Free Wild Ice by Rachelle Vaughn Page B

start hopping on one foot, she thought she heard something. When she heard a dog collar jingle, she thought for sure she was hearing things. Sure enough, the yellow dog trotted up to her and planted a sloppy kiss across her cheek. Being on the ground put her at his level and he took full advantage by licking her face until she pushed his head away with a laugh.
    She was so happy to see him that she wrapped her arms around him and buried her nose in his thick fur. So what if he hadn’t found any help? At least she wouldn’t have to spend the night alone.
    The idea vanished when she heard footsteps coming down the trail— human footsteps. Who did the dog find to help her way the heck out here? He hadn’t been gone all that long, so they must have been fairly close by.
    Lauren strained her ears and stared up ahead. Eventually, a man came walking down the path. He was tall and athletic and her eyes were immediately drawn to the scowl on his face. His eyes were a deep dark blue and probably twinkled when he smiled, but he wasn’t giving her that expression now. He wore jeans and a T-shirt but something about them looked expensive. The new athletic sneakers on his feet were dusty from the trail. It looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few days, but that added to his mysteriousness.
    He may have been dressed casually but there was nothing casual about the man standing in front of her. The frown on his face looked out of place on his handsome face. He glared at the dog. It wasn’t meant for her to see, but he glared nonetheless. There were so many emotions swirling in his eyes that she didn’t have enough time to decipher them all before he blinked them away.
    He didn’t look like a crazed woodsman come to have his way with her, put her over his shoulder and take her to his cabin, so that was good. At least the dog would protect her—she hoped—if the man had ill intentions.
    Who was this man and what was he doing on the trail? He certainly didn’t look like a birder—or at least he wasn’t dressed the part of one. And the people she’d encountered on nature trails were usually friendly and eager to share their discoveries. This man didn’t look to be eager about anything. Especially about finding Lauren sitting on her butt in the middle of the trail.
    She didn’t know whether to thank the yellow dog or tell him to take this unhappy man back where he ’d found him.
    Lauren decided to break the silence first. It was obvious the man was too mad at the dog to speak to her.
    “Hi,” she said cheerily despite the awkward situation. “I, uh, tripped on a tree root and down I went.” She touched her swollen ankle to make her point.
    He didn’t say anything in return. He just bent down and looked at the aforementioned ankle. He was so close that Lauren could smell the clean scent of his shampoo.
    “Can you stand up?” he asked, his voice abrupt.
    It was silly to notice the muscles in his forearms at a time like this, but it was awfully hard not to when he was standing there looming over her the way he was.
    “Yeah, I think so,” she answered with more confidence than she felt.
    He put his hand out and she had no choice but to take it. His palm was rough, yet warm and she told herself she imagined the zing from the skin-to-skin contact.
    When she got to her feet, she winced. Even without putting weight on it, the ankle still throbbed.
    Before Lauren knew what was happening, the man scooped her up in his arms and started carrying her down the path. The breath went out of her lungs with a whoosh.
    “You don’t have to carry me.” She twisted in his arms to survey the trees. “I just need to find a stick to use as a—“
    “It’s either this or I toss you over my shoulder,” he said gruffly.
    “Oh...okay.”
    She settled into his easy stride and tried not to think about how much her foot hurt . Or how rock-solid his arms felt around her. Or how manly the tall stranger smelled. Or how she could feel the warmth