Be My Love Read Free Page A

or protection against the wind, but it was a short ride to her parents’ cabin and at least she had a thick winter jacket. He nodded at the bags. “You going to be okay with that?”
    Her response came out as a snort. Eric gritted his teeth and bit down on a response. They climbed on the snowmobile in silence as the wind and snow continued to rush over their faces with blistering speed. Brenna placed the emergency kit between them before loosely holding on to his sides. He half turned to her.
    “Hold on tighter,” he yelled. The wind carried his words away.
    “What?” she yelled back.
    “Hold on!”
    She didn’t reply, but her arms wrapped around him and gripped tighter. He revved the engine and turned the snowmobile toward the Jones’ cabin.
    The sun set, casting them in darkness, and the storm intensified instead of letting up. His vision reduced to the two narrow beams from the snowmobile’s headlights. His heart lodged in his throat, and his hands clutched the handles in a death grip. Brenna’s warm presence against his back spurred him on. He had to get her to safety.
    In the bleary dark, snow banks and snow-laden trees looked the same. All the same. Fuck!
    Was he lost? Maybe they should’ve stayed with the truck.
    Eric kept his head tucked and continued navigating through the trenches and valleys. No wolves howled to welcome the night. Not in this storm. Nothing would be out hunting. Only the sounds of groaning trees and the screaming wind filled Eric’s ears. The trip should’ve taken five minutes. Maybe he was lost.
    His numb fingers ached from his tight grip on the handles. The wind sliced his skin, leaving it raw and blistered. He slowed the snowmobile down. Maybe he should turn around. At least the truck offered shelter.
    The headlights snagged on a dark cabin looming in the field of white. The Jones’ cabin. Thank fuck. Eric sighed and his shoulders dropped as he pulled up to the front entrance. Brenna relaxed against him.
    “Come on!” he yelled over the wind. He turned off the machine and hopped into the knee-deep snow.
    Brenna slowly clambered down after him and dumped the emergency kit on the snowmobile. She moved less stiffly, but her injuries probably pained her more than she let on.
    “Let me take that.” He reached for the backpack.
    Brenna flinched.
    “What the fuck, Brenna!” he said. “I’d never hurt you.” Well, he had hurt her, but not physically. He’d never raise a hand to a woman. With a grunt, he snatched the backpack’s strap and pulled the bag from her, then picked up the emergency kit. With both bags clutched in one hand, he grabbed Brenna’s hand and hauled her toward the cabin before she could protest, or flinch again.
    Luckily, she didn’t put up a fight. Either too tired, too hurt or too cold, she let him pull her through the deep snow. She said nothing when he took the key from its not-so-secret hiding place, unlocked the door, and pushed her into the safety of the cabin. Eric followed her in and shut the door on the blizzard.
    Flicking on the lights, the lodgepole pine cabin looked and smelled exactly as he remembered. Basic two-floor layout with bedrooms upstairs, and living room, kitchen and bathroom downstairs. The inside glowed a warm orange as the lights reflected off the interior wood, and illuminated the minimal furnishings. Pine, slightly infused with must, flooded his senses, but the stagnant air contained more warmth than outside.
    Brenna stood stiffly in the middle of the room studying him. Her lips compressed into a thin line. “Thank you,” she said.
    Hell, he was thankful he’d found her when he did. Surviving a night in that truck would’ve been difficult, and with her sore muscles and head injury, tramping through the forest…
    Even if she survived the storm, the wolves would be out after the weather settled to search for their next meal. In the middle of winter, they’d be starved for food and would hunt anything available.
    His gut