Page 49 of Tempted To Be Mine

Sebastian and Bernadette had finished their assessment of the location and were heading back toward their snowmobiles.

“We’re going to head back. You two coming?”

I looked at Lucy. She was still taking pictures, her face lit up with a genuine enthusiasm I rarely saw from her. This wasn’t “work Lucy.” This wasn’t “manager Lucy.” This was just Lucy, enjoying something beautiful, and I couldn’t bring myself to end it just yet. I didn’t have a shoot and the weather was beautiful, so why not?

“Actually,” I called back, “I think we’re going to stay out here a little longer. Lucy wants to explore some more.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow but nodded. “Suit yourself. Just don’t stay out too long. It gets dark fast out here.”

“We’ll be fine.”

Bernadette walked over. “You know how to get back? The trail markers?”

“Yeah, we followed them in. Orange flags on the trees. Hard to miss.”

She nodded. “Alright. Have fun.”

They mounted their snowmobiles and headed back down the trail. The sound of their engines faded until all that remained was the quiet of the forest once again. The absolute silence was still something I was trying to get used to.

Lucy lowered her phone and looked at me. “You didn’t have to do that. We could have gone back with them.”

“Did you want to go back?”

She hesitated, then shook her head. “No. I wanted to stay. I just didn’t want to say it.”

“Then I said it for you.” I shrugged. “That’s what friends are for.”

She smiled. “Thank you. I want to get some more pictures. I know I’ll never be here again and want to remember all the near-death moments.”

I laughed. “Let’s do it.”

This was good. This was what I’d wanted. Lucy having fun, being present, not buried in her laptop or worrying about schedules.

We spent the next hour exploring the area. Lucy took what felt like a thousand pictures. The cabin from different angles. The lake. I posed next to a snowdrift that came up to my waist, flexing like an idiot while she laughed and snapped photos.

The light was starting to shift, the shadows growing longer. I checked my watch and realized we’d been out here longer than I’d planned.

“We should probably head back,” I said. “Before Bernadette sends a search party.”

Lucy nodded, tucking her phone into her pocket. “Yeah, you’re right. I think I’ve got enough pictures to make Gram jealous for the rest of her life.”

We walked back to the snowmobile. I climbed on first, then waited for Lucy to settle behind me. Her arms wrapped around my waist, familiar now after the ride out. I was so glad I was in front of her on the ride out here. If she could have felt what was happening in my pants, she would have thrown me off the snowmobile.

I turned the key and nothing happened.

I tried again. The engine made a weak clicking sound, then went silent.

“What’s wrong?” Lucy asked.

“I don’t know. It won’t start.”

I tried a third time. A fourth. Each attempt produced the same pathetic clicking before giving up entirely. I checked the fuel gauge. Half full. That wasn’t the problem.

“Maybe it’s the cold?” Lucy suggested. “Batteries don’t work as well in cold weather, right?”

“Maybe.” I climbed off and opened the housing where the engine was, looking for something obvious. A loose wire. A disconnected cable. Anything I could fix with my extremely limited mechanical knowledge.

I found nothing. Or rather, I found an engine that looked exactly like an engine should look, and I had no idea what was wrong with it.