Snowbound Heart by Jennifer Blake Read Free Book Online

upon you to honor the request, and keep it that way.”
    Clare lifted her chin. Goaded by his lack of belief, she said, “You may think you can, but you can’t be sure.”
    “No,” he answered, his voice grim once more, “I can’t, can I?”

Chapter 3
    The remainder of the day passed much more quickly than Clare had expected. She spent the better part of it huddled into a blanket on a chair beneath one of the windows, reading the manuscript of Logan’s screenplay in the gray light that fell through the opening. Lunch was a sketchy affair of bread and cold meat washed down with canned juice, icy cold straight from the kitchen cabinet. Afterward, Logan was restless, prowling through the house, checking the water lines to see if they had begun to freeze, draining the hot-water tank against the possibility of its bursting as the water inside turned to ice. This water he set before the fire in every available bucket, pot, and dishpan in preparation for their baths later that night. When that was done, he returned to his place before the hearth, but it was not long before he was on his feet again, dragging on his jacket and gloves, pulling on his cap.
    Clare looked up in time to see him step through the sliding doors out onto the deck. She frowned a little as his tall shape disappeared into the swirling cloud of snow; then she returned to her reading.
    Sometime later, a glowing log in the fireplace burned in two and fell into the glowing coals with a crackling flare of red-orange sparks. The sound broke Clare’s absorption. She looked up, assailed by a sudden sense of alarm. Logan had not returned.
    Tragic tales she had heard of people lost in snowstorms, dying within a few yards of warmth and safety, flashed through her mind. Setting the bound manuscript aside, she threw back the blanket and stood up, moving quickly to the glass door. She pulled it open, letting a cold rush of snow-laden air sweep into the room. She could see nothing beyond the swift-falling white flakes. Hesitating only a moment, she stepped out onto the deck, kicking through drifted snow reaching well above her ankles. The wind caught at her, tossing the long strands of her hair in wild abandon, stinging her face with cold particles of ice, and flapping her coat about her knees.
    “Logan?” she called.
    Her voice was caught by the wind and thrown back at her with a muffled and weak sound. There was no answer.
    “Logan!” she cried again, fear rising inside her as she thought of how long the blond actor had been out in such inhospitable weather conditions. Struggling to the balcony railing, she leaned over it, dislodging the heaped snow that lined it, so that it fell like a tiny avalanche.
    “Logan!”
    “What is it?”
    The question came from directly behind her.
    She swung around so quickly in the soft drifts that she stumbled and might have fallen if Logan had not caught her. The hard strength of his hands bit into her forearms, steadying her. Weak with relief, she let herself rest against his chest. An instant later, she stepped back, pushing her trembling hands deep into her coat pocket.
    “Where were you?” she demanded.
    “I had just come in at the side door when I heard you shouting. What is wrong?”
    His outdoor clothing coated with snow and the flakes that glistened on the ends of his lashes and on the gold stubble of his beard were evidence of the truth of what he said. “Nothing. Nothing is wrong. It just seemed like you had been gone a long time.”
    “Did you think I had run out on you? Even if the idea crossed my mind, I wouldn’t get far in this. I just went out for a breath of fresh air, and I can tell you this much: there is plenty of it out here to be had.”
    “I can believe it,” Clare said, smiling even as she shivered.
    “There is also more than a little inside the house now. Did you know you left the door open? We’ll be lucky if we don’t have to get out the snow shovel to clear a path to the fire.”
    “Oh,