Keeping Bri tucked into my side, I drive us back to my cabin slowly because I’m not taking any chances. After I’m parked and I carry her inside, I place her gently on the couch and grab some blankets. Her lips are a slight shade of blue as I pile them on her and reach for the phone.
“Did you find her?” Mrs. Young says instantly when she answers.
“I did, but I can’t make it back down.” I’m about to tell her about the accident, but the storm gets louder outside and drowns out all my thoughts.
“Just stay safe and—”
I don’t know what the rest of Mrs. Thompson’s sentence was going to be because the phone goes dead in my hand. I look down at it and see the power is on, but there’s no connection. A line must have gone down somewhere, which means it’s not getting fixed anytime soon.
“Shit,” I say as I hang it up and go back to Bri. Now isn’t the time to panic. “Think, Wilder.”
I strip off my coat and boots and toss them by the front door. Then I get to work on warming up Bri and getting her to talk to me. I take off her boots and see that her jeans are soaked. She couldn’t have been in the snow for too long, but long enough to chill her to the bone.
As gently as I can, I unbutton her jeans and pull them down her legs just in case she’s injured there. Once they’re off I can see some purple bruising starting to form on the outside of her thigh, but nothing looks broken. I’ve taken several first aid courses and done survival training here in the mountains, but it feels like none of that is enough right now.
She’s only wearing a pair of cotton panties, but I ignore them as I use the blankets to cover her bare legs and then throw several more logs on the fire. When I check her sweater, I see the thick material is soaked and needs to come off too.
“Wilder.” My head snaps up at my name, and I see Bri has her eyes closed like she’s asleep, but her lips are moving. “Wilder.”
“I’m right here.” I grab her hand and put it against my cheek as I look down at her. “I’m right here, baby, look at me. Open your eyes, Bri.”
As if on command, she does as I ask. Relief fills my chest at seeing she’s okay, and I try to keep her from moving too much.
“Hold still, Bri. You were in an accident. Let me check you out and make sure you’re okay.”
“Who are you?” she asks, her brows pulling together in confusion.
“Wilder.” When her expression doesn’t change, my smile falters. “It’s me, Wilder.”
“Where am I?” She tries to sit up, but I hold her down gently so she doesn’t hurt herself.
“You’re safe. You were in an accident in the storm, but you’re okay. You just need to stay still.”
She reaches up and touches the place on the side of her face where she must have hit the window or the steering wheel.
“Let me get you cleaned up. It’s going to be okay. You’re just a little cloudy from the accident.” Maybe she hit her head harder than I thought, but I need to keep her calm and not panic.
She looks up at me, and to my surprise, when she grabs my arm, her grip is tight. “You’re going to take care of me?”
I place my hand on top of hers and look into her eyes. “Of course I am.”
She glances down at the diamond on her finger and then back up at me. “Because you’re my husband?”
My lips part to tell her that I’m not, but something selfish and possessive curls inside of me. I need to keep her calm, but I knew the moment I looked at Bri that she was meant to be mine. Even if it’s only for a little while, I want to say it out loud.
“Yes, because I’m your husband.”
Chapter Five
BRI
“I need to get you out of these wet clothes, baby,” Wilder says as he looks at my soaked sweater. It’s then I realize how cold I am. All I’d noticed at first was the pounding in my head. Also, the very handsome man that’s taking care of me.
My husband. Damn, I’m one lucky girl.
It feels right too because there’s something familiar about him. If there wasn’t, I think I’d be freaking out. The man is a giant beast with his scruffy beard and shaggy hair. My beast, apparently.
“Okay.” I lift my hands over my head so he can pull the sweater off for me. He pauses for a moment, seeming to debate something before he grips the bottom and helps to gently pull it up over my head. He’s careful with the side of my head that’s pounding, and once I’m out of it, he tosses it away.