Who are you? Noelle mentally asked herself, not recognizing her own willingness to agree to something so impulsive. Her rash decision to go ice skating with someone she barely knew—no matter how rich, nice, or handsome he may have been—was only compounded by the fact that it was ice skating.

She'd done spontaneous things before. Once, she snuck off her parent's sailboat in the middle of the night by taking the inflatable dinghy from St. John to Tortola just to see a boy. She'd also picked up the violin on a whim because she thought it had a pretty shape. But never had she voluntarily—and especially not without any forethought—chosen to do a physically exertive activity outside. In the snow. On a freaking frozen lake.

"All set?" Nick asked as he skated towards her.

After the races, he'd picked up a couple of rentals before driving out to the lake. The sun was already setting, as it tended to do during the early afternoon hours this close to the Arctic Circle in the wintertime. He'd been right that they'd be alone. Everyone was back on the canals, and the frozen surface between the surrounding mountains and forests was completely empty.

Noelle finished tying the laces on her skate and stood up from the log she'd been using as a bench. "All set."

He held out his hands and took hers. "Just relax and have fun. I've got you," he said while looking deep into her eyes.

Noelle's heart fluttered at his sincerity. Not literally of course, but that rare, yet powerful feeling she'd only experienced twice before was definitely awoken. And it made Noelle want to run. Because both those previous times after she'd opened herself up to a new person and new experiences, her heart was eventually crushed into a million pieces. The only things preventing her from bolting all the way back to the inn were the two, thin blades on the bottom of her boots.

"Is this safe? I feel like it's about to crack right under us," she asked as Nick led her further in. The ice sang under them with loud gloop with every few movements.

"That's just the air bubbles moving around between the frozen and liquid parts. No need to worry. The surface is at least ten centimeters thick. There's no risk of falling through, I promise," he said, squeezing her hands in reassurance.

Again, she believed him and did her best to ignore the sounds. Soon they were drowned out by the more immediate whoosh coming from their blades as they cut fresh lines into the ice.

Noelle had skated before, but that was on rollerblades and at least ten years earlier. So she was pleasantly surprised to find that her basic skills were quickly returning. She had no trouble with her balance, and once she figured out how to propel herself forward, she was actually making good progress. She almost regretted when Nick felt he could comfortably release her hands and let her try on her own. But it was also the first chance she took to also look around.

"Oh, wow," Noelle said as she scoured the night sky. There was no photo pollution to drown out the thousands of twinkling stars, and the snow clouds had also disappeared to reveal an unobstructed view. But best of all, she was getting a light show that was only possible this close to a pole. "I've heard of the aurora borealis, but I never imagined that it could be so vivid."

"It's quite spectacular, isn't it?" Nick asked with clear pride in his voice. "Did you know that the ionized particles that create the colorful rays are so heavily charged that they actually crackle?"

Noelle laughed. She liked his occasionally bursts of local trivia. "No, I didn't. But that is very cool."

"The colors you get also depend on the altitude the phenomenon is occurring at," he said before letting go of her hands. "But enough of science. We're here for skating."

Noelle watched as he skated away before stopping and turning back toward her. "Why have you been spending your whole day with me?" she asked.

He smiled, a warm gesture that she had come to appreciate even in such a short time. "You're a guest here, and I wanted to make you feel welcome."

Noelle began to close the gap. "Does everyone get such personal treatment from the prince of Keskitalvi?"

"Hey, you got that right!" he exclaimed, before adding, "The name of the town that is. I'm by no means a prince."

"You didn't answer my question." She grinned while continuing to propel herself forward, but misjudging the distance, Noelle didn't leave enough room to comfortably stop. "Oh no!" she yelled, but Nick caught her before they both went down.

Huffing to catch her breath while his arms were still around her, Noelle looked up into Nick's face. "No," he whispered. "Not everyone gets my personal attention."

Time stopped. Right then and there, it was just the two of them in the world. Nothing else mattered. He was staring down at her, while she was gazing up at him. And for some reason, all Noelle wanted to do was kiss Nick Klaas. She only had to lift her chin just a little bit, and if he just tilted his face downward a tad, their lips could meet in the middle. She could already feel the warm touch, imagine the softness, and as she gently lowered her eyelids—

"Waah," the cry pierced the silence, and Noelle's eyes flew open.

"Was that . . . was that a baby?" she asked, reluctantly moving out of Nick's grip.

He turned his head, as if also looking for the source of the interruption. "I—"

"Waah." The sound repeated, proving it wasn't just their collective imagination.

Nick's eyes widened with shock as he grabbed Noelle's hand. "No, not a baby," he said as he began skating across the lake, dragging her behind him. "At least not like you're thinking."

"Waah. Waah. Waaaaaah."

Noelle did her best to keep up, but she knew she was just slowing him down as the cries became more frantic and frequent. "You go ahead. I'll catch up," she urged, releasing her grip on his hand.

She knew the situation was dire when he didn't object.

Her heart pounded from the physical exertion—the most cardio she'd gotten lately was from a spin class she'd quit after the second session right before Thanksgiving—and also from fear of the unknown. Someone or something was out there in the dark needing help. She had no idea what they'd find, but she was comforted by the fact that Nick was taking charge.

Noelle squinted in the twilight, trying to make out his form against the silhouette of trees on the other bank. Somehow her legs kept moving under her, but when his dark form suddenly disappeared and she heard muffled yells she couldn't understand, she panicked.

"Nick!" she yelled, sprinting closer. "Nick, where are you?"

There was a moment of silence broken only by her blades.

"Here!" he finally answered. "Noelle, I need your help."

Forgetting the cold, ignoring her breathlessness, and willing her legs to carry her, Noelle continued to follow Nick's skate tracks until he came into view. It quickly became clear why she'd lost sight of him because he was no longer standing upright. Instead, he was lying on his stomach adjacent to a six-foot diameter hole in the ice.

But he wasn't alone. Struggling in the frigid water was a tiny reindeer.

"Waah," the little animal cried as Nick tried to grab him.

"What do I do?" Noelle asked, feeling as scared as she was helpless.

"Even if I manage to get a hold of him, there's no way I can pull him out without assistance," Nick said, attempting to push his torso as far over the edge of the ice as he could to still have leverage and not fall in himself. The calf kicked the water with his front legs in an instinctive dog paddle, but what was keeping him afloat was also keeping Nick from being able to get a hold of his body.

"Do you need me to get down there with you?" Noelle asked, trying to brainstorm ideas if she couldn't be of better use.

Nick was obviously concentrating on the reindeer so she didn't repeat herself or press for an answer until the moment when the animal stopped kicking and began to sink. Nick took advantage of the brief reprieve—which could have easily been his last chance—and lurched forward, grabbing the front legs. He quickly wrapped his arms around the small body, but he'd been right. The animal must have weighed as much as he did, and physics was against them.

"Quick!" he yelled to Noelle. "Go to those trees over there and get a branch. At least two meters long and as thick as you can carry."

She set out in the direction he indicated. Luckily there was a whole collection of fallen and broken branches to choose from, but the one that appeared ideal was stuck under a much larger log.

"I can't . . .," she yelled across the darkness even while tugging at the branch with all her strength. "I can't get it out."

Nick yelled back, but his reply wasn't in English. The words sounded Scandinavian, but Noelle couldn't identify the language further. Worried that he was becoming delirious—perhaps from hypothermia thanks to lying on the ice—she was momentarily torn between going to him and working on getting the branch loose. But if she returned without the branch, the calf would surely die.

She knew she couldn't give up, but as Noelle gave the branch one more pull, it began to slide out from under the log as though an invisible hand was pushing it from the other side.

"What the . . .?" she muttered, squinting into the forest only to catch brief flickers of what could have been movement or just a trick of the light.

"Noelle!" Nick's scream was frantic and she immediately forgot about any distractions.

Pulling the last part of the branch out easily, Noelle returned to the ice as quickly as she could.

"I've got it," she said, hurrying to his side. Nick was breathing hard and it didn't look like he could hold on for much longer.

"Slide it out next to the calf," he instructed. "I need to transfer its weight over so we can pull it out."

She did as told, putting as much weight on the near end of the branch to keep it steady. With a grunt, Nick tried to lift the animal out of the freezing water just enough to drape its front legs over the piece of wood so he wouldn't have to struggle with holding its whole weight. But it was a no-go. He made another attempt, this time groaning even louder. The calf also let out a faint cry, but it was similarly unsuccessful.

Noelle was also becoming increasingly distraught and she felt herself on the verge of tears. She couldn't bear it if the small animal slipped back into the water. Every second longer it stayed in, the closer it got to death.

The snap of a twig followed by movement in the snow caught her attention. Looking back toward the forest, she saw the rustling of pine branches and feared perhaps another encounter with wolves before an adult-shaped figure appeared. Dressed in furs, the man emerged with purpose and confidently strolled toward them. Without being briefed on the situation or instructed on what to do, he kneeled next to Nick to help with the calf. Before Noelle knew it, the animal had been hoisted onto the branch, draped over it like a sack of flour on a saddle. As Nick worked to keep him from slipping off, the man helped with Noelle pull the branch in. After a few tugs, it was close enough for the two men to lift onto the ice.

Nick huffed in an attempt to stabilize his breathing as plumes of warm air escaped his mouth in the increasingly cold night. Looking at the stranger, he smiled. "I knew you'd come. Thanks, Mom."

This is my #NaNoWriMo2019 project and while I absolutely love all of my silent readers, I would LOVE to get your encouragement while writing this story. So please, please, please add it to your libraries, vote on the chapters (updates daily!) and leave me comments. <3

I love a good cliffhanger! And because I realized that we haven't even mentioned Nick's mom (and he has to have a mother, right?), it was time to throw her into the mix.