by Jenna Brandt
Everyone turned to face them, and there was a mix of reactions. José seemed pleased to see them together, Matt seemed leery, and Britney seemed amused.
“Good, I’m starving,” Britney called out as she rushed over to the table and took a seat on one side. “I should have known it would be breakfast food—whenever you’re not on set somewhere, it’s your go-to meal to cook.”
“What can I say, I can’t help myself,” she teased with a laugh. “Stop complaining and eat up—you’ll love it, I promise.”
The other two men joined them at the table, taking seats on the other side. Everyone filled their plates with food and their cups with coffee. They chatted about the resort and the movie set as they ate, and by the time they were finished, everyone was exhausted.
“I’m ready to turn in for the night? Is there somewhere for us to sleep?” Matt asked, looking around.
“I have three bedrooms. The master is where I sleep with Siku. The second one has two twin beds, which will work for the women. The other room has a queen bed, and I figure one of you can have it and the other can sleep on the couch.”
“I want the bed,” Matt demanded. “I’ll pull my back out if I sleep on a couch.”
José raised his hands in the air in deferment. “I’m good with sleeping on the couch.”
Britney leaned towards José with an approving smile. “That was nice of you to take the couch.”
“It’s not like I haven’t slept on one dozens of times while going to college,” he joked. “It isn’t a big deal. I’m easy-going for the most part.”
“As long as you aren’t like that on a date,” she teased.
“Is that an offer?” he countered with a flirtatious wink.
“Only if you want it to be,” she bantered in return.
Nicole could hardly believe her eyes. She could swear that Britney and José were into each other from the way they were acting.
“The rooms are already made up with sheets and blankets. I would check them though for unwanted guests,” James suggested.
“Unwanted guests?” Britney shrieked out with wide eyes. “What does that mean?”
“Well, I just got here myself yesterday, and those rooms haven’t been used for a long time. There’s a chance any number of animals might have crawled in between the sheets and blankets to find a warm place to stay.”
“What do I do if I find an unwanted guest?” Britney asked in a frightened voice, as she twisted the end of one of her red curls in her fingers.
“You can capture and release it, or kill it—your choice,” James informed her.
“Those are my only two choices,” Britney whined with trepidation.
“Or you can call for me,” José added. “I’m just down the hall and I’ll come running if you need me.”
“Thank you,” she said as she reached out and patted José’s arm. “I appreciate there being at least one gentleman around here.”
“On that note, I think I’m going to bed,” James announced. “If the rest of you follow me, I’ll point you to your rooms as we head down the hall.”
Once everyone was in their rooms, Nicole was left with only her thoughts as she got ready to go to sleep. It had been a long day filled with disappointment, breakthroughs, and surprises. What stood out most to her, however, was her time she spent with James. She’d never met anyone quite like him. At first, she thought he was rather off-putting, but the more she got to know him, she realized there was a heart of gold below his surly exterior. He was a real man, in every sense of the word. From his strong, muscular physique, that was easy to see under his jeans and gray t-shirt, to his tough, confident attitude that he wore openly. He was the kind of man that could make a woman feel secure. The more she thought about him, the more she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have him kiss her. It was that tantalizing thought that was the last thing she thought about before she drifted off to sleep.
7
A scuffling and thudding noise from down the hall woke James from his sleep. He rolled over and looked at the clock. It read three a.m. What on earth could be making all that racket? Had an animal found a way into the house?
James let out a sigh, then turned over to look at Siku in her crate. “I suppose we should get up and find out what’s making that noise.” He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, threw on a t-shirt over his sweats, then grabbed the handgun from his nightstand. “You can never be too careful. If it’s a big animal, we’ll need this.”
He walked over to Siku’s crate and undid the latch, letting the door open. She scurried out, her ears pointed high and her eyes already scanning the area for anything out of the ordinary. There was a fresh sound coming from the other part of the cabin. “You must hear it, too.”
Siku barked twice, as if she were agreeing.
They left his room and headed down the hall. As they reached the end, the noise got louder. It also became clear that it was coming from the kitchen.
“Do you think a raccoon made a den under the deck and came out to look for food when we opened up the cabin?” James questioned in a whisper to Siku. “Do you think it’s a raccoon, girl?”
Siku barked again, ushering in a clatter from the kitchen, as if in response. “It’s definitely a raccoon looking for food. Be careful, Siku, because they are really mean.”
James raised his gun in his hand, then pushed the door open that led to the kitchen. Instead of a raccoon, however, he found Nicole inside leaning over the stove.
Her head jerked towards him; her eyes were wide with fright as they settled on the gun in his hands. “Don’t shoot,” she squealed in terror as she pulled the spoon out from the pot and held it out towards him like a weapon.
James quickly lowered his gun, embarrassed that he’d even pointed it at her. “I thought you were a raccoon,” he explained, lamely.
“The storm woke me, and I couldn’t fall back to sleep. I hoped a glass of warm milk might help me. You didn’t have a microwave, so I had to use the stove.”
“Completely understandable. I’m sorry I startled you,” he apologized. “Do you need any help?”
She shook her head. “It’s pretty much done now, but if you’d like a glass, I made enough for two.”
“I guess since I’m awake, it couldn’t hurt.” He moved over and pulled two mugs down from one of the oak cabinets, then set them on the counter next to Nicole.
She poured the milk into each one, and James reached up and pulled down a glass canister from a shelf. He added two scoops of cocoa powder to his own mug and stirred it in. “You want some? I prefer it to plain.”
She shrugged with a smile. “Sure; when in Rome and all.”
He added the same amount to hers and stirred it in. “I even have mini marshmallows if you want them,” he offered.
“Let’s not get crazy—that might be a little too much sugar for me in the middle of the night.”
“Suit yourself,” he pulled down the bag and tore it open, plopping in a handful of the white clouds into his cup. “I have a major sweet tooth, which is why I’m going to need these, too.” James picked up a bag of cookies in his free hand.
“Will wonders never cease; I wouldn’t expect that to be the case,” she said, as they made their way into the dining area.
They took seats across from each other and he placed the cookies between them. “Just in case you want to share with me.”
“You know, you dodged my question about why you’re up here at this remote cabin by yourself in the middle of a blizzard. You said it was a story for another time. Would now work?” Nicole asked, before taking a drink of her warm beverage.
James wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk about what happened with Melanie. Since her death, he’d kept his feelings and thoughts on the matter to himself, even when he was forced to visit the academy psychiatrist. Nicole, however, wasn’t from his world, and by confiding in her, he could vent, and it would never get back to anyone who knew him.
“Ne
ver mind, you don’t have to tell me. I shouldn’t have pried.”
“It isn’t that. It’s just hard for me to discuss what happened.” James rubbed the back of his neck with his hand as he tried to find the words to start with. “José mentioned that I’m a rescue officer with Disaster City Search and Rescue. I’ve been with them for over five years now, and before that I conducted rescues for eight years with the Colorado National Guard. In all that time, I’ve only lost a handful of victims, and most of them early in my career. I’m not saying it never happens, but I’d gotten used to having a pretty great track record of never losing someone. All of that changed a month ago when I was conducting a search with Siku, along with my fellow instructor and rescue officer, Ross Canter, and his K9 partner, Ace. We found the pair of missing skiers and were able to pull one of them to safety, but before we were able to bring up the second one, a snow slide took her.”
“Oh my goodness, that’s awful, James. I can’t even imagine how hard that must have been on you.”
“That’s just it, it’s not only in my past. I can’t seem to shake the memory of what happened that day. I keep reliving the moment I lost her, over and over again. I’ve tried everything to get it out of my mind, but nothing works. I think it’s because I failed her,” James admitted. “I don’t deserve to find a way to get past it. Melanie Price never will.”
“Wait, I think I read about that online. Didn’t that make national news because the woman you rescued was the daughter of the Texas governor.”
James nodded. “She was, and the woman I lost was her friend, but no one seems to remember or care about what happened to her. She deserved better than that.”
“You’re right; no one should be forgotten.” Nicole reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “I think it says a lot about you. Rather than bask in the glory of your high-profile rescue, you choose to secretly mourn the loss of the girl no one cares to remember.”
Nicole’s kind words touched him. It had been a long time since he felt like anyone understood him, but even though they came from very different worlds, it seemed that at their core, Nicole and he were similar.
“I just wish I could have done something more. If my partner, Canter, just hadn’t cut the rope, I might have been able to hold onto her long enough for the snow slide to have passed.”
“Or staying connected to her would have pulled you over the edge after her. I know you don’t want to hear this, but it sounds like your partner made the right choice. I think the—”
Before she could finish her words, the sound of breaking glass and wood echoed through the cabin at the same time a giant pine tree came crashing through the window beside them.
Nicole screamed, her hands flying up to protect her face from the debris. James grabbed her around the waist and yanked her away from the incident, diving behind the couch, momentarily forgetting that José was sleeping on it.
He bolted upright and glanced around in confusion. “What’s going on?”
“I can’t believe you were able to sleep through all of that,” James stated with disbelief.
“What?” José asked before pulling a set of earplugs out of his ears.
“Hey, are those mine?” James accused, grabbing the plugs from his friend’s hand.
“Does it really matter right now? Don’t we have bigger concerns?” José pointed out, gesturing with his head towards the window and the tree.
The wind was howling, and every minute that passed, snow flooded inside the house. José was right; they needed to do something about it quickly, or they would all end up freezing to death.
“What just happened?” Britney yelled as she rushed into the room and stared at the massive tree poking through what remained of the window.
“Did a tree just fall into the cabin?” Matt asked as he joined the group. “Can this day get any worse?”
“We’re just lucky no one got hurt. James and I were sitting right next to it.” Nicole shivered, and out of reflex, James pulled her closer to comfort her.
“We need to do something about that tree, or we’re going to get hypothermia with the snow coming in.” James stood up and moved over to inspect the damage. “At least it’s just the tip of the tree, and it didn’t bust the frame of the window when it came down. I have a saw in my shed that can cut the protruding part of the tree off so we can push the rest out. I also have some plywood and the tools needed to board the window up after we get the tree removed.”
“Is it safe to go out to your shed?” Nicole asked with concern. “We could barely see when we got here. How can you manage to get there and back safely?”
“I have snow gear, and I’ve trained in severe weather conditions for years. I’ll be fine,” James assured her.
“And he’ll have me.” José stood from the couch and moved over to stand by James. “You’re going to need a second set of hands to get all the supplies back to the cabin.”
The two men spent the next few minutes putting on their snowsuits, boots, and thick winter coats. Next they put on their goggles, then pulled the hoods around their heads, tying them securely. The last piece of the outfit was their gloves, the final barrier to the freezing temperatures outside.
Once they were ready, James picked up the snow shovel from beside the door while José removed the blanket before opening it. Snow poured into the entry, but James pushed back against it just as quickly. He shut the door behind them, tying the end of a rope to its knob. He attached the other end to his suit, and tied the next section to José, so they could follow it back to the house once they had the supplies.
José grabbed the other shovel and they both worked at scooping snow that had piled up along the path. Methodically, they made their way over to the shed. James opened the shed and they pulled out all the needed items.
“Is there anything else we need?” José shouted over the storm. “We don’t want to have to come back here if we can avoid it.”
“I think we’re good,” James yelled back. “Let’s get out of here.”
The duo headed back to the cabin and brought the supplies in, securing the door behind them and placing the blanket along the crack to keep the cold out.
“How do we do this?” Nicole asked as she came over to the window with Britney behind her.
“It’s really a two-man job, so I’ll need José to get on the other side of me.”
James placed the saw at the center of the trunk, but before José could take his spot, Britney came around and grabbed the handle. “Why does it have to be José? I think I can do the job as good as he can.”
“Sure,” James said with a shrug, “if you want to work on it with me for a bit. Here’s a set of gloves, and you’re going to want to hold on tight as we saw back and forth. We’ll start my way first.”
James slowly pulled the saw towards him. Britney pushed from her end, and at first, everything went smoothly as the saw moved back and forth, working through the trunk of the tree. Suddenly, the tree shifted on the frame of the window, causing Britney to lose her grip and stumble to the side. Her arm moved down, and the teeth of the saw clipped the side of her skin. She cried out in pain, grabbing it with her free hand.
There were gasps as blood started to trickle from the wound. James put the saw down and rushed towards his hall closet where he kept the first aid kit. He yelled over his shoulder, “José, grab a clean cloth and press it against the wound until I get back.”
He pulled open the closet and scanned the shelf, relieved when he finally saw the red kit with the medical cross on it. He yanked it from the shelf and rushed back into the other room where he placed the kit on the table.
“It’s going to be okay, Britney,” José stated in a soothing voice. “We’re going to patch you right up.”
James hurried into the kitchen where he washed his hands in the sink. He came back into the dining room, gesturing for Britney to sit next to him on one of the chairs. “I need to see how bad the cut is and decide if a bandage will work, or if you
need liquid stitches.” James reached out and gently took her arm in his hands. The moment he pulled back the towel, he knew instantly that the pressure of just a bandage wouldn’t do the trick. The gash was deep and jagged, already red and inflamed from the damage caused by the saw. “Stitches it is.”
He pulled out a couple of alcohol swabs, then glanced up at Britney, who was biting her lip. “This is going to hurt, but we have to do it to make sure it doesn’t get infected.”
She nodded, squeezing the edge of her chair with her free hand as she closed her eyes. “Just do it.”
James patted the area of the gash, instantly causing Britney to flinch in agony. “I’m sorry, I know it hurts, but just a little longer. When I am done, I can give you something for the pain.” He sealed the cut by gently squeezing the wound edges together with his fingers, then he spread the liquid stitches over the top of the cut from one end to the other. He wrapped the wound lightly with gauze, making sure to secure it at the top of the arm. “I think that does it. I’ll have to change the bandage in the morning and make sure there isn’t any signs of infection, but I think you will be okay until we can get you to a clinic.” For the first time, he looked up and noticed she still had her eyes pinched shut. “You can look now. It’s all over. There’s no blood, I promise.”
Britney did as he suggested and glanced down at her arm. “Thank you; I can’t believe how stupid I was for thinking I could do that.”
James shook his head. “What happened wasn’t your fault. If the tree hadn’t shifted on us, you would’ve been fine continuing with me.”
“He’s right—don’t blame yourself for this, Britney. You were giving James a run for his money right up until the end,” Nicole encouraged.
James handed her a bottle of pain relievers from the medical kit. “That could have happened to any of us.”
“I’m just glad we didn’t end up watching you bleed to death,” Matt said with a shiver. “There’s no calling 9-1-1 in weather like this.”
“We’re all on our own, which means we have to take care of each other,” James agreed. “Which means I need someone to help me finish with the tree.”