Seduced by Snowfall
Page 25
“It was perfect. Beyond perfect. Just like you.”
He indicated the bandage wrapped around his arm. “More scarred than perfect.”
“You got that scar while saving my life. That makes you a legend in the Morrison family. Even my father said something nice when I told him what happened.”
“Yeah? What’d he say?” Not that it mattered to him. It only mattered what Bethany thought.
“He said he was surprised you didn’t just finish the guy off with your bad jokes,” she said.
“Wait…that’s nice?”
“For him it is. It could have been so much worse. In Lloyd Morrison code, it means you’re part of the family. Come on, you should stand up, you’re going to bruise your knees.”
She helped him to his feet and they stood pressed together, their arms looped around each other. “You know, I have my own scars too. The good thing is that our scars fit so well together.”
“Yeah. Lots of other things fit well together too.” He lowered his hand to her ass and squeezed gently.
Her breath caught. He loved how consistent their chemistry was, a constant clear river of connection between them.
“Don’t even think about trying to have sex right now,” she scolded him. “You’re not ready.”
“I can think about it. You can’t make me stop thinking about it.” His other hand joined the first and he pressed her closer, proving that he was, in fact, very much ready.
“Okay, but as your doctor…” All her objections were fading from her voice.
“The doctor isn’t in right now. The hot, sexy babe is.”
With his good arm, he hauled her even closer against him, so close he felt her soft breasts against his chest and her racing heartbeat in his veins. Her faint rose fragrance mingled with the smell of wood smoke from the fireplace. Nothing could be more perfect than this moment right here.
She tilted her chin up and rested it against his chest. “Okay, but since I can never completely turn off the doctor side, would you please be careful of your inj—”
He sealed her lips with a deep, passionate, endless kiss.
“You were saying?” he asked when they finally drew apart.
Her breath came fast, her lips moist and swollen, her eyes misty, like bright lanterns shining through fog. “I love you.”
He smiled in deep satisfaction. “That’s what I thought you said.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Bethany had truly never imagined that she’d be this happy in her lifetime. She’d always pictured herself going through life dutifully, fulfilling her responsibilities and doing a good job—but not experiencing every moment with an extra airlift of pure joy.
But that was what Nate brought to her life. With his playful spirit, he made her smile constantly. His tender protectiveness made her trust him completely. Saying yes to his proposal made something settle into place inside her. He made her feel safe and yet wild at the same time.
On the day he finally returned to work, Maya Badger called both of them in for a meeting about S.G.
“So.” She looked from one to the other of them. “Nate says I’m required to be in his wedding, and since I have a blanket ban on bridesmaid dresses, I’d like to offer my services as the officiant.”
Bethany clapped her hands together in joy. “You’d marry us? That would be wonderful!”
Her stern expression melted into something like relief. “You sure? Not a lot of people get married by a police detective. But I do have the proper licensing and I’d be honored, I really would.”
“I love the idea. Nate, what do you think?”
With a disgruntled look, Nate propped one ankle on his knee. “Kinda had my heart set on torturing you with a puffy pink bridesmaid dress. Damn it. You ruined my fun.”
“You’ll get over it.” She flipped open a folder on her desk. “But that’s not why I called you guys in. I’ve found some information about S.G. that I thought you should know.”
Bethany leaned forward eagerly. S.G. had been getting along well at her new home, but Bethany couldn’t help worrying about her. “What did you find out?”
“She’s definitely not related to Edgar Murchison. That’s the trapper slash fugitive slash knife-wielding suspect. He’s a surly dude who happens to also be racist, so it’s been a challenge getting him to talk. A challenge I’m very much up for, however.” A grim smile curled her lips. “Apparently he found S.G. when she was just a baby. He refuses to talk about the circumstances under which he found her, however. Did he buy her from someone? Did he steal her from a family of campers or hikers?”
Maya was quiet for a moment. Nate cocked his head at her. “You have a theory?”
“I do,” she admitted. “I wanted to run it by you both.”
“Shoot.” Bethany and Nate both scooted their chairs forward so as not to miss a word.
“I did some missing-child searches for about five years during the period when S.G. was most likely a baby. Of course we don’t know exactly. Nothing really stood out except for one incident. There was a plane crash in Lost Souls Wilderness about twelve years ago. An entire family was killed. They were coming back from a week at Aurora Lodge. The family was very wealthy, as you can imagine, staying for an entire week at that overpriced place. Anyway, they were all declared dead, but the wreckage was never located. They had their baby with them.”
“A baby girl?”
“A baby girl,” Maya confirmed. “The age is about right. Obviously no missing person’s report was ever filed on her because she was presumed dead. But what if—”
“What if she survived and Edgar Murchison found her and took her in?”
“Yes.” She shrugged. “It’s a theory.”
Bethany and Nate exchanged a glance. “What a wild story, if that’s what happened,” Bethany said softly. “But how sad would it be if her parents were both killed? I was hoping they were out there looking for her.”
“And they might be.” Maya shook her head and closed the file. “Murchison might have found her in Canada, or another state. He might be lying his ass off. Only one way to know.”
“Do that thing you do so well and investigate?” Nate said dryly.
“That’s it. All right, kids, run along and have some almost-married fun.”
Nate chuckled as he stood up. He took Bethany’s hand again and folded his fingers around hers. “We’re about to move Bethany out of her house and up to the hilltop.”
“Oh yeah? You crazy kids are moving in together?” A wide smile lit up Maya’s face; sometimes Bethany was blown away by how beautiful she was when she wasn’t being the stern detective. “What’s going to happen to Gretel?”
“Oh, someone will adopt her,” Bethany said lightly.
Maya laughed and met her gaze. “And the hospital? All good there?”
“All good. The chief of staff told me it’s going to be a nonissue. Apparently they got a lot of calls from members of the local law enforcement and first responder communities. So thanks to whoever coordinated that.”
She elbowed Nate in the ribs, but he bent down and whispered in her ear, “Hint. It wasn’t me.”
Holy smokes. Of course she’d assumed it was Nate, but now that she thought about it, that would have been a conflict of interest for him.
“Thank you,” she told Maya, nearly overcome by emotion.
The detective allowed Bethany to hug her tightly, and even returned her embrace. “Hey, I’m just looking out for public safety. We gotta hang on to our best doctors.”
Somehow, that made it even sweeter.
They said goodbye to Maya and drove to Bethany’s place. Her former place, since she’d officially given notice two weeks ago. Packing hadn’t taken long, since she’d never even fully unpacked all her boxes. Now everything was stacked in the entry way, ready for her departure.
Gretel stood on the front walk, holding her backpack, her face tilted to the sky. She was planning to stay with them at Nate’s house while she looked f
or her own place. Bethany wanted her to stay even longer—as long as she needed—but Gretel was determined to fend for herself. Her experience at the Noonans’ had empowered her.
But right now, she looked a little grouchy. “Does it ever stop snowing around here?” she grumbled.
“You know you’re in Alaska, right?” Nate took the backpack from her and stowed it in the cab of his truck. “By the end of winter, you might forget that colors besides white exist.” He glanced at her burgundy hair. “Then again, your hair will remind you. And everyone else.”
“Hold on.” She held up a hand. “I haven’t granted you big brother teasing privileges yet.”
“Crap. What do I have to do to get those?”
“Do you solemnly swear to treat my sister like the badass queen she is?”
“I do.”
“Do you promise to spoil me the way a little sister deserves?”
“He’d better not,” Bethany interrupted, laughing. “You can find your own man for that.”
Gretel considered that, tucking her dark red hair behind her ear. “Good suggestion. I’ll think about that one. Can I find one by the next snowfall, maybe? Will you take that bet— Yikes! What’s that?”
She pointed toward the alder bushes, where a big eye peered at them through the branches.
“He’s back!” Bethany clasped her hands under chin. “That’s the moose I was trying to get a photo of when I locked myself out of the house! That’s when I met Nate. I guess he’s a good luck moose, after all. I’m sorry I said such bad things about you, Moosey.”
Nate laughed and slung his arm over her shoulder. “We’ll get him some moose therapy. He deserves it, after everything he’s been through.”
The moose lowered its head to chew on some branches, then turned and lumbered away into the brush. Bethany watched him go with a smile. Maybe that moose had magical matchmaking powers. She wouldn’t be surprised. Didn’t they say strange things happened around Lost Souls Wilderness?
“Uh oh.” Gretel glanced behind her. The front door was firmly closed. She tried the handle. Locked. “Oops.”
“Don’t worry about it. I remember how to break into this house. Don’t you ladies worry about a thing. Big strong man here, ready to save the day like always.”
Bethany dug in her pocket for her house key and jingled it in the air. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but…”
They all laughed. She tossed Gretel the keys and her sister disappeared inside. “Wait,” she told Nate, pulling him back for another of those embraces that she wished could last forever. “I just want to stand here for a moment in the snow with you.”
They both looked up at the spiraling snowflakes, visible only as points of white against the gray sky. The flakes landed on their cheeks like cool kisses. Like a blessing from above. And she knew in that moment, without a doubt, that she and Nate were going to have a lifetime full of love here in Lost Harbor.
So what if she hadn’t planned it like this? If anyone ever wondered, she could always blame it on the snowfall.
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About the Author
Jennifer Bernard is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. Her books have been called “an irresistible reading experience” full of “quick wit and sizzling love scenes.” A graduate of Harvard and former news promo producer, she left big city life in Los Angeles for true love in Alaska, where she now lives with her husband and stepdaughters. She still hasn’t adjusted to the cold, so most often she can be found cuddling with her laptop and a cup of tea. No stranger to book success, she also writes erotic novellas under a naughty secret name that she’s happy to share with the curious. You can learn more about Jennifer and her books at JenniferBernard.net. Make sure to sign up for her newsletter for new releases, fresh exclusive content, sales alerts and giveaways.
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Copyright © 2020 by Jennifer Bernard
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