As Emma watched, Aiden’s face broke out into a broad smile. Maybe he was a Ted Bundy hiding out here in the woods pretending to be the owner’s son. It was a good ruse. How had he even found her up here?

Anyway, she thought wryly, if she had to be killed by a serial killer, at least he looked like Steven McQueen from the Vampire Diaries – one of her recent binge weaknesses. “Why are you smiling?” She asked.

“Nothing.” He shook his head. “You just sound like me.”

“Hmm.” They resumed their slow trip down the mountainside. By the time they reached the trail, there was a light covering of snow on the ground.

“I didn’t see snow in the forecast,” she commented.

“Yeah. You have to watch the local weathergirl. The only thing she consistently gets right is snow. Everything else is hit and miss.”

She chuckled. “Weather is a risky business. Unpredictable.”

“And what is your business?”

“I teach predictable college students about predictable animals.”

“I hope you’re being facetious.”

She shrugged. “Animals do what they need to do to survive, and college students… well…”

“When I was a college student, way back when, I was very predictable. I wanted to do the least amount of work to get my degree.”

“Just for the record, you said it, not me.”

“You don’t look like a college professor.”

She grinned. “And what does a college professor look like?”

“Stodgy.”

“Ha. I’m sorry to break your stereotyped image.”

“I’m not. If you’d been my professor, I would have shown up for every class and probably hung out at your office with any excuse I could think of. Might have actually learned something. Maybe not.”

“You’re funny.” She hopped to keep her foot off the ground for a few minutes.

“Maybe. Sometimes.”

She laughed, but it turned into a groan as she set her foot down.

“You know…” he began. “I could carry you now that we’re on level ground.”

She darted a dubious glance at him. “You’d have to promise to put me down if I got heavy.”

“Scout’s honor.” He swept her up into his arms before she had time to reconsider. Her arms went around his neck and they were eye to eye.

“Oh. Um.” She gazed into his deep blue eyes, and her heart rate skipped up a notch. His arms felt strong around her.

Her eyes still lost in his, she realized two things other than how hot he was. One, they were moving so very much quicker than before. And two, the snow was coming down faster.

She looked over his shoulder, and saw that the path was covered with a layer of snow broken only by their footprints.

She lay her chin on his shoulder and enjoyed the moment of pain-free movement and the feel of his strong arms around her. He smelled good, like wood smoke and fresh lumber.

“Am I too heavy?” She asked against his jacket.

“Are you kidding? You’re lighter than a two-by-four.”

She scoffed. “I’m not sure what that is, but I think you’re being kind.”

He turned his head to look at her. “Where did you say you’re from?”

“I didn’t.”

“Which city?”

She sighed. “Pittsburgh.”

“What drew you to wildlife biology?”

“I’m not sure.” She never had been sure. She’d begged her parents to take her to the zoo, all the time. And neither of them cared about the zoo.

She finally found a friend her age – a boy – when she was twelve who also liked the zoo. Their parents would drop them off on a Saturday and come back hours later to pick them up. Emma had been in heaven.

Unfortunately, her friend had burned out after a few months, and Emma was back to begging her parents. When she was sixteen, she took a job feeding fish. Fish weren’t really her thing, but it allowed her time to walk around the zoo, to watch the bears and the wolves – two of her favorites.

“You like the outdoors?” He asked, his breath against her ear.

“Sometimes.” She shivered and shrugged against him. “Sometimes I like to just sit at my desk and read research or write research of my own.”

“You sound complicated.” His voice was soft now.

She shifted, and managed to press her body more firmly against him.

He held her more tightly. Her lips were next to his neck now. If he turned his head just a little… he could kiss her…

She shook off the thought. It must be the snowfall.

She’d heard that the first snowfall in the mountains was magical.