Hard Line - Pamela Clare Page 0,88

a woman could dream.

This is the price you pay for getting involved. You knew this day would come.

Yes, and it had been worth it.

Lev stuck his head in again. “They’re refueling. Time to roll.”

Thor drew her into his arms, held her tight for one precious moment. Then he touched his forehead to hers, his gaze warm. “We’re not finished, Samantha.”

Her heart held onto those words. “I hope not.”

Then he and Jones put on their masks, picked up their duffel bags, called out their goodbyes to the staff, and left the station.

Samantha and Kristi rushed into the coatroom, put on snow pants, hats, gloves, masks, and their parkas, and hurried outside and down the stairs. They watched as the LO crew loaded Delaney’s body and his and Patty’s personal belongings onto the plane. Then Thor, Malik, and Lev boarded, Thor glancing back and waving to her just before the doors closed. The fuelies stepped away, and the plane was ready to depart.

Please don’t crash. Please don’t crash. Please don’t crash.

Kristi took Samantha’s gloved hand in hers, neither of them speaking as the plane headed down the skiway. Then the rockets fired, and the plane left the ground.

Kristi sniffed. “Well, I just said goodbye to the best sex of my life—and the nicest man I’ve ever known. I’m going to miss Malik so much.”

But Samantha couldn’t speak, tears freezing on her face, her heart breaking, as the plane’s lights disappeared in the distance.

24

July 10

Thor’s face appeared on Samantha’s computer screen, his jaw covered with a short beard, his skin tanned. “Happy Birthday, skat.”

God, she missed him.

The sound of his voice was like an elixir, her heart seeming to swell, contentment warming her like sunshine. “Thanks.”

“Damn, you look good.” There was a note of longing in his voice.

Somehow, he always made her feel beautiful, even when she hadn’t washed her hair for two days and was dressed in sweats.

“They threw a little surprise party for me with cake and ice cream.” She told him how Kristi had persuaded her to go to the lounge to watch a movie. “When she switched on the lights, everyone shouted ‘Surprise!’”

“You deserve that.”

“I got your present.” She reached for the little white gold daisy pendant hanging from her throat on its white gold chain. “Thank you. I love it. It’s so delicate.”

“It’s probably the most Danish thing I could give you.” Thor explained that the Danish queen’s nickname was Daisy and that a Danish designer had created a line of jewelry in her honor when she was a child. “I wanted to give you something that couldn’t come from anyone else, something that would make you think of me.”

“I love it even more now. But how did it get here?” There was no postal service between Antarctica and the rest of the world during austral winter.

He gave her that sexy smile that made her melt. “I know some people who know some people who know the guys who fly the planes. They got it into the last airdrop.”

“Connections. I’m impressed.” But there was something she needed to say to him, something serious. “You’re the reason I got to celebrate another birthday. Thank you.”

That would be true for the rest of her life.

“I had pretty selfish reasons for doing what I did.”

“What do you mean?”

“I couldn’t bear to lose you.”

Samantha’s heart melted. No man had ever made her feel loved the way Thor did, even though he’d never told her he loved her. “How’s your shoulder?”

“It aches sometimes, but otherwise I’m back to normal.” Thor changed the subject. “What else is going on? Ryan says he taught you to play chess and that you crushed him.”

“Are you checking up on me?”

“Always.”

“Yes, I beat the pants off him. You know what’s crazy?”

“What?”

“For as long as I knew her, Patty told me there was more to life than science. It took her death for me to learn what she meant.” Samantha told Thor how she’d kept mostly to herself her first winter here and how she’d forced herself to socialize after he’d gone. “At first I did it to keep from feeling depressed and lonely—and because you pushed me. But now I’m actually having fun. I’ve made friends.”

“You’re special, Samantha. They all see that.”

She brought him up to date on the rest of the news. Bai and Kazem were determined to marry. They had applied to Denmark and Sweden for jobs and visas. Lance was back to his old self, and he and Charli were together. The galaxy she’d discovered