Warrior Mine: A Base Branch novel Read online

  Electrocution had to be kinder than the icy water. It flash-froze her brain, rendering her useless. She hung there for what seemed like an hour, as her body screamed for relief.

  Vail.

  Determination, so deeply engrained, refused to give up without a fight. She willed her fingers and arms to move, and they did. Twisting and thrashing about, she stretched lower into the water, searching for the man who’d saved her daughter, the man she didn’t have, but still didn’t want to lose.

  The need for breath stung her lungs like a porcupine burrowed deep inside for the winter. She refused to give up. He hadn’t given up on Sophia. Or her. He deserved no less.

  There it was. A brush. Something warmer than the water. Carmen arched back. Stretched so much her boot gave way. Panic seized her. If she went in, she couldn’t save Vail or Sophia.

  A frigid mass caught her leg, draping over both, and soaking her jeans through.

  Sophia. My girl.

  Pride renewed her efforts. Another swipe brought direct contact with flesh. She grabbed hold and yanked hard. Like an angler, she let her line loose—her line being her body—grabbed lower and reeled fast. His hand. His arm. His torso. She looped her arms under his. Using Sophia’s weight as leverage and every muscle she possessed, Carmen levered them both to the surface.

  Sweet Jesus.

  Like Sophia had a minute before, Carmen hacked and wheezed, and pulled at Vail, who coughed and gasped, his body convulsing in uncontrollable fits. She grabbed his belt and yanked one last time. His torso firmly on the ice, she collapsed to the side. Amazingly, he army-crawled his body the rest of the way out of the water. Then his gaze was on her, fierce and… What? She didn’t know. Then he looked past her toward Sophia.

  The concern in his gaze jackknifed her. Tired or not, she reached for Sophia. Her daughter smiled weakly, but the beautiful sight could not distract from the shivers that wracked her small body. Carmen’s hands moved to the zipper of her jacket, but a large hand stopped her.

  “No. Let me.” Vail’s voice sounded as though it had been stored for a millennium and never used until now. He hacked. “I have…more body heat. You…ll freeze.”

  He crawled past her to Sophia, unzipped his sopping jacket, and wrapped it around her legs. Carmen felt its weight on her own legs, and its heat. She nearly groaned. She hadn’t noticed how cold she was. Then he peeled the wool sweater from his chest. Like manipulating a doll, he lifted Sophia to sit, draped the cloth over her head, and tied it around her chin and neck in a make-shift hood.

  The only things standing between him and the sub-freezing temperature were soaked pants, socks, boots, and a white T-shirt. Too bad she didn’t have time to appreciate the hands-down winner of every wet T-shirt contest in the history of mankind. His arms shook as he bore his weight and struggled to his knees.

  Carmen rolled onto hers more easily. She stood and, giving the hole a wide birth, hurried to his side, her boots slipping on the wet ice. Yet, she didn’t worry about falling through. The layers were thick close to the tree trunk. She and no idea how Sophia managed to make it through the solid sheet. Bracing her legs for balance, she offered Vail a hand. Shocking her for the tenth time in as many minutes, he rested his elbow in her palm and gripped her upper arm. He used her as a human crutch to lever upright.

  “I want you,” he rasped, “to go to shore.” After a breath and a swallow, he continued. “I’m going to drag her across the ice. It’s thick, but not thick enough to hold our combined weight, if I carry her off.”

  “You can hardly carry yourself,” she pointed out gently.

  He touched his finger to the tip of her nose. “Get that sweet tush movin’. We’re wasting time.”

  She tried to speak, but her lungs refused to cooperate. So, she cooperated with him for all their sakes. From shore she watched him wrangle a smile from Sophia’s pale lips and then drag her across the ice toward shore. Once there, he leaned down, scooped Sophia up like a babe, and held her to his chest.

  In that moment something rigid cracked inside Carmen. A bit of her he-woman, ‘I can do it all on my own, hear me roar,’ succumbed to Vail’s fierce, yet gentle, protective nature. Sophia trusted him with her life. It was time Carmen started trusting him with hers. Because Vail might be the only person on the planet who could protect Sophia better than she could.

  24

  Vail’s boot hit the porch step. The sight and sound gave the only indication he’d left the snow. His feet tingled with numbness part-way up the trail. The tingles turned to shards of glass slicing his soles with each step for the next half. He pushed through the discomfort. Sophie’s eyelids drooped lower and lower, despite the jostling from his awkward strides. Her exhaustion from the ordeal was plain. Hell knew he could sleep for days. But first, he needed her warm and alert before he’d allow her to doze.

  “Hey,” he said with a shake, “is that an icicle or a booger hanging from your nose?”

  Her lashes fluttered then popped open. She struggled for the briefest of moments to free her hands from her jacket pockets where he had Carmen shove them before they left the lake. Unsuccessful in that venture, the girl used other resources. She turned into his chest and nuzzled her nose against his wet T-shirt.

  “Eew,” he croaked. “Good thing I was just kidding.”

  Her sweet brown gaze met his and once more she smiled.

  “That’s my girl,” he praised. “We’re here. A warm fire. Dry clothes. Hot coffee.”

  She wrinkled her nose.

  “Okay, the coffee’s for me, then.”

  “And me,” Carmen chimed, skirting them to open the door.

  Vail stepped into the cabin and wanted to weep in thanksgiving for central heat and air. The place was drafty and damp, but nothing compared to a frozen-over lake. Carmen shivered and chaffed her arms as she closed the door with her ample backside.

  “Okay, Sophie, I’m going to put you down. I want you to do your best to stay upright. It’ll be hard, but I know you can do it. For just one minute.”

  “I can do it.” Her voice cracked for the first time since the fall.

  “Carmen, I need you to help her get all these wet clothes off. Yours too, if you can manage it. I’m going to get towels and blankets, and then I’ll make a fire.”

  Both girls nodded.

  He ran, or at least tried to run, up the stairs. The movements more closely resembled a cartoon where the character’s feet spin and spin and they go nowhere. Winded more than he’d ever care to admit, he reached the top of the stairs. He thought to grab them fresh clothes too, but the thought of touching Sophie’s panties made him a little bit squeamish. His original plan had all kinds of merit, but he did take a moment to grab a fresh pair of pants for himself. Not much good he’d do running around naked.

  In the bathroom he stripped his paltry tee and draped a towel over his shoulders. Then he set about collecting the rest of the dry linens. With a pile of towels and an armload of bedding, Vail hurried downstairs. Taking pains to avert his gaze, he got a good look at some rafter cobwebs. When he heard both girls sigh he stilled. “What’s wrong?” It almost killed him not to look, not to rush to their aid, no matter the cause of their anguish. But it would kill him to breach Sophie’s privacy. Carmen’s…not so much.

  “I can’t get her clothes off,” Carmen sniffled.

  “I can’t help her,” Sophie moaned. “My arms won’t work.”

  “Hey, it’s all right,” he crooned. Able to lower his gaze, he found Sophie still in her pants and the double-sleeved sweater he’d put on her earlier. All Carmen’s clothes remained plastered to her body. She held tight to the sweater she’d taken from Sophie’s head, while the jacket, sopping socks, and shoes lay on the floor.

  He walked to the couch, scooted the clunky monstrosity closer to the fireplace, and then he set all but two large towels atop it. They weren’t bath-sheets, but neither were they hand-towels masquerading as bath-towels while revealing your goods to the world. When he reached So
phie he walked around to her back.

  “Carmen, take this.” He offered her one of the towels and draped the other over his shoulder. “Get in front of her.” She did as he asked without question. “Sophie, I’m going to stay at your back and help get these wet clothes off you, okay?”

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  The three of them wrestled and sweated to get her clothes off, and Vail did it all while looking at his toes, the wall, the ceiling. He wrapped the towel under Sophie’s arms and around her body, while Carmen dried her hair with the other.

  “Here, let’s get her to the couch and you can finish that there. I’ll start a fire.” When Carmen stepped back, he scooped Sophie in his arms and hurried to the couch. He settled her upright and piled her with two blankets. Then Carmen was there mothering.

  He hustled outside, hating to let in any of the chill. Even more, he hated the way the sharp wind stiffened his man nipples.

  Son of a bitch!

  He was some kind of cold. Now that the girls were safe, it seeped into his pores. He hauled two stacks and set them just inside the door. The third he brought directly to the fireplace.

  “It’s a good thing we cut all that wood,” Sophie said through the chattering of her teeth.

  “Absolutely,” he agreed.

  “Hey, Vail?” Sophie continued. Earnestness steeled her tone and jaw.

  “Yeah, sweetie?” He swiveled on shaky legs. Bracing both hands on the floor for support, he smiled up at her. She was bedraggled—and beautifully alive.

  “You told me not to put a foot on the ice. So, I walked the log, thinking I was smart to get one over on you. You know, technicalities and all.” She staved off threatening tears with a sniff. “I’m so sorry. I almost got myself killed, and you too.” Her lips scrunched and anger lit her eyes. “You shouldn’t have given your breath for me, your life for mine.”

  He let a moment tick by, breathed deeply, and shook his head. “I can’t think of a better person to give my life for, Sophie.”

  Vail didn’t wait for a response. He turned to the empty hearth and loaded it with wood. Thanks to years of practice, he prodded the fire to crackling in less than five minutes. He turned to the girls. “Good?”

  “Heaven,” Carmen said, while Sophie bobbed her head adamantly. Carmen sat on the floor in all her wet clothes, chaffing her daughter’s feet with the towel meant for her.

  “Up you go,” he said, hauling her off the floor. “Clothes off now, and towel on, or I’ll help you too.” He lowered his head to her ear and whispered, “And I won’t avert my gaze.” She drew a shaky breath.

  Hard as it was, he snagged his pants from the pile on the couch and retreated to the kitchen for that pot of coffee and a small kettle of tea for Sophie. While he waited for the water to boil, he scrubbed his head with the towel. His chest, back, and shoulders came next. Then he stared at his still-frozen bottom half. The cargo pants had to go, along with the shoes and socks. He should've grabbed fresh boxers too. But he’d been in a hurry. He considered running up the stairs and grabbing some, but who was he kidding. His arm shook where he propped himself up on the counter. His legs may as well have weighed a ton each. There was no way he’d make it up the stairs right now. All his adrenaline stores depleted, he crashed hard. There was also no way he could stand the cold cotton on his keister for one more minute. He shucked them, dried his goods, and pulled on his blessedly dry pants.

  The kettle piped and he made tea, ignoring the gooseflesh covering his chest and his razor-sharp nipples.

  25

  Carmen fidgeted with the top of the towel and fussed with the blankets covering her and Sophia.

  “It’s fine, Mom,” her daughter whispered. “He’s not a perv.”

  “I know that. Otherwise, I’d have picked you up and run the second I got here.”

  “Then why the squirming?”

  “I’m not squirming,” she protested.

  “Ooooh,” Sophia crowed in realization.

  “Shhh!”

  “You like him.” The first signs of color rose in her daughter’s cheeks. No matter the cause, Carmen smiled. Which only incited Sophia. “You do. See.”

  “Will you just shush?”

  “If you admit it, I’ll zip my lips.”

  “He saved your life. Of course I like him,” she deflected.

  “Lame.”

  “It’s true.” Carmen cupped Sophia’s cheek. “Twice over.” She leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I love you so much, baby.”

  “I love you too, Momma. But that’s not going to get you out of this.”

  “Little bulldog.”

  “I get it from you,” she shrugged.

  “I suppose you do.”

  “So,” she said with exaggerated brows, “give up already. I’m younger and more determined. And he’ll be in here in a minute. I’m sure he’d be interested in the answer too.”

  “Vicious,” she chided.

  Her daughter only shrugged the layers of blanket in return.

  “Fine, yes. I like him. What’s not to like? He’s honest, caring, and capable, loyal and hardworking.”

  “He’s smokin’ hot too. In an old man kind of way,” Sophia supplied with a little nose wrinkle.

  “There are no signs of age on that man’s body,” Carmen protested. “I’ve not seen a finer specimen in all my years. His hair may be silver, but it’s sexy. He’s sexier than—”

  Sophia smiled like a clown.

  “You goaded me.”

  “I knew it already,” she inclined her head. “You just needed to admit it.”

  “You are some piece of work, child of mine. Some piece of work.”

  “I’ll second that,” Vail chimed in, walking around the corner from the kitchen with a steaming mug, with no shirt, and no towel this time to interrupt her gaze.

  Were the gods sculpted as beautifully as this man? Carmen didn’t think so. It wasn’t just his body, but his face too. Artful lines, dips, and sways. That regal jaw and cute nose, serious mouth and soulful eyes. She relaxed back into the sofa, and may have swooned for the first time in her life.

  He walked straight for her. Carmen’s body responded in kind. Her heart galloped toward him. Her nipples followed, shamelessly stiffening. She barred her hips from rocking forward. She wasn’t a whore. In fact, next to a nun, she was the furthest thing from one. But her body seemed to have contracted amnesia.

  Those hooded, almost-black eyes never shied from her body. They did take the tour though. Twice, lingering at the barest hint of breasts at the top of her towel. When he stood in front of her his gaze lifted, somewhat reluctantly.

  “As soon as this hits her stomach she’ll want to sleep. But make sure she drinks at least half. Our coffee will be ready in a minute. How do you take it?”

  Any way you want to give it to me.

  For the sake of her daughter and her sanity, Carmen stuffed her first response into the recesses of her increasingly naughty mind. “Black.” She said it while staring into his raven eyes, and wondered if he’d get the double meaning. But she wasn’t good at flirting. She’d never done it.

  He stared into her eyes—the same almost-onyx as his—and said, “I like mine black too.”

  Vail may have been talking strictly coffee, but her blood tripled its flow straight to her lady parts. The edge of his mouth twitched, and then he headed into the kitchen.

  “Mom?”

  Oh yes, she had a daughter. She had a daughter sitting right next to her while she sat in nothing more than a towel and blanket and lusted over a shirtless man.

  Mother of the year. Not.

  “Here you go, sweetie.” Carmen snapped out of her stupor and handed her daughter the mug. She kept her hands around Sophia’s and helped her steady the cup to her mouth.

  “Mmm,” Sophia sighed.

  Mmm, indeed.

  Sophia continued to sip. Sure enough her shoulders drooped and she rested back onto the cushion.

  “Oh no you don’t. Up,
missy, and drink.”

  “I just want to sleep, Momma.”

  “Drink up. Or I’ll be forced to pour it into your ear,” Vail threatened.

  The sleepy girl perked. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Wouldn’t I?” One brow arched.

  Sophia took two large gulps.

  “You’re going to burn your tongue,” Carmen warned.

  “Nah,” both the goofs agreed at the same time.

  They all chuckled. That light laughter sheered the edge off the panic still prodding Carmen’s mind. She took the mug Sophia offered, having surpassed the dictate from Vail, and she set it on the end table.

  “Just in time for your own.” He settled the piping mug in her hands then sat on the opposite side of Sophia. His huge bare foot propped on his opposite knee and his elbow rested on the arm of the sofa. He looked so at ease in his shirtless beauty. “How you feeling, kiddo?”

  “Tired, but you and the other warden won’t let me sleep.”

  Vail laughed outright. A sleepy, unguarded quality snuggled the sound. Carmen’s lips curved in utter delight. Then she sipped the coffee. Contentment washed over her. This was all so difficult, but it could be easy. If she let it. If she believed in him. If she believed in herself.

  “Give me your hand,” he ordered.

  Sophia obeyed with effort. Vail grimaced as he held her daughter’s little hands and studied the jagged edges of her fingernails. “You’re a fighter. Just like your mom.” He pressed at the base of her nail bed, held it for several seconds, and then released it. “Your color’s good.” He fluffed her hair, tangling the knotted mass all the more. “Snooze.”

  “Thank you, for everything.” Sophia smiled.

  “You already said that,” he scolded.

  “And I’ll say it again, and again. Forever. You might as well get used to it.” As if on cue, she yawned like a kitten. She leaned back into the cushion, but Carmen tugged her shoulders.

  Sophia allowed Carmen to pillow her head in her lap. She stroked the hair a degree or two softer than her own, even littered with tiny bits of lake debris. Carmen leaned down and smoothed a kiss over her chilly skin. “I love you,” she whispered.