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“Samantha,” he said quietly and waited for her to look up at him before he continued. “Do you have a minute?”
He didn’t acknowledge Rayelle’s grin and nod of encouragement before Samantha spoke. “Yeah.”
Samantha pushed the blanket off her lap and slowly got to her feet. He hated how unsure of herself she seemed to be. If her nerves had to do with the way he had behaved, he would never forgive himself. She made her way over and looked at him, her brown eyes filled with uncertainty.
He started to speak but was entirely too aware of Rayelle pretending not to listen. “Do you have a coat?”
Instead of answering, she walked over to the closet and opened it. Taking her jacket off the hanger, she stepped into her boots as if she already knew what he had in mind.
“Let’s take a walk,” he suggested.
He opened the door and waited for her to step out before he followed. Putting his hands in his flannel-lined denim work jacket, he fell into step beside her. The air was crisp and cold as it had been for the past week. He was used to the New Jersey winters, but it had been unseasonably cold since the beginning of fall.
“Congratulations on getting the part,” he said as they made their way down the sidewalk.
“Thanks.”
“I haven’t been avoiding you,” he began.
“Yes, you have,” she said with a short laugh. “But that’s okay. I’ve been avoiding you, too.”
He stopped walking and turned to look at her. Her delicate features were illuminated by the streetlights; and even in the shadows, he could see the uncertainty in her eyes. He started walking again and she kept pace next to him. He hoped walking while they talked would put her at ease.
“I’m sorry if what I said made you feel uncomfortable,” he said after a few minutes. “I wasn’t expecting to react that way when you asked if anything happened. I don’t usually have such a short fuse. I just didn’t want you to have such low expectations of me.”
“I know. I haven’t known you for long, but I should have known better. I’m not used to feeling so awkward and unsure of myself. I don’t know where all that came from. I think I’ve just been in survival mode for so long that I stopped reacting normally to situations. And now that that part is over, I don’t know what I’m doing anymore,” she said, chuckling nervously at the end.
His heart stuttered at her admission. He kicked at a couple of stray stones that littered the sidewalk as they rounded the corner toward the small pond. He was a terrible brother. He should not have been having the thoughts he was having about his dead brother’s widow. Estranged or not, a man could not go after his brother’s girl. Even if he wasn’t alive to care.
“I really wish I could apologize for what I said. Especially knowing it wasn’t a jab at me. And knowing that after dealing with my brother, it’s no wonder you don’t trust people.”
She stopped and turned to him. “Okay? I mean, you don’t have to apologize. But I don’t get what’s stopping you if you wanted to.”
“Because I meant it. You’ve been on my mind since I met you. And if I touch you, it will be when you want me to, and when I’m certain you’ll remember it; not when you’re drunk or upset and I think I can get away with it,” he answered simply.
Samantha opened her mouth to react but was interrupted by the sound of a loud crack. They both whipped around to see where the sound came from. Instinctively, Bryce reached out and grabbed Samantha’s arm in case he needed to move her out of danger. His eyes took a moment to adjust in the dark, but his blood ran cold when he finally saw the source of the sound.
In the center of the frozen pond, a dog had fallen through the ice. It was no wonder. It had been cold, but not for long enough for the ice to be solid. The dusting of snow made it hard to see the pond clearly, so the poor thing probably didn’t realize he was on thin ice. Literally. His grip tightened on Samantha’s arm.
“Oh no,” she gasped, seconds after Bryce noticed the dog.
“Shit,” was all Bryce managed as he watched the animal paddle and struggle to keep his head above water.
“We have to get help! It’s freezing. Someone has to get him out of there!” Samantha shrieked.
Before Bryce realized what he was doing, he was unzipping his jacket and handing it to Samantha. He couldn’t watch the dog drown. And there was no time to get help. Dragging his shirt over his head, he stepped out of his work boots before rushing toward the edge of the water.
The thin ice immediately broke under his weight as he stepped into the icy water. He stopped for a moment as the cold took his breath away. He was vaguely aware of Samantha’s cries in the background once he continued to step forward. The icy water felt like knives stabbing his body. He knew the pond wasn’t very deep, so he lifted his arms and kept moving forward.
The dog paddled in circles, desperately trying to get free, but it wasn’t heavy enough to break the ice, or strong enough to climb onto the ice. Bryce could see the dog was getting tired, so he did his best to ignore the cold and the pain and move quicker. He had to get to the dog before it went under. Using his body to break through the ice, he trudged through.
Grabbing the dog by the scruff as soon as he reached it, he turned to make his way out of the water. The walk back should have been quicker without having to break through the ice, but he kept having to stop to adjust his grip on the squirming animal. As hard as he tried to ignore the cold, his teeth began to chatter. The dog kept kicking and scrambling, still in a panic, but Bryce kept moving.
“Oh my god!” Samantha cried, tears streaming down her face.
She helped him step into his boots and draped his jacket around him before snatching the wet dog from his grasp. At this point, his shivering was becoming more violent as he struggled to grasp his jacket.
“Hurry! We have to get you back inside!” Samantha shouted through tears as she wrapped the dog in Bryce’s shirt and pulled him toward the house.
