A sheepskin wrap hung on the hook at her side. A much larger bearskin rug hung beside it. Easton walked toward her, reached for the smaller of the two, figuring the bearskin would be too heavy for her to hold over her shoulders, and quickly wrapped it against his back.
Ivy glanced up at him, curious at first, but then her eyes narrowed into a sharp glare. “How chivalrous,” she spat.
Easton rolled his eyes. “I’m warming it up for you,” he assured her.
Her face softened then, and she shrugged with one shoulder. “Oh. You think you’re so much hotter than me, do you?” She must have realized how that sounded because a laugh snuck up her throat.
Easton couldn’t help but chuckle at the remark as well. “I’m definitely not hotter than you, Ivy,” he assured. “But I amwarmerthan you.” He wasn’t sure how he’d meant the comment to come off. Was his objective to act like a jerk unnecessary now? She’d made it sound like the interview was due that night. And as much as he could send and receive texts, especially when he got closer to the office, there’d be no possible way for her to send large files from their current location.
Besides, he was used to caring for and protecting his little sister. He’d done it his whole life. No harm in treating his female company with some old fashioned hospitality. With that, Easton tipped his chin down, allowing the top edge of the sheepskin to come in contact with the bare skin along the back of his neck. Satisfied that he’d heated it up enough for her, he closed the gap between them with slow and cautious steps. He was basically a stranger to her, after all.
Her tiny shoes, a flimsy excuse for boots, disappeared beneath the bench as he neared.
He grinned. “Here,” he mumbled, “this should be nice and warm for you.” He quickly moved it from his back and onto hers, encouraging her to lift her hair off the back of her neck to get the full warmth against her skin. Instinctively, he rubbed his hands down the outside of it, over her shoulders and down her arms.
Hints of something warm and sweet, like vanilla, hit his senses. She smelled good. The realization was enough to make him step away from her.
“Wow, you reallyarehotter than me.” She glanced up, pulling at either side of the sheepskin. “Thank you,” she added, her gaze set on the small boots as they reappeared from beneath the bench.
“Sure,” he said. “I’m going to get a fire started. But first, I need you to promise not to…make a run for it.”
The woman looked up in surprise. “Where would I go?”
Easton shrugged. “I have no idea. You seemed pretty desperate to get back down the canyon, is all I mean.”
“Iam,” she assured.
“Yeah well, just tell me you’re going to stay put so I can go collect some wood. If you take off, I’ll have to go on another rescue mission and I’d rather not do that.”
The wind must have changed angles, because suddenly a loud whoosh and whistle echoed within the structure.
“Where do you have to go to get firewood?” she asked, her voice louder to carry over the noise.
“To a nearby storage shed,” he said, making his way to the door.
“How nearby? It’s not going to take very long is it?”
Oh, she was scared, he realized. Easton shook his head. “No.”
She nodded. “It’s just…you pointed out those animal tracks…”
Yes, hehaddone that with the moose tracks he spotted while they hurried from the Jeep to the yurt; perhaps that had been a bad idea. It was, to him, habit, since he was usually in training mode while on the campgrounds.
“You’ll be safe in here,” he assured her. “I’ll be right back.” He was halfway to the door when she spoke up again.
“Easton?”
He froze in place. “Yes?”
“Are you absolutely one hundred percent sure that there’s no possible way I’ll make my flight?”
Easton sucked in a breath and let it out before responding. He pictured the spoiled woman making his life utterly miserable in the hours ahead. Rounds of vicious blame, irritation, and sheer anger over missing her flight.
“Ivy,” he said, keeping his back to her. “As much as I wish it wasn’t true, the truth is that your flight, along with every other flight in the days ahead, has already been canceled.” He hurried to the door, pulled it open, and uttered two final words before heading out into the cold. “I’m sorry.”
Chapter 4
Ivy couldn’t tear her gaze off the door of the yurt as she held tightly to the thick wrap Easton had warmed her with. Her mind was whirling with all that had taken place in the last few hours. Surely the magnitude of those moments would start to sink in. Like the long minutes that ticked by as she gripped onto the SUV’s steering wheel, following a road that got lost in whirls of white. It had been much too dangerous to carry on, but she’d been too stubborn to turn back.
