Winter's Embrace Read Online Free PDF Page A

act
of kindness helped to shake her bad mood. This time she could see all the trees
and flowers that Karen pointed out. Tension left her body as she leaned against
the back of the seat. As they drew closer to it, Karen started explaining the
trestle bridge.
    “There it is. It’s made of wood,” Mimi prattled. “I
wonder how old it is? ”
    Winter’s blood turned cold. She didn’t want to look,
but as they made one of the twists around the mountain, she caught sight of it
ahead. Karen said the bridge had been there for over a hundred years. Was that
a good thing? Maybe it was rickety. Winter knew she was being irrational, but
she couldn’t help it. Heights made her feel as though she was falling. First
her stomach dropped and then it felt as though whatever she was standing on
gave way.
    “Are you all right? You look pale.” Beck took her hand
and gave it a light squeeze.
    Nodding absently, she couldn’t keep her gaze off the
steep grade next to the tracks. The closer they came to the bridge, the faster
her heart beat. Perspiration dotted her forehead.
    “Coming up is the steel cantilever bridge. It’s an
engineering marvel.” Karen told them.
    Steel, wood, it didn’t make a difference, her
breathing became labored. She wanted to turn from the window, but she couldn’t.
She gave Stone one quick glance, and then her gaze became glued to the steep
fall.
    Stone stood up, pulled Winter up out of her seat and into the circle of his muscular arms, and then asked
Mimi to go sit with Beck. Putting Winter in a seat
that faced the mountain instead of the steep inclines, he sat next to her and
put his arms around her. “Lean against me and just look at the mountain. Wow,
that fireweed certainly grows everywhere. It’s the color of your prom dress. I
remember how beautiful you looked. Your hair was up and I itched to take it
down all night.”
    Holding on to Stone’s forearms she leaned back against
him. The anxiousness didn’t fade, but at least it wasn’t escalating. Somehow,
he made her feel safe, but he also made her wistful for things that could have
been.
    “Is this like your ranch in Montana, Stone?” Mimi
asked from across the aisle.
    “The sheer beauty of Alaska does remind me of
Montana.”
    It hurt that Mimi knew that he lived in Montana, on a
ranch no less. It was hard being a gracious loser.
    “Oh yeah, we’re on the bridge!” Mimi pulled Beck
closer to the window.
    Stone turned her in his arms and held her against his
hard chest. Despite being rattled to her core, Winter still took a minute to make a memory of how it felt to be in Stone’s arms. He
smelled of Ivory soap and his chest was a wall of muscle. His arms were bigger
than they had been, probably from all the ranch work. Closing her eyes, she
made her memory. A memory to take out on the long, lonely
nights.
    Finally, the train pulled into the station and the
excursion was over. Winter took a minute to thank Karen for a great tour.
    “You have a troublemaker in your group.” Karen shook
her head.
    “Goes with the job.”
    Karen laughed, “That it does. Enjoy the rest of your
cruise.”
    “Thank you, Karen, I’ll be sure to recommend you.”
Winter jumped down from the bottom step, glad to see the Stouts waiting for
her.
    “That one is a piece of meanness.” Emma nodded toward
Mimi.
    “Good Lord, she was getting on my last nerve!” Oliver
reached out and squeezed Winter’s hand. “You handled
yourself like a pro, my dear. Too bad we can’t just leave her behind.”
    “You two are real treasures.”
    “I saw what happened in the gift shop. You will be
getting a delivery at the travel agency.” Emma winked.
    Winter’s eyes widened and her smile grew. “You
didn’t.”
    “Oh yes I did. That Mimi was just being spiteful,
buying all the hand painted saws.”
    Winter hugged Emma then Oliver. “Thank you. You make
my job worthwhile.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Stone. If
he lived in Montana, then why fly out of Texas? Maybe he had