Part 10 (1/2)

Embarra.s.sment flared briefly in her eyes. ”I can...do it.”

”Sure you can. I'll just...give you a hand, okay?”

”Just let me...” Her hands fluttered at the zipper of her jumpsuit, but her fingers were too stiff to function.

”This isn't the time for modesty, Abby, okay? I'm a professional. You can trust me.”

”I can do it....” Her fingers fumbled the zipper. ”d.a.m.nit.”

”Let me take care of you, okay?”

Jake knew he couldn't wait any longer. Every minute counted when her body temperature was dropping. They were hours away from the nearest medical facility. The cabin was barely above freezing inside. He didn't have an IV or heated oxygen or even a warming blanket to treat her with should this turn serious.

He knelt beside her. ”I put some logs in the fire. It'll be warm in here in a few minutes.”

She had the zipper partway down, but he could see she wasn't going to succeed. Her hands were blue. The ends of her hair had frozen. Setting his jaw, he reached for the zipper. She tried to push his hands away, but he firmly set them aside. With impersonal efficiency, he stripped the jumpsuit from her. Lifting her slightly, he worked the wet material from her body and tossed it aside. Down to her bra and panties, her flesh was colorless and cold to the touch.

Jake handed her one of the blankets. ”Here.”

”Thanks.”

”Sit up for me.” Putting his hand beneath her shoulders, he helped her to a sitting position. He kept his eyes averted as much as possible when he unhooked the wet bra from around her. He tried not to think about that crazy kiss they'd shared, or the way his body jumped to attention every time he thought about doing it again.

Quickly he wrapped her in his sleeping bag. ”Better?” he asked.

She nodded.

”Take those wet, uh...underwear off, too,” he said. ”I'll hang them by the fire to dry for you.”

Looking embarra.s.sed even through her weakness, she reached down and removed her panties. Without looking at them, Jake moved to the hearth and draped them over the rustic mantel. He tossed another log onto the fire. The cabin was beginning to warm up, but it wasn't well insulated. The water had started to boil, so he lifted it from the embers and took it over to the table. He removed a package of instant soup from his saddlebag and made a cup, and took it back over to her.

”I want you to sip this,” he said. ”Slowly.”

Her eyes were clear when she looked up at him. Relief swamped him when he saw that she was s.h.i.+vering again. That was a good sign; her body was trying to warm itself.

”What kind of soup?” she asked.

”Hot.” Kneeling beside her, he helped her to sit up again.

”I hope it's better than your coffee.”

”I didn't think I'd ever be glad to hear one of your smart-aleck comments.”

”I've got more where that one came from.” She took the cup, but her hands were shaking so violently, she could barely hold it. Jake steadied the cup, and she sipped tentatively. ”You saved my life,” she said after a moment.

Her gaze locked with his. The impact made him feel gut-punched. How was it that this woman could undo him without saying anything? Just hit him with those violet eyes and he was a goner? He tried to blame his reaction on the close call with death and the remnants of fear left in its wake. But he knew there was a h.e.l.l of a lot more going on between them than that.

”You didn't leave me much choice,” he said.

”I thought the ice would hold.”

”If you'd gone under I might not have been able to get to you.” The thought made him feel nauseous. He tried to be angry, but he was still too scared. ”h.e.l.l, Abby, you could have drowned.”

”I warned you I was really good at s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up, so stop yelling at me.”

”I'm not yelling. I'm just trying to figure you out.”

”Don't bother. I don't even have myself figured out, so it's probably a losing proposition for you.”

He thought about that for a moment, then let it go. ”You gave me your word you wouldn't run away.”

She turned those eyes on him. Even though he'd moved back to a safe distance, her gaze touched him with the intimacy of a caress. ”How far would you go to stay out of prison if you were convicted of a crime you hadn't committed?” she asked.

”I'd go through the proper legal channels before I'd risk getting myself killed.”

”Those proper channels failed me, Jake. They cost me a year of my life. A year of h.e.l.l that I won't ever be able to get back. Am I supposed to just stand by and let the legal system destroy my life?”

”The legal system is all you've got.”

”No. I've got the truth.”

He hadn't expected her to say that; felt his walls go up. She was going to tell him something he didn't want to hear. She was going to ask him to trust her. Jake wasn't up to it. Not now. Not ever. It didn't matter that for an instant, when she'd told him about the death of her patient, when he'd seen the devastation in her eyes, he'd almost believed her.

Rising, he scooped his rifle off the floor and set it on the table within easy reach. He looked out the windows on the east side of the cabin, studied the ridges beyond for the sniper, but the snowscape outside remained serene. Without looking at Abby, he picked up her jumpsuit and sneakers. The jumpsuit was waterlogged and still frozen in places. The bra was nothing more than a thin sc.r.a.p of cotton. h.e.l.l. Trying to ignore the silky feel of it in his hands, Jake hung both over the back of a chair and set it next to the fire. When he turned back to her, she was still watching him with those eyes. Those beautiful, haunting eyes that had kept him awake until the wee hours of morning.

”Are you warm enough?” It was a dumb question considering her teeth were rattling like dice in a roulette wheel.

”I don't think I'll ever be warm again.”

”Yes, you will.” He went to her and knelt, putting the cup of soup to her lips. ”Drink it. I'm not kidding around. You need fluids. It'll help warm you up.”

She sipped. ”Why was someone shooting at us?”

He held the cup for her and urged her to take another sip. ”I was just going to ask you the same question.”

What little color she had in her cheeks fled. Her eyes were troubled and dark against her pale flesh. Jake steeled himself against the sudden need to raise his hand and touch her cheek. But he wouldn't do that to himself. Wouldn't do it to her. Certainly not after what had happened between them earlier.

”Maybe it was a hunter, and he didn't even realize-”

”Hunters don't shoot at people, Abby.”

”Well, maybe it was an accident. A stray bullet.”

Frustration, with her and the situation, made his voice gruff. ”Those shots were taken from at least a half mile away. Those bullets were close. Too close. That takes some marksmans.h.i.+p. The guy has a long-range rifle and knows how to use it.”

Jake didn't want to ask her about who might be trying to kill her. But after what had happened with the sniper just now, he was forced to reconsider his original judgment about her guilt. ”Last night, you told me you thought someone was trying to kill you.”