ranting, she was vaguely aware that the Bronco had turned off the main road, that the engine had been switched off. Swiftly, Luke unlatched first his seat belt, and then hers. Then he pulled her against his chest.
She didn’t fight him. She couldn’t have, even if she’d wanted to. The circle of his arms felt too much like the safe haven she desperately needed to feel grounded and sheltered. Those were the things she’d been missing since she’d awoken in this living nightmare.
“I don’t want any help,” she said against his chest, but the insistence and creeping hysteria that had been evident in her voice just moments before was all but gone.
“Shhh.” He held her tightly. “It’s all right. You’re okay.”
His heart beat against her ear, steady and strong. She inhaled deeply, slowly. He must think she’d gone mad. Crazed out of her head.
“I’m scared.” She whispered the explanation, feeling drained and exhausted.
“I know,” he told her.
Her body trembled all over, and she sat there for quite a while, pressed against the warm, solid mass of him. Even though it was the middle of summer, a bright and sunny day, she desperately needed the heat that radiated from him. It seeped into her bones, thawing the chill of fear inside her.
He didn’t smooth his hands over her face or hair. He didn’t croon soft words. He simply held her, offering her his strength.
She was actually relieved that he remained silent, and finally, she became aware of the chirping of the birds in the trees, the sound of cars passing them every now and then. And when she felt strong enough, and calm enough, she gently pushed herself away from him.
The embarrassment she felt was almost too much to bear as she looked at this stranger who was her husband. But she forced herself not to avert her eyes from his.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured.
His dark gaze was so intense it almost felt like a physical touch on her face.
“It’s okay.”
There was deep emotion in his answer, but Jenny was unable to decipher exactly what he was feeling. He was probably embarrassed for her after that god-awful tantrum she’d just thrown. And she couldn’t blame him.
“I have to insist on Mary coming to the house,” he told her, quietly, firmly. “I have work to do on the resort. We’re cutting trees for four new ski slopes that have to be ready before the first snowfall. Chad and I have to oversee the work crews. I’ll be worried if you’re alone at the house all day. You understand that, don’t you?”
She hated that he was explaining the situation to her as if she were a child. But after the way she’d just acted, how else would she expect him to treat her?
Jenny nodded silently.
“Good.” He inhaled, studying her face. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” she assured him. But not quite reassured herself, she repeated, “Better.”
He rubbed his fingers over his chin and then rested his hand on the steering wheel. “You think you feel up to taking another step forward?”
An anxious shiver coursed across her skin. “Another step?”
He shifted in his seat and looked out the windshield. “Yes,” he said. “We’re home.”
She let her gaze follow his, and there at the base of the paved road onto which Luke had turned was a big wooden sign that read Prentice Mountain Ski Resort.
Jenny steeled herself. Gripped the edge of the soft, cushioned seat with the effort of it. She wanted to be strong. Wanted to face all the questions that were waiting for her. Wanted to confront the frightening answers hiding up there on that mountain. But for the life of her, she couldn’t help but feel that Luke had just asked her to buckle herself in for another wildly careening roller-coaster ride.
The asphalt road carried them up the mountain for a couple of miles, the densely broad-leafed trees that lined it casting shadows in the late morning sun. Then the woods seemed to fall away and the ski resort stood before her.
She read the signs that directed skiers to the large parking lot to the left, and then Jenny marveled at the huge building sitting a little further up the mountain.
“Does any of this look familiar?”
Luke’s soft question drew her gaze. She silently shook her head.
“The original lodge, the portion constructed from rough logs,” he said, “was built by my dad and my grandfather. Dad and I added the stone addition about ten years ago.”
“Your father and grandfather,” she said. “Will I meet them? Are they here?”
“No,” he told her. “My grandfather died when I was just a kid. My dad passed on three years ago.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” Her attention was drawn to the beautiful lodge. “I’d like to go inside.”
But Luke turned onto a small, narrow lane marked Private Drive.
“Let’s go to the house first,” he said.
She gazed at the resort until it was out of sight, straining her mind for some glimmer of recollection, but failed. Absently, she asked, “So we don’t live in the lodge?”
Luke tossed her a smile, and a tiny lightning bolt of thrill shot straight through the anxiety she was feeling over actually facing her homecoming.
“No, we don’t,” he said. “The business takes a great deal of attention, especially during the height of the ski season. But a person’s got to have a place to get away. Even if it is just a quarter mile up the mountain.” His smile widened. “Like my dad always said, it’s the Prentice way of doing things.”
“I see.”
“I guess I should warn you,” he said. “It’s the Prentice family home. Chad lives there, too.”
She’d be living in a house with both Prentice brothers. She tried to take in the thought without allowing the idea to overwhelm her.
Jenny didn’t say a word. She was too afraid to speak. Afraid that if she opened her mouth she might burst into another fit of pure panic.
“It’s a big house,” he assured her. “You’ll have plenty of privacy.”
She didn’t care if the house was a massive medieval castle, it still wouldn’t be big enough to contain this tangled mess of a situation.
They drove in silence for the few moments it took to reach the house. And Jenny needed every single second to come to terms with the fact that she’d be seeing both of the Prentice men. Every single day.
In the span of what seemed like a short breath or two, the Bronco was parked and Luke was opening the passenger door for her. He clutched her small carryall in one hand and settled the other, in that most familiar manner,
