“Let’s get moving then. She needs to get out of the cold.” The second man reached for her arm, but I pulled her further into my side.
Both men laughed. “A little protective are you?”
“No one touches her.” I was careful to avoid using her name. There was no reason to give them more information.
“Are you two a couple?” The first man asked.
“Yes,” I answered automatically.
She smiled. Despite everything, it felt good to say that, and I could tell it made her happy.
“Lucky man,” the one in the t-shirt mumbled.
“I know.” I tried to relax. Maybe I’d misread their early stance. Maybe they were just concerned about a young woman out in the snow. If these guys were the country bumpkin type they probably had very traditional notions about women. If we just played along with them we’d be fine. They’d want to get her home to her parents.
“Would you like me to carry you?” The second man asked her. “You must be exhausted.”
“No, I can walk.” She sounded distant. I’m sure the hunger, cold, and fear were wearing on her.
“You look like you might fall over.”
“If anyone carries her, it’s going to be me.” I needed to make sure they both understood how things were going to work.
The guy in the fleece shook his head. “You don’t look so good yourself.”
They were probably right. I was exhausted, but that didn’t mean I was going to let some strange brute pick her up.
She touched my arm reassuringly. “I’m fine. You’ve been walking just as long as I have.”
“Yeah, but he has better boots on. Why are you wearing those things?” He pointed at her pink winter boots.
“They look cute and are warm when they’re dry.”
“So why would you wear them in the snow?” He pressed.
“I wasn’t planning on walking around in them outside.” Her teeth chattered. “We were supposed to be going for a four hour drive.”
“I see. Well I’m glad we found you. Who knows what would have happened to you otherwise?” The men exchanged a strange look.
“We appreciate the help.” Mary Anne clasped her hands together in front of her. “We can compensate you for any expense.”
Damn. Was she trying to make us even more of a target?
The men exchanged another glance. “We don’t need your money.”
I changed the subject. “How much further is your—? Well, you actually never told us where we were going.”
“Our homestead isn’t far.” The first man looked off into the distance.
Homestead? That was an interesting choice of words.
We continued making our way through the deep snow. I kept my arm tightly wrapped around Mary Anne. Thankfully the men had stopped staring at her.
The wind picked up, blowing snow all around us. I wasn’t sure how much more we were going to be able to take, when we emerged from the woods into a clearing, and a large cabin came into view.
The second man looked over his shoulder at her. If I wasn’t imagining things he licked his lips. I tightened my hold yet again. Mary Anne looked hopeful. I hoped we were walking into safety and not a trap.
We walked further into the clearing that housed several small homes and one large cabin. The men headed to the large cabin, the one with smoke coming from the chimney.
The door opened before we reached the step.
“You found them then?” A tall man with a faint scar running down the side of his face stood in the door way. He looked to be around the age of the others—mid-twenties or so.
“Yeah, it’s just some kids. Their truck got stuck a few miles south.”
“Kids?” The man with the scar looked around me. He noticed Mary Anne and his expression softened. “Come in, you must be freezing.”
He reached out for her hand, completely ignoring me.
I was so busy watching the man’s interaction with Mary Anne that I wasn’t prepared when the first two guys started frisking me. “What the hell?”
“We have to make sure you don’t have weapons.”
I nearly said ‘you don’t think she has any?’ but I stopped myself in time. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to touch Mary Anne that way.
They led us inside before closing and locking the door behind us. We walked into what had to have been a hunting lodge of some sort. The walls were completely paneled in wood, and the sparse furnishings were definitely for functionality and not aesthetics.
“Are you all right?” The man pushed off Mary Anne’s hood, and she didn’t try to stop him. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.
She nodded. “We’d really appreciate it if we could borrow a phone. We need to call our families and have someone come and get us.”
“Unfortunately we don’t have a phone here, but you are more than welcome to stay until the roads clear enough that we can get you to the nearest town.”
“How long will that be?”
“We’re supposed to get another eight inches tonight, so it may be a while.”
“More?” I shook my head. “How can we possibly get more snow?”
“Are you from around here at all?”
Mary Anne nodded. “Well kind of.”
“Kind of?” He gave her a funny look.
“We’re from a tiny town a few hours from here in New York.”
“What town?”
She glanced at me. I shrugged. I didn’t know how she could avoid sharing the name. “Mayville.”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve heard of it. Then you should know that sometimes we get blizzards like this. We were due for another one.”
“They were predicting record snowfall this winter, but this is crazy.”
“The good news is you’re safe now. We have plenty of clothes, food, and places for you to sleep.”
She looked at me, and I nodded. What other choice did we have? “We appreciate you letting us stay. We will stay out of your way and leave as soon as the roads open back up.”
“There’s no rush.” He put a hand on Mary Anne’s arm but smirked at me. “You can stay as long as you need.”
“Thank you. I’m Mary Anne by the way, and this is Gage.”
“Nice to meet you both. I’m Hunter. These men are Chet and Falcon.”
Hunter? Seriously? The mountain man living in the middle of nowhere was named Hunter?
“Nice to meet you too.” Mary Anne looked down at the puddle of water at her feet. The snow coating our boots and pants was starting to melt.
“Let’s get you both some dry clothes.”
“Chet, Gage looks about your size, and I’m sure Marni has something Mary Anne can borrow.”
“Sure. Come with me.” Chet gestured to the door. “I’ll find you something.”
“We’re going back outside?”
“Just for a second. Think you can handle it, man?” Chet ribbed.
“Sure, but I don’t want Mary Anne going back out there.”
“She doesn’t have to. We’ll stop by and get Marni on our way.”
Mary Anne shook her head. “I can go with you.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Mary Anne understood that we had to stay together.
“There’s no reason for that.” Hunter put a hand on her shoulder. He really needed to stop touching her. “You still look so cold. Why don’t you just wait right over there by the fire?”
“Really, I don’t mind.”
“I absolutely insist.” He moved his hand down on her back. “Your friend will be right back.”
Friend? That wasn’t going to fly. Maybe this was the kind of guy who only responded to overt territorial behavior. “I’m more than her friend, so I’d appreciate if you didn’t have your hands all over my girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?” He took in a breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t get the sense that you two were more than friends.”
“Well, we are.”
“Is that so?” He glowered at
me. “I assure you I’ll take perfectly good care of her while you fetch the new clothes. She’s in good hands.”
“It’s okay, you can go.” Mary Anne touched my arm gently. “You’ll be right back.” Her eyes pleaded with me. She was nervous, but she also didn’t want to start a fight.
“Okay, babe. I’ll be back in a minute.”
She smiled. “Okay.”
I glanced over my shoulder before reluctantly walking out the door.
Chapter Nine
Mary Anne
“A little protective, isn’t he?” Hunter asked as soon as the door closed behind Gage. He walked toward the fireplace, and I followed, craving the warmth of the fire.
I tried to swallow down my nerves. I didn’t want to admit to myself how much safer I felt with Gage by my side. “He’s just looking out for me.”
“Looking out for you?” Hunter crossed his arms, accentuating his biceps. Every inch of Hunter was muscle. I thought Gage was big, but this guy was behemoth. “That sounds more like an older brother than a boyfriend.”
“He’s definitely not my brother.” I thought about all of the things we’d done in the sleeping bag.
“Is he your first?” Hunter rested his chin in his hand. He had such strong features that almost seemed out of place with his thick coat of stubble and dark, almost long hair.
“Excuse me?” I glanced toward the door. I hoped Gage got back quickly.
“Is he your first boyfriend? I find girls tend to sentimentalize the first man they’re with and get unnecessarily attached.”
“He isn’t my first, not that it’s any of your business.”
“I’m not trying to offend you.” He touched my arm. The guy kept finding reasons to put his hands on me. It wasn’t necessarily inappropriate, but it set me on edge. “I’m merely asking questions to pass the time.”
“Sure.” I looked into the roaring fire in the fireplace. I couldn’t deny how good the warmth felt on my cold body.
“Why don’t you take off your coat?” Hunter’s voice came from right behind me and his hands moved to my coat zipper. “You’ll warm up faster without it.”
“Oh, that’s okay.” I shivered. Where was Gage?
“I’m only trying to help.” He started to slowly unzip my jacket.
“I can do that myself.”
“Oh, my mistake. I thought your hands might be too cold.”
Really? He was going with that excuse? “They’re fine.”
“Do you let your friend help you with things? Or are you one of those girls who likes to do it all herself?”
“I can take care of myself, but if you’re asking about Gage, he’s more than a friend. I already told you that.”
“Actually you didn’t tell me. He did.” Hunter let go of my coat. “But boyfriend, friend, it’s the same thing.”
“How are they the same thing?” I slipped out of my coat before Hunter could do it for me.
“Neither are permanent. Neither means he has a claim on you.” His eyes bore into mine.
“I don’t intend to ever have a man claim me.”
“You say that now.” He smiled. “I have a feeling you’ll change your mind later. Besides, what makes you think that being claimed or not would be your choice?”
“Yeah… I try to stay away from people who force me into things.” I crossed my arms. Come on, Gage. Hunter was turning out to be scarier than I thought.
He seemed to sense my unease and back peddled. “Oh. I didn’t mean it that way. I just mean we can’t choose who we fall for.”
Hadn’t I just said that to Genevieve the other day? “That’s true.”
The front door opened and Gage returned dressed in dark corduroy pants and a heavy thermal shirt. He was accompanied by Chet and a girl who couldn’t have been too much older than me. She held out her hand. “Hi, you must be Mary Anne.”
“Hi. Marni, is it?” I relaxed immediately and accepted her handshake. There’s something comforting about having another woman around.
“Yes. I brought over some clothes for you.” She held a pile of clothes in her hand.
“Why don’t you show Mary Anne to her room so she can change?” Hunter gave her a look I couldn’t read.
Marni returned the look. “I assume you mean the upstairs back bedroom?”
“Of course. That is the nicest room in the house.”
“No need to give me a room. I can sleep on the couch or the floor.” I wasn’t putting these people out any more than we had to. The attention Hunter was paying to me was already making me nervous, and I refused to make things anymore awkward or feel like I owed him more.
“Nonsense. You’re our guest.”
“Okay, we can take a bedroom, but it doesn’t need to be the nicest one.” I just wanted to avoid an argument. Despite Marni’s friendliness, something was off about these people. We just needed to survive the night and get home.
“We?” Hunter turned his head slightly.
“Yeah. Gage and me.”
Hunter shook his head. “Gage will be staying with Chet.”
“What?” Gage said hurriedly. “Do you have a problem with me sleeping in the same room as my girlfriend?” Despite the situation, I got a thrill hearing him call me his girlfriend so nonchalantly. I knew he was only doing it to protect me, but maybe he did want more than sex.
“I’m afraid I do. She’s your girlfriend, not your wife. I owe it to her father to keep you in line.”
“To my father?” My jaw dropped. “Are you crazy?”
“I think I am being very accommodating to you both. I’ve opened up my home, and I will be happy to provide anything you need. That being said I retain the right to determine where you sleep.”
“Why do you care?” Gage stepped toward him. “You don’t want us alone in a bedroom for some religious or moral reason, sure, I can accept that, but what’s going to happen if we sleep out here on the floor or the couch?”
He crossed his arms again. “If you are more comfortable staying under the same roof, you are welcome to stay on our couch. However, Mary Anne will be in a bedroom. Do you really want her under the eye of other men during the night? I wouldn’t want my girlfriend to be.”
“It’s fine. And Gage, you don’t have to sleep on the floor.” I tried to diffuse the mounting tension between the two. Hunter was getting heated and that didn’t bode well. I had the feeling he’d prefer to kick Gage out in the snow anyway. I couldn’t let that happen.
“All right, why don’t we save ourselves from this testosterone-fueled, idiot argument and get you changed?” Marni linked her arm with mine. “Those jeans can’t feel good.”
“Not at all.” My wet jeans felt heavy as they clung to my skin. “I appreciate the clothes.”
“Of course.” She led me through the main living space and up a narrow set of stairs. At the top was an equally as narrow hallway with doors lining each side.
Marni pushed open the door to a large bedroom with a queen sized bed in the middle. A dark quilt was draped over the bed neatly. One dresser stood across from the bed, and a small bed stand stood next to it, but otherwise the room was empty.
“There’s a bathroom right through there.” Marni pointed to a door.
“Nice guestroom.” Considering we were in the middle of nowhere and these people had no phone, I wasn’t expecting a suite.
“Hunter likes you.” She leaned against a bed post. “He’s going to make sure you’re comfortable.”
“Oh.” I took the pile of clothes and walked into the bathroom. What could I say to that? I didn’t quite understand the relationship all these people had. I assumed she wasn’t dating Hunter, but maybe I was wrong.
“The underwear is brand new, I promise.”
“Ok.” The thought of wearing anyone else’s underwear wasn’t a pleasant one. Knowing it was new helped.
“I always buy a million pairs whenever I get to a mall to shop. I’m a little bit addicted to Victoria’s Secret.”
I hel
d up the black silky underwear and smiled. I wasn’t a big shopper, but I had plenty of friends who felt more at home in a mall than anywhere else. “Great.” I decided to take her at her word about their newness.
“I think there’s shampoo and stuff in there, but I brought over an extra razor in case you needed it.”
With everything going on she worried about me getting to shave? I wasn’t sure if that was more strange or thoughtful. I went with thoughtful. A girl with an addiction to nice underwear probably put a high price on smooth legs. “Thanks.”
“I’ll wait here in case you need anything.”
“Ok, thanks.” I walked into the bathroom and closed the door. I searched for a lock but didn’t see one. At least it was Marni on the other side of the door.
I quickly undressed and turned on the shower. The warm spray felt invigorating. I tried to wash off the stress and the cold, but not Gage. I never wanted to wash off Gage. I played it off earlier, but I was going to miss sleeping beside him. After two nights I didn’t want to sleep alone, especially not in this strange place. I decided to shave quickly, just to feel a sense of normalcy. After all the walking and two nights in the truck, I wanted to get as cleaned up as possible.
A few minutes later I turned off the water and wrapped up in a plush towel. Marni’s yoga pants were a little bit long on me, but I cuffed them and they worked fine. The tank top fit perfectly though, as did the powder blue sweater that went over it. I left my hair down after toweling it off. It would dry wavy since I didn’t have a brush. The warm wool socks were the best part. The heavy material provided a satisfying barrier from the cold wood floors.
I walked out of the bathroom. “Thanks for the clothes and everything.”
“No problem. I’m glad you guys came by.”
Came by? She made it sound like a social call. “We were lucky to find your friends. Otherwise we’d be frozen to death by now.”
“You’ll like it here. Hunter’s a good guy even if he’s rough around the edges.” Once again she talked Hunter up. I still couldn’t read whether they were involved or he was her boss, but there was something that made their relationship more significant than friends or neighbors. Plus, she’d listened to him like he was giving her orders. The other possibility was that he was a brother or cousin.
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