Misfortune: Christmas With Scrooge Read Online Free PDF Page B

weary
unease in the pit of her stomach. Lifting her chin she looked up
the snowy slope—and up, and up. Before her was the most dreadful
climb to safety. Her breath caught in the hollow of her chest as
she felt her stomach heave then plummet to the bottom of her
feet.
    Glancing down, it was only then that she
realized she was minus shoes. It had been the fear coursing through
her veins, which had her totally disregarding the numbing sensation
taking over her toes. They were already beginning to turn a faint
purple-blue after being exposed all night long, and were now well
on their way to frostbite she was sure.
    She looked up at her rescuer who had already
began the tedious ascent. There was no way she would complain. What
if he followed through with his threat to leave her behind? Biting
down on the pain, she forced herself to follow him. Every step felt
as if a thousand prickly thorns pierced her delicate skin. But,
thankfully, the numbing sensation eventually overtook and in doing
so withheld the freezing temperature of the snow below.
    Aggravated, he turned back. “What's taking
you so long?”
    She attempted to move her feet faster but,
instead, stumbled over their limp condition grasping a tree limb as
she did. Fear gripped her as she looked over her shoulder and down
the steep slope below. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of
watching her fall to her death. If it took her all day, she would
make it up the gorge and at her own pace.
    “Go ahead,” she told him with forced
confidence, which truthfully couldn’t have fooled even her. “I'm
going to take it slow.”
    From her distance she could see him frown,
then unexpectedly, retrace his steps toward her. She waited until
he reached her side. His face was a hard rock of suppressed
irritation, but the annoyance in his voice was very evident. “If
you needed help, why didn't you just ask for it?”
    “Because I'm perfectly fine. And, besides, I
didn't think—”
    She was rudely interrupted when he suddenly
roared, “Where the devil are your shoes?”
    Shifting uncomfortably on her frozen feet,
she said, “In the car.”
    He looked absolutely thunderous. “Why the
hell didn't you tell me?”
    “Because.” Her voice faltered. “I thought you
might leave me behind.”
    The storm etched furiously across his
ruggedly good looks, began to unexpectedly turn a faint pink. With
a jerk he turned quickly away, dropping down on the nearest bolder
and began pulling off his boots.
    Laura's eyes widened in shock. “I can't take
your boots!”
    “I wasn’t giving them to you.” He snapped
back, shooting her an irritated glance, then looked away to add
more subduedly, “They are far too big for you. My socks should help
keep your feet warm until we get to the top.” At her look of
contention, he said, “My own feet will be perfectly warm in my
boots.”
    “I wasn't going to say that.” Stubbornly, she
stood her ground. “I'm quite fine and don't need your socks or your
assistance—”
    He sprung at her. “You ignorant fool! You
would rather lose your toes to frostbite than accept my help?”
    The unexpected sight of his temper ignited a
tiny flame of fear in her. “I-I didn't say that—”
    “Come here!” He grabbed her non-too-carefully
and thrust her on to the bolder he earlier occupied. Then, angrily,
he reached for her feet and raised them up for inspection and
cursed under his breath. Laura didn’t have to hear the words to
know they were aimed at her.
    Without warning he began to vigorously rub
her feet until at last the ugly purplish hue began to fade,
replaced by a warm pink flush. That task completed, he reached for
his discarded socks and proceeded to pull them over her tiny feet.
They were sizes far too large but the sudden warmth they provided
was heaven sent.
    Laura raised her eyes and looked at him.
“Thank you. That feels much better.”
    He didn't say a word. Instead he got to his
feet, bent down, then contemptuously swung her into his