The Midwife's Christmas Miracle (Lakeside Mountain Rescue 5)

Stuff?

Something about the set of her profile made him frown and want to question her further but then he reminded himself that hesitation could make the difference between life and death in the mountains. This wasn’t the time for polite conversation. ‘Finish the chocolate.’ He laid a pair of gloves on her lap. ‘And then put these on before you develop frostbite in your fingers. Have you any idea what the temperature is today?’

She finished the last of the chocolate and then slowly wriggled her hands into the gloves. ‘No, but it certainly isn’t the Bahamas, that’s for sure. The sun was shining when I left.’

It was a common mistake, Jake reflected. Believing that a cloudless blue sky would last. A significant proportion of the calls to the mountain rescue team were made by people who had underestimated the changeability of the weather. ‘You shouldn’t be out here on your own in this weather. It’s Christmas Day, you should be home with family, eating turkey.’ The moment the words left his mouth he wanted to kick himself. Presumably, if that had been an option she would have taken it, and her next words confirmed his suspicion.

‘I don’t have any family.’ She spoke the words calmly, as if it wasn’t that great a problem. ‘But you’re completely right, of course. Coming out here was a stupid thing to do. It’s just that it was beautiful and I needed to think and—’

‘And you didn’t want to sit in by yourself on Christmas Day. You don’t have to explain to me.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘All around the country at this precise moment in time, people are opening presents they don’t want from relatives they haven’t seen all year and gaining pounds that they’re going to spend the next few months failing to lose.’

‘So is that what you’re doing up here in the wilderness? Avoiding presents and weight gain?’ Her gaze rested on his shoulders and then lifted to his mouth and lingered there for a moment. Then she lifted her eyes to his again and he felt something stir inside him. The urge to kiss her was so powerful that he forced himself to take a step backwards, reminding himself that this wasn’t the time or the place.

Or the woman. He didn’t know what her problem was, but it was clearly something significant.

‘I happen to love it up here in the wilderness.’ He watched as she slowly stood up. ‘It’s my favourite place.’

‘Oh.’ She hugged her arms around her body to try and stop the shivering. ‘Well, lucky for me that you happened to be passing. If you’ll just point me in the right direction, I’ll make my way home. Sorry to have bothered you and eaten all your chocolate rations. I hope there are plenty more waiting for you back on your Christmas tree.’

He was torn between exasperation and admiration. He knew she was hideously cold and uncomfortable. Every other female he knew would have been moaning, hysterical or both by now. Miranda seemed remarkably calm. Too calm?

‘This isn’t a shopping centre with a hidden exit. Do you have any idea how much danger you’re in?’

‘Yes, actually,’ she said calmly, stamping her feet to clear her trainers of the snow. ‘But I assume that panicking isn’t going to help. Better to make a plan and get on with it.’

‘And that’s what you were doing, sitting on the rock, when I found you? Planning?’

‘Actually, I was trying to work out which way was up and which way was down.’ She squinted through the steady fall of snow. ‘I didn’t want to move until I was sure and everything seems to have merged. You can’t tell the difference between the sky and the ground.’

Jake gave a disbelieving shake of his head. ‘It’s called a whiteout,’ he informed her gently, wondering what would have happened to her if he hadn’t chosen to take this particular path. ‘One of the most dangerous weather conditions that exists in the mountains.’

‘I’ve never seen one before.’ She stretched out a hand and caught some of the thick snowflakes as they landed. ‘Gosh.’

‘Gosh? Gosh?’ Shaking his head with exasperation, Jake lifted the flask. ‘Here—drink some of this.’ He poured the creamy liquid into the cup and handed it to her.

‘What is it? I don’t drink alcohol.’

‘And I don’t give alcohol to victims of hypothermia. It would kill them.’

She lifted her chin and her dark eyes flashed with anger. ‘I’m not a victim.’ Her tone was chilly. ‘Don’t ever call me a victim.’

He found himself wondering why that one word seemed to trouble her more than her immediate situation. ‘You will be a victim if we don’t warm you up soon. It’s hot chocolate. It will give you energy and warm you up.’ He pushed the flask into her gloved hands. ‘Stop talking and drink.’

‘Hot chocolate? You keep pulling amazing things out of your bag.’ Her teeth were chattering again as she clutched the mug. ‘Clothes and now hot drinks. Who are you, Father Christmas?’

‘A well-equipped climber,’ he said pointedly, and she stared into the mug without enthusiasm.

‘We can’t all afford fancy equipment.’

‘It isn’t about fancy equipment! It’s about safety. And if you don’t have the right equipment, you shouldn’t be out here.’ He heard his voice sharpen and stopped talking. What was the matter with him? He never lectured people. On the contrary, he believed that people had the right to live their lives the way they wanted to live them. But he didn’t feel remotely relaxed about Miranda.

What if she did the same thing again and he wasn’t around to rescue her?

He shook himself, wondering why he cared so much about someone he’d known for less than an hour.

She sipped the chocolate. ‘Oh…’ She closed her eyes and gave a low moan of delight. ‘That’s delicious. I’ve never tasted anything better in my life.’

Looking at the thickness of her dark lashes and the vulnerability of her soft mouth, Jake felt a thud of lust and almost laughed at himself.