“I don’t have one,” she said, suddenly wheezing with laughter. She felt giddy, and she wasn’t certain how much longer she could keep standing, but right now what he’d said was one of the most hilarious things she’d ever heard. “And do not call me Lollipop.” If he’d forgotten anything at all about her, why couldn’t it have been that horrid nickname?
“Lollipop,” he promptly returned, just as he’d done in high school. He straightened, grunting with the effort, and said, “We’re idiots to be standing out here. Let’s go inside.”
“Easier said than done,” she said, and abruptly her legs gave way and she sat down hard on the ice-crusted porch.
“Don’t you fucking give up on me now, Lollipop,” he grunted as he lurched toward the door. “I didn’t haul you all this way to let you freeze to death on the porch.”
It scared her that the concept wasn’t all that farfetched. It would be so easy just to curl up on the porch and relax, but she knew if she did she’d never make it inside. Fear drove her to roll onto her hands and knees, but that was as far as she could get. No way could she stand up. Laboriously she began crawling toward the door. “You just get the door open, hero,” she said, “and I’ll make it the rest of the way.”
There was a horrible, gunshot of a sound at the edge of the woods, and a sixty-foot-tall tree snapped at the base, the entire thing crashing to the ground with a force that seemed to rattle the entire world. They both went motionless for a brief second, then Gabriel turned back to fumble with the doorknob and Lolly resumed her slow, clumsy crawl.
She wouldn’t have survived tonight if it hadn’t been for Gabriel. She would already be dead, shot or frozen or crushed beneath an ice-covered tree. She would have died a violent death, her last few hours spent in terror and pain, her last thoughts that of a horrible man attempting to rape her, and maybe succeeding. And wouldn’t you know it, as soon as the danger had passed, they’d started arguing. Some things never changed. The feel of their squabble had changed, though. She wasn’t angry, wasn’t upset. Arguing with Gabriel had a comfortable feel to it, almost like coming home.
Home. She really was home. All she had to do was get inside, and she’d be safe. She wasn’t shivering anymore, hadn’t for … how long now? She was a native Mainer, she knew that wasn’t a good sign. She could still think, hadn’t suffered any of the disorientation that came with severe hypothermia, so she thought she’d be all right. But then again, if her thinking was impaired, would she even realize it?
Gabriel tried to open the door, but his ice-coated gloves couldn’t grasp the doorknob. Swearing under his breath, he used his teeth to tug off the glove; the doorknob turned, and the door swung open to warmth and sanctuary. Turning back, he grasped Lolly’s arm and half-dragged her over the threshold, far enough inside that he could shove the door closed. Then she fell over on her side on the floor and the strength left his legs and he fell beside her. He swore some more, struggling to his hands and knees, then he grabbed the newel post of the stairs and pulled himself to a mostly upright position. Lolly closed her eyes. She just wanted to lie here on the floor …
“Get up,” Gabriel ordered, his voice commanding and harsh.
She cracked her eyelids open a little. “I don’t want to get up.”
“Too bad.”
He clumsily swiped his hand over his head, and shards of ice flew from his hair. He shucked off the jacket and gloves, then leaned down and grabbed her arm again. She couldn’t get her feet under her, so he dragged her to the first step of the stairs.
“I just need a minute—” Lolly began.
“You have to get dry and warm,” he said, jerking at her first layer of clothes. He whipped off the ripped poncho and ice crystals flew, hitting the floor and a nearby table and instantly melting.
“Leave me alone,” she said fretfully, slapping at his hands. “We’re inside now. Just let me rest for a little while.”
“Not until you’re warm.” He continued to peel away clothes, and she let him. A part of her wanted to fight, just on principle, but she was so tired and moving was so difficult that fighting him was impossible. He pulled her to her feet and she closed her eyes and just stood there, swaying. It was wonderful to be out of the ice, out of the cold. She could sense the warmth around her, lingering heat from before the power had gone out, but she couldn’t really feel it.
“Open your eyes, Lollipop,” Gabriel barked.
With an effort she opened her eyes and scowled at him. “Why can’t I just sleep?”
By the light of the flashlight he’d placed on the floor, pointed upward to reflect off the ceiling, she saw the worry on his face, the anger. “Not yet.”
And suddenly she knew what he’d been doing, calling her Lollipop, all but picking a fight. He’d been trying to get her angry, keep her going.
Touched, feeling her insides turning to mush, she reached up and laid her cold hand along his rough cheek. “I’m sorry I snapped at you,” she said.
“Did you snap? I didn’t notice. You must be out of practice. Now stop apologizing and get out of those clothes,” he ordered. “All of them.”
Chapter Ten
Niki slowly lifted her head, not quite sure where she was or what had happened. She stared around her, trying to make sense of her surroundings, but the effort was too much and she closed her eyes, let her head rest against something cold and hard. She felt … she felt as if a giant had picked her up and thrown her down on the ground, as if her entire body had been stunned. Had she fallen out of bed? No, she wasn’t in a bedroom, she was in … what was she in? She didn’t know where she was. Nothing looked right.