Page 13 of Zin and Celeste: A Fortis Family Christmas

Chapter 6

He could hardly seea few feet in front of his hand now the snow was coming down so heavy. His movements were slow and sluggish, tiredness assailing him because of blood loss. The bleeding had at least slowed, but every time he put pressure on his leg, he was opening the wound. The cold was doing him a favour in one way, slowing the blood loss but on the other hand, it could end up killing them.

They had dressed for the weather but not to be out in it for an extended period of time. Exposure could take hold quickly and kill all of them if they didn’t find somewhere to hole up and wait. The light was fading, and all they had was the light from their phones and watches. It wasn’t a lot, but hopefully, it would be enough.

“Have you rechecked the signal?” Zin asked, knowing full well that Will would have.

“Yeah, still nothing. They’ll have our last known position before the storm took hold and will be able to track us from there.”

Will was as pale as Zin probably was and not fairing much better either. Tracking would be easy, especially with him leaving a trail of blood that was hard to hide. With luck, their friends would find them before the gunman did.

“Look, over there!” Kanan, who had been supporting him, pointed to a crop of ferns with large, thick fonds that hung low to the ground. “Head for them and we can take shelter underneath.”

Zin bit back the pain in his leg and kept his focus on the trees that would give them cover. He had a fiancée and baby waiting for him, and he would be dammed if he wasn’t going to make it back in time to spend Christmas with them both. No matter that his son was still in utero, he loved him, and his presence in Zin’s life had already enriched it above what he could have ever imagined.

As they made it to cover, Aubrey helped Will get settled against the thick trunk, a bed of pine needles providing a carpet of sorts and keeping them dry at least. Kanan eased him to the ground and propped his leg up on a log before sitting next to him. The four of them huddled close, knowing that their combined body heat would be needed to ward off the cold.

The silence inside the small space gave Zin the feeling that the outside world didn’t exist, but Zin knew it was an illusion caused by the snow and the insulating qualities of the powder and pines.

“So, what? We just wait?” Aubrey asked, blowing on her hands from the far side of Will. Kanan and Aubrey taking the outside didn’t sit well with him. He was a protector and sitting like an invalid was sheer hell.

“We have no choice until the storm eases up. Zin is losing too much blood, and we couldn’t outrun the shooter.”

Zin winced when he moved his leg, feeling pins and needles in his injured foot. “Any thoughts on that?”

Kanan pulled his jacket higher up around his neck and huddled low. “Could be anyone. Someone pissed off at us, a disgruntled employee, a loner with issues. Whoever it is, he’s on the naughty list for sure.”

Zin smirked at that and thought of Celeste again. “You think Roz and Celeste know yet?”

K snorted. “If I know my wife, she’s leading the charge to get us back, and if she is, I’m going to paddle her ass.”

Will chuckled. “Now that I’d like to see.”

“That’s disgusting. That’s my sister, man, and for the record, she’d totally kick K’s ass.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

Zin could hear the love in Kanan’s voice. “She loves you, K, but she won’t risk the baby.”

“I love her, too, so damn much it hurts. As much as I love my children, all of them not just the one she’s carrying, I’d never expect her to come after me and choose me over them.”

“This will be hurting her, but she’ll make the right choice. Roz never gives up on someone she loves, and she loves you.”

Kanan didn’t speak, but Zin knew he was thinking about the times when he’d almost lost the love of his life.

He’d never dreamed he’d find a woman like Celeste, so beautiful and kind, gentle and forgiving. That she loved him was a miracle in itself, that she had agreed to spend her life with him and have a family with a man who had so much rage inside him, was another. Was it too much to ask for one more?

“I was so scared when Celeste told me she was pregnant.”

“Yeah? Why?”

Kanan was scowling now, and Zin knew he still had his doubts about his commitment to Celeste, and that was his own fault. He’d been stupid putting off asking her to marry him for fear she’d realise her mistake and run.

“I know you think I don’t deserve her, that I messed her around and you’re probably right on both counts but the truth is, I didn’t trust what we had. She’s everything good, and I’m everything bad. I worried she’d get wise to that and run, and I didn’t want to clip her wings if my Pixie wanted to fly.”

“You’re not everything bad, Zin. You did things, bad things. We all have, and they haunt us. But the very fact that they do shows there’s good in you. If your son does something bad, it won’t mean he’s bad, just that he did a bad thing.” K turned serious eyes on him now. “Don’t let your past define you. Two of the best women I’ve ever known love you and that has to mean something.”

“What if I can’t be the father he needs?”