The Beaumont Brothers: The Complete Series by North Leslie

Author:North, Leslie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-06T16:00:00+00:00

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A few hours later they were knee deep in snow heading straight up a mountain. Alistair’s calves buzzed in protest from the iciness, but the views as they followed the thicket of trees upward was worth the slight discomfort. Jess, however, trudged along with a permanent grimace.

“How much longer?” she asked, blowing onto the fingers of her mittens. Her cheeks shone rosy.

“Oh, I don’t know.” He took a deep breath of the fresh air, his nostrils stinging from the cold. “Another day, at least.”

She groaned. “Alistair, don’t mess with me. We’ve already been hiking for an hour and a half. When will we get there?”

Alistair swallowed his growing frustration with her inquiries. Why wasn’t this as fun and invigorating for her as it was for him? She was like a damp towel after a shower. “Soon, love. It really shouldn’t be much longer. Let’s say…another hour.”

Her voice came out shrill, almost piercing. “Another hour?” She stomped to a stop, looking up at the bright gray sky as though wishing a deity would rescue her. “I don’t know if I’ll make it.”

“Marigold.” He cleared his throat, following his footprints back to her. He took her by the shoulders, squaring her to face him. “Is this really so taxing for you? If it is, we can turn back.”

She avoided his gaze, emotions swarming her face. “We should keep going. I mean, at this rate…”

“I didn’t know this would be so…traumatizing.” He straightened, squinting out into the valley to their left, absorbing the pine trees jutting up from the graceful arc of the snow-covered mountain. Every complaint she lodged against this surprise felt like another arrow into his chest, tightening his heart like a windup clock. It didn’t feel right. Something was off, and he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Jess sighed, stabbing her walking stick into the snow. It leaned off to the side. “I guess I…I just don’t like surprises.”

He sniffed, looking around, knowing that wasn’t the full story. “Okay. Let’s keep going.”

They walked in silence for a while, long enough that the quiet between them had grown bloated and roaring. Other footsteps led the way as the path wound between trees, patches of dirt showing through the trampled snow. He glanced back occasionally to check on Jess, sometimes even stopping to allow her to catch up. This time, as she neared him, her face was ruddy and she wheezed.

“Gotta take a break,” she said, and stumbled over to nearby log. She brushed it off before delicately sitting down, as if she was afraid it might stab her. She drew long, labored breaths, staring out at the brilliant, sunny ravine.

Alistair leaned against a tree, contemplating the view as more questions circled inside him. His own fitness level was light years beyond hers. He could have run up this mountain and still wanted more. The feel of the crisp air in his lungs was almost as captivating as caressing Jess’s naked body. And based on Jess’s stories, he’d even trained to scale Mount Everest once.

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