Winter's Wonder: Pine Point, Book 2 (10 page)

Chapter Twenty

“Thanks, man.” Zane leapt from the passenger side of the tow truck before Springer had come to a complete stop in front of his garage. Mike tossed Zane the keys to his spare beat-up Volkswagen before heading out to pull another car out of a snow bank.

It took a couple turns of the key, but Mike’s car finally roared to life. Zane hoped to hell the thing had some decent snow tires on it, because the skies had opened up and the roads were damn slick. He pulled onto Main Street and downshifted as the car caught an icy spot and drifted. Thankfully, it didn’t look like many other people had braved the storm, so it wouldn’t matter if he couldn’t quite stay in one lane. He blew on one hand and steered with the other, back and forth to warm his fingers as he made his way through town. He wasn’t dressed for tromping around in the snow, but he didn’t dare waste time going back to his place for boots and a warmer coat. Plus, he wasn’t sure he’d make it out of his private road again, not the way this stuff was sticking to the ground.

He curled and uncurled his fingers around the steering wheel. He was pretty sure he knew the turn for the Kramer house. He’d spent a few nights partying there back in high school because Jared had had an unlimited supply of pot and a mother who worked the night shift. He turned on the wipers and the defrost, but both whined and sputtered and did little to clear his view. Thankfully, the plows were keeping downtown Pine Point drivable, so it was only when he turned onto County Route 78 that the trip became treacherous.

Zane had tossed his phone onto the seat beside him, and he glanced at it every few minutes. No call from Becca. No text. What did he expect? She probably thought he was still enjoying the glitz of Villa Venezia.
That’s not my scene. Never was, never will be
. He slowed as the lights of Mountain Glen poked through the dark. A moment later, he spied tire tracks turning down a narrow road. He barely saw the sign covered with snow.

“Hope this is it.” He eased the car in a wide circle, turning the high beams to low to reduce the glare of the driving snow. He’d almost made the turn when all his traction went.
Shit.
The car slid a few feet and then went nose-first into a ditch.

“Hell!” Zane pounded the steering wheel. He tried to back out, but putting the car in reverse only spun the tires and dug him in deeper. Finally, he turned off the engine, opened the door and stepped into snow up to his knees. Still cursing under his breath, he struggled back to the road. Was this the stupidest idea in the world? Maybe Becca wasn’t here. Maybe he should’ve gone to the shelter first. For all he knew, she was already settling twenty-one cats into bed.

He bent his head against the wind, and snow peppered his bare neck. Suddenly, a horn squawked, and he looked up in time to see a truck bearing down on him. He stepped to the side as it pulled up and stopped. A dark-skinned man sat in the driver’s seat, with a middle-aged woman beside him. No sign of Becca.

“You’re Zane,” the woman said.

He nodded and realized the back seat was filled with cats in carriers. A few meowed. Most just stared at him with huge eyes. “Where’s Becca?” He drew one arm across his face to shake off the snow.

The man jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “She went into the woods. Kevin’s looking for her now.”

“The
woods
?”

“We called the police to come help,” the woman said in a small voice. “She’s been gone a long time.”

“How long?” Zane’s hands fisted at his sides.

“Ten minutes or so. Maybe it’s not that long, but—”

Zane turned away before she could finish. Not that long? This time, as well as he could manage, he jogged through the snow. It came up over his dress shoes and soaked everything below his knees, but he barely felt it. The only thing he did feel, the only thing that mattered at all, was the pain circling his heart every time he thought of Becca.

A dark shape flashed at his side, and he turned with a jerk. He hadn’t brought his pistol, and the last thing he needed was a wild dog or something else attacking him in the middle of nowhere.

“Well, son of a bitch.” Two yellow eyes stared back at him. “What the hell are you doing over here?” The stray resident of Mountain Glen stood a few feet away, panting. “Huh.” He supposed it made sense. The dog probably circled most of this square mile of town, probably had hiding places and sleeping spots from here to the Glen and all the way over to the interstate.

Zane waved both arms. “Shoo. Get back to the Glen. Or someplace warm. You shouldn’t be out here.”

The dog barked in response.

“I’m serious.” He looked ahead to where the road curved. The Kramer house lay around that turn, which meant every second he spent out here talking to a stray dog was a second he wasn’t looking for Becca.

The dog barked again, turned and trotted into the dark.

Zane shook his head and walked on. But the dog reappeared almost at once. This time it ran right up to him, swerving to avoid tangling with his legs at the last minute. It backed away a couple of feet but didn’t leave.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

As he stood there, the dog trotted into the dark, then turned and barked. Turned back and did it again. Then again. Until finally—

Zane squinted into the snow. About a hundred yards from where he stood, if he remembered right, an old creek bed split the woods in two and ran perpendicular to County Route 78. He looked at the road, the house up ahead, then back at the dog. “You trying to tell me something, boy?” Because if he was crazy and about to listen to a dog for no good reason other than some kind of instinct scratching at his brain, chances were pretty good he’d end up frozen in a snow bank.

The dog barked again, and that was all it took. Zane left the road and followed the animal across an open field and down the ravine. Every so often, it got ahead of him and disappeared into darkness, but a few seconds later, he’d catch sight of it again. Always waiting for him. Always barking if he got too far behind. By the time they reached flat ground, Zane was frozen through. He couldn’t feel his fingers, his feet, his nose. His breath whooshed out in long, slippery white strings, and more than once he wondered if that would be the last sight he’d see, his own air running out against the sky.

The dog walked more slowly now, picking its way through the snow. It didn’t bark, but it looked back every few steps to make sure Zane followed. He blinked away flakes that caught in his lashes. “If this is a wild goose chase…” he muttered. Then he saw it, a flash of long red coat against all the white. As if to confirm, the dog let out a long, soulful howl.

All Zane’s energy returned, all his hope, every thought of Becca that had kept him going through the last long hour. The dog nosed his leg as if to urge him on.
Well, would you look at that,
he thought as he stumbled toward Becca. All this time he’d thought he was the one saving the stray animal. Turned out it was the one saving him—saving both of them.

It’s a dream
, Becca thought more than once as she walked. Everything foggy at the edges, the heavy warmth that dragged at her bones—it reminded her of some long, lazy dream that looped over and over.

Except she was freezing. And shivering. And trying not to listen to the very small voice inside her head that kept telling her it was okay to just sit down, curl up and go to sleep for real. Somewhere on the edge of her consciousness, bells pealed.
Christmas Eve wouldn’t be the worst night to die
. Maybe there would be angels to welcome her, or a baby Jesus with his arms stretched wide.

“Becca!”

She stopped walking.
Strange.
She didn’t usually hear voices so clearly in her dreams. She brushed the snow from her face.

“Becca!” Out of the dark emerged a figure, waving one arm and staggering toward her.

Zane?

A siren whooped close by, and along the edge of the woods, red lights flashed. Becca stood perfectly still. The cat, still snuggled at her breast, lifted its head and blinked at her.

“I think,” she said in a small voice that barely creaked out of her, “I think we’re being rescued.”

Then he was there, taking her into his arms, real and strong and smelling of cologne and fresh air and everything she wanted to breathe into her veins.

“Are you okay?” Zane murmured against her hair. He pulled back to look at her. “God, Bec, you’re frozen through.”

She managed to nod. “I’m okay.” A movement caught her eye. “Is that the stray dog from the Glen?”

“Yup. Brought me here.” He shook his head and whistled. “I wouldn’t have found you otherwise.”

The snow eased as they stood there, and Becca looked up at a sky filled with stars. “It’s clearing.”
So beautiful. So endless and frightening.
The realization of how much she’d risked, rushing out ill-prepared into a frozen night, spread over her. Not the best decision she’d ever made, that was for sure. Thank God, Zane had ignored her stupid comments and come after her.

He rubbed her arms and then peeked inside her coat. “Well, damn, doll. Is it alive?”

“Kept me warm, so I think so. If I am, then it still is.”

He leaned down and kissed her, frozen lips to frozen lips, and she would have laughed at the sight they must have made, if she’d had the energy.

“You are an absolute idiot for coming out here alone,” he said.

She frowned. Though she’d just been thinking the same thing, it wasn’t very romantic of him to say so. Or very keeping with the Christmas spirit.

He kissed the tip of her nose and added, “An absolutely crazy, selfless, beautiful, charming, melt-me-in-my-tracks idiot.”

Oh…

In the distance, church bells began to play “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” It was the most beautiful sound Becca had ever heard.

Epilogue

Zane tossed a couple of logs into the stove. Outside, snow fell in soft, lazy curtains that hugged the cozy trailer. Becca tucked her feet beneath her and snuggled deeper into the corner of the couch. Across the room, Mike Springer mixed up berry martinis in sugar-coated glasses.

“Another, Bec?” he asked.

She nodded, her eyelids heavy from the effects of the first drink, not to mention the tryptophan hangover from the turkey breast the three of them had devoured for Christmas dinner.

“Where’s Sienna?” she asked. “I thought you two were hitting it off.”

He filled the glasses with precision. “Ah, she went back south for the holidays. Wanted to be with her family.” He shrugged. “We only had drinks a couple of times, anyway. She’s got some kind of complication, an ex or something, back home.”

“So she says,” Zane said as he dusted off his hands. “My money’s on the fact there’s no ex. That’s just an excuse to get away from you.”

Mike feigned hurt, holding both arms wide. “Who’d want to get away from all this?”

They all laughed, filling the space with sounds that warmed Becca clear through. At her side, the black cat leaned into her leg and purred. It kneaded the worn couch cushion in a steady rhythm, its eyes closed as if self-hypnotized. She ran a hand over its head and down its back. She could feel its spine and ribs, but after a few weeks of living here, she guessed it would plump out nicely.

“What about your sister?” Mike asked.

“Believe it or not, Ella’s spending the day at Derek’s house. With his parents.” Becca still couldn’t believe it herself. The whole thing seemed awfully…well,
settled
for her sister.
But maybe this is a Christmas for taming wild animals
, she thought with a glance at Zane.

“You’ll see your parents sometime next month?” Zane said as he joined her on the couch.

She nodded. “Ella and I usually go down in mid-January.” Normally, she couldn’t wait to escape to the Florida sunshine. This year though, snowy Pine Point had a tighter hold on her.

“Did you think of a name for the cat?” he asked.

“I was thinking you should name it, since you’re the one adopting it.” Ella had forbidden her from bringing home any more animals, but to her surprise, Zane had offered to take it instead.

He chuckled. The stray dog lying in the corner looked up at him and thumped its tail. “You want to tell me how I ended up with not one but two animals in this house?”

“You are responsible forever for the things you tame…”

“Well, you couldn’t very well leave Stray living out in the cold after he rescued me,” Becca said. “And I think you need to work on his name too. Stray isn’t the most appealing name in the world.”

“Maybe not,” Zane said as he dropped his arm onto her shoulder. “But it’s pretty accurate.” Those deep, serious eyes caught and held hers, the meaning inside them clear.

“He’s one. I was one too, until I found you.”

Becca blinked.
I’m responsible for his heart, for his feelings too
. She wasn’t just responsible for the animals who trusted her, but for this man as well. When you tamed a wild heart, this was the trade-off. Knowing that the best place for them was in your protection and in your heart. Why had it taken her so long to realize it?

Mike carried over two drinks and handed them off.

“Where you going?” Zane asked as his friend pulled on a heavy winter coat.

“Outside for some air.” He winked. “And to give you two lovebirds some Christmas time alone.” He whistled, and the dog hopped up and followed. Mike snapped on a red leash and led Stray outside.

“I was thinking Midnight,” Zane said after a minute. “For the cat.”

It had completed its ritual of kneading, but rather than settle in for a nap, it jumped off the couch and trotted toward its food dish.

“I think that’s perfect,” she said. She took a sip of her martini and then set it aside.
If I drink it too fast, my head will spin
. She wanted Zane to do that, and she wanted to be sober when he did, so she could remember every last place he touched her and how he turned her in circles. The way he’d been stealing glances at her all afternoon and evening, she hoped the touching would happen soon. She was about bursting inside.

“What about the other cats?” he asked.

“From Helen’s house? We’ll keep them at the shelter as long as we can. Janet has some foster families that will probably take them in. Would be nice for them to have some regular love and attention.”

“Mmmm.” Zane played with her hair. “I think that’s a great idea.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I know someone else who’d like some regular love and attention.” He moved his mouth to her ear and then down her neck, igniting a series of sparks that heated up everything he touched and most of what he didn’t.

Becca turned and slipped her arms around his waist, wriggling closer until she sealed the gap between them. She hoped
regular
meant on a daily basis, maybe an hourly one, because the bits of time she’d spent with this man so far weren’t nearly enough. She lifted her mouth to meet his and willed Mike to take a good long time walking the dog. She’d always believed in Christmas magic, but even she couldn’t have predicted this happy ending. Snow and saved animals and the man of her dreams, all muscle and all heart, wrapped tightly in her arms. She couldn’t imagine a more blissful ending to the holiday season.

“Merry Christmas, my love,” he whispered.

Merry Christmas, indeed
. Becca swooned as Zane picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. Looked as though Santa had been good to them both after all.