“I understand. Family comes first. It always should.” He stepped closer to the edge of the pool and stared down into it. “When the weather is warm, we could come and swim here.”
“I’d like that.” She stared at the white frothy water for some time before she jerked her head up. It was as if she’d fallen under the spell of the water. But she couldn’t let her guard down. “We should go back.”
Kelos nodded. “They are all okay. Even when I am here with you and you consume my senses, I have not forgotten to keep an eye on them.”
“Thanks, Kelos.” She placed her hand on his chest and warmth immediately swept away the chill that had enveloped her as the cold mountain water condensed on her clothes and skin. “For everything.”
“My pleasure.” He inhaled deeply and straightened up. “Come on, it’ll be easier going down.”
“It would be easier if I could fly on your back.” She arched an eyebrow at him. “But I’m guessing that is not something you do often or there would be photos of you alongside the yeti and the Loch Ness monster.”
“I often fly over the mountains.” He looked up at the vertical cliff before them. “But only at night when no one can see me.”
“It wasn’t always like that, though.” She turned away from the waterfall and he followed her back along the trail. “Once upon a time, you must have flown as free as a bird.”
“A long, long time ago.” He fell silent and they ducked back under the trees and emerged out into the sunlight before he spoke again. “Sometimes I miss those days, but the world is full of new wonders.”
“And me.” She grinned. “I figured I needed to up my self-importance game to compete with you.”
“I appreciate your effort.” He bowed his head and she laughed, feeling lighter than she had in days.
“Are they still safe?” Amber asked with a twinge of guilt. It seemed wrong that she should be enjoying herself with Kelos when her sister-in-law was back at the cabin surrounded by uncertainty.
“They are.” He lifted his head and stared into the distance.
“What’s wrong?” Panic constricted her throat and she forced herself to breathe or they would never get down the mountain. Unless Kelos carried her, and she had no doubt his strong arms would be capable of carrying her all the way back home.
“There’s a car approaching.” His jaw tightened and Amber rushed forward, they needed to get back.
“Why don’t you go on ahead? You’ll get there much faster than me.” She slipped down a steep part of the trail, catching hold of a tree root to stop herself from landing on her butt.
“No, we have time.” He frowned as if focusing all his senses at some far-off point in the distance.
“I’d rather you went on ahead,” she told him firmly. “I’ll be fine. Honestly.”
“I’ll help you down the next section and then if the car continues toward the house, then I’ll go on in front.” He hooked his hand under her elbow, and they moved faster along the trail. “There’s no need to panic yet. The car might be heading for one of the other properties along the road.”
“Could be.” She wasn’t reassured but if Kelos wasn’t panicking yet, then neither should she. Amber was certain Kelos would never let anything happen to her brother’s family. He’d promised to protect them, and he wasn’t the kind of man to break a promise, especially to his mate.
“I don’t think they will find you here,” Kelos told her as they hurried down the trail. “Unless they followed you, and I didn’t sense anyone else around when we drove here last night.”
“I’m being paranoid, I know. I’m just scared for Fabian and his family.” Her heart hammered in her chest as she pushed herself to walk faster as she tried to match Kelos’s pace.
“Are you close to your brother?” Kelos glanced over his shoulder and then slowed down.
“I can keep up,” she insisted.
“There’s no point in you killing yourself trying to get back to the cabin. We have time.” He looked back toward the road, his face hidden from her.
“What’s happening?” She stumbled but managed to stop herself from falling to her knees.
“Still impossible to tell. The car is on the road, about a mile from the house.” He pointed to a small clearing where she could just make out the roof of the house. “We’ll get there first.”
“Okay.” She filled her lungs with clear mountain air. “Yes.” She rushed after Kelos. “In answer to your question, I am close to my brother. Or perhaps I should say I was. During our childhood, we played together all the time. We liked the same things and rarely argued. My mom was the envy of the schoolyard.”
“And then?” Kelos asked as he reached the broken gate and slid through into the back yard.
“And then we went our separate ways. Fabian focused on his education and I went traveling.” She looked up, alert to the sound of car tires on the gravel driveway. “They’re here.”
“They are but I think we’re okay,” he reassured her. “I sense a child in the car. I think it’s Shawn and Jane.”
“You could have said sooner.” Amber slowed up, her face red and her skin hot. “I wish I could stick my face in the spray from the waterfall again.”
“Sorry. I wanted to make sure it was them.” He grinned at Amber as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. “You look fine.”
“I don’t feel fine.” She headed toward the house. “I’d better go and wake Elliot.”
“I’ll go and meet Shawn.” Kelos paused and watched her go into the house before he headed around the house to meet the doctor.
Going to the sink, Amber grabbed a quick glass of water before running up the stairs to the bedroom where Margie and the children were sleeping. Only Elliot wasn’t there.
Amber froze in the doorway, scanning the room for her nephew.
