,” he said, matching her sarcasm. “If you ever kiss me, I’ll forgive you.”
Her playful smile evaporated. “I already kissed you.”
“No,” he sang. “Ikissedyou.”
This wasn’t fun anymore. She was way too shy to make a first move. Even after last night. So, she tucked her hair behind her ear and changed the subject, like the coward she was.
“How can I help with dinner?” she asked, nervously standing over the day’s catch, not that she’d even know where to begin with a fish that still had eyeballs.
