Frigid (11 page)

Something hit me in the waist and I was flying ass-over-teakettle. I hit the part of the driveway I’d just cleared for no freaking reason. Black starbursts filled my vision, and the last thing I remembered was hearing my name, and then there was nothing.

I must’ve only been out for a few seconds—long enough to leave me feeling disorientated when I blinked open my eyes.

Kyler’s hands were on my cheeks, his brown eyes nearly black. “Sydney! Say something, baby. Talk to me.”

My tongue felt like a wool brush. “Ouch.”

He stared at me a moment, and then he laughed. A second later, he pulled me into a sitting position and to his chest. He was so warm I wanted to crawl into him. “Jesus, you scared the shit out of me.”

What did I do other than almost get run over? I buried my head into the front of his sweater as I clutched his sides. “I think I saw my life flash before my eyes. It was pretty lame.”

His embrace tightened, squeezing me until I thought he’d crack a rib. “I didn’t think I’d get to you in time, that…” He trailed off, pressing his lips against my chilled forehead. “I knew I should’ve come outside when I saw you go for the shovel, but I know how you like doing that shit.” There was a pause and then he cursed again. “Syd…”

“I’m okay.” And I was, other than a little shaken up and having a soaked and freezing butt. “They didn’t see me. Close call.”

“Didn’t see you?” Kyler pulled back, fury etched into the striking lines of his face. “There’s no way that asshole didn’t see you.”

“What?”

Kyler stood, bringing me along with him. I was a little wobbly, so he held on as the wind whipped at us, throwing sheets of icy snow around us. “The asshole had to see you. I could see you from the porch!”

My heart tripped up. “But…”

“He saw you.” Anger hardened his voice, giving it a scary edge. “Come on. Let’s go inside and get you warmed up.”

Before I could process what he was saying, he swooped me up and started toward the porch steps. “I can walk,” I protested.

“This makes me feel better, so don’t even argue with me.”

I did start to argue, but when I opened my mouth, I ended up taking in a mouthful of snow, which caused me to hack up a lung. Attractive. Once inside, Kyler didn’t put me down until we were in the living room and in front of the fireplace.

“What do you mean the person on the snowmobile saw me?” I asked as he worked the logs in the fireplace. “That means they were doing it on purpose.”

“That’s what I said,” he all but growled. There was a bright spark as he stroked the flames to life, easing some of the bone-chilling cold. “He saw you. I don’t know why someone would do that, but they did.”

I opened my mouth again, but nothing came out. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t believe that anyone would’ve purposely tried to run me over. It wasn’t like Kyler to be so paranoid, but I didn’t know anyone here, so it wasn’t like I’d had a chance to piss someone off bad enough to want to run my ass over.

“I don’t want you going outside by yourself,” he said, his back still to me as he messed with the fire.

“Okay,” I said, only because I didn’t want to start an argument.

He stood, shaking the wet flakes out of his hair. “You should get out of those clothes before you get sick.”

Feeling a little bit like a misbehaving child and not sure why, I left to do what he asked. Since it was late and I doubted we’d be going anywhere, I changed into a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved shirt. When I went back down, Kyler had changed into dry sweats and the fire was going strong.

He handed over a blanket and I wrapped it around me, grateful. I felt like the snow had gotten inside me. I sat beside the fireplace, watching the flames lick at the bricks. Outside, the wind was really starting to pick up, rattling the house. It seemed like the wind was finding every little crack in the house and making its way inside.

I clenched the blanket tighter as I scooted closer to the fire, shivering. Kyler watched me for a moment, and then he stood from where he was sitting on the couch. Grabbing another blanket, he walked over to where I was and sat behind me. I stiffened.

“It’s okay,” he said. “I have an idea.” He spread his legs out on either side of me, and then got an arm around me. Tugging me back, he wrapped the blanket around us. “See? We’re like a burrito.”

I stayed put, not leaning against him, but I could already feel the warmth coming over me. Being this close to him was nerve-racking in a way it never had been before, so it took me a few moments to find my voice. “It’s a pretty cool burrito.”

“I think so.” A couple of moments passed. “What do you think the gang is doing back home?”

I focused on the flames. “Probably hanging out with family. I think Andrea was going to go to Tanner’s parents’ house.”

“Are they together?” Confusion marked his question. “I never know what’s going on between those two.”

I laughed and began to relax, loosening my white-knuckle grip on the blanket. “I really don’t know, either. It’s anyone’s guess.”

“Those two are crazy. I don’t even think they’ve gone out on a date.”

“They haven’t. I don’t think they’ve done anything, but I still bet they’ll end up married with tons of babies.”

Kyler chuckled as he leaned back against the foot of the recliner behind him. “You know what I was thinking?”

I glanced over my shoulder at him. His head was tipped back, exposing the expanse of his neck. He had a sexy throat. Hell, the boy had a sexy everything. A smile tugged at my lips as my chest warmed up. “What?”

“I was thinking about changing majors.”

“Huh?” I laughed. “You’re graduating in the spring, Kyler.”

He grinned as he lowered his chin. His eyes were a warm brown. “It’s too late for that?”

“Probably.” I wiggled around so I was half-facing him. He spread out one leg, giving me more room. “You don’t want to do business management? Like your mom and stepfather?”

Those full lips of his pursed thoughtfully. “Honestly?”

“Yeah.” Business management might sound lame to some people, but there were a lot of stable careers in that and money to be made. Especially for someone like Kyler, who had the connections needed to start his own business, which according to the last time I’d talked to his mom, was following in her footsteps. I really tried not to think about that, because it meant that once we graduated, I’d stay in Maryland to get my doctorate, and Kyler would start traveling, like his mom. After spending more than half my life with him within arm’s length, I wasn’t sure how I’d handle the separation.

It sort of struck me then, my sudden inability to ignore my wild monkey lust for him and my feelings that were stronger than friendship. We’d be separated sooner rather than later. Knots filled my stomach.

His eyes met mine, expression suddenly seriously. “I don’t know.”

Truth was, Kyler had the luxury of changing his mind this late in the game. His family had enough money that he could hold off graduating. He could go back and get another degree. He could do nothing. My parents were nowhere near as wealthy as his. My dad ran his own insurance office and mom taught at the local private school, so there’d been a college fund for me, but if I decided to change my mind now or take a few years off before grad school, my parents would kick my ass from here to home and back again.

“What do you want to do?” I asked, but I already had a suspicion.

“Travel the world as a millionaire playboy?”

“Ha. Funny.”

He flashed a quick grin. “Seriously?”

I nodded.

“Restoring old bars and shit? I don’t know about that. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a bad job.”

“No, it’s not. But?”

The light in the ceiling flickered as the wind gusted. He smiled, and I released the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “You know how my minor is in biology, right? And I’ve been adding a lot of math classes in?”

“Yeah,” I said, relaxing into him. He seemed to be okay with that, because he shifted so that my head was against his chest and his arms were clasped around me. “I just figured something was wrong with your brain for taking those classes.”

He laughed. “Nah, my brain functions normally, most of the time.” There was a pause, and then he said, “I was thinking about going to vet school after graduating.”

My eyes fell shut as my heart did this stupid squeeze-floating thing. Kyler’s biggest soft spot had always been animals. Once, in the third grade, he’d found a pigeon outside on the playground. Its wing had been broken, and left alone, it would have surely died. He’d kicked a fit, and I mean, refusing to sit at his desk and everything, until the teacher dug up a small box.

Kyler had marched out onto the playground and scooped up the little bird. He’d also made his mom take it to the vet. A pigeon—a creature that no one else would’ve given a crap about. He’d become my hero in that moment.

“Syd?” There was uncertainty in his voice, like he thought I might think giving up a career where he could make millions for one where the main payback would be helping animals was insane.

I inhaled a shaky breath as I snuggled closer. I couldn’t have Kyler the way I wanted him. I knew that, accepted that. The drunken version of me didn’t, obviously, but still, I was proud to call him a friend. “I think it’s a great idea.”

“You do?” He sounded surprised.

I smiled. “I think it’s wonderful. It’s something you feel passionate about. You should do it.”

Kyler didn’t respond, but I felt some tension seep out of him. Something I hadn’t really noticed until then. Maybe that’s what he needed. Affirmation.

As we sat there in the silence, watching the flames create dancing shadows along the wood walls, I realized something else in that moment. Even though I knew that all we ever would have between us was friendship, I loved him.

Oh man…

I would
always
love Kyler Quinn.

I was so screwed.

We were going to lose power. The wind was going crazy outside, beating at the house and the power lines. Why no one had thought about running those suckers underground was beyond me.

Lights flickered on and off for the entire evening. Around nine, the snow started coming down so fast and thick, I couldn’t see anything outside the windows. The white stuff blanketed the limbs on the pines, weighing them down. I’d gone to bed hours ago, but couldn’t sleep. My mind was obsessing over everything—me molesting Kyler, the killer snowmobile, and how long we were going to be stuck here. The wind wasn’t helping. It sounded like the house was going to cave in on me.

Frustrated, I turned away from the window and tightened the quilt I had wrapped around my shoulders. I crept out into the hallway, not wanting to wake Kyler.

I made it halfway down the hall before I heard a door creak open. “Syd?”

Sighing, I turned around and nearly started drooling. Kyler stood in the bedroom doorway, shirtless in pajama pants. His stomach… why did his stomach have to look like that? All rippled and hard and stuff…

“Syd?” He stepped out, closing the door behind him. “Are you okay?”

“Aren’t you cold?” I sort of wanted to smack myself after saying that.

He grinned. “I wasn’t until I got out of bed.”

“Good point.” I shifted my weight, feeling like a turd. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay.” He sauntered over to me, all hundred-percent male, and I kind of hated him for that. “You can’t sleep?”

I shook my head as I stifled a yawn. “The wind, it sounds like it’s ripping the entire—”

A loud crack interrupted and caused me to jump. From the window at the end of the hall, the sky lit up with a shower of sparks, and then the entire house rumbled for several seconds. Overhead, the hallway light flickered twice, and then went out, plunging the hall into complete darkness.

“Shit,” Kyler said, and I felt his hand on my back. “I think the power just got knocked out. The backup generator should kick on.”

I blinked, trying to get my eyes to adjust, but I could only make out his silhouette. The lights hadn’t come back on, but I could hear something gearing up, like a low-level hum. Air was blowing out of the vents in the hall, nowhere near the power before, and didn’t curb the cold sneaking into the house.

He cursed again. “Stay here.”

“I’m
so
not moving.”

I heard him walk back toward the window. “Well, triple shit. One of the pines just came down, hitting the power lines.” He turned, aggravated. “The backup will only run in emergency-mode—heat at a minimal, enough to keep pipes from freezing and the fridge—stuff like that.” He was back in front of me again, his breath warm against my forehead. “Go back into the bedroom while I check downstairs and make sure everything’s okay.”

“Okay.” Nervous, I tightened my hold on the blanket. My heart was pounding fast. “Do…do you have to go?”

His hand was on my back again. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”

“Sorry, but all I can think about are those people who were stranded in the snow and had to eat one another.”

Kyler laughed deeply. “Baby, that was like in the eighteen-hundreds or something. We’ll be fine. I’ll be right back.”

“You’re not going to be saying that when I start chewing on your leg like a zombie.” But I put my hand on the wall, using it as a guide to the room while he moved through the darkness like a damn cat.

Once inside the bedroom, I scurried over to the window. Snow fell in gusts, but with it covering everything, the entire ground glowed in the dim moonlight to my dark-adjusted eyes. A giant pine had snapped in half, a black silhouette against the snow. I shivered. Being stranded sucked bad enough, but having only backup power with the snowstorm of the century now just gearing up? I think God just smited us.

I headed back to the bed and climbed under the covers, tucking them under my chin. I lay on my side, watching the door. When I heard his footsteps a few minutes later, I tensed.

He carried a candle and its soft glow cast shadows over his cheekbones. Placing it on the nightstand, he sat beside me. “I’m sorry about this.”