A Quiet Christmas Alone...Kinda

by Misty Malone

  “You can keep telling yourself that if you want, but I think you know differently. The next time you do something as risky as going outside without proper winter attire, or driving recklessly on a snowmobile in an unfamiliar area, or stay in a cabin alone without food, we will be talking about it. You’ll be over my lap and my hand will be doing most of the talking on your bare bottom. Remember that. Now, is there anything else you need, or I can do for you before I leave?”

  She was still staring at him, with her mouth hanging open. It was the first time she hadn’t argued with something he’d said, so he knew his words had left her speechless. She looked to be in a daze as she shook her head, still not saying a word.

  “Okay, then I’ll be going. Call me if you need anything, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Before he realized what he was doing and could stop himself, he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek, and turned and left.

  Chapter Three

  Todd thought about Lucy as he traveled back to his cabin. The stunned look on her face as she stood there made him chuckle. She was cute, standing there. He’d love to be a fly on the wall in her cabin tonight. He knew she’d have a reaction of some kind once she got over her shock, and he had to wonder what sort of reaction it would be. Would she listen to him and take his threat seriously? He doubted it. She’d more than likely be pretty angry.

  He hadn’t wanted to make her angry, but he had to get through to her. Safety up here, especially during a blizzard when you can’t get out, is very important. He realized, as he thought about that, just how important her safety was to him. He didn’t normally go around threatening to spank ladies he’d just met. She was different, though.

  He’d only been serious about a lady one other time, but it hadn’t worked out. Mainly because, much like Lucy, she was careless. He knew he had a protective streak in him. He protected everyone that was important to him, but especially ladies. He looked out for his mother and two sisters, his brother’s wife, and any lady he did date. But this one lady had really brought out his protective nature. He’d told her things repeatedly in an effort to keep her safe, but she ignored his warnings. One night when he went to visit her, she was in the shower and didn’t answer her door. He’d been telling her repeatedly that she needed to lock her doors when she was home, and finally, just the night before, she’d said she understood and would lock them. He tried the door to be sure she had, but it was unlocked.

  He walked right in, and sat down on the couch and waited for her. When she was dressed and came out to the living room, she saw him and jumped, scared. As soon as she realized who he was, though, she brushed the scare off as nothing. He was upset that she still didn’t take it seriously, and spanked her, as he’d warned that he would.

  She was very upset with him and told him to leave. He tried to talk to her and comfort her after the spanking, but she locked herself in her bedroom, so he left. He tried for several days afterward to talk to her, but she wouldn’t answer her phone or door, so he eventually gave up. It was clear to him it wouldn’t have worked out between them anyway. He wouldn’t have been able to live with her lack of concern for safety, and he firmly believed a good spanking would make his point.

  He believed in comforting a lady after a spanking, though, and felt bad that she hadn’t allowed him to do that. That was a mistake he wouldn’t make again. He firmly believed a man spanking a lady he cared deeply about in an attempt to keep her safe was a form of showing his love for her, but the comforting part afterward was just as important as the spanking itself.

  He pulled his thoughts back to Lucy. She said she’d call him tomorrow, but he had a feeling she might not. She might not answer her phone when he called her, either. If she didn’t, he’d take a trip to her cabin to check on her. That could be an interesting visit.

  He went to bed thinking about the pretty little lady with the red curls, and hoping the next few days went well.

  * * *

  Lucy spent all evening thinking about Todd. She was very confused about her feelings toward him. He was very handsome, and had been a true gentleman. He’d come to offer his help, when she knew most people wouldn’t have. He went above and beyond what was necessary, taking her to the cabin on his snowmobile and charging the battery on hers.

  He was very patient, because even she had to admit that she’d acted horribly. She was really starting to like Todd, until he made that ridiculous comment about spanking her. Surely he had to be kidding. Parents didn’t spank their kids any more, and she was an adult. He had to be kidding. In the next breath, she somehow knew he wasn’t.

  If he wasn’t, that created a new problem. If it continued to snow, he would insist she stay with him. How could she stay with him, knowing he would spank her if he felt the need? If she agreed to stay with him, he wouldn’t have a reason to spank her, though, would he? As quickly as the thought crossed her mind, she remembered his threat. The next time she did anything he thought was not safe, or she was being stubborn, he’d try to spank her. Maybe that was the answer – she’d just have to find a way to not let him. But again, she realized that thought was pretty useless. He was a big, strong man. How would she be able to stop him, if he was determined?

  Then an idea struck. He said he’d let her stay alone tomorrow, so all she had to do was get to town tomorrow and get groceries. Then he wouldn’t have any reason not to let her stay alone. She was pretty sure she knew the path back down to the snowmobile garage now, and she could pick up the road there and take it back to her car. She had to admit that Todd was probably right about her car, though. If it didn’t make it up to the snowmobile garage, she’d probably never make it clear into town and back.

  But the snowmobile would make it, she was sure. She could take the road, but go by snowmobile instead of car. She remembered seeing one or two other sleds in the garage. People around here all seemed to know each other and were friendly, so she was sure whoever’s sled it was wouldn’t mind if she borrowed it, as long as she returned it afterward.

  Now that she had a plan, she felt better. Tomorrow morning after breakfast she’d take her snowmobile down to the garage, borrow a sled, and go into town for groceries. By midafternoon at the latest she’d be back to her cabin, with a sled full of groceries. Then Todd wouldn’t have any reason to expect her to stay with him. Problem solved. She slept well that night, plan in place.

  She woke the next morning, refreshed and eager for her adventure. She was anxious to be able to tell Todd not to worry about her, that she’d gone to town and had plenty of groceries now. She got the fire going better and let it burn while she fixed and ate breakfast. Next she brought in enough wood for the day, and got the fire banked so it would last while she was gone.

  She made sure she had her wallet, and put her boots and coat on. Admitting Todd had been right yesterday, she also put on a scarf Kenny had hung by the door, and grabbed her gloves. She started the snowmobile and headed toward the garage. It was cold out, and she was glad she had the scarf and gloves.

  She followed the path down toward the garage, thinking about how much fun it would be to tell Todd that she wasn’t going to his cabin. It seemed to be taking forever to get to the garage, probably because she was anxious to get going. After another ten minutes of riding, though, she started to question if she was going the right way. It looked familiar, but how different would one place in the woods be from another? She didn’t remember it taking this long, even going slow yesterday. And she’d hit a couple of pretty good bumps that she didn’t remember from yesterday.

  She slowed down and took a good look around. The more she looked, the more she was doubting that she was on the right path. There were three trees together that looked like they’d been struck by lightning. They were pretty obvious now, but she hadn’t seen them before. Looking the other way, she saw a thicket of bushes, possibly some kind of berries, that was so thick you wouldn’t be able to walk through it. She hadn’t seen that before, either.

  After looking furthe
r, she decided she’d veered off the path again somehow, so she turned around and headed back, hoping to find something that looked familiar. A few minutes into the ride, though, the snow was coming down fast again. She stopped long enough to clean her glasses off and adjust her scarf. She looked up, ready to go again, but she’d lost the tracks again. She continued on in the direction she was headed, until she saw something she thought looked familiar, and turned the snowmobile in that direction.

  To her dismay, though, she soon came upon a little clearing. She knew she’d never passed that before, so she turned and started in another direction. Nothing looked familiar, and she finally admitted to herself that she was lost. The only thing she could think to do now was to head down the hill. She assumed she’d come out on the road, hopefully somewhere close to the turnoff she’d taken to get to the cabin. Then she’d be able to get her bearings and follow the road to town. She was sure coming home she’d be fine. All she’d have to do is follow the road to the turnoff to the cabin, and she was pretty sure she’d see the building where her car was parked from the main road. From there she’d be fine.

  So she turned yet again, and headed down the hill. She hit a couple bumps, which convinced her to slow down some. She was doing better then, until she went over a little rise. The ground dropped off sharply on the other side, and her snowmobile did a nosedive into a mound of snow. Luckily she wasn’t hurt, but her snowmobile was stuck. She tried pulling it out, but it wasn’t budging. If she could get it to back up just a little, maybe the front wouldn’t be buried so deep and she could pull it out. She started it again, hoping if she couldn’t back it up any, maybe she could at least move it a little bit in any direction, but it wasn’t moving an inch.

  Frustrated, she sat down in the snow and tried to think. She knew she had to do something. It was getting colder and colder, and she couldn’t just stay there. Her main problem was she had no idea where she was. She walked up to the top of the little rise she’d just gone over and looked around, but couldn’t see any sign of a road or a house.

  Her only other thought was to try to dig the snowmobile out of the drift it was in and get it running again. She set to work doing just that. She’d dig a while, then start the machine and try to move it. When it didn’t move, she’d turn it off and dig some more.

  * * *

  Todd woke up still thinking about Lucy. He looked outside and saw the snow coming down, and knew they wouldn’t be going anywhere yet today. He tended to his fire and brought in enough wood for the day. After breakfast he went into the living room to watch TV and let his mind wander. That’s when he did his best thinking, and he did want to decide about his future. He was pretty sure he wanted to quit and move out of the city to a smaller town, but he needed to think it through a little more. He was well aware of the things that would be better, but to be true to himself, he needed to think about what all he would be giving up.

  First on the list was salary. He knew he wouldn’t make as much money working for a smaller company. Money wasn’t a big issue to him, but there were other things he’d be giving up when he left the big firm. He’d gotten to work on a few major projects that were very interesting to him, and he knew big projects were usually given to big firms, and that was one thing he would miss.

  He decided to get some paper and a pen and list the things he would be giving up. Somehow, when he could read what was written in front of him it had more meaning. He got up and went to the kitchen for the paper. When he passed the window the snow once again caught his eye. The falling snow was beautiful, and he loved looking out at it, as long as he was home, with everything he’d need for several days and knew he didn’t have to go anywhere. It was somehow relaxing to him.

  His coat was on a hook by the door, and he shrugged into it and stepped outside on the porch. The snow was not only beautiful to watch, but he always loved the way it made the air smell so fresh and clean. A few minutes of that fresh air would help clear his mind so he could think, he was sure.

  He stood outside enjoying the sights and smells for several minutes. He turned to go back inside, when he heard something. He turned to look again and listen. There was definitely someone or something out there, but he couldn’t quite make out what the noise was. He listened again closely. It sounded like a vehicle of some kind being revved up. Who could be out here in this – he stopped. He only knew of one other person in this area right now. Surely she wouldn’t – he stopped again. Yes, she would.

  He took out his cell phone and called her. It rang and rang, eventually going to her voice mail. “Hey, Lucy, this is Todd. Please call me back when you get this message. I hear something outside, and I just want to be sure you’re safe.”

  He waited a couple minutes, but the phone never rang. He tried calling her again, but it went to voice mail again. He listened until he heard the noise again. This time he was sure it was a vehicle, more than likely a snowmobile. He hurried back inside. If Lucy or anyone else was stuck outside in this, they’d be cold, maybe dangerously so. He poured the pot of coffee he’d just made into a thermos, and grabbed a couple heavy blankets, a couple pairs of gloves and scarves, and headed for the door. He put on his boots, hat, gloves and scarf, then grabbed his first aid kit from the kitchen cabinet and ran to his snowmobile.

  He was glad he’d left the sled attached, and easily dumped the snow off. He loaded his gear, and grabbed a couple shovels from his garage to add to his pile of things, and quickly headed off in the direction of the sound. He stopped every so often until he heard the sound again, to be sure he was heading in the right direction.

  He thought he should be getting close, but when he stopped and listened, he didn’t hear anything. That was not good. He yelled, “Hello? Is anybody out there?” He didn’t hear a reply. He yelled again, and listened carefully.

  Finally, he heard a faint, “Over here. Help!”

  A few minutes later he found Lucy, sitting beside her snowmobile, huddled in a ball, her arms wrapped around her legs. Her jeans were wet, and she had a scary look on her face. “Lucy,” he said, running to her. He grabbed one of the blankets and wrapped it around her immediately. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

  “I’m so cold,” she said very softly.

  “I know, honey,” he said, rubbing her arms over the blanket. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

  “I don’t think so,” she whispered. “But I’m so cold.”

  He quickly got the other blanket, and a pair of gloves and a scarf. He laid the blanket down on the ground beside her, and picked her up and sat her on one end of the blanket. He sat down beside her and wrapped the rest of the blanket around them both. It was a big blanket, and he was able to wrap it around them, like a cocoon. He wrapped it around them both so that his body heat would be included in the cocoon, and could help warm her.

  He adjusted the other blanket he’d wrapped around her, making sure it was covering her. He took her wet gloves off and used his breath to warm her hands up a bit before putting dry gloves on her. He got out the coffee and poured a cup and held it up so she could take a few sips. He could tell by the look on her face the hot liquid helped. He encouraged her to drink more. When she didn’t want any more, he wrapped the scarf around her face, leaving small openings for her nose and eyes. He then pulled her to him, hoping to transfer some of his body heat to her, and assure her that she’d be okay.

  He held her like that, talking to her softly, telling her she’d be okay now, until he could tell she was warming a little. “Are you feeling any better yet, Lucy?”

  “A little, yes,” she said. It was still a soft voice, but it sounded much better than the last time she’d spoken. “Thank you, Todd. I was so glad to see you.”

  “I’m glad I found you,” he said, and left it at that. He’d have much more to say, but that could wait. He continued to rub her arms and legs, while talking softly to try to soothe her with his voice. He gently started asking her a few questions, so he could judge how she was. She started answering and he was ab
le to satisfy himself that she was coherent.

  “Honey, we need to get you back inside in front of a fire. Do you feel up to riding on my snowmobile?”

  “What about mine?”

  “I’m going to turn yours off and it will be fine right where it is for now. Once I know you’re okay, I can come back and pull it out and tow it back. First, though, I need to get you warmed up. If you think you’re ready, I’ll put you in front of me on mine, and wrap the blankets around you. I’ll have my arms around you so you’ll be safe; you won’t have to hold on real tight. Do you think you’re up for that now?”

  “Yeah, I think so. A warm cabin sounds wonderful, and a hot bath.”

  “A warm bath maybe, but you’re not ready for a hot bath yet.” He didn’t bother to explain, just helped her up and onto his snowmobile. He made sure she was wrapped as well as he could manage, and got on behind her. The fact that she never objected when he took her to his cabin instead of hers told him just how cold she was.

  He quickly got her inside, and sat her down on the floor in front of the fireplace. “Stay here, I’ll be right back. He returned less than a minute later with a pair of sweat pants, a sweatshirt, and another blanket. He started unwrapping her as he spoke. “We have to get you out of these wet clothes and dried off. These clothes will be big on you, I know, but they’ll have to do for a bit. At least they’ll be dry. Once we get you into them, I’ll put your clothes in the dryer.”

  Without saying much else, he went to work. He unwrapped her and quickly unfastened her jeans. “Todd, no. You can’t do that.”

  “Yes, I can, Lucy. I’m not going to take advantage of you. You need to get out of those wet clothes so we can get you warmed up.”

  “I can do it, if you go in the other room.”

  “No, honey, you can’t. Have you tried moving your fingers yet?”

  She had a startled look on her face as she looked at her fingers. He could see them moving a little, but he knew from experience that it would take a little time for her to be able to move them much. She had a panicky look on her face, so he tried to reassure her. “You’ll be fine, I promise. There’s no frostbite yet, but you’re really close to it. They’ll be fine, but it will take close to an hour before you’ll be able to move them like normal again. We can’t wait that long to get these cold, wet clothes off you, though, or you will have frostbite in other places.”