by Vivian Arend
She was about halfway down the path when she recognized who the idiot was. She wanted to shout at Walker and tell him to get the hell down, but that probably wasn’t a good idea.
Instead, she was torn between watching him steadily move upward or racing back to the ranch to find someone who could pound some sense into him.
Walker stopped moving.
She waited impatiently. He must be looking for a new handhold. Or maybe he planned to start descending, although she couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to climb up or down the rock face.
Only he didn’t move. Not his arms, not his feet, not his head.
She waited as long as possible until she couldn’t stifle it anymore. “Walker?”
Her voice echoed off the wall back to her.
He didn’t move.
“Walker,” she tried again, louder this time. But other than the sound of her own voice and the booming of the falls, there was no response.
She was reaching for her phone when his hands shot out sideways, and he jerked as if waking from a sudden sleep. With both hands off the wall, his body fell back, crashing to the surface only a few feet from where the falls slammed against the water.
Ivy raced down the path toward the pool, shouting his name.
Walker bobbed to the surface. She expected him to lift his head and give it a shake, water spraying from him like when they were young, but her hopes were in vain. His back was visible, but his head remained lowered, face down.
Ivy didn’t stop to kick off her shoes. She raced into the shallow water, spray flying everywhere as she made her way to the colder depths, shouting his name the entire time.
Her voice was swallowed by the sound of the waterfall’s roar.
Less than a minute had passed between him hitting the surface and her reaching his side. Ivy ignored the icy temperatures and hooked her fingers into the material of his shirt, jerking him toward her. The heavy weight of his body dragged her forward until she was up to her neck beside him.
“Walker. Wake up.”
She hauled him toward the shore because there was no way she could lift him with nothing under her feet to support herself.
The instant she could plant both feet firmly on the bottom, she wrapped an arm around his torso and rolled. His arms twitched again, one of them flailing out and striking her across the shoulders.
She tumbled into the water, loosening her grip on his shirt so she could find her feet.
When she finally caught her balance and scrambled upright, Walker was pulling himself to vertical, blinking hard.
“Walker. Are you okay?”
He finally seemed to see her, his eyes focusing slowly as confusion drifted across his face. “Ivy?”
“What is wrong with you? Do you have some kind of death wish?” An enormous shudder shook her from top to bottom as she turned her back on him and stumbled her way onto the shore. The cool wind that had been so refreshing while sitting in the sun made her feel as if she were inside a refrigerator.
“Why are you wet?” Walker asked.
What? In spite of being freezing cold, Ivy paused to examine him. “You fell. You were climbing the waterfall, you idiot, and you fell. You weren’t moving, so I came in to get you. Don’t you remember?”
He shook his head before pausing. “Right. I was climbing.”
He was pissing her off, that was what he was doing. “Look. I’m cold, and I’m wet, so if you’re okay—”
Ivy’s dramatic heel-turn-and-stomp-away departure lost its effect when she sneezed. And then sneezed again.
Oh God, she was in trouble. She and sneezes had a history. They never came by ones or twos.
She was on her fourth out of control explosion when Walker’s arm wound around her. They were both wet, but his big body was like a heat generator, and she cuddled in against him ignoring all logical reasons why she shouldn’t.
“Your car’s at the parking space at the top of the trail?” Walker asked.
She nodded, but the motion got lost as she sneezed another three times.
“Yes,” she finally forced out between explosions.
“I’ll take you home.”
She wanted to tell him it wasn’t necessary, but he had taken off at high speed, returning to jerk on his socks and boots before catching hold of her again and guiding her up the trail. She wasn’t going to protest when at this point she really needed his arm around her to keep vertical.
Ivy closed her eyes and let him guide her, burrowing in as close as possible in the hopes the heat coming off him would stop her from ending up in real trouble.
Sneezes, even in batches of a hundred, were not the worst thing that could happen to her after an unexpected dip in a still-frigid pool.
Halfway up the hill, Walker gave up on trusting her stumbling feet, swinging her into his arms. By now the sneezes were not funny; they hurt. Anyone who’d never experienced it probably thought it was amusing, but by the time her body had forced out more than forty sneezes in a row, her bones felt as if they were ready to come apart. Her head ached from snapping forward, and her eyes and sinuses were filling up.
Traitorous body.
He pulled to a stop. “Your keys?”
“Not locked.” Forced out between explosions.
“Keys?”
Stubborn man. “Pocket.”
“Get them.”
She held onto his shoulders as he put her feet to the ground, digging her hand into her jeans and pulling them out.
A moment later he had the door open and she was settled on the passenger seat. He tilted all of the air vents toward the ceiling before racing to the driver’s side and squishing himself into the tiny space.
A moment later the car was running with the heat cranked on high.
“Stay here. I’ll be back,” Walker commanded.
Ivy wanted to protest, but she knew better. She was still sneezing, and that wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. Her getting behind the wheel and driving safely was impossible until the attack decided to stop.
Walker took off down the trail, vanishing quickly as he sprinted away. She tugged her coat tighter around her shoulders, twisting the air vents toward her as soon as the air grew hot.
Under her the heated seat began to make itself known, but she was shaking too hard to really appreciate it.
Five minutes later the door beside her jerked open. Walker was back.
He took off, heading toward town, and she realized the only place he could take her was…problematic. “My parents,” she got out.
“I figured.” He sat quietly for a second before adding, “I sent my horse back to the stables alone. I’ll have to borrow your car to get home.”
She didn’t try to answer because everything hurt now, and the sneezes still weren’t finished.
By the time they pulled up in front of her parents’ house, though, her body was tired enough to have slowed down. Utter exhaustion was rolling through her, and she leaned heavily on Walker as he guided her up steps to the front door.
“Mrs. Fields,” Walker called as he brought them in the front entrance, but no one answered. “Malachi?”
Silence.
Walker picked her up again, and she laid her aching head against his chest, no longer trying to pretend she was in control.
He marched up the stairs, carrying her as if she were a feather. “Dammit. They must both be at the bookstore.”
“Phone Mom,” Ivy suggested, teeth rattling.
“I will, but first, we’ll get you warmed up.” A shudder shook her from top to bottom, and his arms tightened. “Ivy, honey. You want to hop in the tub?”
Shaking her head was no help. He wouldn’t be able to distinguish it from the rest of her involuntary quivering. Getting words out past her shaking lips was difficult. “Want to be dry.”
She might’ve imagined his curse, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care about anything anymore because it was nearly impossible to keep her eyelids open.
It was infu
riating to have her body betray her like this. No grown adult should be sent into shock just from a dip in cold water, but after enough years of fighting her reality, this was the hand she’d been dealt.
All she could do was use her coping strategies to try and not slip further down the path into sickness. Getting out of her wet clothes was of vital importance.
She reached for her buttons, her fingers shaking so hard she couldn’t catch hold of anything.
“I’ll take care of you.” Walker’s voice, soft and gentle now, and she let her eyes stay closed because it would be easier to not see him.
So much easier not to watch as he, gently as possible, stripped away her soggy wet blouse and pants Because if she was watching his face and saw even a hint of desire, she was going to do something regrettable.
She also wanted to find a large object and smack him over the head with it. “What were you doing on the rocks?”
He made a soothing noise as he took the blanket off of her bed and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Something foolish. I’m sorry you got caught up in it.”
“Troublemaker.”
He reached around her, undoing her bra and slipping it off her body under the cover of her blanket. “Yep. You and me, Snow. A ball full of trouble.”
Fire and ice. That’s what she was thinking because he was peeling her wet panties down her legs, and her eyes popped open just to torment her. His face was set like the stone of his name, as if he were trying desperately to get through this.
Because it was difficult to touch her? Or difficult not to touch?
Her head ached too much to give the dilemma anymore thought. When he picked her up and laid her in the middle of her bed, pulling the blankets over her, she decided she’d have to think about it sometime when her teeth weren’t rattling like castanets.
She lay there and shivered, breathing shakily and trying desperately to find a way to suck heat out of the air.
The mattress dipped. A heavy male body joined her, skin connecting with hers as Walker folded himself around her.
“Oh my God.”
Somehow those words came out crystal clear. Walker was in bed with her, both of them naked, in her parents’ house.
Maybe she was further gone than she thought, and now she was hallucinating.
“I need to warm you up. Relax, honey. You’re going to be okay.”
A thick band of muscle curled around her as he pulled her in tighter, that furnace inside him operating at full volume. He put out more heat than standing in front of a wood-burning stove.
It was really too bad she was beyond exhausted and couldn’t enjoy this as much as she should. Muscles pressed against her, his warm breath sliding over her shoulder as he nestled his face in the curve of her neck. Their legs tangled together, the hair on his limbs scratching like erotic sandpaper.
It took a while before the knot inside began to melt and her body relaxed enough so that blood could flow again. Her head ached, and her muscles were tired as if she’d run a marathon. But she was warm, and she felt safe.
Of course I feel safe—I’m in Walker’s arms.
As she drifted off the last thing on her mind was still confusion.
What had Walker been doing in the first place?
8
Walker held himself with an iron-clad control until Ivy’s breathing slowed and her body relaxed against him in the most torturous of ways.
It was surreal to sneak out of Ivy’s room after pulling on his wet clothes, considering all the times and days when they’d been in their teens and he would’ve liked nothing better than to be in bed with her.
But most definitely not in her parents’ house.
He used the phone in the kitchen to make the call, his cell useless after its dip in the pool.
Mrs. Fields answered the call at Fallen Books. She took the news that her daughter was tucked into bed and sleeping with amazing fortitude. “I’m heading home right now. Stay with her.”
No way was Walker going to ignore the order.
So he turned around and went back up to Ivy’s room, pulling the chair from her desk and sitting close beside the bed. A wisp of hair had fallen across her face, but he didn’t dare move it because she’d finally settled into a heavy sleep.
Staring at her made something inside him ache.
The door to the room opened. Sophie Fields came in quietly and Walker left, totally ignored as Ivy’s mom moved quickly to the bed to check on her.
For a moment he thought he’d gotten away without having to explain everything. Nope—
Malachi Fields was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.
“I took a tumble into the pool at Heart Falls, and Ivy got it into her head to come rescue me,” Walker explained quickly. Even as the words escaped, they sounded stupid.
Malachi raised a brow. “Why would she think you needed rescuing? Last I heard you could swim.”
And here came the troublesome part. Walker assumed another panic attack was involved, but his brilliant idea of the water making him come to must’ve been wishful thinking. “We’ll have to ask her. I got her home and warmed up as quickly as I could. Hopefully she’s okay.”
Ivy’s father was looking at him with more than disapproval. There was fear in his eyes—fear for his daughter, which was turning rapidly into anger against Walker. And Walker was pretty fine with that when it came right down to it.
Malachi straightened, his eyes flashing a warning. “I hope she is as well. But you might want to rethink your relationship with my daughter. I understood you weren’t planning on seeing each other anymore.”
Of course Ivy would’ve talked to her parents after their date. Walker wondered what she’d told them. “No, sir.”
The older man stared daggers. “That might be best. If it’s what you want, don’t keep dragging this out. It’s not fair to either of you.”
He wasn’t saying things like “maybe you’re too dangerous to have around my girl,” but the gist was there. Malachi was a protective father ready to step in the same way he had over ten years ago.
Walker wanted to protest that he hadn’t asked Ivy to jump in to save him, but the reality was— God, he didn’t want to think about what could’ve happened if she hadn’t been there. “Yes, sir.”
Mr. Fields shook his head then gestured toward the door. “Come on. I’ll drive you home. I was going to stop in at my mother-in-law’s, and Silver Stone is on the way.”
It was too far to walk, and without a phone he couldn’t call one of his brothers to come pick him up. “Thanks.”
Thank God the awkward, silent ride was over quickly.
Walker waited until later that night to call and see how Ivy was doing. He got Sophie on the line who was reassuring, but she determinedly put off letting him talk to Ivy.
It wasn’t until the next day he got his phone to work and found he had a text from her.
Ivy: I’m okay after my dip. You?
He thought for a bit before responding: Worried about you.
Ivy: I’m stronger now than I was. I can deal with disasters easier.
He was pretty sure there was a smart comment in there regarding him, but he chose to ignore it because he had no other option. Not unless he wanted to up and tell her the entire story about his panic attacks.
Walker: good. Thanks for giving me a hand.
* * *
Ivy: don’t make a habit of it.
And that was it. She didn’t ask for any further explanations, and that in itself had him more confused than expected.
The Ivy he’d known at school would have dug in her heels, figuratively, and not given up without getting to the bottom of it. She’d been physically frail, but she’d had a will made out of the strongest iron.
It seemed she was taking him at his word and moving on.
So Walker tried to do the same. He fell into chores with a vengeance, as well as working out and running to stay fit. Countless sit-ups, hanging crunches, and balance exercises until h
is abs throbbed and his torso quivered. Being tossed about on the back of a bull was a dangerous pastime made moderately safer by being in rock-solid shape.
Besides, pounding out miles and pushing iron was a good way to work off frustration.
It was good to labour with his family and to push his body hard, but every time he caught himself thinking back to the panic attacks, that strange sensation of hopelessness returned.
Why did they take control sometimes and not others?
He drove a couple hours south to a rodeo training center and helped some younger riders with their practice rides. Watching and waiting for a clue to jump up and smack him in the face.
A day later he got pulled into branding, working in the fields, and roping with his brothers.
Luke and Dusty were there. Caleb had convinced his friend Josiah Ryder to come out. The five of them spent an entire afternoon with Ashton and a bunch of the other hands all crowding in and helping where they could, the animals milling around in organized chaos.
At one point there were more cowboys than animals in the area. Walker turned and stared over the land, admiring the view that was a part of his soul.
“Hey, stop daydreaming and get to work.”
Walker jerked back to attention, tipping his hat at Ashton. “Just waiting for everyone to catch up.”
The older man raised a brow. “Nice try, but it didn’t work when you were eighteen and I caught you staring off into space, and it’s not going to work now. Get up,” he warned with a laugh.
Walker took the scolding even though he had been waiting his turn. It was too good to be with his family and friends, labouring in the heat and sun.
When he did get distracted a few minutes later and ended up on his backside in the dirt, laughter rang loud and clear while he took the teasing with a smile. This much at least was right. Family, hard work. If it weren’t for the financial worries hanging over them, Walker realized he could be happy spending his days like this forever.
They were all covered with dust and slick with sweat by the time they were done for the day.
