Mistletoe Mischief (Falling in Mistletoe #2)

Chapter Twenty-one

A s if Pike hadn’t suffered enough humiliation for one day, Doc Patten’s raucous laughter upon seeing him walk inside the lodge wrapped in a blanket was the cherry on top of his shit sundae. The retired doctor was a friend of his dad’s and had been his primary care physician for most of his life.

“What the heck happened to you, kid?” Doc asked, coming around the counter to greet him. Pike kept the blanket clutched in one hand as he shook the doctor’s outstretched one, annoyed by the amusement on the older man’s face.

“You probably won’t believe the truth,” Pike said.

“Try me.”

“I took a group out to the waterfall at Lake Pine, and one of them got spooked by a rabbit. Knocked me into the pool.”

“That sounds so unbelievable, it must be true,” he said, grinning as he ran a hand over his silver buzz cut. “Let’s get you and your lady friend into a room before one of the other guests sees you.”

“Oh, we’re not going to stay,” Pike said.

“I’m not his lady,” Ryler said at the same time.

“I just need a place to dry my clothes and for you to take a look at me,” Pike said.

Doc ignored him, addressing Ryler. “Since Pike here has forgotten his manners, hi, I’m Doc Patten.”

“Ryler.”

“She’s one of the people from the group I was showing around the area,” Pike muttered .

Doc gave her a once-over, eyes wide. “Not the one who knocked him out, right?”

“No, that would be my cousin.”

“Is your cousin a big gun?” Doc asked.

“No, she’s tall and thin.”

“Whewy, Pike, you better start working out some more if you’re getting laid out by tiny women.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Pike grumbled.

Doc put a set of keys in his hand. “Head on up to room fourteen. It’s the only one available, I’m afraid, because we got a full house for the holiday. Family reunion.” Doc held out his hand to Ryler, who had Pike’s wet clothes in her arms. “If you want to hand me that stack of clothes, I’ll go wash and dry them while you get him settled. I’ll be up to check on you in a bit.”

“Thank you,” she said, passing them over to him.

“Thanks, Doc,” Pike said, leading the way up the stairs.

“Let me have the keys since I have two hands.”

Pike gave her the keys, too cold and tired to argue. He’d wedged his feet back into his boots and the soaking wet footwear was like encasing his feet in blocks of ice. As he climbed the stairs, his feet squished inside the shoes and he gritted his teeth.

Ryler unlocked the door and pushed it open. Pike rushed inside, kicking off the shoes and crawling onto the king-size bed. His feet were pale and shriveled from the moisture in his shoes, and he pushed down the blankets to get under them.

“Do you want me to wait out here?” Ryler asked.

“No, you can come in,” he said, pulling the comforter over him and burrowing down. “I’m decent. I’m just trying to get warm.”

Ryler walked in and took a seat in a chair by the window. “You know, I’ve seen several shows and movies where they say the fastest way to get warm is another person’s naked body heat.”

“Are you offering to strip down and warm me up, Kitten?”

Ryler blushed. “No, I was just sharing information.”

“I knew that already. I also would have been better off stripping off my wet clothes immediately and running naked back to the car, but I didn’t want to make things awkward.”

“Why would it have been awkward seeing you naked?” Ryler shrugged. “It’s not the first time I’ve seen a naked man, you know. ”

“It was the first time you’d have seen me naked, and I definitely didn’t want to experience that in front of two other men and your cousin.”

“I get that. I probably wouldn’t have stripped either if the roles were reversed. Then again, your lips did look awfully blue there for a while, so it depends how cold I was.”

“I’m freezing. I can hardly feel my feet.”

Ryler got up from the chair and crossed the room. “Are you serious? You can’t feel anything?”

“Not well. They’re kind of tingling.”

Ryler grabbed the end of the comforter, pulling it out from its tucked position at the end of the bed.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to help get your feet warm.”

Pike tucked his feet up and away from her as she reached under the blanket. “That’s okay, you don’t have to do that.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, it is no big deal. They’re just feet.”

Ryler climbed onto the bed with her head facing the footboard and took his feet, sliding them under her shirt. When she sucked in a breath, Pike tried to pull away, but she wrapped her arms around his legs, keeping his feet against her stomach. Pike was afraid to move, aware of how close his feet were to her breasts.

“Is this any better?” she asked, rubbing his feet through the outside of her sweatshirt.

“This cannot be comfortable for you,” he said.

“I’m fine, but how are you? Any warmer?”

The heat of her skin was penetrating his cold feet, and her touch was firm, the press of her fingers into the muscles in his feet wonderful and painful at the same time.

There was a knock at the door, and Ryler got up to open it, letting the doctor in. He came over to the side of the bed and checked Pike’s vitals before looking over his hands and feet.

“You’re lucky it wasn’t lake water, or you’d have been worse off,” Doc said, tucking him back under the blankets. “Ryler, why don’t you turn on that electric fireplace and get some more heat in here? I want you to stay like this and warm up. I’m going to send up some whiskey and lunch for you while your clothes dry. Hopefully a few hours in a warm bed will get you all toasty and good as new. ”

“He’s also got a cut on the side of his head,” Ryler said, and Pike shot her a disgruntled look.

Doc looked at it and prodded it a bit with a grunt. “You got a little bump back here, so I’m going to suggest you stay awake for the next six hours. Watch a movie, tell stories, whatever tickles your fancy, but keep him entertained so he doesn’t doze off.”

“I will,” Ryler said.

The doctor cleaned his head wound, clicking his tongue. “At least you won’t need stitches.”

He got up from the bed, cleaning up his supplies and carrying his medical bag out of the room with him. “You’re welcome to stay the night, of course, free of charge. I’ll get the food and drink sent up shortly.”

When the doctor left, Ryler grabbed the remote and sat down on the bed with him, turning on the TV. “Do you want me to keep warming your feet?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Pike watched her flip through channels until she found a rom-com and settled back next to him. The sweet, floral scent of her hair drifted around him like a hug, and he found himself inching closer to her. “That was nice of you.”

“What was?” she asked.

“To ignore me while I stripped and then drive me here,” he said, watching her cheeks redden. “To warm my feet and offer to stay with me.”

“I think if our positions were reversed, you’d do that and then some.”

“I would have, but I was responsible for you. You don’t owe me anything.”

“It’s not about owing anyone,” Ryler said, meeting his gaze. “It’s about being a decent human being.”

Pike touched her hand briefly. “I appreciate that about you.” He snuggled into the blanket and yawned. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“You’re most welcome.”