Page 9 of Stuck With Mr. Frosty (Delectable Protectors #5)

AIDEN

R osie trudges along beside me. “Do you think we’re going to find her soon?”

Ryder pulls up on my other side, hoisting his bag higher on his back. “The storm is getting bad. If we don’t find her in the next few minutes, we’re going to have to turn back and try again in the morning.”

I glare at Rosie. “If you’d told me that she went out hiking when the storm started, we wouldn’t be out here right now.”

Tears spring to her eyes. “I know. I didn’t think anything of it when I came home and found the note. If I knew the weather was going to get this bad, I would’ve come to find you.”

I sigh and stop, huddling in on myself to keep warmer against the wind that’s whipping around me. “Why don’t both of you head back to the cabin together?”

“No.” Ryder shakes his head. “We’re not going to leave you out here alone to search for her. It’s too dangerous.”

I sigh and look around, watching the red light I have attached to Honey bouncing through the thick snow falling. She circles back, the light growing bigger as she comes closer to me.

“Aiden, what are we going to do?” Rosie’s voice wobbles and then breaks. “I know you don’t like her much, but we can’t leave her out here.”

“Do you know where she might’ve gone?” I motion Honey to my side, holding onto her collar to make sure that she stays with me while we’re not moving.

Rosie bites her bottom lip before pulling up the scarf over her mouth. “I don’t know. There was a trail her mom used to go to when she wanted to be alone. It’s possible that Mia went to hike it, but it’s a hard one.”

“What trail?” I don’t know if she’s out there, but after everything I said to her last night, it’s more than likely that she wanted to be alone.

I never should’ve said those things to her.

If I had been nicer, Mia might be back at the cabin right now instead of spending an entire day out in the cold and the storm. This is all my fault, and I’m not going to forgive myself if anything happens to her.

Rosie rocks back and forth on her heels. “Devil’s Pass.”

“Of course.” I let out a deep breath again before looking between her and Ryder. “The two of you are going to go back to the cabin, and you’re going to wait for her there just in case she was able to turn back.”

Ryder scoffs. “No, we’re not. You’re going to need help if anything’s happened to Mia, and you shouldn’t be going out that way on your own in weather like this.”

“I know what I’m doing. I’ll be able to move faster without the two of you slowing me down.

” I gesture to the sled I’ve got trailing behind me, the harness tight on my chest. “And I can pull her back if I need to, but there’s a cabin on that trail we should be able to get to if she did go that way. ”

Rosie sniffs and reaches up to wipe her eyes. “Fine, but you better bring her home. If you don’t, then, well, I don’t know what I’m going to do, but it’s probably going to be miserable for everyone involved.”

I nod and turn, not feeding into her dramatics as Honey and I set off on our own. I’ll make better time without the other two holding me back and without Rosie driving me insane. I don’t think she’s stopped talking since I stormed into her room earlier and asked where Mia was.

The look on Rosie’s face made my blood freeze in my veins.

And now I’m out here searching in the middle of a storm. I know the outlook isn’t good. When people get lost in storms like this, they’re often found with severe frostbite, or they’re not found at all.

I don’t want Mia to become another statistic.

“Find her,” I say as soon as Honey comes bounding back to me. Honey sniffs at Mia’s hairbrush in my hand before she takes off again.

I stuff the brush back into the pocket of my backpack, my chest tightening.

The night only gets darker as I check the map, the headlamp shining bright against the lamination. I check the compass I have before heading out in the direction of Devil’s Pass.

It’s a hard hike. I don’t know how experienced Mia is, but if she isn’t hiking all the time, I would’ve told her to change her hiking plan. Even I’m struggling, and I spend most of my days out in the snow.

Honey barks and charges through the snow, the red light bouncing. I move a little faster, hoping that she’s found Mia. It’s still going to be a long hike, and when a wolf howls in the distance, I move even faster.

Just hold on a little longer wherever you are, Mia.

Honey’s bark fills me with equal parts hope and dread. She’s found something, but I don’t know what she’s found. It could be Mia, or it could be a glove she dropped.

I take a deep breath and trudge through the growing mounds of snow, following Honey’s red light until I reach her.

“Mia!” I drop to the ground beside the body, pulling back the top of the sleeping bag, hands shaking. “Mia, are you okay?”

She blinks up at me, her lips tinged blue and the tip of her nose a bright red. Blood is still flowing. “What are you doing here?” she asks.

“I was worried when you weren’t home. What the hell are you doing out here on your own?”

Mia stares at me for a moment before a small smile tugs at the corner of her lips. “That’s what you want to say to me right now?”

I nod. “You’re out here in the cold, and you’re in a sleeping bag?—”

“And thermal blankets. I have two thermal blankets on too.” She shuffles, sitting up a little, the sleeping bag and the blankets falling away. “But my ankle is caught.”

The last words come out as barely a whisper. They’re so soft that I don’t think I hear them at first, but once they process, I shuffle down to her ankle and push everything to the side.

Her boot is wedged deep between two rocks. She shakes it a little, hissing between her teeth as she shows off how wedged it really is.

I pull my goggles down to get a better look. “Stop moving it if it hurts that much.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re incredibly bossy?”

“Mia, you’re not being helpful right now. I’m going to get your foot out, and then we’re going to take a look at it.” I slip my hand down between the rocks and the bottom of her boot, gripping the heel.

She whimpers as I ease the boot partway out between the rocks, tears in her eyes. “Stop. It hurts.”

I pause, glancing up at her. “You can do this, okay? I’m going to get it the rest of the way out, and everything is going to be fine.”

Her head shakes, and her bottom lip quivers. “I don’t think I can.”

Honey circles Mia before laying down on her chest, forcing her back. Mia starts to run her fingers through Honey’s fur, taking deep breaths. I don’t know how much help it is, but I know that when I’m starting to panic, there’s nothing more comforting than having Honey settle on me.

“Okay,” Mia says, her voice wavering. “Please get my foot out of there.”

“It’s going to be fine. Just take a deep breath and let it out.” I wait until she inhales, and then I pull her foot out the rest of the way.

She lets out another shaky breath, but Honey stays in place, keeping Mia as calm as possible right now.

The second Mia’s booted foot is out of the rocks, I kneel and pull her foot into my lap, taking off her boot and starting to feel along her ankle. Nothing feels out of place, and though the muscles are obviously stiff and bruised, she’s able to move it.

Her cheeks are a deep red as I slip her boot back on and tie it up. “I’m sorry you had to come all the way out here in this,” she says. “I thought I knew where I was going, and then my map got soaked through and I tried to turn back, but then I started getting turned around and?—”

I get to my feet and hold out a hand to help her as Honey gets up. “You don’t need to keep rambling. It’s my job to find you.”

“Oh.” She puts her hand in mine and allows me to help her up. She tests out putting weight on her ankle and nearly falls over. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get anywhere right now. Maybe it would be better to leave me and go back for a snowmobile.”

“Not going to be able to get one up the mountain in this storm. Too risky.” I help her over to a tree and take her backpack, packing up the blankets and the sleeping bag. “I’m going to help you, unless you want to ride on the sled.”

She shakes her head. “No, I should be good to limp along. It’s just going to take some time.”

“We have all the time in the world.” I put her supplies onto the sled along with my own backpack, securing them so it will be easier to pull along and help her. “Rather get there alive than risk you getting more hurt by trying to keep up with me.”

I loop my arm around her waist, and she hooks hers around my shoulders, resting some of her weight on me as we walk along.

However, with the first step, she nearly goes down.

“Shit,” she says under her breath. She looks at me with tears in her eyes, looking like she’s seconds away from falling apart.

I turn around and disassemble the sled before motioning to it. “Sit down. I’m going to put this stuff in your lap, and then we’re going to get moving.”

“Aiden, it’s going to hurt you. I’m not light, and with everything else?—”

“Mia, shut up and get on the sled. We can argue once we get to the cabin, but I’ll be damned if you think I’m going to leave you out here because I can’t deal with your weight and two backpacks.”

Her cheeks turn a darker shade of crimson, and she slowly lowers herself to the sled, settling in and grabbing the backpacks. She pulls them into her lap, looking down at them, her dark eyelashes dusting the tops of her cheekbones.

I adjust the harness and check the map before I start walking. Mia is silent throughout the walk, but every now and then, I think I hear a sniffle.

Guilt eats at me as I peek at her over my shoulder. I should’ve been here earlier. Maybe if I had been nicer to her last night, she never would’ve taken off this morning.

The cabin rises up on the horizon, nothing more than a black blob against the dark night, but the closer we get, the more shape it takes.

I stop outside the door and push it open before unhooking the sled from my harness. I take the bags from Mia and toss them into the cabin before crouching down and picking her up before she has a chance to try and move on her own.

“Aiden, this is unnecessary.” She claps her hands on her bright red cheeks.

“It’s going to be a long walk back, and you’ll need to be able to put weight on your foot, so yes, it is necessary.” I set her on the couch, and Honey follows us inside. I go around the room, turning on the lanterns hanging throughout the cabin. “Do you need help getting out of your ski suit?”

Her cheeks turn a darker shade of red. It would be lying to say that I didn’t like seeing how flustered she gets at times. It’s never this bad when we’re around people, but right now, when it’s the two of us, she’s a little off guard.

Mia shakes her head and reaches for the zipper of her jacket. “I’m fine.”

I nod and head back outside, shutting the door behind me and taking the sled to gather firewood from the shed around the back. I stack it high, not wanting to have to go back out if the storm gets worse.

When I come back inside, Mia is out of her boots and coat, wearing nothing but a tight long-sleeve and some leggings. Her hair hangs loose around her face, and she runs her fingers absentmindedly through Honey’s fur.

Honey wags her tail when she sees me, her gear already off and stacked on the coffee table.

I work on bringing the firewood inside, lighting it up in the fireplace before rummaging through the small kitchen and finding a pot to warm up some canned ravioli on top of the wood stove.

When I finally turn to Mia, she’s watching me like she’s not sure what to think of me. I sigh and take off my coat and boots, leaving them by the door. I slide out of the ski pants before running a hand through my hair.

Mia looks away. “Thank you for coming to get me,” she says. “I didn’t know what was going to happen when I was out there, and I was worried about maybe not coming home.”

My eyebrows arch as I cross over to her and sit on the little coffee table in front of her, the glow from the lanterns around the room lighting us up. “Nobody was going to let you die out here. As soon as I found out that you hadn’t come home, I went out and looked for you.”

She runs a hand through her hair, staring past me at the flickering wood stove. “I didn’t think you cared that much since I’m a vapid party girl.”

I wince, my gaze finding hers. “I said some things I didn’t mean. I’m sorry. I’m not good at getting to know people.”

Mia scoffs. “That’s putting it lightly. There’s not a chance in hell that any of your elementary school report cards had plays well with others written on them.”

The corner of my mouth twitches as I get up to check on dinner. “Not even a little bit.”

Her laughter fills the room. “I’m sorry too. I know I get under your skin, and I exploit that at times. I mean, you do make it easy, but I shouldn’t be taking advantage of that.”

I dish out the food and bring a bowl over to her. “Well, maybe we can work on being friends.”

Even though I’m sure it’s a terrible idea. I don’t know how to be just friends with someone. Not when I spend most of my life moving around the world. People tend to like someone they can count on to be there when they need them.

I can’t promise to be that person for her.

But perhaps, for the rest of the season, at least, I can stop worrying about whether she wants to be friends or not. We could just be.

We finish our dinner in silence, the crackle of the fire and the scent of burning wood wrapping around us.

I make sure to sit in the solo chair beside the couch — not that I could sit on the couch even if I wanted to.

Honey seems to have taken up her place beside Mia, and there’s no separating the two based on the side-eye the dog keeps giving me.

And then before I know it, Mia is yawning and looking like she’s seconds away from falling asleep on the couch. I get up and take the bowls into the little kitchenette to wash in the morning.

When I turn around, her head is dropping toward the pillow, her injured foot up on the arm of the couch and Honey sleeping beside her.

I sigh and pick up Mia, carrying her to one of the two doors on the right side of the cabin. She looks up at me, and for a moment I consider leaning in and kissing her. It would be easy to do, but I don’t know if I would want to stop.

Mia shifts in my arms, tilting her head back more like she’s giving me the perfect angle to claim her.

I stare at her for so long that my heart feels like it’s going to beat right out of my chest, and then I push open the door, ready to go to bed before I do something that’s going to change the rest of the season.

But, instead of the two twin beds that were here the last time I came by, there’s only one queen-sized bed.