Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother Chapter 147

The forest is alive with chaos. Boots crunching into icy paths, shouts echoing off the towering pines, people stumbling and catching each other as they slip on patches of hidden ice. It’s like a disorganized herd of deer crashing through the underbrush, and all I can think is that they’d be dead in seconds if this were one of my old missions.

The image comes to mind, clear as the snow around us—the deep, bitter cold of a mountain range, my breath coming out in tight, controlled bursts behind a snow-covered ghillie suit, the crackling of the radio in my ear, the weight of a suppressed rifle in my hands. Absolute silence. Footsteps deliberately placed to avoid breaking even the tiniest twig. Eyes sharp, ears sharper. One wrong move, one careless sound, and that was it.

I glance at the people around me, slipping and sliding, shouting over each other. Yeah. Dead in seconds.

But I’m not out there, I remind myself. I’m here. In a snowy forest with a girl in a pink scarf and mittens, not a care in the world, pointing up at birds and gasping every time she sees a squirrel scamper through the snow. I watch her for a moment, her cheeks flushed with cold, her nose a little red, her green eyes bright as she leans over to examine a print in the snow.

I’ve gotten so used to calling her my princess in my mind, but I’ve never meant it more than now. She’s a fairytale come to life, a winter queen in her white coat, her golden hair catching the sunlight, the soft pink scarf wrapped loosely around her neck. She didn’t have a hat, so I gave her mine. It’s black, too big on her, and looks almost ridiculous against all her soft, pretty colors. But it’s mine, and it’s on her, and for some reason, that does something to my brain I can’t quite explain.

She looks back at me, catching me staring, and I smirk, raising an eyebrow. She grins, her eyes crinkling at the corners, and turns back to the snow.

I could watch her all day.

We keep walking, the trees closing in around us, the air getting crisper as the lodge fades into the distance. Two hours pass like nothing, the sun a little lower now, casting long shadows across the snow. I’m fine, barely feeling the burn in my legs, but I can hear people around us starting to complain.

“My legs hurt,” someone whines ahead.

“Bro, how much further?”

“Let’s head back, I’m starving.”

I glance at Penny. She’s got a little snow clinging to her mittens, a few flakes caught in her hair. She’s breathing harder, but there’s a smile on her lips, a light in her eyes that I know means she’s still having fun. That makes me feel... good. Maybe too good.

The group starts turning around, people stumbling a little as they change direction on the icy path. I reach out, my hand finding Penny’s waist as she adjusts her footing. She looks up at me, her breath coming out in quick puffs, and I feel that same, stupid, possessive warmth I’ve been fighting for days.

We fall to the back of the group, the noise of the others gradually fading into the trees as they push ahead. I’m about to say something, something teasing about how her scarf is slowly slipping off, when I see it.

Small, delicate prints in the snow, off to the side of the path. My heart kicks up a beat, and I slow, my grip on her waist tightening for a second.

“What is it?” she whispers, her eyes wide as she follows my gaze.

I smirk. This is my chance.

I release her waist and crouch, my boots crunching into the snow as I study the prints. I reach back, my arm finding her again, and pull her down with me, my palm slipping from her waist to her hip as I guide her lower. Her breath catches, and I have to bite back a grin.

I point with my other hand, tracing the path of the tiny prints. “There,” I whisper.

Her eyes follow my finger, her hands flying to her mouth when she sees it.

A snow bunny.

Small, fluffy, white as the snow itself, its little nose twitching as it nibbles on something beneath a branch. Its ears perk up as the wind rustles the trees, its entire body going still, frozen in perfect camouflage.

“Oh my God,” she breathes, her eyes shining with pure, unfiltered awe. She turns to me, her face so close I can feel her breath on my cheek. “You found one.”

I don’t say anything. I just pull my phone from my pocket and snap a picture of her looking at it, her mouth slightly open, her eyes wide, her entire face glowing with childish wonder. I’ll send it to her later. Let her keep this moment.

I feel something twist in my chest, sharp and unfamiliar. I don’t let myself think too hard about it.

A shout echoes from the path ahead. Someone laughing, too loud. The bunny’s head jerks up, its ears twitching, and before I can blink, it’s gone, a white blur disappearing into the underbrush.

Penny lets out a little whine, her shoulders drooping. I let my hand slip from her waist as I stand, brushing snow off my knees. She pouts at the empty spot where the bunny was, then glances up at me, her face still flushed, her lips still parted.

I can’t help the smirk that pulls at my mouth. I used to track enemy footsteps, broken branches left by fleeing targets. Now I’m chasing tiny bunny paw prints for this princess.

I shake my head at the thought, a low, almost silent chuckle slipping out.

I really am losing it.

Then I see it.

A piece of sandwich, half-buried in the snow. Another one a few feet away, crusts chewed off. Further down, something that looks like bacon.

A guy up ahead shouts, “Yo, look! It’s that sandwich you dropped earlier!”

Another guy laughs, shoving his friend’s shoulder.

And then, as I’m still processing that, I see someone step off the path. Just a few feet, moving into the trees.

I’m about to call out, my gut clenching with that familiar, unwelcome instinct, when Penny touches my arm, her gloved fingers curling around my sleeve.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

I look at her, the smile still on her lips, the sparkle still in her eyes, and every muscle in my body tightens.

Bad feeling.

Bad, bad feeling.