“Yeah. We’d built him that morning and thought he might be scared of the dark. So we tried to bring him inside.”
He laughed. “What did she say?”
Emma rolled her eyes. “What did she not say? We were in big trouble. The rug in front of the fire had to get taken to the dump.”
She stared down at her boots. “I’m loving the wellies, thank you. But when am I ever going to get the chance to wear the leather boots I bought?”
He shrugged. “Stick around for rodeo season. You’ll see plenty of leather boots then.”
The words hung in the air between them. He couldn’t even begin to fathom why his heart was beating madly right now. It wasn’t like he’d just asked her to stay. But it felt like he had.
There were only a few weeks until Christmas. And she’d told him she’d booked into Bramble House until Christmas Eve. What happened after that?
“Rodeo season. When is that?”
“Fall,” he answered quickly. That was a long way away.
“I guess I’ll need to have a think about that.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. He’d take that for now. Even though he’d no right to. A girl like Emma would want a family. Something he couldn’t give her. And somehow that was pressing on his mind right now.
A few other people were walking in the same direction. Miracle Lake was the popular choice at night with its frozen lake and ice skate hire. Even before they reached it they could hear squeals from people on the ice.
Emma’s footsteps slowed. “So, I can watch, right?”
He shook his head. “Emma McGregor, are you chicken?”
She stopped dead and put her hands on her hips. “Mitch Holden, did you just call me chicken?” With her thick accent there was a hint of menace in her voice.
He kept walking. “Just calling it like I see it.”
A snowball whizzed past his ear. “Hey.” He turned around laughing and looked for the nearest mound of snow.
But Emma was fast. The next one hit him square in the chest.
He started throwing some back. He wasn’t even trying to aim but she took that opportunity to taunt him.
“Aren’t you American footballers supposed to be able to throw?”
The next one skiffed his cheek. “Oh, that’s it.”
She wasn’t too far away so he made a lunge towards her, catapulting her backwards into a huge pile of snow.
“Ooft!” She was flat underneath him, laughing away. “That’s not fair.”
He looked down. Her hat had flown off and her red hair was spread all about her in the snow. Some of the snowflakes had landed on her cheeks and eyelashes. It made her look even cuter than before.
“I was always better at tackles than throwing,” he said.
He was poised right above her, his whole body pressed against hers with most of his weight on his forearms.
“Didn’t think you were the type to throw their weight around.” She quipped.
“What type do you think I am?”
She licked her lips. Her pale blue eyes were fixed on his. From here, he could see faint, tiny freckles across the bridge of her nose. She was quite possibly the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
“I think you’re great. I think I’m pretty lucky that I met you.”
Okay. It was a good start. But it wasn’t exactly what he was looking for. He heard a noise to the side of him so he moved back and pulled her up from the snow. “Can’t let you get soaked. Then you might have an excuse not to skate.”
She shook some of the snow from her shoulders. “I guess now I should call you thoughtful and considerate? No way. Spoilsport.”
Another couple walked past and shot them a strange look. He reached down and took her hand. “Let’s hit the lake before you feign some injury as an excuse not to skate.”
She pressed her hand against her belly. “Too late. I just had this colossal weight on me. I don’t think I can move.”
“Really?”
He swept her up into his arms and she let out a squeal. “What are you doing?”
“I’m rescuing you. Aren’t you a damsel in distress?”
Her voice quietened. “Am I?” He felt her take a deep breath. “Is that what you think of me?”
He stopped walking but didn’t put her down. “Of course I don’t, Emma. I think you’re gorgeous, and sexy, and funny all at once. I love your accent, even though I have to concentrate really hard when you’re talking.”
The serious expression left her face and she slapped him on the chest. “Just as well.” Her voice was still a little subdued. “I’d hate it if you felt sorry for me.”
His stomach rolled over. He got that. He so got that.
He didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him, too. It was part of the reason he’d never told anyone about the result of his injury. With previous partners, everything had been in working order; they’d never had any reason to doubt there could be a problem. And on the only one occasion he’d considered telling, the thought of the sympathetic face and pained expression had made him stop.
“I don’t feel sorry for you, Emma,” he whispered. “But I do feel something.”
They’d almost reached the edge of Miracle Lake. He set her down on her feet. She was shaking slightly and he was sure it wasn’t from the cold. The words were right on the edge of his lips. But it just didn’t feel right.
It wasn’t the right time. Somehow, for both of them. And he knew that.
He could tell by the look on her face. It wasn’t that she was horrified. It was just…she was scared.
He took her hand in his and led her over to the skate rental booth. There were more people around here and he could instantly sense her tension ease a little.
He already knew her size and rented white boots for her and black for him, carrying them over to one of the benches to put them on. She looked up at the lake as she laced her boots.
“So, Miracle Lake. Where did the name come from? Does it really do miracles?” She gave a half-hopeful smile.
He tied off his skates and looked up. Some of the skaters were experts, twirling around and skating backwards. Others were falling about the place. The frozen lake didn’t have barriers to hold onto. Once they were on the ice – they were on. It was skate or fall.
“I doubt it,” he said. He couldn’t hide the wistful tone in his voice. “I asked around. No one is entirely sure. I’ve heard various versions. Apparently something miraculous happened here years ago – but no one can tell me what it was. The other version just said the waters had special, miracle healing powers.” He gave a hollow laugh. “Then, a cynic told me it was just an excuse to peddle bottled water from the lake and sell it for a lot of money.”
“Oh.” Her tone sounded slightly sad. “That’s a shame. I was kind of hoping to believe in old-fashioned miracles.”
A fist squeezed around his heart as he looked at the expression on her face. He’d never felt so connected to someone. And he’d never felt so helpless, too. What was going on with Emma?
“I was kind of hoping for miracles, too,” he murmured under his breath.
*
It was pathetic really. For a few seconds she’d had a glimmer of hope – even though she knew it was ridiculous. Maybe the whole reason she’d found this place was to get to Miracle Lake? Maybe none of this was accidental and this was all meant to happen?
But Mitch obviously didn’t believe in any miracles here and the story didn’t seem to have any foundation. It was just an old wives’ tale. Something to give a little mystery to the town.
There were no miracles at Miracle Lake. Not for her anyway.
Mitch stood up and held out his hand towards her. What was going on between them? She couldn’t even fathom it. Because she liked him a whole lot more than she should for a girl that was marrying someone else a few weeks ago. She’d barely given Bryce much thought at all.
None of it was about him anymore. It was all about her.
Maybe she was s
earching for a miracle? One that just couldn’t happen.
She took a few shaky steps forward to Mitch.
Part of her wished Miracle Lake was a place she just had to touch to get her secret wish. To ask that babies could be in her future. That she could have a healthy pregnancy and hold a baby in her arms.
She still didn’t want to believe that chance was gone. No matter what the doctors said.
His hand clasped hers and he walked backwards, leading her towards the ice. She tried to concentrate as she stepped onto the surface. Mitch was a natural. He found this easy. She could barely stand upright. She felt like a baby giraffe tentatively taking its first steps on wobbly legs. She could almost swear the ice was jiggling under her feet.
He started to skate backwards, holding both her hands as his feet made strange in and out patterns.
“Now you’re just showing off,” she remarked.
A little boy whizzed past her, followed by a little girl who then spun around.