Honor (Heroes of Big Sky 0.50)

There’s something different and alluring about Jordan. I can’t imagine being without her. And now that my shoulder has healed nicely, and I’m well on the way to recovery, I know our time together is short.

I don’t want to think about it.

A week after the winter storm began, and it seems we’re easing out of it a bit with slightly warmer temperatures. It’s not balmy, but it won’t freeze the nose off your face as soon as you step out, either.

“Let’s go outside,” Jordan suggests, setting her iPad aside and clapping her hands. “It’s not too bad out there. We’ll bundle up and have some fun. We could make a snowman.”

I raise a brow. God, she’s adorable.

“Or we could just go for a walk,” she says. “Or, even better, I think there are inner tubes in the garage. They’re probably used for pulling behind a boat, but we can sled on them.”

“You want to go sledding?”

She never fails to surprise me.

“Heck, yes. That slope down to the shoreline is perfect.”

“And leads into the water.”

She rolls her eyes. “It’s frozen, Nick. We can slide onto the ice. Come on, it’ll be fun.”

I want to strip that blue sweater off her delectable little body and consume her—

“Unless you’re scared.”

Well, then. That’ll have to wait because she just threw down the gauntlet.

“Scared?”

“You’re not, are you? Wait, is your shoulder bothering you? You’ve been doing so well, but if it’s bothering you, we can just stay in.”

“The shoulder’s fine. I’m at about ninety-five percent.”

“So, you’re scared, then.”

I narrow my eyes and stand, and she watches me with humor written all over her gorgeous face.

“No, sweetheart, I’m not scared.”

“Awesome.” She jumps up and runs to the mudroom, where she starts to pile on layers. “It’s still pretty cold out, but we’ll get a few good runs in. The fresh air will feel fabulous.”

“And then we’ll come inside, and I’ll warm you up.”

“I was counting on it.” She winks and then shoves her feet into snow boots. “You can unwrap me from all this winter garb.”

“Gladly.”

When we’re clad in coats, boots, gloves, and hats, we set off into the garage to find the tubes. Luckily, they haven’t lost their air, and we’re ready to go.

“Okay,” she says as she adjusts her hat. “Have you done this before?”

“No.”

She turns those big eyes up to me in surprise. “Never?”

“No. But it looks pretty easy. Sit and slide, right?”

“Yes. But, if you get into trouble, like you’re headed for a tree or something, just bail. Jump off. I wish we had a chair lift, but we’ll have to hike back up.”

“Good exercise.”

She grins. “Ready?”

“Sure.”

She sits on her tube and sets off down the hill at a leisurely pace. When she reaches the bottom near the shoreline, she smiles up at me.

“Come on down!” she calls out.

Rather than sit, I dive onto the tube on my stomach and sail down the snow-covered slope, ending up just past her where the water has turned to ice.

“I told you it’s frozen,” she says as she joins me and points to the middle of the lake. “It’s not out there. It’ll take another month for it to freeze all the way. But these edges are solid.”

I examine the lake. I can see where the ice is thin, about thirty yards offshore.

We’re safe here.

“Let’s go again,” she says, already dragging her tube behind her up the hill. When we reach the top, she turns and smiles at me, and my gut clenches.

“You’re beautiful, Jordan.”

She swallows. “Thanks.”

I cup her cheek and lean in to brush my nose across hers. “And you’re getting cold.”

“Let’s go a couple more times. It’s not bad.”

I touch her lips with mine. Softly. Just teasing her mouth. Her breaths come faster, but it’s not because of the hike up the hill.

“I wonder if I’ll ever stop wanting you,” I whisper aloud. “Maybe you cast some kind of crazy spell on me.”

“If I knew sledding would have this effect on you, we would have done it sooner.”

I smile against her mouth.

“Let’s have a healthy little competition.”

“Okay, what are the stakes?”

“Dinner. If I win, you cook.”

“I’ll order in if you want.”

“No, I want you to cook.”

“Darling, you’ll go hungry.”

She laughs and shakes her head. “The one to slide the farthest out onto the ice wins.”

I eye her and the ice again. “I don’t know.”

“It’s frozen,” she reminds me. “I used to do this all the time when I was a kid. Me first.”

She plops right down on the tube and laughs as she slides down the hill, onto the ice. When she stops, she calls out to me, “Your turn!”

I follow suit and come about ten feet short.

“One more round,” she says. “If you beat me, we’ll have a tiebreaker.”

We climb back up again, and I help her adjust her hat. Then she backs up toward the house.