buy you a new one.”
I go back to my rod, hoping to pull in something for dinner. I cast and reel, finding a nice rhythm, but this time my attention is divided while I keep watch on the woman kicking and stomping snow on the dock.
“Don’t fall in.”
“I won’t.” She stops moving around and watches me for a couple of casts. “Can I try—”
“No.”
Her bottom lip sticks out, pink, plump, and wet.
Looking at it makes me uneasy, so I turn back to the water. “It’s my last rod.”
“All right, fine.” She finally moves off the dock toward the capsized boat that managed to stay free of snowfall from its spot under a white pine.
Even though I feel her eyes on me, she’s easy enough to ignore.
I’ve spent my whole life under every kind of lens, from microscope to camera, to the watchful eyes of my brothers and the controlling eyes of my father. Let her join the onlookers for all I care.
As long as she stays quiet.
Ten
Jordan
“You’re cold.”
Why does he always make an observation sound like an accusation?
I straighten from my curled-up position on a beached and capsized boat, making sure to look not cold, just to prove him wrong. “I’m fine.”
His thick, dark lashes come so close together it almost looks like he’s closing his eyes, but I know better. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and angry slash of his brows are a waving flag of irritation. “Your lips turn blue when you’re cold.”
I roll my lips between my teeth and nibble in hopes of bringing back some color.
The crunch of snow under his boots makes him seem even bigger than he really is. He shoves a metal bucket at me, where two fish he reeled in earlier have recently given up the ghost.
I take the bucket, and he jerks his chin for me to get up and start the small trek back to the cabin.
A frown pulls my lips, but I stand and follow behind him anyway. Truth is, being outside in the fresh air is the most normal and at ease I’ve felt since I got here.
Going back to those four walls in that tiny dark cabin with someone who refuses to engage in conversation makes my legs feel heavy. But he’s right, I am cold, and a case of hypothermia would make my already dismal existence much worse.
Why couldn’t I get rescued by an extrovert? Someone who thrived on conversation and insisted on sharing every detail of his life?
I watch his powerful, jean-clad legs move effortlessly through the snow, his big shoulders so wide I’m literally walking in his shadow. And his ass is a work of perfection, the way it moves with muscled power—no. Nope. I am not checking out Grizzly’s ass.
I tear my eyes away, insisting they look anywhere but forward. The snow-covered trees are like something off of a Christmas card. Even without the sun, the trees sparkle like a Cullen. I slam into Grizzly’s back. “What—”
“Shhh. Look,” he says quietly.
There, just a few feet in front of us is a bobcat. My heart pounds as my mind replays the warning signs at the trailhead. “I think they’re mean.”
Grizzly remains still but doesn’t seem alarmed. Of course he doesn’t. He has two emotions—indifference and fury.
The bundle of gray fur, teeth, and claws doesn’t move a single muscle but stares boldly at us as if challenging us to move first. Without being much bigger than a beagle dog, I have no doubt that, if tested, he will eat my face off.
I attempt to step around Grizzly, only to have his arm shoot out and hold me back. Is he worried about his face being eaten off too? Quick thinking has me reaching into the bucket and grabbing one of the fish.
“Fetch!” With my good arm, I fling the fish off into the woods.
The bobcat startles and runs off in the direction of the fish.
Grizzly glares down at me.
“What are you doing? Run!” I take off as fast as my feet will carry me, trying to stay on the same path of boot prints that we made on our walk to the lake. I imagine that ball of fur pouncing on me from behind and squeal. “Is it chasing me?” I run as fast as I possibly can, my heart pounding, finally reaching the cabin. My roommate is casually walking and shaking his head with disagreement. I stand inside, only sticking my head out to yell, “Do you want him to come