“It’s snowing again,” I yelled out as I flipped the water off and grabbed a towel to wrap myself in.
Jordan didn’t answer me, though. I suspected she had fallen back to sleep, and sure enough, as I entered the bedroom, I could see she was soundly asleep. Her arms were spread out on the sheets and her head tilted in an awkward direction.
Unfortunately, we were running out of power, and I had to get onto the roof and clear the snow off before it was covered again. Even a few hours of daylight could help keep things running through the next evening, and hopefully, I could get the roof cleared off enough that the new snow might slide off. Depending on the temperature, I sometimes didn’t have to clear the snow at all; it would just melt off and slide down the roof.
There were a lot of things I had to take care of around the cabin after a full day of neglecting them. I had my routine, and with Jordan around, I’d gone totally off track the last two days.
My wound was wrapped up nicely, and I easily slid my hand into my gloves. I put on the rest of my winter gear before heading out to clear a path to the shed. When I got to the shed, the door was mysteriously stuck, even as I pushed hard against it I couldn’t get the door to budge. I thought perhaps it had frozen shut from the melting of snow and then refreezing, so I went inside to get what tools I had that might help me get in there.
It really pissed me off that the shed door was stuck. I’d built that thing myself and couldn’t figure out why it would have been stuck. It was one of those setbacks that frustrated me so completely like the ones I’d had at the beginning of the building process.
With a flat head screwdriver in hand, I made my way back out to the shed again. I took my time to widen the walking path as I shoveled my way over there. After sliding the screwdriver up and down the door jamb, I pushed hard on the door, and it opened with ease. Something was off when I looked inside the shed, though. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but things didn’t seem like they were in the same places as I’d left them. It was an odd feeling, but I shook it off and grabbed the ladder and large extendable broom that I needed for the roof.
After clearing the roof of the shed, I steadied the ladder on the main house and got to work. The snow easily slid down the slope of the roof with just a slight tug. The only problem was there was a heck of a lot of snow.
“Caleb!”
The sun was out in full force when I heard Jordan open the front door and yell out for me. I was around the back side of the house but yelled back right away so she didn’t worry. “I’m just clearing the snow. Stay inside.”
“Okay.”
Jordan came to the back window and watched me from the bedroom as I finished clearing the snow from the roof. Luckily, the snow that was falling wasn’t sticking to the roof just yet, so I hoped I’d have enough daylight to keep the power running for the next few days.
“I’m coming in,” I said loudly as she looked on.
“What? You’re coming? Right there on the ladder?” She laughed as she yelled back at me, and I could hear her very clearly.
I just shook my head and laughed as I climbed down and came around to the front of the house. I still needed to check the water pipes outside to make sure they weren’t frozen and clear off the crawlspace into the cellar where I kept some of the canned food, but I’d do all of that later. For the time being, I wanted to be inside with Jordan again.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah. I’m going to take a shower, though, and I need you in here to turn the hot water on for me.”
“I’ll turn your water on,” I joked.
“Yeah, you will.”
We laughed at our playful attempt at flirting. It was fun having her there with me. She was a light-hearted girl that made me smile like crazy. I couldn’t remember feeling that happy for a long time.
“You’ll need to use your towel from last night. I only have two of them.”
“I thought you could just lick me dry.”
“Wow.” I stopped taking my boots off as her words radiated through me. “That was hot.”
“I’m teasing. I don’t want to be covered in saliva after showering.” She was smiling so big as she walked into the bathroom. “But stay close because you might get to see me naked again when you have to restart the warm water.”
“Okay.”
She had put a spell on me—that was the only way to describe how I felt around Jordan. Her playful smile as she shut the bathroom door reverberated through me. I stood outside the bathroom with a huge grin on my face; it was rather amusing to me that I was so smitten with her.
“Turn the knob and then press the button, right?”
“Yes, do you want me to come help?” I offered as I put my hand on the doorknob. Oh, how I wanted to go in and help her.
“No, I’ve got it this time, I think.”
Reluctantly I stayed outside the room. As I stood there, I thought I saw an animal outside. It moved past the window so quickly though that I couldn’t see what it was. I hurried to the back of the house to see if I could see the thing running off. It was always helpful to know what animals had found their way to my property. They always took off when I was outside, but I still didn’t want to be surprised by one of them lingering late at night if I had to get wood or something.
We’d been burning through the wood rather quickly, but I still had tons of it. We had some on the porch and another huge pile that wrapped around the shed. I expected it would last through this cold spell, and then if I really needed some more, I’d get to work clearing another tree as spring hit.
“I’m going to make that food I promised you,” I said as Jordan turned the water off without even a help from the cold water.
“You haven’t eaten yet?”
“No, I was doing chores outside.”
“Chores.” She laughed.
“Well, you know, all the things I have to get done.”
“I know,” she said and opened the bathroom door. “It just sounds weird to call them chores. But I get what you’re saying. Now we have something more serious to talk about,” she said with a firm expression.
“What?”
“What am I going to wear? I think I’ve got a few things in my bag. Would you mind grabbing it for me? Hopefully, I didn’t leave them in the tent. By the way … do you think I will ever get that tent back? I spent a lot of money on it. I know it’s no big deal, and I’m really fine with leaving it. I mean you saved my life …” She was talking so much that I couldn’t keep up with her as I grabbed her bag from near the front door.
“I will get it for you when I can. Don’t worry about it. We can exchange information, and I’ll bring it to you somewhere down the road.”
“That sounds like a great plan,” she said.
Jordan grabbed her bag from me, and we stopped to look at each other for a minute. Only one flimsy piece of fabric stood in the way of me seeing her deliciously naked body. I could simply move in closer to her, and I bet she’d drop the towel altogether, but I didn’t. Instead, I wanted to sit and talk with Jordan.
“Get dressed and then we can chat while I make some food; how does that sound?”
“Perfect.”
It was perfect too. Jordan pulled on a fresh set of clothes and sat at the table with one knee pulled up to her chest as I cooked, and she watched me. She smiled and looked at me as if I was the king of the world. I couldn’t help smiling back every time our eyes locked onto one another. It was this fun little flirting thing that was so cute.
“So, tell me how you ended up hiking in the mountains alone over Valentine’s weekend,” I finally ventured to ask her.
“Oh, we are getting into the deep stuff?” she teased.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I was just wondering. Please don’t take offense because I don’t mean it in a bad way, but I just can’t imagine a girl like you being single. Some dude must have really messed up.”
“Something like that.”
�
��Idiot, he’s a total idiot,” I smirked.
“Actually, I broke up with him. He’s a co-worker, but there was no spark there at all. This … this spark between us after just a couple days was ten times more than I had with him after months. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.”
“Yep, he’s an idiot still.”
“How about you? Someone broke your heart, right? That’s why you’re hiding away up here in the mountains.”
“Ah, this honesty thing is going to be a two-way street. Okay, I’ll give in. Yes, her name was Kristen.”
“Idiot, she’s an idiot,” Jordan said playfully before I could continue about my ex at all.
“So, you just came up hiking all by yourself?” I asked in an effort to distract from talking about myself anymore.
“I know,” Jordan said as she rolled her eyes. “It was a stupid idea. I don’t know what I’m doing, and I clearly shouldn’t have tried to go camping all alone.”
“Actually, I was thinking you were pretty ballsy.” I shrugged. “A little reckless, but pretty damn brave to come up into the mountains this time of year.”
“I’ve pretty much had a boyfriend since I was a teenager. There was a short period of time that I was without one, but I quickly jumped from an abusive teenage relationship into this thing with my co-worker. I just wanted to feel a little freedom, and the mountains seemed like a good place to get that feeling.”
She was letting me in on some intimate details of her life, and I was honored. She was strong and resilient for what she’d been through, but I wasn’t going to ask her for more details. I couldn’t imagine anyone being abusive to Jordan. She was so sweet, and the more I thought about it, the more it started to piss me off.
“How are you at poker?”
“Well, that’s a change of subject.” She laughed.
“I know; pretty smooth, right?”
“Not really.”
We were silent for an awkward amount of time while I cooked our breakfast, and she sat at the table watching me. It was uncomfortable to try and figure out what to say and not at all something I’d worried about before we slept together.
“Um, so the poker thing … do you know how to play?”
“That was a real question? I thought you were joking. Yeah, I can play. But I’m not playing strip poker with you. I need some rest from you.” She playfully smiled back at me, and just like that, the awkwardness washed away.
“Fine, we can play with our clothes on, this time.”
She was so darn cute sitting at the table that my water was boiling over before I realized what was happening. Jordan was definitely a distraction for me, a good one, though.
I finished making our coffee and French toast and sat down next to her as we ate. This time the silence wasn’t awkward at all as we laughed and joked about being stuck up in the mountains together. We were an unlikely pair, but it was so nice to be getting along with her, and I couldn’t help hoping the snow would continue so I could keep getting to know her.
“What if it snows for a week?” she asked as her eyes got big. “You’re going to have so many chores that you’ll miss out on because I’ll be distracting you.”
“I’ll just do them when you pass out from all the orgasms I’m giving you.”
“Touché, that’s a good plan.”
“I bet your family and friends are worried about you, though. I’m sorry I don’t have a way of reaching them. I’ve been thinking about getting an emergency radio that could call out, but I just never got around to it. I never thought I’d want to leave if it was snowing. I planned to just stay here and ride it out.”
Jordan looked sad at the idea of her friends and family worrying about her. I was instantly sorry I had brought it up. She started to tear up but then stopped herself and looked away from me. “My parents didn’t even know I was coming up here. Only my friend Emma knows. I bet she’s beside herself worried. She’s probably called the police and told my parents by now. Man, they have got to be so worried.”
“I’m sorry. But you’re safe. They will be worried, but you’ll be back safe and sound, so it will all be alright.”
“I just hate putting them through this. My poor father already has a bad heart, and my mom has her anxiety. This is going to be horrible on them.”
“I promise as soon as I think we can get down I’ll drive you myself. My truck is a four by four; we don’t need the roads to be cleared at all. I’ll get you out of here as soon as things settle down. Hell, I’ll walk you down the mountain if we can’t drive out if it comes to that.”
“No way, walking doesn’t sound good. Not after what happened with that cliff. That was so scary. One minute I was just standing there, and the next, I was sliding down the mountain without any control over where I was going to land.”
She was right, walking was a horrible idea. My truck would be able to make it through the snow if it melted for just one solid day. We could leave at daylight and take our time. It was still going to be crazy dangerous, but the way the weather was going, I suspected we would get a nice warm day soon, and the melt off would be just what we needed to get out of there.
“How do you feel about coming out and helping me work in the shed a little bit after we eat? I have some equipment out there, and we could get the radio up and running so we could hear what the weather is. It isn’t always very accurate for me up here in the mountain, but it is the National Weather Service, so at least we will know how the winter storm warnings are doing.”
“Let me check my schedule,” Jordan said as she playfully pretended to page through an imaginary planner in front of her. “I’ve got the whole day free. I’m all yours.”
“All mine?” I asked with a grin. “That sounds fun.”
“You know what I mean. Don’t go making everything dirty.”
“You’re the one who wants to be all mine.” I shrugged. “It’s you who is throwing herself at me. I mean please, I know I’m handsome, but you don’t have to be so much of a fangirl.”
“You’re killing me.” She laughed. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
Jordan stood up and went to grab a photo from my bookshelf. I knew exactly the one she had in her hand, and I was pretty sure I knew what the question was going to be too.
“Is this you with Ken Griffey Jr.?” she asked as she held the photo up to me. “That hair, no beard, wow, you were a handsome fella.”
“I still look like that.” I laughed. “If I shaved the beard and cut the hair, of course.”
“No way!” she exclaimed and began examining my face. Jordon stood right in front of me and held the photo up next to my face as she played with my beard. Her fingers made me tingle as they moved up to my hair and held it back from my face as she continued to examine the evidence.
“It was just taken two years ago or so.”
“Have you been growing your beard since then? It’s awfully long.”
“Yes.”
“When are you cutting it?”
“I don’t know,” I said as I stroked my beard and watched the quizzical look on her face. “I’ve never really thought too much about it. It’s just me being lazy since I’m up here.”
“I could cut your hair,” she offered. “If you wanted me to; I’m not suggesting you should cut your hair. I’m sorry, this is coming out all wrong. I just mean that if you wanted your hair cut, I know how to cut hair. A little bit at least.”
I had purchased a nice set of clippers for trimming my beard and possibly cutting my hair; I just hadn’t gotten around to giving them a try. Up until I met Jordan, there hadn’t been a reason for me to worry about my hair.
“You can cut it.”
“Really?”
“Sure.” I laughed as I saw how excited she was getting. “I mean my face will freeze outside, but I guess I could use a good haircut. My brother will flip out when he sees me next time. He’s always hounding me about my grizzly appearance.”
Jorda
n didn’t waste a moment of time. As soon as I handed her the clipper set, she was ripping it out of the package and setting up shop. She pulled the kitchen chair close to a wall outlet and grabbed a comb from the bathroom. She wrapped one of the towels around my shoulders and then decided it was best if I took my shirt off first before she wrapped it around me again.
“Okay, I’m going to cut it short on the sides and a little longer on the top. I’ll just trim your beard down to about a quarter of an inch … does that sound okay?”
“Sounds fine to me.”
I really didn’t care one way or the other, but I could see how excited Jordan was about the idea, and that was fun to watch. She was oblivious to me staring at her as she started to work on my hair. Each time she’d walk around in front of me her breasts were just inches away from my lips, and it took a lot of self-control not to reach out and nibble on them.
The new clippers worked like magic as she moved them up from the nape of my neck to about halfway up my head. She concentrated on where she wanted to stop and even grabbed a ponytail from the bathroom to hold the top of my hair up and out of the way while she precisely worked on the bottom.
It was an intimate and caring thing she was doing. I felt close enough to her to let her cut my hair, and she was concentrating so much that I knew she felt similarly close to me and wanted to do a good job.
“Okay, now I’m going to use the scissors on the top. Or maybe I should use the long guard and do it that way?”
“It doesn’t matter to me.”
“Um, okay.” She winced as she looked at my hair and tried to decide what would be best.
It was funny watching how seriously she was taking this whole thing. If I had been the one to cut my own hair, I would have just shaved it all off with the same size guard and been done with it all at once.
“I’ll use the long guard. I think it will end up looking better. Then I’ll fade the long and short areas together.”
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