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"If you hadn't had an emergency you were trying to get to, I would have ticketed you for speeding too fast for the weather conditions."

She chuckled under her breath. "Thanks. For not giving me a speeding ticket. It wouldn't look good on my blemish-free driving record."

"So, are you still in Anchorage? I would have noticed you if you had moved to White Bear."

“I’m still living in Anchorage.”

"I didn’t have a chance to tell you the last time that my parents own the White Bear Tavern, and my brother Ben works there. I have another brother, Craig, who flies a plane all over to deliver supplies."

"That's a much-needed job, though I imagine he's now grounded."

"Yeah, in this weather, for sure. I have two cousins, Edward and Rob, who have a tour guide business.”

“That’s great. I bet they’re grounded too for the moment.”

“They are. So what made you join the FBI?"

"My dad was an FBI agent. He's retired now. I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Mom is a real estate agent, and I'm glad she wasn't in our line of work. They worry about me, naturally, but I've done well so far. Except for the accident and injuring myself and you."

"I guess it couldn't be helped." Not if her brakes hadn't been working.

"Guess?"

"It couldn't have been," he amended. "Are you still dating that bear in Anchorage?”

She glanced back at him.

He smiled.

She faced forward again. “Nope.”

“Good,” he said under his breath, hoping she could stay in White Bear longer if she were off work due to her injuries. “Are you sure we're headed in the right direction?" He was ready to become a polar bear and get warmed up. He feared his foot would end up with frostbite despite having extra socks.

"Yeah." She showed him the compass she was using. "It's due northwest." When he fell behind, she immediately returned to him. "How is your foot? Is it warm enough?" Now, she sounded worried.

"Cold." He hated to admit it to her. He wanted to be a source of strength for her.

She frowned. "I estimate we have another three-quarters of a mile to go. I don't want you to get frostbite. I should have thought of this before." She untied her wool scarf from around her neck.

"You need that." He didn’t want her to get cold.

"I don't need it. My collar is already keeping my neck warm. It's just an extra layer of warmth, but you could use it more than I. Once we deal with the kidnapper, we can sit by the fire and warm up."

That sounded nice as long as everything went according to plan.

She joined him, and he sat down in the snow. Then she removed the plastic bag from his foot and massaged the socks-covered foot to get the circulation going. She took her scarf, shook off the snow collected on it, and carefully wrapped the dry side around his foot and ankle. Once done, she pulled the plastic bag over his foot again and secured it.

“Is that better?” she asked.

“Hell, yeah.”

“It’s wool. I should have thought of it before. Are you ready to go again?”

“I sure am.”

She helped him up, though they both groaned from their injuries.

As they stumbled through the snowy landscape, his thoughts began to race. Had he delayed her too much? Would the kidnapper have harmed the victim? Were they even at the cabin still? Or had they ever been there at all?