Hunt opened the door of the medical clinic for Freya. She glanced inside, saw no one in the waiting room and breathed a sigh of relief.
What had she been expecting? She didn’t know anybody in Tippin, and with the weather they’d had, it was unlikely anyone would have traveled here from her own small town.
We can get together soon.
The message popped into her head out of nowhere. Freya froze.
Colby.
Colby had sent that to her right after she finished her day of work. The last thing she recalled before waking up on the mountain.
She almost tripped on nothing, and Hunt’s fingers surrounded her arm to hold her upright.
“Are you all right?” he asked in a low voice, that concerned look in his eyes again.
Before she could answer, the receptionist piped up from behind a wall of glass, “How can I help you today?”
When the woman saw Hunt, her brows shot up and she gave a coy smile. “Hunt. So nice to see you in town today.”
He gave a nod.
“It looks like you’ve got a rescue on your hands. I’m sure this young woman is very happy to have such a capable man find her.” She didn’t look away from Hunt’s broad torso when she spoke about Freya. Was she blushing now? Freya was sure the woman was flustered. Of course, who wouldn’t be with Hunt’s intense gaze on her?
Hunt didn’t release Freya’s arm as he reached into his pocket and removed his slim leather wallet. Using his thumb, he slid a card from the sleeve and passed it under the glass to the receptionist. “My…wife…needs to be seen. She hit her head a few days ago.”
Freya blinked at the word wife. Had he lost his mind?
The receptionist’s face fell, and she realized belatedly why he’d told her that. Keeping her stare off Hunt, she processed the payment and handed the card back to him under the glass. “Have a seat. It won’t be long before the doctor can see…your wife.”
When they walked toward the seating area, Freya whispered, “I’ll pay you back as soon as—”
He centered his gaze on her. “We’ll discuss it later. But there is something I wanted to bring up to you. The winter festival is happening in town right now. Would you like to go?”
Surprise rippled through her. Her jaw dropped, and a huge smile spread across her face. “A festival? Really?” The excitement of a little girl made her bounce on her toes. “What do they have there?”
Hunt’s grin was his only response. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
Freya’s mind swirled with all the gingerbread thoughts of what a Christmas festival would even be like. She imagined it would be like The Nutcracker ballet she never got to see and hunting down the perfect tree all rolled into one.
Once seated, she threw a look at the woman behind the glass, who quickly glanced away when Freya caught her staring. “You knew she was flirting with you. That’s why you called me your wife.”
He didn’t even shift his attention to the woman. “This isn’t the first time I’ve run into her.”
“Oh?” She felt like teasing him just to make him smile. Nudging him with her shoulder, she said in a high-pitched murmur, “Hunt, so nice to see you—”
He pressed a fingertip over her lips, silencing her but totally throwing her for a loop too. Her words cut off, and their gazes locked. He slid his stare down to her mouth. He didn’t just draw his finger off her lips—he slid it off. Caressing her.
Her breaths came faster. Whatever attraction had begun between them the night before was not burned out. It had only been banked, the coals still smoldering, waiting for the right moment to ignite.
“Mrs. Cason.”
Hunt dropped his hand. It took Freya a moment to realize the nurse was calling her.
As they stood to follow her to a patient room, Freya whispered to him, “I’ll never be able to keep this up.”
He shrugged, but the corner of his lips twitched with a hint of amusement she saw echoed in his warm oak-colored eyes.
The nurse asked her questions about her head injury, but what was she supposed to tell her? Hunt jumped in, concocting a tale about how they were staying in a cabin on the mountain and she’d fallen and struck her head on a log. The weather had kept them snowed in and they were just getting out to have her checked over.
After taking notes on a laptop, the nurse left them to wait for the doctor. Freya whispered, “Why did you make up that story?”
He was silent a moment, as if weighing whether or not to tell her his thoughts on the matter. Finally, he ran his fingers through his hair, ruffling the brown locks into that mussed look she was coming to love.
“We don’t know what put you on that mountain, Freya. Until we do, I think it’s best to keep quiet.”
“Don’t know…as in what danger put me on that mountain.”
He nodded.
We can get together soon.
Her heart dropped. His agreement echoed her fear that she didn’t end up face-down in the snow for no reason at all. Something dangerous had happened to her.
Colby’s words reverberated through her system. Hunt opened his mouth to say something, but just then the doctor entered.
A flash of a memory hit her brain—of her opening her car door and a sharp pain in her head. Some cans rolling on the snow-covered ground.
She sucked in a breath, eyes shooting to Hunt’s. Alarm flooded the depths of his gaze, but he didn’t voice what he was thinking as the doctor started asking questions.
She’d remembered something. She just didn’t understand what it was. Where had she been? When the doctor opened the door, her mind conjured the vision of another door opening. Her car door?
A few minutes later, Freya was given a clean bill of health and the assurance that her memory would most likely return in a few days. She wasn’t so sure. While she’d gotten a flash of what happened to her, it was unusual. She never recalled her past once her mind blocked it out.
Hunt’s grip on her arm centered her enough to keep her walking across the parking lot to the SUV. When they got in, Aries thumped his tail on the back seat and smiled at his master.
“Good boy, Aries,” he said, focused on getting Freya into the vehicle. He stared at her. “You’re very pale.”
“Doctors make me nervous.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Everything seemed to make her nervous.
He studied her a moment before closing the passenger door and walking around the SUV to get behind the wheel. Once settled, he didn’t start the engine. Looking straight ahead, he swallowed hard. “Freya, do you trust me?”
His sad tone cut through her. Her lips parted on a gasp. She reached across the console and touched his sleeve. He turned his head to pierce her in his gaze.
“I do trust you. More than I’ve trusted…well, anyone.”
She couldn’t tell if his tight lips meant he understood that her unhappy past made her into a mental case or if he didn’t believe she was telling him the truth about trusting him.
As they drove through the small town, he had to stop several times to allow pedestrians to cross the street.
“Are they going to the Christmas festival?” Her voice lifted a notch as the special treat Hunt wanted to give her came within her grasp.
He eyed her. “Yes, they are. Looks like an even bigger crowd than I expected.”