Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 241

Chapter 241: Suggestions welcome
Mia glared at the man. He seemed eager to point out the problems with her plans without offering any solutions of his own. She lifted her chin in challenge, while simultaneously trying to contain her shivering. The storm really did seem to drop the temperature by the minute!

Ford was currently sitting on the ground, his back against the stone wall of the area furthest away from the river.

He lifted an eyebrow at her, which confused her until he spread one arm in silent invitation to sit beside him. Her face heated, which she told herself should be enough to keep her warm without him.

When she hesitated, his mouth twitched. As if he thought her a coward.

“Afraid I’ll bite? You had your arms around me earlier today,” He reminded, furthering her mortification.

“Sorry, I couldn’t let you hit the ground, it would have slowed down our progress,” She explained snidely.

“Would either of us freezing to death tonight speed up that progress?” He asked with something approaching amusement. She blustered, unable to dispute his logic.

Mia didn’t really understand her own hesitance. She hadn’t balked at helping him walk, or touching him to help him climb down, or any other time he’d needed anything. Why was this so different?

Because she would be pressing against him for her own warmth instead of just for his benefit? She frowned. Was she so intent on helping others, that it felt wrong to also derive some good from it as well?

The thunder cracked again, and she jumped. The horses shifted nervously, but thankfully didn’t try to bolt. She took a moment to secure their reins as far from where Ford was sitting as she could.

If they did panic, there was nowhere for them to go except into the river or to trample the humans.

She fed them some oats she had in her bag, apologizing for not having anything more to offer them. At least they’d snatched some of the dry desert grasses to eat along the path to get here; they wouldn’t be too hungry, she hoped.

The world got ever-darker, with the clouds hiding the sun and any moon and starlight that would venture downward. It would be completely black soon, save for the flashes of lightning that occasionally burst through the world.

Reluctantly, Mia looked over at Ford. Was it her imagination, or did he seem increasingly amused by her discomfort? Maybe he thought it served her right for putting them in this position in the first place, but there was no avoiding it.

With a deep sigh, she picked up her mostly-dry blanket and brought it over to the man. He used his arms to scoot over and make more room for her at the back of the little alcove, and she sat down beside him.

It was definitely colder now that she’d stopped moving. Or maybe the temperature had dropped further?

She couldn’t tell for certain.

Ford lifted one arm to wrap it–and his blanket–around her shoulders. That was immediately better.

Stiffly, she extended her blanket as well, draping it across his legs and hers.

They sat in the quiet for a while as the storm raged. She jumped as another crack of thunder echoed, and Ford squeezed her shoulders lightly.

The action startled her, and Mia froze. Ford’s hold loosened as if rethinking the gesture, but that moved the blanket and caused her to shiver slightly as cooler air snuck in against her skin.

“Sorry,” He mumbled. “You’re sitting so ramrod straight it’s hard to keep the warmth in.”

Mia sighed deeply.

“Please don’t read anything into this, but I’m very cold,” She told him.

Before she could let herself think better of the action, Mia turned towards Ford and curled herself against him, wrapping one arm around his waist and tucking the other behind his back slightly, nestling her head into the space between his chin and his chest.

He didn’t breathe or move for several seconds, and she wondered how badly she had offended him. Ford was so still she might think he had suddenly died except for the fact that she could hear his heart beating madly in his chest.

Was he afraid of storms?

Finally, he shifted, arranging the two blankets more securely around the both of them, which was far easier now that there was no space at all between the two people. Mia could feel her face heating again, but now that she had this warmth, she couldn’t be persuaded to give it up.

As the thunder and rain continued around them, Mia felt strangely calm. Though the threat of water rising to meet them was at the back of her mind, she couldn’t find it in herself to be anxious just now.

When Ford’s cheek came to rest on top of her head, she smiled.

His snark and sarcasm, she knew, were a shield against people. Since it was hard to speak over the sound of the storm, he was left without his armor.

He couldn’t push her away, verbally or physically, without breaching the cocoon of warmth the two of them had created.

It wasn’t perfect. She was still not entirely comfortable, given that they were sitting up against a wall of solid rock.

Gradually, she could feel Ford relax, and consequently, she began to as well. After waiting forever for her parents to fall asleep the night before, and then sneaking out and riding through the night, she was truly exhausted.

Ford had to be low on energy, too. Pain was tiring, and he’d probably been in more pain than he was willing to admit.

As she fell asleep against him, her last thought was that she never wanted to spend another storm any other way.

She dreamed pleasant dreams of being held by Ford. He smiled at her, genuinely smiled, and hugged her gently. The sun was shining warmly on them both.

As Mia turned to smile at him again, a third person in the dream caught her sudden attention.

“Uncle Trace?”