Defender (Seattle Sharks 9)

I tilted my head. “What do you have in mind?”

A soft smile shaped his lips as he intertwined our fingers and tugged me out of the room. My heart raced harder in my chest with each step as he guided us toward the front door.

“Put your snow boots on,” he said, motioning to where we’d left them by the door.

I slipped my wool-socked feet into the warm boots and took the snow coat he offered me.

All bundled up, he retook my hand, and our boots broke the silence of the late night as we crunched through the snow. He led me around the home and down a slight slope until we came to the edge of the lake.

There sat an array of wide wooden chairs and a large table, somewhere one might have a picnic on a sunny spring day. Two huge flannel and wool-lined blankets were folded up in one chair, and two thermoses sat on the table.

I arched a brow at him. “You planned this?”

“Everyone should experience hot chocolate on a winter’s night by the lake once in their life.” He walked over to the table. “Spiked,” he said, pointing to the first thermos. “Not spiked,” he pointed to the other.

“My choice?” I grinned, sinking into one of the free chairs.

“Always.”

“Not spiked,” I said. “I don’t want a repeat of my birthday.”

He laughed. “I didn’t put that much in there.”

“Still,” I said, taking the thermos he offered me. “I don’t want to be fuzzy about any moment here.”

He sank down in the chair next to me. “Not too cold for you?”

“No,” I said, unscrewing the lid. “Everything here is perfect.”

“Wait,” he said as I’d brought the thermos to my lips. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small bag of…

“Marshmallows?” I asked, half-laughing. “How do you have a bag of marshmallows in your pocket?”

He smirked. “Everyone carries them here. It’s a weapon against bears. You throw them to distract the beast and run for safety.”

The smile faded from my lips, my eyes scanning the wooded area boarding the lake. The midnight sky had a near-full moon that made the lake shimmer, but it wasn’t bright enough to illuminate any would-be predators.

Nathan erupted in laughter.

I smacked his arm.

“How are you so brilliant and yet you believed that?” he shook his head, holding out the bag.

“Not fair,” I said, snatching the bag from his fingers. “I trust you. Naturally, I’m inclined to believe you first.”

He pressed his lips together, the joke gone from his eyes and replaced with something…deeper.

“And for teasing me,” I hurried to add. “You’re not getting any of mine.” I dropped a handful of puffy marshmallows into the thermos and took a sip—the warm, chocolatey goodness heating my insides.

“That’s fine,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I’m content just to watch you enjoy yourself.”

Heat spiraled to my toes at the innuendo, and I quickly took another drink, my eyes focused on the shimmering lake. With the white snow hugging the water and the tips of the pine trees surrounding the area, it was like a painting.

After a few sips—and once I realized he wasn’t going to touch the spiked stuff because I wasn’t—I handed him my thermos.

He took it, his fingers grazing mine, and sipped before handing it back.

“Me and Nicholas and Nixon used to always talk about how bad we wanted a house on the lake,” he said, his eyes on the water. “It had all the benefits—great in the summer for fishing or jet skiing and beautiful in the winter, the perfect spot to sneak a drink or two.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. He rarely talked about his other brother. The one he’d lost.

“When I bought this place,” he continued. “I felt like I was getting a piece of Nicholas back. Putting a place to those dreams we had when we were kids.” He glanced down, rubbing his palms together. “He would’ve loved it here.”

I set the thermos on the table and reached across the small space between us to take one of his hands in mine.

“I miss him,” he said, squeezing my fingers. “All the time.”

“He’d be proud of you,” I said, knowing that he’d likely heard I’m sorry a thousand times since he’d lost him. “And he’d be happy you still remembered that dream and made it happen for your family.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked as he nodded over and over again like he was convincing himself as much as he was trying not to break. He sucked in a sharp breath, eyes back on the water. “I’ve never brought anyone back here. Not because I don’t want anyone to meet my family, but because he’s everywhere here. Even though he never lived in this house, my mom and dad made sure to honor his memory in every way they could. So, he’s all over this place. And sharing that with just anyone, isn’t something I ever wanted to do.”