Chapter 3
“Hey!” Isabelle snapped, as Chance carried her to a plush sofa facing an empty hearth and set her down. “Did you hear me?”
Still ignoring her, Chance ripped off his coat and tossed it onto an oversized chair beside the couch before crossing to the hearth and crumpling some of the newspaper stacked there into balls, nestling them under small pieces of kindling.
“I’m not staying here, Chance.”
“You’re not leaving.”
Her belly dropped out at his declaration, and she could only watch his broad back as he worked. In seconds, there was a thin line of smoke billowing up from his little tipi of sticks and then flames were licking to life. He stacked larger logs on top one-by-one, waiting until they caught before adding more. Warmth filled the room, and Isabelle shuddered. It felt like her coat was keeping the cold in instead of out, and she was tempted to peel it off.
“Look!” She shoved up off the couch, wincing at the pain in her feet. They hurt so bad it stole her breath, and she lost the words she was about to hurl at him. When Chance spun around to face her she tried to hide her agony, but his eyes flashed something fierce and she could tell that he knew.
“Damn, stubborn woman!” He was on her in a flash, her coat zipper ripped down before he shoved it off her shoulders, throwing it on top of his own on the chair. He picked her up again, carrying her through the room to a door by a two-person dining table. The door led into a decent sized bedroom that was surprisingly tidy for a bachelor. A large green comforter with moose silhouettes covered the massive bed, and there were matching curtains covering a window. Two lamps resting on night stands on either side of the headboard also had etched moose silhouettes. He set Isabelle on the bed and commanded, “Don’t move.”
If he thought she was just going to be ordered around he was wrong! Isabelle eased off the bed and made her way painfully back to the living room. She was sliding her arms into her coat when a pissed-off looking Chance stormed out of his bedroom with a bottle of antiseptic in one hand and a roll of gauze in the other.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”
His voice was fierce, and his frown was as dark as she’d ever seen it. Isabelle pulled her gaze from his and jerked her zipper up. “I told you, I’m leaving.” She was bending down, reaching for her backpack, when Chance rushed her. He was so damn fast she didn’t have time to do anything but recoil in fear, throwing her arm up in self-defense like Zeke’s wrath had taught her to do. “DON’T!” she cried as her sore legs gave out and she hit the floor hard. Kicking her legs, she scrambled back and, by the grace of God, her trembling hands found the front pocket of her backpack. Quick as a flash she jerked her small pistol free, pointing at Chance’s chest –well, the area of his chest, because she couldn’t stop her damn limbs from quaking. “You’re not,” her voice hitched with fear, and she tried again, sounding firmer. “You’re not gonna touch me!”
Chance had frozen the second she cringed away from him. His shocked eyes dipped from her to the gun pointed at him and he backed up. He eased down, slowly dropping onto his haunches and canting his head to study her face as if he hadn’t seen her before. “Who hurt you, Isabelle?”
She shook her head and tried to inhale, but it hitched on a sob and she realized she was crying. “I’m…I’m…I’m leaving.” The force of her words lost their power, sounding more like a plea for permission than her telling him what she was going to do.
Chance lifted his hands, holding them palm side out, ignoring the way the gun was shaking in her grasp. “Easy,” he crooned, his eyes traveling swiftly over her body. “Did you hurt yourself when you fell?”
What? Isabelle’s gaze jerked down and quickly back up, thinking the question was some kind of trick.
“I want to know if you’re okay, Belle. Did you hurt yourself when you fell?”
She took stock, then shook her head with a sniff.
“Good.” He nodded and lowered his hands. “I wasn’t going to hurt you. I don’t…” His Adam’s apple dipped low in his muscled throat as he swallowed hard. “I don’t mistreat women. It’s not who I am. Goes against all I was taught.”
“You called me stupid,” she accused.
“No.” He shook his head once. “I said you being out in the cold at night and all alone was stupid. And it was, right? It’s dangerous out there, and I was angry at you for putting yourself in jeopardy like that. But if you were out there,” he glanced at the window, “because you were trying to get away from something, from someone bad, then that was smart. You understand?”
“I’m going home.” Her breathing was still ragged and her hand was still shaking, but she was starting to calm a little.
“You’re running back to your people. Can they protect you?”
She pulled her chin down jerkily. Aunty Ruby was the kindest person on the face of the earth, but if you messed with her kin, she could be mean as a rattlesnake. “It don’t matter though. He won’t come after me. He doesn’t care that much.”
Chance’s eyes sparked with a flash of rage, but when he blinked the emotion was gone. “You can’t leave right now because it’s too late, too dark, and the storms about to get worse.”
Isabelle looked at the window. “H-How do you know?”
“Been in these mountains a long time, I’ve honed my senses. I know when the weather’s gonna change.” His lips spread in a grin. “Plus, I just heard it on the radio in the bathroom.”
Isabelle choked on a laugh and Chance’s grin broadened. The tension of the moment eased.
“I’m gonna go back into the bedroom and get the rest of the medical supplies ready to fix up your feet. If you stay here tonight, Belle, I’ll feed you, you can share my fire, and I can dress your wounds, and that’s all I’ll do. I won’t touch you otherwise, and I’d never hurt you. If you leave, you’re going to get caught in that blizzard and it’s a damn long walk back the way you came. Feet only get that bad after lots and lots of miles.” His eyes dipped down. “You keep that gun if it makes you feel safe around me.” He planted his hands on his knees and eased up to his full height. “I’m going back to the bathroom to gather the rest of those medical supplies. You can either come on in and let me help you, or you can go. I really hope you stay though, because it’d be hell on my conscience thinking I could’ve helped but only scared you off.” Turning, he walked away.