Page 52

Tonight I’m exhausted.

Another sound scrapes outside the cabin.

This time I flinch toward him instead of away.

The realization hits both of us instantly.

Rhett goes very still.

So do I.

My face burns.

“I didn’t mean to⁠—”

His hand closes around mine before I can finish.

Firm.

Warm.

Steady.

“It’s okay.”

The simplicity of it almost undoes me.

“You’re not supposed to be this calm,” I whisper.

“I’m not calm.”

I glance up sharply. “You seem calm.”

“That’s different.”

His thumb brushes once across my knuckles absentmindedly, and the tiny gesture sends warmth all the way up my arm.

Outside, footsteps move through the snow again.

But farther away this time.

Circling wider.

Watching.

“You think he’s trying to scare me,” I say quietly.

“He is.”

“It’s working.”

Rhett’s jaw tightens. “Yeah.”

I study him carefully in the firelight. “You’re angry.”

“Very.”

Not loud.