Page 31 of Wandering in Love

There!

I jerk the reins, and we hurry down the slope toward the water. Something big rolled down this embankment. There are a few trees near the disturbance.

“Eva!” My call doesn’t go far, the soft snow absorbing the sound. “Eva! Where is she?”

Bandit whinnies, pawing at the ground.

“What?”

Swinging my leg over, I drop down into the knee-high snow.

“Eva!” Forcing my way through the snow as fast as I can, I get to the trees.

Under the lower branches is a huddled, dark mass.

“Eva!”

Quickly finding a way around the limbs, I grab her, but she’s doesn’t wake. Her lips and skin are blue. She needs to be warmed up right fucking now. Checking for a pulse, I can barely feel it pumping against my fingertips.

“Hold on, Wildflower. I’ve got you.”

Lifting her frigid, wet form into my arms, I get her balanced on Bandit’s back and climb up, positioning her to face me with her legs on either side of my hips. I unzip my jacket and pull her against me, then rezip as much as I can. I’ve got to get her vital organs warmed up. She’s barely breathing.

“Hhh-ung-ff.” She tries to say something, but it’s just sounds.

“Yaa!” I spur Bandit into action, climbing back up the embankment and back toward the house.

“Don’t you leave me, Wildflower. We’re not done fighting yet.”

Her face is tucked into my jacket. The water on her body soaking into my t-shirt has a chill racing up my spine, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters but her.

The snow is getting deep, but Bandit never slows down. He heads straight for home with no direction from me. My arms are wrapped around the girl in front of me.

My girl.

“I don’t care what happened in the past. You’re mine.”

The air hurts my lungs as I breathe. It cracks my lips and burns my skin. I can’t see shit through the damn snow. I can’t tell how much farther we have to go. I’m going as fast as I can, but every fiber of my being is screaming to go faster.

With snow this deep, I can’t push Bandit any faster than I am, or I risk hurting him. He can’t see under the layer of white, so any big rock, slick spot, or hole is a big danger. Logically I know that, but my heart doesn’t give a fuck. Eva can’t die.

Finally, the stable comes into view, and I can almost breathe again. I won’t be able to relax until she’s warm, breathing normally, and her pulse is strong.

“I found her!” I yell as a dark mass comes from the barn.

I stop at the front of the house, unzipping my jacket. Will takes her from my lap and carries her inside while I slide off Bandit. Someone is there to take the horse back to the stables, but I don’t pay attention to who it is. They don’t matter.

Racing into the house, I’m stripping off my snow gear and following Will toward my old bedroom. Will lays her down on the floor, and together with Mom, they get her clothes cut off while I pull them away from her body.

Stripped down to only my boxers, I climb on the bed and lie on my side. Will picks Eva up and brings her to me. With her chest against mine, I pull her body as tightly against mine as I can. Her skin is painfully cold against mine, but I don’t let go.

“You have to wake up, Wildflower. I need you,” I whisper to her, though I’m not sure she can hear me.

Mom comes in with a blow-dryer and starts drying her hair. The hot air will help warm her, and it’s important to get her hair dry.

“I’ll grab the electric blanket. Keep it on low, and we’ll get her situated on it so it’s covering the parts of her body that aren’t against you.”

“Thanks, Momma.”