by C. M. Steele
With my blankets keeping me snug, I’m grateful that it’s a balmy, forty-two degrees tonight.
I only sleep four hours because despite it being unseasonably warm for winter, it's too damn cold, so I hit up the McDonald's on McClurg. The warmth is so good. I hide in the seating area with my food, searching on my phone as I wait for the bank to open.
It's eight when I slip on my winter wear and leave the restaurant, making my way to Chase. There’s a Seven-Eleven on the corner so I hit it up for some goodies and a map, grateful that they still make them.
Once I finally make it to Chase, the security guard asks me to remove my sunglasses. I’ve kept them on so no one will notice my black eye and bruised cheek. The teller isn't surprised I want to close out my account, but I'm guessing the big shiner on my eye is enough reason. "Do you need me to call the police?"
"No. I'd prefer you didn't. I'm getting away from a bad situation, and the longer it takes for him to realize I'm gone, the better."
"Are you sure?" I can see the sympathy in her eyes, but I don’t want it. I have to get out of here before my face makes the news as a missing person.
"I am. This is all I need." I take the envelope of money and leave. An idea comes to me, and I walk over to the teller and say, “Sorry, Marisa. There is something you can do for me.”
“Yes?” she smiles kindly. It almost makes me cry how nice some people can be when those closest to you couldn’t care less as long as you’re not an inconvenience to them.
“Can you please save this footage? Maybe print out an image of my face?” It’s probably a lot to ask, but if they report my disappearance, my father will look and then try to hide the footage of my black eye. I know it.
“I will,” she says.
“I might need it later. Thank you so much.”
“I have some family and friends in Montana if you’re looking for somewhere to hide out.” She writes down an address, and then slides the paper over to me.
“I won’t tell them who’s coming, but she’s my sister and a sweetheart. Take care.”
Thank you, I mouth. I slide my sunglasses on. I wait until I’m outside to look at the information. Even though it's only twenty degrees out, the sun beams down and is almost blinding, so I decide to check the note in the car. Walking back toward my vehicle, I see the beauty of Christmas all around. It's a shame that I can't stay.
Louisa Morrison 200 S. Maple Rd. Cunningham Falls, Montana.
Maybe I’ll make my way that way eventually. I don’t want her hospitality, but if she can help me find a job, I’d appreciate it. I'm extra careful in the parking garage just in case my dad has tracked me. I turned off the GPS in the car last night, and now, I leave my phone in the parking garage.
Jumping on the fifty-five, I take it to the eighty and drive out west. From the footage of the garage, it’s clear that I’m alone and left of my own free will, which isn’t illegal.
It’s just after rush hour, and since I’m heading out of the city I make great time, even with the icy roads. I'm halfway through Iowa when I need to rest and fill up on gas again. I do my best to stay out of the view of the cameras and pick up snacks. The worst part is using the restrooms that have seen better days, but I'm going to find a room when I get out far enough.
I've zigzagged through the state before heading toward Nebraska. I drop farther south and enjoy a couple nights on the road in the warmth. It feels good to be cozy when I sleep at a rest stop. Thankfully, it’s fully lit, but I can’t stay hidden here for long.
It's not the end of my trip because I'm headed north again. Three days of travel and I'm exhausted. I haven't heard anything on the news about my disappearance or sightings, which is incredibly good, but I’m afraid it’s not going to last. I bought a disposable phone for an emergency, but I have no intention of turning it on unless it's absolutely necessary.
Finally I reach Cunningham Falls, Montana. It's far north, colder than I want to be and definitely the last place they’d look for me. Anyone who knows me knows I hate the cold, so this is perfect for the time being. In three months, I’ll be twenty-two and my family inheritance will be mine.
There are no rooms available at the hotel so close to Christmas, so I'm stuck in my car. A part of me wants to contact the woman on the paper, but I’m too nervous. It’s foolish to travel this far north. Tomorrow, I'll have to move on. There's no way I'll survive this weather in my car. I pull off and find a spot that seems to have less wind and out of sight. Falling asleep is going to be difficult, but I keep my heat on and lights off as I pass out in my backseat.
I don't know how long I've been passed out when I startle at the knocking on the window. Oh God. Please tell me it's not my dad or his men. I peek out and see a man and woman younger than my dad, but at least a decade older than me.
I lower the window a crack to see what they want. "Sweetheart, have you no place to go?" the woman asks. I shake my head and answer, "No one has a room."
"You'll about die of hypothermia by morning. We're in for a storm soon. Follow us to our home. Is there anyone else with you?" I shouldn’t be this trusting, but she might be right.
"No.” My teeth begin to chatter. I step out of the car so I can move back into the driver's seat. I get a better look at them and they seem genuinely concerned.
"Oh my God. He needs a beating, whoever he is,” the man growls.
"Have you been to the doctor?" the woman asks. My face aches, but it’s because I’m not comfortable. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in days.
"No, but I'm fine. It's been days, and I'd rather not be asked for identification." A look of understanding comes over their faces.
"Well, follow us in and we'll give ya a place to sleep tonight."
“Um…” I don’t even know their names.
“Sorry. We’re all trying to get you to come with us without even knowing our names. I’m John Morrison, and this beauty is my wife, Louisa.” Oh my. Can she really be the woman? From what I can remember, they do have a resemblance.
“Would you have a relation named Marisa?”
“I do. Oh my goodness. Are you the one she mentioned?”
“I didn’t think she’d tell you my name.”
“No, she didn’t, but that she gave a young woman running from someone my address.”
“I don’t want to put you out. I’m just trying to get away. I hate the cold, so this would be the last place they would look for me.”
“My sister didn’t mention your name. Can you at least tell me your first name?”
“Ava. I appreciate any hospitality. It’s been a rough five days.”
“Of course, darling. Follow us.”
"Thank you," I stutter through the cold.
I follow them back to a nice house a few miles away that’s the address on the paper.
"Come in, Ava. Welcome to our home. I'm going to get you some blankets. The sofa is extremely comfortable and long enough for your tiny self." She walks quickly, coming back a moment later with a large comforter and a pillow. "You probably won't need these, but just in case."
"Our small children are with my parents right now, so we were out Christmas shopping and then we went on a date."
"I'm sorry that I'm interrupting your night."
"God, no. It's not a big deal. I'll just put my hand over her mouth,” John says, grabbing her waist.
"John," she says, slapping his arm. Looking at me, she adds, "Sorry about him. He has no manners."
"That's okay." I accidentally let out a yawn. "I'm sorry."
"No, we woke you up." She reaches up and touches the side of my face near my black eye. I flinch, then relax. "The bastard. I'm not a doctor, but even I can see that you're in a lot of pain. I do have some Advil or Tylenol."
"Either would be great." I sigh. "I can't thank you two enough for your kindness." She leaves the room to get the meds.
"So you're from Indiana?" John asks.
"I am, but I don't ever plan to go back. I need to find a
place to live temporarily." They are nice, but I’m not ready to reveal my life story. If she didn’t give her sister my name, that means they don’t know who I really am. Not that I’m special, but my dad is a famous Federal Attorney.
"Cunningham Falls is a fantastic place to live,” he adds.
"Do you think there's a place that is willing to hire under the table? I know that's terrible, but if my name is out there, they might come for me." I’m almost in tears. Damn it. I’m losing it. There’s a chill running through my body.
"I'm sure we can find something,” John says.
"Here you go, dear," she says, coming back with a bottle of Advil and water.
"I honestly can't thank you enough."
Louisa gives me a gentle hug. "Good night, Ava,” John says with a wink. Before she can say goodnight, he scoops her up and carries his wife upstairs while she giggles. I take the pills and then curl up on the sofa, easily falling asleep.
The orange sky wakes me up and I stretch. Standing up, I walk to the window to see the sun rise over the large trees. "Goodness, this is beautiful." The only thing that would make it better is a large cup of coffee. I sigh. They were right. There’s something about this place that feels like home. I can’t even explain it.
I stand there for another minute and then remember my clothes are in the car and I probably shouldn’t be a lazy bump on a log. Slipping my coat on, I walk outside and grab my duffle that I use as a personal travel kit. Once I freshen up, I fold my blanket and set the pillow on top of it, fluffing up the cushions on the back of the sofa. With a sigh, I grab my water glass and take it to the kitchen.
John and Louisa must still be in bed. As I wash out my glass, an idea hits me so I check their fridge. It’s Christmas Eve so I’m sure they have so many things to do, so making them a meal hopefully will help. I’ve rarely spent any time in a kitchen at home, but for the past three years in college, I’ve secretly had a job at a local diner. Perhaps I can cook for them. They have everything I need to make French toast casserole and eggs with homemade hash browns. I'm almost done when I hear footsteps.
"Good morning, Ava. You didn't have to make breakfast."
"I thought I should repay your kindness. It's your own food."
"Still, we were up late, and this smells so good. I'll start some coffee. Do you like coffee?"
"Yes, but everyone has their favorite strength, so I didn't want to mess up your preference.” My father would lose his shit if his coffee weren’t perfect.
“These men work hard, so the stronger the better, but John's off today. He'll be picking up our boys later." She flits around the kitchen effortlessly. It reminds me of my mother. I was only seven when she died. Those days seemed so long ago, but the emotion takes ahold of me.
"Oh no, dear. Are you okay?"
"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I just had a flashback of my mother. She would make us breakfast and moved like she floated gracefully as she did it."
"You lost your mother? I'm sorry. That's an awfully hard thing. My mother has our children, and I can't imagine living without her."
"What the hell smells so good in here?" John says, coming into the room. He nods to me, but then walks up to Louisa. "Good morning, beautiful," he growls, sliding his arms around his wife, and kisses her hard and fast, pulling away with a smirk. I smile, loving the scene in front of me.
“Our guest cooked us breakfast. It smells good, doesn’t it?”
“It does. Sit down, ladies. I’ll serve.” We sit at the kitchen table and he makes each of us a plate, bringing them together like a fancy server.
“Thank you, Mr. Morrison.”
“It’s John Morrison, but you can call me John.” We eat our food in companionable silence, and then he says, “You know, Ava. You mentioned a job yesterday. I think I have the perfect position.”
“For Tobias,” Louisa says, clapping her hands together with such enthusiasm that I’m curious about the job.
“Exactly. You’re reading my mind again, woman.” He bends down and steals another kiss.
“It’s a gift.” She tosses him a wink before sipping her coffee. “Besides, he could use someone cooking for him.”
“So who is this Tobias?”
“He’s my boss out at the Reynolds Ranch. The main house is about three miles from here. He’s visiting family for Christmas, but he’s a curmudgeon who could use a great cook. He can’t find anyone, but we know he’d love you. Besides, if he gives you shit, give it back. He’s all bark.”
“So you want me to work for a man with a bad temper?” I arch my brow and point to my eye.
“Sorry—Tobias is an asshole, but he’s never put his hands on a woman. He’s just grumpy about having things done at a decent time. The last one he fired hadn’t bothered cooking dinner one night. He got home late with nothing to eat.”
“Oh, was she sick or something?”
“Don’t feel sorry for the woman. She got fired for a good reason. I can take you over there today and show you around.”
“Isn’t he going to be upset that you are hiring me without his permission?”
“He’ll be happy the second he tastes your cooking. You can cook other things than this, right?”
“Yes, I worked at a diner in college and learned a lot.”
“Great. So he’ll be happy and that’s all that matters. He has a cleaning service, but he only needs them once a month now.”
“This sounds too good to be true.”
“Well, you haven’t met him yet.”
“I can’t really look a gift horse in the mouth. As long as my name isn’t being run in any system, I’ll do it.”
“Of course. I’ll handle all that information.”
“Thank you.”
After breakfast, Louisa and I head out to the grocery store, then to the ranch while John goes to get the boys. Thankfully she helps me with my makeup to hide the bruising.
“Oh wow. It’s beautiful.” The large double RR on the main gate opens and we drive down the main road to the house. The gate goes for a short distance and then there’s another that connects the barn and a few other buildings. After that, there’s nothing but open space in the distance covered in snow.
I come to a stop in front of a gorgeous farmhouse that has had renovations recently. A large swing sits on one side of the porch and then on the other side must be where Tobias sits. It’s a lone rocking chair and small table perfect for your coffee or beer. I should feel intimidated as I enter his home, but a sense of peace overcomes me.
“It’s a great house. I think you’ll like it here.” We leave the groceries in her SUV so I can properly tour my temporary home and job. She unlocks the door and leads me into an expansive foyer. Although in the country, this house has no rustic look to it. Everything seems more modern with a classical twist. The foyer has dark hardwood floors and a matching bench for putting on shoes.
“It is. Wow. I think I’ll like it here,” I repeat, nodding my head as I examine the room. “It’s a pretty clean entryway for a ranch.”
“That’s because he usually enters through the mudroom at the back of the house if he’s working with the men. His mom loved making her home beautiful. She always said what’s the point in working so hard if they had nothing to show for it. They were some good people. Now, this staircase leads to five bedrooms upstairs. There’s another bedroom down on this floor, and his office is straight down this hall. The living room is to your right and the kitchen to your left.
I let out an audible gasp when I see the impressive kitchen. The large island has a built-in U-shaped country seating nook in all white. The entire room is white except the stainless steel appliances and white and grey granite countertops. Two of the cabinets are see-through where the white plates are stacked neatly inside. I gasp when I see the large farm sink. It’s a dream kitchen. I pull open the drawers, learning where everything is. There’s a built-in lazy Susan with all the kitchen cleaning supplies on it. This place looks like it’s a showroom model and h
asn’t been touched.
Gosh, this guy must be a real piece of work if no one stays. Who wouldn’t want to cook in a perfect kitchen? I nearly scream when I see the double oven on the wall. Opening a door with the same cabinet design, I see a pantry larger than ours. My stepmother redid the kitchen in dark colors and turned our large pantry into a mini wine cellar.
I sigh. Despite being large, this pantry is almost completely bare. Luckily, I have some things to put away. Louisa was right to tell me to stock up. Well, at least I have a couple of days to prepare for him to return. She said he’d be back the day after Christmas in time for dinner. We go out to the SUV and bring in at least twenty bags stocked with all the basics for me to work with. The meat’s in the freezer out back, so I can grab that when I need more meat. There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of that in the house.
“I’m going to leave you now. I have to get home. You’re more than welcome to join us.”
“Thank you, but I’ve intruded on your hospitality enough. I’m going to just relax and try to rest a little.”
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. Here’s my number. The ranch hands are only down the path out the back door. If you have any troubles, call on them, although he doesn’t want them in the house.”
“Are you sure he’s going to be okay with all of this?” They haven’t told him about me yet. Something tells me he’s not going to be pleased in the slightest.
“You don’t have to worry about him. He’s an asshole to most people, but he’s all bark.”
“Thank you for everything, Louisa.” I give her a large, tight hug.
“I’m so glad you’re here. Take it easy. Another larger storm will be hitting tomorrow night.” Shit, I’m not looking forward to that.
“Is there anything else I need to know?”
“All of the emergency flashlights and blankets are in the front hall closet. Let me show you because I don’t want anything to happen to you.” She leads me out of the stunning kitchen and into the foyer again. There’s a white door under the steps that I hadn’t noticed. When she opens it, it’s a treasure trove of lights and blankets. “Everything you’ll need for the time being will be here. Once the power goes out, someone will rush down here to make sure you’re okay.”