Love Inspired Suspense April 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Laura Scott (christmas read aloud TXT) 📗

He bent down to drink some water, then realized she was still wearing his jacket so he wasn’t able to bring water back to Chelsey using his pockets the way he had before.

Sitting back on his heels, he tried to think of what their best decision would be.

Keep going? Or stay here?

Neither option was very appealing.

He estimated the hour to be roughly two in the morning. It would be reasonable to stay here and rest a bit until dawn. It wasn’t as if they could move quickly anyway. In fact, he’d worried that her white dress would be a beacon to any of the other men who may be crawling the mountain looking for them.

Okay, they’d stay. For now. He stood and quickly made his way back to where Chelsey waited.

But he didn’t see her. His heart squeezed and he raked his gaze over the area, peering through the darkness. The moonlight offered just enough light that he could see the trees and rocks around him.

“Chelsey.” He tried not to let his internal panic show in his voice.

There was nothing but silence for a long moment.

“Here.” He caught a glimpse of white as she lifted her arm to wave.

His shoulders slumped in relief. In his absence, she’d covered her white gown in dirt and leaves, doing a good job of blending in with the foliage. She’d obviously learned from him and he had to smile at her ingenuity.

Thankfully she was okay.

He crossed over to take her hand in his, drawing her upright. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to pull her into his arms and hold her close.

No need to let her know how scared he’d been.

“This way.” He took her hand and led her over several large rocks to the stream. When she saw the water, she dropped down and leaned over to drink.

“Thank you.” Her gratitude made him uncomfortable. So far he hadn’t done the best job of protecting her. They should have continued hiking while they’d had light or found a better place to hide for the night. He should have doused the fire.

Maybe if he’d done a better job, the bad guys wouldn’t have found them.

“We’ll stay here,” he said, gesturing to the trio of trees, “until dawn.”

“Can you make another fire?” She gamely followed him to the meager shelter.

“No. That’s how they found us the first time.”

“Okay.” She shivered, and even in the darkness he could tell she was apprehensive.

“It will be okay. You’re going to rest against me, and I’ll keep you warm.” He sat with his back up against two of the three tree trunks, and gently pulled her down beside him. She stretched out so that she was lying against his chest, his tux jacket pulled up over her back like a blanket. He wrapped his arms around her and hoped she wouldn’t become too chilled.

The last thing he needed was for her to get sick.

She relaxed against him, clearly exhausted from their brief hike. He kept his arms around her, hoping she’d absorb some of his warmth.

Sharing their body heat was essential for staying alive, but he couldn’t deny that holding Chelsey was nice. He closed his eyes, reminding himself that not only had Chelsey just lost her fiancé, but he wasn’t in the market for a relationship. Losing the woman he’d loved several years ago to a violent crime was bad enough. Amanda had been brutally attacked and robbed on her way home from work late one night and died from bleeding into her brain. Sitting at her bedside for almost a full week, he couldn’t believe it when she was gone. No way was he opening his heart to that kind of pain again.

Besides, his life was back in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, not here in Jackson, Wyoming. Sure, the Grand Teton mountains were incredibly beautiful, but his dad, his sister, his nephew, his niece and friends were all back home.

Everyone important in his life.

Although, that wasn’t exactly true any longer. Seeing Chelsey again made him realize how much he cared about her.

But only as a friend. He couldn’t afford to lose another piece of himself the way he had after Amanda had died.

FOUR

Chelsey huddled against Duncan, his tux tucked over her shoulder, reveling in his warmth and strength despite the eerie darkness surrounding them.

How was it possible that she felt so safe in his arms?

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, knowing rest would be critical to her ability to hike out of there in the morning. But the rush of adrenaline, the aftermath of their close call, raced through her veins. Her mind kept going back to those terrifying moments when she thought they both might die at the hands of the assailant.

“Chelsey, please try to relax.” His deep voice rumbled in his chest beneath her ear. “Morning will be here soon and we’ll need to be ready to move.”

“Okay. Are you going to try to sleep, too?” she whispered.

“Yes.” His simple answer surprised her. “But not until you do, because your tenseness is keeping me awake.”

A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. It never failed to amaze her how in tune he was to her emotions. Or maybe it was just being in danger that was bringing them so close together. She drew a deep breath in, then let it out, trying to relax the tension from her muscles.

“Much better,” he murmured. “Sleep now, Chelsey. You’re safe with me.”

“I know.” She took another deep breath and felt a strange calmness settle over her. Maybe because she knew she was safe with Duncan.

And more so because she was certain God was watching over them.

She must have dozed at some point, because she awoke with a start.

“Shh,” Duncan whispered.

She froze, her heart thumping wildly against her chest. The sounds of the forest should have been reassuring, but she couldn’t be certain what had awoken her.

“A buck, see?” Duncan lifted his hand, pointing in the direction off to their right.

At