“Ahem.” A deep male voice made her snap her head up.
Amusement played across Hunt’s face. “Were you just feeding my partner popcorn?”
Squelching a giggle, she batted her lashes at him. “Nope. I’d never do such a thing.”
“Never, huh?” He handed her a cup of steaming cider with a cinnamon stick in it.
“No way would I feed him popcorn. Smell his breath if you don’t believe me.” She stared at the dog to urge him to keep his lips sealed and simultaneously hoping he had dog breath to mask the scent of popcorn.
Hunt sank to the stone wall next to her and rubbed Aries’s back. “So I take it you two got along while I was gone those few minutes.”
“Yes. Though Aries was acting funny.”
Hunt narrowed his eyes. “Funny how?”
“He stood up and was looking into the crowd. I thought…I thought I heard him growl. Though I’m not entirely sure with the crowd and music.”
Brows lowering, Hunt studied the dog. “That is odd. Very odd.” He buried his nose in his cider cup and sipped, but not before Freya saw the worried expression she’d come to know very well.
Chapter Thirteen
“I can’t believe you won the ribbon for the gingerbread house that needed the most improvement.” Freya had been chuckling over Hunt’s win ever since the announcement and all the way through the Christmas performance, and then on the drive up the mountain to the cabin.
Hunt held up the jolly red ribbon he’d accepted to loud applause after his gingerbread house collapsed in a heap of frosting and sprinkles.
“I told you I was no good at arts and crafts in my elementary years.” He sliced a grin at her. But deep down, he was worried about Aries. What had come over his dog back there to make him go into that pose—and growl too? He worked with his K-9s extensively, and he’d never seen anything from Aries like the behavior he’d been displaying.
As soon as possible, he needed to grab Freedom and take the pair out for a training run. Maybe Aries was losing his edge or even just out of sorts from being split up from his pal.
What had him even more on edge was that phone call from Penn.
Hunt’s blood boiled at the thought of anyone frightening Freya. And he was sure that this Colby guy who’d been sending her text after text was the reason for her ending up on the mountain.
The cops are looking for him. If they didn’t end this fast enough, then the Xtreme Ops team had Hunt’s back, and they would.
“Why don’t I fix us dinner?” Freya’s question had him refocusing on her.
Her beauty stunned him every time he looked at her. But the warm glint of emotion in her eyes had him ready to haul her down on the fur rug in front of the fire and confess his love to her.
The only thing stopping him was the prospect of scaring her off by moving too soon. While he hadn’t known her very long, the connection between them was undeniable. And all day while having her tucked close to his side at the festival, all he could think of was how Santa had brought him a gift that night he found her.
He shook himself back to her question. “Dinner sounds fantastic after walking in the cold all day. What’s on the menu?”
“I saw a couple stuffed chicken breasts in the fridge. I thought I could put them in the oven with some baked potatoes?”
He groaned with hunger. “Sounds perfect. I—” He paused as another phone call came in.
Without glancing at the screen, he said, “I’m going to take this outside. C’mon, Aries.” He rushed out the front door and stepped into the snowy yard to take the call. “Cason.”
He expected Penn’s voice, but it wasn’t. “Hey, Hunt. It’s Shane.”
“Shane, how’s it goin’? You sound funny.”
“My stomach flu turned into something bigger. It’s deep in my chest now. I wondered if you can cover for me. There’s another search going out in ten minutes.”
“Oh damn.” Hunt swung to the front door of the cabin. Leaving Freya again didn’t sit well with him, nor did walking away from the promised chicken dinner. But if he and Aries hadn’t been on the last search, they might not have found the man buried beneath the snow in time.
He bowed his head, battling with his personal desires and what he knew to be the right choice. In the end, Freya would understand. She was such a sweet and caring person that she’d urge him to go.
He kicked at a small hill of snow. “Fine. Text the particulars to my phone and let the team know I’ll be there. Feel better, Shane. And get yourself to a doctor. It sounds like you need it.”
When Aries bounded back to him, tail wagging, he said, “I hope you’re ready to work again, buddy.”
Aries smiled and wagged his tail faster, knowing what they were about to do.
Hunt dragged himself up the porch steps to the house. With luck, he’d be back very soon and he and Freya could spend more time together.
He just wished he didn’t have to see the disappointment cross her face when he told her he had to go.
Freya tucked her knees up on the couch and flipped through the channels yet again. She landed on a Christmas movie she’d already watched earlier that afternoon when Hunt first left for another search and rescue, but there wasn’t much else on, so she stopped there.
Of course, she couldn’t be cross with him for going. It was his job, and people’s lives depended on it. She just didn’t like being alone in this cabin not knowing when he’d return.
And now a new worry rested on her shoulders. Caring so much about the man…falling in love with him…meant that she had plenty of concerns over his safety.
A dozen questions circled in her mind. Would he be all right? What if he was injured? She wouldn’t know if he was hurt, and nobody knew she was up here waiting for him to return.
She didn’t even have a phone to call for help. It was pretty poor planning on both her and Hunt’s part.
She thought of the full cupboards and figured she could be stuck here alone for a long time before running out of food. And eventually Hunt’s three-week rental would be up and someone would be coming to ready the property for a new renter.
Circumstances had them both between a rock and a hard place. All she could do was sit and watch this movie—again—and wait.
A half hour passed, and suddenly headlights panned over the front of the cabin, beaming through the windows.
Her heart jolted with excitement and she leaped off the couch. Hunt was back already? That must have been a very quick end to their search, and she prayed it was a happy one like the last rescue.
She dragged her fingers through her hair and ran to the door. Last time he’d come in, things revved fast between them, ending in wild, wicked sex. Was it naughty of her to hope that happened again?
Outside, she heard footsteps on the stairs. Thinking to take care of all his needs and pamper him for the rest of their stay, she flung open the door to greet Hunt.
Her gaze landed on a man.
It wasn’t Hunt.
She stopped breathing as she recognized the all too familiar figure stepping out of the darkness.
Colby, wearing a red Santa hat, grabbed her up in a big hug, crowding her back inside the cabin and kicking the door shut behind them.