That was a problem for later on, though. For now, he had a to-do list, and he was going to focus on that.
The fire was licking o
ver the kindling, and as Jeff watched, it settled in and looked like it wasn’t about to go anywhere. Satisfied, he sat back on his heels and looked over to the couch.
The woman was still asleep or unconscious, lying on her back on the couch with the baby asleep on her chest. Time to check her over.
Jeff unwound her scarf first, exposing the curve of her cheek, her parted lips, and the vulnerable line of her throat. Seeing her face fully exposed for the first time, he was struck by how beautiful she was. He wanted to see what she looked like when she was awake, her face animated with personality.
He shook himself out of his distraction, and put two fingers to the pulse in her neck. It was a little slow, but not dangerously so. Her scarf had been pulled up over her nose, and her hat was down almost to her eyes, so her face hadn’t had a chance to get frostbitten.
Next, he pulled off her gloves to check her fingers. She had two pairs of gloves on, thankfully, and it looked like she’d kept her fingers pulled into a fist inside them, so they were fine. He noticed that her hands were calloused, like she worked outside. He wondered what she did for a job—especially if she was also taking care of her baby all alone.
Finally, he tugged off her boots. She had warm socks on, but even with that, her feet showed signs of frostnip—not full-on frostbite, thankfully, but the beginnings of it. Just being inside where it was warm would help, but they’d have to treat it.
He unbuttoned her coat, and carefully undid the buckles on the baby’s carrier, lifting the sleeping baby gently off the woman’s chest.
Her eyes flew open, her breath drawing in with a gasp. “Emily!”
***
Leah was dreaming about big cats in the snow. She was holding Emily and pointing at the pale leopard that was bounding through the drifts, kicking up wide sprays of snow and obviously having a wonderful time. Emily was waving her arms and laughing.
Then the baby was snatched away. Leah started awake as Emily’s weight left her chest, reaching out without knowing what was happening. “Emily!”
It took her a long minute to realize what she was seeing.
She wasn’t out in the cold anymore. She still felt chilled to the bone, and her feet were disturbingly numb, but she was inside a building, with firelight dancing over the walls. Standing in front of her was a man.
He’d frozen in place with Emily dangling from his hands, slumped with sleep. Leah grabbed for her. He handed the baby over immediately, keeping his hands on her until she was safely parked on Leah’s chest.
Leah clutched Emily tight and stared up at the man. He was tall and broad, swathed in layers of winter clothes, wearing a hat and a scarf.
All she could really see of him were his eyes, which were a clear gray.
Something looked familiar about those eyes. Had she met this man before? No, wait, she couldn’t have, she’d been driving in the mountains...walking in the snow...
She cuddled Emily to her chest. “Who are you? What were you doing with my baby?”
He held up his hands. “Ma’am, I apologize, I didn’t mean any harm. My name is Jeff Hart, and I’m a ranger at Glacier National Park. I found you out in the snow, and I was just checking you and the baby over to make sure you were okay.”
“Oh,” she said, and it came out more as a breath of air than a sound. She looked down at Emily, who had miraculously slept through the whole handoff.
It was all starting to come back. She’d been sure that she and Emily were going to die in the snow. She’d collapsed in the road. She’d hallucinated a snow leopard.
And Jeff Hart the park ranger had come just in time to save them.
“Thank you,” Leah breathed. She kissed Emily’s head, feeling the baby-softness of her hair against her lips. “Thank you so much for saving us.”
“Just doing my job,” he demurred. Then, as if he’d only just realized that he was basically invisible under his layers, he tugged off his scarf and hat and unzipped his jacket.
Only the fact that her chin was resting on Emily’s head kept Leah’s mouth from dropping open. Under the winter clothes was by far the most attractive man she’d ever seen. He looked like he should be shooting commercials for some rugged, outdoor sportswear, with his classically handsome features and tousled blond hair.
Wow. She hadn’t expected to be rescued by such a beautiful example of the male gender.
Leah made herself focus. She didn’t need to be distracted by how good-looking this man was. He’d said he was a ranger. “Was I in the park? I thought the road was south of the park. I didn’t see any signs.” And she’d wandered forever on foot without seeing anything that would suggest she’d been anywhere near civilization.
“You were south, ma’am, but I happened to be out on that road, and I consider it to be my job to take care of anyone in trouble because of the weather or terrain in this area, whether they’re inside the park or not.”