Courage (Heroes of Big Sky 1)

“You’re welcome.” She hugs me close. “Drive safe. Text me when you get there, okay?”

“You’re the youngest, and yet you’re such a mother hen.” I grin and give her a wink. “I’ll check in.”

I wave at Nina and make my way to the front door where a staff member hands me a pan full of cookies and my other belongings.

If I wasn’t already sober, the brisk, biting winter air would do the trick. It’s cold tonight.

I glance up but only see stars.

No snow, just damn cold.

I climb in my car and turn the key. It sputters the way it did earlier, but with some coaxing, it fires up, and I head toward home. About a mile from my house, the car just…quits.

I coast to the side of the road and try to start it back up, but it’s no use.

It’s dead.

I could call Sam, but he’s home with the kids. He can’t leave them alone to come and get me.

There are others I could call, but it’s only a mile away. By the time someone arrived to give me a ride, I’d already be home.

That’s just silly.

I bundle up in my coat, root around for my hat and mittens, and make sure I have my purse and the cookies, then lock the car and set off for home.

“Jesus, it’s cold,” I mutter as I trudge through the snow to the sidewalk. It’s icy, so I have to be careful where I step.

Which means, I have to move much slower than normal.

By the time I make it up the steps to my front door, I feel like my fingers and toes might fall off.

“Where the hell have you been?”

I scowl at Sam when he yanks the door open. “Huh?”

“What the hell happened?” he demands and helps me inside. “Jesus Christ, Tash, you’re frozen solid.”

“Car broke down.” My lips don’t want to work. I’m stiff. “Only walked a mile, but it’s cold.”

“Ellie was worried and called me. Said you promised to text her when you got home. That was an hour ago. You didn’t answer your phone.”

“Forgot it in the car.”

He takes the cookies from me and then wraps his arms around me. “God, you’ll get frostbite. Come on, honey, we have to warm you up.”

“Kinda numb.”

“Yeah, I’ll just bet you are. We have to warm you up slowly so we don’t do any damage.”

“A hot shower will do it.”

“Not yet.” He leads me to my bedroom and starts stripping me out of my clothes. When I’m down to my underwear, he guides me under the covers, then throws extra blankets on top of me. “I’m going to make you some hot tea, and then I’m getting into that bed with you.”

“I’m not really in the mood for sex.”

He doesn’t laugh like I expected. He shakes his head in disgust and leaves the room without another word.

Well, I guess walking in the snow pisses Sam off.

Good to know.

My teeth are chattering when he returns, carrying a whole pot of hot water, a mug, and several bags of tea.

“This will steep while we warm you up. Which one do you want?”

“Lavender.”

He pours the water over the tea bag, then strips down to his skivvies and joins me under the covers.

His warm body feels hot to me, but I wrap myself around him and soak him up.

“It’s really cold out tonight.”

“I know.” He rubs circles over my back. “What happened to your car?”

“I don’t know, it just died. I was glad that I was able to at least coast to the side of the road. I’ll call someone in the morning.”

“You should have called me.”

I glance up at him. “You’re here with the kids. They can’t be left alone. And it was only a mile.”

“On a normal day, that’s not a big deal. In this cold, it could have been deadly.” But he’s not angry with me anymore. His lips are pressed to my forehead. “Did you have fun?”

“I’m so glad I went. It was so fancy and pretty. And there were so many people there that I knew and haven’t seen in a while. I kept thinking that Monica would have loved it. And, honestly, it didn’t make me as sad as it used to. I mean, I’m still sad every day, but I didn’t want to hide in a corner and sob. It was just a thought of, ‘Oh, Mon would have had a good time tonight.’”

“It’s good that you enjoyed yourself. Just don’t walk home again in the winter, okay?”

“Oh, trust me, lesson learned.” My teeth finally stopped chattering. “Did you guys have a nice evening?”

“We watched a Christmas movie and then they went to bed. Pretty relaxed, really. I wrapped some presents.”

I look up in surprise. “Really?”

“Sure. I mean, they’re not as pretty as yours, but they’ll pass. You shouldn’t have to do it all, Tash. I know you think you have it all under control, and you do, but I can help. You really need to let me help more.”