Adam (9 page)

Untangling himself from the rope, he was at her side in two steps.

“Why are you here? You were supposed to be gone for at least three weeks. Not that I’m complaining.” She gave him a crooked smile. “You see, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” The woman’s snorted laughter made him pause. She was one hell of a tough cookie.

“We can talk about why I’m back later. I need to ensure you haven’t done too much damage to yourself.” His immediate concerns flew away as she moved her arms and legs slowly. With a sigh of relief, he did a quick assessment, his questions professional and brisk. Years of training took over. His mind listed possible issues and removed them with each test.

“Any numbness to your legs or arms when you fell?” He did a quick exam of the knot she pointed out on her head.

“Ah, no, but it hurt like hell.” Her pout was adorable.

“Did you lose consciousness?” He waited while she thought.

“No, I don’t think so. If I did, it was momentary.” She lifted those big blue eyes to him and smiled. “Dad always said I had a hard head.”

Adam huffed a semi-laugh. “Your father may have contributed that particular gene.”

Keelee laughed and then moaned. “Oh, I’m so telling him you said that.”

“Are you nauseous? Headache? Tiredness?”

“Well, yeah. I whapped my head pretty hard? I have a bitch of a headache and I’m exhausted, but I guess the cold could be making me this tired. Every time I close my eyes, I get a small wave of nausea. Nothing I can’t live with.”

Adam examined her eyes and used his flashlight to dilate her pupils.
Great. Concussion
.

“Are you sure you didn’t lose consciousness?” As he spoke, he palpated the contused area at the back of her head.

Keelee hissed as he found a tender spot. “Ahhh… ouch! Hey, stop that!” She slapped at his hand and pulled away from his exam. “I’ve probably got a concussion. I knew better than to go to sleep. Now would you please stop? When you make me move, it hurts.” She wrapped her arms around her midsection and closed her eyes.

“Are your ribs sore?” She didn’t give any indication of respiratory distress, no neuro-muscular issues that he could determine. The soft tissue damage from the fall and a concussion from the blow to the head seemed to be the extent of her injuries.

“Ahh… yeah, but I just hurt all over.” She closed her eyes and swallowed several times. “I don’t think I can climb out of here.”

Doc chuckled. “Relax. I’ll give you a ride out.”

Her head whipped around and she sucked in a hiss of air from the sudden movement. “I know you Guardian guys think you’re all Greek gods and such, but there is no way you’re going to be able to lift me and climb out of here.”

“Oh, really?”

“R-really.”

Her shiver didn’t escape his notice. He narrowed his eyes for a second and nodded. “Challenge accepted.” He stood and considered the roof, ten feet up. Doc kicked dirt, covering the small fire extinguishing it so that his flashlight was now the only light.

“Alright, the fastest way for me to do this is not going to be the most comfortable for you. Sorry.” He held out a hand and waited until she put her hand into his. “Stand up for me.” She rose slowly, aided by his pull. When she was almost to her feet, he stooped and pulled her arm across his shoulder, standing to lift her off the ground.

“Adam! Oh my God, that hurts! Put me down!”

“Yeah, sorry babe. This is the only way I can climb out and set you on the lip of the roof.” He put his arm between her legs. “Hook your ankles together and keep them locked.”

Her hissed swearwords as she linked her injured ankle around him seemed to echo off the walls.

“Sorry, I know it’s not going to be easy, but we need to get out of here.”

“Don’t waste your breath. I can do this.”

“I don’t doubt it. Let me know when you’re ready.” He waited until she nodded. “Okay, grab a hold of my coat with your hands. Brace yourself against my back and don’t let go.”

“This isn’t going to work. You can’t climb with me on your shoulders.” Her moaned words told him just how uncomfortable she was.

“Right, thanks for the vote of confidence. Now hold on and hush up, woman.” Doc pocketed the flashlight, removed his gloves and tucked them into his coat. He lifted his arms and found purchase on the rope. Several hand-over-hand pulls later, he had her far enough out of the cellar to allow her to flop onto the snow-covered ledge.

“Umph… damn it—that was expectedly uncomfortable.” Keelee didn’t move after her mumbled complaint. Her legs still dangled into the hole.

“Yeah, I’m not really known for my bedside manners. Stay still.” He pulled twice more and lifted out of the pit.

She waved a hand and murmured, “I’m so not moving.”

Doc dropped the rope and lifted her in his arms. It took several minutes in the deep snow, but he finally made his way to the snowmobile. He sat her down on the seat. “Where the hell is your machine?”

Keelee lifted her arm and pointed towards a snow bank almost directly behind the collapsed root cellar. “I left it there. Probably under or behind that drift.”

“Alright, we’ll come back for it.” He dashed back to the pit, grabbed his pack and coiled the rope on his walk back.

Before he mounted the machine, he tied her scarf around her neck and pulled the strings on her hood tighter. He tied it so snuggly she probably couldn’t see out of the space left. He’d rather not have to transport her in the cold, but the sooner he got her to the line cabin the better. The wind howled relentlessly, cutting through their cold weather gear. Shelter from the raging blizzard demanded urgency.

“Come on, sweetheart. There’s a line shack a couple miles to the west that has our name on it.” He started the engine. If she responded, the comment was lost on the wind along with the growl of the motor.

Oh God, what a screwed-up turn of events. Adam was taking her back to the line shack.
Great.
The cold should have numbed her aches and pains, but instead the pain crystallized like ice around her muscles, magnifying her misery. Keelee sucked in a wincing cry when the snowmobile lurched forward. She sat behind his massive back and loosely gripped his coat, doing everything within her power to stay as far away from him as she could. Lord, she wanted to attach to his back like a tick, but no way was she going to play that scene again. When it came to Adam, the more distance the better. The tenuous grip she had on her emotions today already threatened to snap.

Pain coursed through her body. Each lurch of the damn machine jarred her to the point of tears. She closed her eyes. Adam. God, how did he end up here? Her head thrummed from a million hammers pounding against her skull. That was probably why she couldn’t figure out why he was here and not Clint.

The loop played in her mind. Why was he here? What possible reason would he have to come out in the middle of a raging blizzard? They were just casual acquaintances now. He’d treated her with respect. But they were cool and distant. She was just a person he talked to in passing. Lord knew she should be happy about that, but she wasn’t. She had been so hungry for the man and she had made a fool of herself. He’d been disgusted by her come on.
Oh, and don’t forget he gave you another stiff arm toward Clint once he’d decided to get in gear and work toward recovery.
Adam didn’t want her. He couldn’t have been clearer. Even a backward country hick could get the message he’d sent her.

Maybe she should be thanking her good fortunes that he didn’t remember everything like she did. But she couldn’t do that, either. She hated every minute he treated her like a person he’d met at the post office. Polite, distant and reserved.

Inside her tightly tied hood, tears slid down her cheeks. To hell with it. Her body ached. Her ankle throbbed and her head beat like a drum, sending nauseous waves to her stomach. But nothing compared to the pain in her heart at the replay of those memories. She sat tensely, trying to balance on the back of the snowmobile. If he noticed the tears, she’d blame the cold wind.

The snowmobile slowed to a stop. Before she knew what he was doing, he had turned and pulled her closer to his back and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“I didn’t come out in a damned blizzard just to lose you in a snow bank in the middle of the night. Hold on to me before you fall off!”

Keelee tucked up behind him and laid her head on his back. The contact broke the last fragile thread of self-control she possessed. As he accelerated, she thanked God the engine’s noise and vibration covered her sobs.

*

Doc felt Keelee huddled behind him. Now that she was actually holding on to him, he could speed up. What he’d said and done to her years ago was wrong. The assumptions he had heaped upon her were his issues, not hers. Bianca had really done a number on him. The bitch was still fucking up his life. He thought he’d performed a surgical removal of the cancer she’d become a full two years before he’d met Keelee. Obviously, he hadn’t.

Bianca’s lies and manipulations had devastated him. The callous bitch had concocted a scheme to get herself a husband. She didn’t want just any man—oh hell no. She wanted a man who had money and connections. And he’d been the unfortunate son-of-a-bitch that her sights landed on. He felt Keelee pull away slightly but with both hands needed to navigate the trail to the other side of the mountain he couldn’t pull her back. Did Keelee hate him so much that she didn’t even want to touch him? What the fuck was he thinking? He honestly had no idea if he even had a shot with her anymore.

What did he think he could do? Waltz back into her life and say,
Hey babe, I remember everything! I was an ass, but I’d like another chance.
Yeah, right. In what deluded reality would that line ever work? To hope she’d just open up her arms and welcome him back was too much to ask for. No, he was going to have to do some major groveling and he was okay with that. Fuck, if he had to, he’d get down on his knees and beg her to forgive him. There literally wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to have a chance at the life he knew they could have together.

At the mountain trail’s end, the snowmobile jarred over a drift and careened to the left. Her arms tightened around him and she tucked up tighter to his back. Once he got the machine onto level ground, he reached down and covered her clenching arms with one of his, squeezing her tighter. Now that they were on the flat of the meadow he could drive with one arm and he’d be damned if he was going to let go of her.

As the line shack came into view, he couldn’t avoid the lingering doubts that tormented him. Would she listen to him? If she did listen, could she forgive him?
Whatever. Get over it, man. Suck it up and face the music.

Adam pulled up to the front door of the line shack and turned off the machine. He dropped his arm from hers and waited for her to slide back so he could dismount. She didn’t move. Had it been any other time he would have stayed in her embrace, but he needed to get her out of the bitter cold. He stood, breaking her grip. He turned, picked her up and walked the small distance to the door.

“P-put me down, I’m n-not an invalid-d.”

“Save your energy, cowgirl. I’m sure you’ll need it later.”

Careful not to jar her further, he opened the door and walked across the room, putting her down on the couch. Her shivering huddled form turned towards the back of the sofa and burrowed into the material. Adam put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to get a fire started. You can’t go to sleep yet.”

Her head nodded up and down, moving the hood slightly. Sensing that was the only answer he would get from her, he set about making quick work of shutting the door and getting their shelter warm. The firewood had been stacked and set ready by whoever had last been at the shack. He took a match from the container at the hearth and within five minutes had a full flame feeding from the oak logs in the grate.

Adam went into one of the three bedrooms off the kitchen and living room area. Pulling the mattress off the bed, he took it into the main room and placed it next to the fire. He pulled a second mattress and stacked it on top of the first. Keeping the sleeping surface off the floor and their bodies at the same level as the fire would help warm them. A quick search of the bedrooms found two old sleeping bags. He shook them out to ensure there were no critters buried in the warmth and spread one on the mattress.

Adam went back to the woman bundled in winter clothing on the couch. “Keelee, I’m going to move you to the bed by the fire. You’ll be warmer there.”

“I can walk. My ankle’s twisted, not broken.”

“I didn’t ask for your permission, missy. I’m letting you know that I’m picking you up.”

He burrowed his hands under her and lifted her. Before she could cover her face with her hands, he saw the puffy eyes and tears.

“I know, baby. You’re hurting. Let me get you warm, and I’ll give you some meds.”

He carefully put her on the mattress and took off her boots and outer garments. He did a quick exam of her ankle. Satisfied she’d gotten the diagnosis right and it wasn’t broken or dislocated, he wrapped it quickly and pulled the sleeping bag under her chin. The inside of the shack was warming up, but she wasn’t. He rolled her duster into a pillow and lifted her head. Her eyes were clenched shut. Her body pulled into a ball and her shivering became almost convulsive. Adam stripped out of his coat and boots and curled up behind her. He wrapped them both in the sleeping bag and gently rubbed her arms as he pinned her legs under him.

He wasn’t going to take her down the mountain without explaining everything to her. Bianca, his reason for making the accusation, his love for her… everything. He had no idea how involved she had become with Clint. Betty didn’t think she loved him, but who really knew? It was about damn time he found out. He stroked her cheek carefully, with his fingertips catching the trail of tears. He winced when she pulled away.

He pushed her long blonde hair from her face. “Care to tell me why you’re crying? Are you in pain?”

Keelee chuffed out a burst of air. “I-I’m f-ff-reezing. M-my head h-hurts. I a-ache l-like c-crazy. My ankle h-hurts.” Her shivering punctuated her words. Adam pushed his arm under her head, bringing her back to rest on his shoulder. He leaned toward her.

“Mmm… just try to relax.”

“R-relax? W-ww-ith you lying on t-top of me? N-not likely.” The quiet comment held irony and humor. That was his girl. The one he fell in love with.

Adam couldn’t stop the chuckle or the memory. “Baby, we spent almost a week with me draped around you. Remember?”

“Y-yeah…w-what!” He had to give her credit. The woman was strong. She shoved him off and hopped out of the bed.

With her arms wrapped around her middle, she stared at him with huge, wary eyes. “I r-remember, b-but you d-don’t!”

“Keelee, come back here. We need to bring your body temperature back up.” Adam lifted the sleeping bag. “Nice and toasty in here.”

“N-no… w-hen? How?” She rocked from one foot to her other toe, keeping her weight off her sore ankle. That damn floor had to be freezing and he had taken off her boots.

“I’ll tell you everything, just come back and get warm.” Adam patted the bed next to him.

“Are y-you s-sure you w-want m-me n-near you?” Even through the shivers he could hear the pain in her voice.

He lifted off the bed and stood in front of her. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed the top of her head. “Listen, I know I fucked up so bad, on so many levels. Come on, get back under the covers with me and give me the opportunity to explain.”