Mail Order Nanny (Book 3 of the Amory's)

by Hestand, Rita

  She pushed herself up from the snow, and zipped her coat all the way up to her chin. Her gloves were full of snow and she immediately dusted them. Although her hands were so stiff she could barely put them on.

  Finding herself in one piece, she began to look about. Snow covered everything now; it was coming down so heavy.

  She couldn't worry about the car now. If she survived this, then she would worry.

  She reasoned she had done a ninety degree turn, so the direction she was walking was to the north, which meant the storm would be in her face.

  With a sigh, she began her trek. She kept her mind running at full blast for losing consciousness would be the greatest danger. So she talked to herself, and she picked up her pace.

  The car was totally out of sight now, and only an amber glow from the ledge would remind her where it was. Still, the stark reality that had she remained inside just a little longer, she would be down there with it.

  She hummed a tune, to help her keep pace. The first mile wasn't bad, and she knew she was making headway. The biggest problem was no one lived along this road after Kasie's house.

  "I'll go to her house…its closer, yes. Only about three and half miles."

  But those three and a half miles seemed much longer. The snow was so heavy only a dark grayness settled in on her. No lights shone about, except the amber glow from where she came. The gray dull of the day seemed to interfere with her attitude.

  Breathing became harder. She stopped to rest, and had the biggest urge to just lie down and go to sleep until someone rescued her. Her exhaustion overcame her better thinking. However, she'd read on the internet that sleeping in the cold could be the end of you. She blinked hard, and pushed her pace up for a minute then finally stopped and dropped to her knees.

  "I've got to keep moving."

  She jerked herself up. Her hands were stiff and almost frozen. Her nose hurt, breathing in what seemed like pure ice. Her eyes were trying to close on her.

  Her legs were stiff and just walking became difficult.

  "It's not that far." She laughed at herself.

  "I've got to get home, I have laundry to do. I have supper to plan," she said aloud then looked about to see if anyone was around.

  Somehow she'd wandered off the road, but she heard a noise.

  She looked about and at first it was a tiny noise but through the quiet she heard it.

  Suddenly, down from where she stood was a big vehicle. It was a snow plough.

  Oh God, she had to get down there. How had she managed to get off the road?

  She tried to run, but her body wouldn't move that quickly. She tried to slide down the small hill she found herself on, but found that she kept running into obstacles. She stood up and yelled and jumped in the air. Nothing happened, the plough kept moving away from her.

  But by the time she made it down the incline, the vehicle was gone. Gone! She couldn't even see the head lights anymore.

  She turned her flashlight on, hoping to signal the man if he ever looked in his rearview.

  Nothing.

  She was alone again.

  She felt a tear freeze on her face and block her vision for a moment.

  A swift pain hit her insides. She was going to die out here.

  The urge to give in to the cold hit her. What if she just lay down and went to sleep? Sleep sounded good.

  She suddenly heard a noise again, but she couldn't tell where it was coming from. She glanced around and saw nothing, but it got louder. Then she saw it. It was a helicopter.

  She ran out in the clearing and started waving. But the helicopter was rising, not lowering. They didn't see her. Like the plough it just kept on going, away from her.

  Another tear escaped. Another tear froze.

  "I've got to keep walking."

  She nodded. "Okay, I'm just going to walk until I can't any more. That's all there is to it."

  It seemed like hours. Hours of a closing in darkness surrounding her. Hours of snow, nothing but snow.

  She followed the ruts in the road that the vehicle had made, realizing it was some kind of snow plough that was smoothing the road out. She cursed under her breath.

  "Quit being such a baby. You can make a silly five miles, easy. You are in good shape. You've got a coat, good boots, and a ski mask."

  Suddenly, it all seemed funny and she laughed.

  But it got harder and harder to move. She was so stiff. She felt almost as though if she moved her legs much more they would just bust and fall away from her. Breathing was harder; it seemed everything in her nose was frozen.

  Finally, she came to her last straw. She realized that putting one foot in front of another was just too much. Her eyes blurred, her hands were numb. She would just sit and rest a few minutes then be on her way. That's all she needed, was rest.

  Her mind began to shut down, as her eyes closed, she huddled against a tree and didn't fight the urge to sleep any longer.

  Chapter Eleven

  "Dammit, can't this thing go any faster?" Tanka cursed his brother's old truck.

  "Yeah, but in this kind of weather I don't push it." Chayton glanced at his brother. "We'll find her. Stop your worrying. A month ago, you couldn't stand the thought of someone taking care of your kids. Now…what's this, real concern?"

  "Annie is a very real person. She's totally honest, totally caring. How could I not like her? I had a feeling something was about to happen this morning. I should have just told her to keep the kids home. I shouldn't have let her go in this kind of weather, but of course it didn't start until around six this morning, so I didn't know in time. She really has a time with that car. I should have gotten rid of it sooner," Tanka was saying. His constant banter had Chayton staring at him.

  "Hey, it's all going to be alright," Chayton assured him. "I'm sure we'll find her."

  "Yeah, but will we find her in time?" Tanka shook his head.

  "We're getting closer to the bus stop. Keep your eyes peeled. We don't know if she had car trouble, or if she is on foot, or what…" Chayton's voice cracked a little, making Tanka glance at him.

  "You're worried too, aren't you?" Tanka frowned.

  "This isn't the best of conditions for a woman who isn't experienced in this kind of weather. But surely she bundled up." Chayton tried to sound positive.

  Tanka nodded as though he were thinking about it. "Yeah, she would have bundled up. And she'll be wearing those boots I insisted she buy. But if she's walking…"

  "If she is, we'll find her. We're good at search and rescue, remember little brother?" Chayton laughed.

  "Yeah, I remember that airplane we found and the people in it. Looking back I don't even know how we found the darn thing," Tanka recalled.

  Chayton glanced at his brother. "Okay, we're at the bus stop. There's no car, no Annie. So, let's double back and start really searching."

  "We don't even know what to look for."

  "Something unusual, out of place, or a sign she might have left. We'll go it in the car as far as we can, but we might have to take out on foot."

  Tanka tensed. Not finding the car was not a good sign. Determined to find her though, he began looking through the woods and along the road. The snow had covered car tracks and it would be hard to figure what went wrong. That is until they spotted the slight glow of a fire and smoke rising just above the cliff.

  Tanka's face went ashen white. Had Annie gone over the cliff? He couldn't dare allow himself to think it. But when he pointed to it and Chayton stopped, they both got out of the car and ran to the ledge.

  Tanka felt himself go rigid. He wasn't sure his heart was beating. She couldn't be dead? Not this! Tanka didn't want to admit what he saw there. His car burnt and crashed into nothingness, fire still coming from the scene. Smoke billowed lightly now, as though it happened hours ago.

  "We've got to get down there and check it out," Chayton insisted.

  Tanka shook his head in complete frustration. His face was screwed up in tortured emotions.
"I can't…I can't go down there and find her dead. I just can't do that. What would I tell the girls? This would break their hearts."

  Chayton looked at his brother. After a long moment of silence he nodded. "And yours too…?"

  Tanka stared at his brother. "Maybe," he admitted.

  "Okay, I'll go. Why don't you take a look around, maybe she got out of it before…"

  Tanka nodded but the torture of not knowing was fast overcoming him.

  With Gina's death, it wasn't something he had to witness, her plane went down and all he had to do was identify her. But this…he couldn't face the fact that he had practically led Annie to her death, himself. He knew he should have gotten rid of that car. And he certainly couldn't tell his children. If Annie had turned around and was coming home, then his children were fine at school, because there had been no accidents involving school busses. But Annie…

  He was tossing the thought of her death around in his head and suddenly he realized just how much this woman had come to mean to him in such a short time. She'd been such a breath of fresh air, after mourning his Gina so long. But he had treated her badly.

  "God…I'm sorry. Don't let her be dead. Please. There is so much I have to make up for. Just don't let her be dead," he cried and a tear fell down his cheek.

  Chayton came up the incline, out of breath and his cheeks were a rosy red. "She's not down there, bro." He glanced at his paralyzed brother.

  Tanka turned around and didn't seem to care that there were tears in his eyes. "Are you sure?"

  "I checked all over, the car, the incline, everywhere. She wasn't in the car."

  "Thank God," Tanka murmured.

  Chayton stared at his brother and patted him on the shoulder as he gave him a hug. "Okay, this means she's out here somewhere, and we've got to find her before it's too late."

  Tanka nodded, unable to say another word.

  "We'll do like we did at the plane site; we'll spread out, take both sides of the road and search. Have you got your phone on you?"

  Tanka nodded.

  "She's not on the road or we'd have seen her," Chayton said dully.

  "Give me a ring if you find her."

  Tanka took one side of the road and Chayton the other. As he looked for signs of her with a flashlight, he kept praying she was all right. In this weather, he wasn't sure. But at least there was hope again. The relief that coursed through him when Chayton came up the hill made his heart lurch in his chest.

  But the daunting truth was, she could be lying somewhere, frozen too.

  His nostrils froze, and his legs began to stiffen, he knew if he did find her, she wouldn't be in very good shape.

  An hour passed and the hope of finding her alive began to fade. Tanka felt his heart harden again against the pain of death. He had to find her. He had to keep trying. He had to think positive. She had to be alive.

  Then he saw something in the distance. A dark form in the snow, against a tree. He flashed his light, but he couldn't tell for sure, snow had half covered whatever it was.

  He moved as though his legs were operating at full capacity. His heartbeat quickened.

  When he got there, he brushed the snow away and there… was Annie.

  But she was so stiff and so close to death he was scared. He turned her over and looked at the ski mask she wore. Gently, he removed it. He shook her gently.

  "Annie, come on now, wake up…" he instructed.

  She didn't move.

  "Annie…don't you go and die on me…" His voice was rough and raw with emotions he couldn't admit to.

  When he got nothing, he put his mouth to hers and breathed into her. The first time there was no reaction. The second, she began to move…

  "Annie," he gasped with delight. And then he kissed her hard and long, until she moaned into his mouth.

  When he moved away, she was staring up at him. She moaned again this time louder.

  "Come on, we're going home…" he said, as his lips touched her cheek gently.

  He dialed his phone and when Chayton answered he almost shouted. "She's alive!"

  "On my way, bro. Thank God."

  Then gently he picked her up and carried her toward Chayton who was moving from the opposite side of the road. Chayton smiled when he saw them together. "I'll go get the truck."

  Tanka nodded. "She's pretty frozen. I can't tell if she's got any injuries."

  "We'll have to take her to your house; I doubt I could get down the mountain to the hospital."

  Tanka nodded.

  He glanced down at her and smiled. "You're going to be all right."

  "I'm so sleepy…" she barely breathed.

  "Don’t go to sleep yet. Wait…I'll get you home and warm you up slowly and then you can sleep," he whispered near her ear, his face serious. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

  "Right now I’m so numb I wouldn't know, so I'm not sure. As far as I know I'm not injured," she whispered. "I got out of the car…before…"

  "Good." All the tension in him drained away.

  "But the car…"

  "Don't worry about the car. I'm just glad I found you…"

  Chayton brought the truck around and they set Annie between them. She leaned against Tanka. Chayton drove them home, and he helped carry her inside and helped Tanka build a fire.

  They laid her on the couch. "She has no color at all. And if she warms up too fast, she could be in a lot of pain. Be sure and check for frostbite," Chayton told Tanka.

  Tanka nodded.

  "First, you need to completely thaw out and then you'll need to change into some clothes that are warmer," Tanka said as he brought a blanket to cover her with.

  "We can't do this too quickly. So try to stay calm, and don't go to sleep yet." He smiled down into her pale face.

  "I just want to sleep forever…"

  "Later…"

  He nodded and kissed her on the nose.

  "Look, I'm going home. I'll get the kids from school as soon as I can and probably keep them over at my house until this storm breaks. No use getting out in it any more than I have to tonight. Do you need anything?" Chayton asked.

  "I'll call you if I do, thanks bro," Tanka said and grabbed his brother. "I'll check her for frostbite and if there is any problem I'll call the doctor, but I doubt anyone can make it up here in this weather. Just get home and check on your bunch. And thanks for keeping the girls safe with you. I never worry when they are with you."

  "No problem," Chayton said on his way out the door. "Call me later."

  "Will do."

  Then Tanka went to sit on the couch, and looked at her. Her usually peaches and cream complexion had paled to white, her skin looked blotchy.

  She looked at him strangely. "I'm so sorry about your car…"

  "Don't be…" He smiled. "A car can be replaced, you can't."

  "It was an accident. Those kids…they didn't mean to hit me…" she began with tears in her eyes.

  "What kids?" he demanded, taking her hand in his. It was freezing and he began to slowly rub her hand in his but the way she clenched his hands made him more aware of her than he wanted to be. He suddenly realized the terror she must have faced and wished he could make her feel better. She was bordering on hysteria, the way her eyes darted about the room. But he kept speaking to her in a soft tone and rubbing her hands and arms.

  "They tried to pass me where the road narrows, when they did, they hit the car…" she struggled to tell him.

  "Hit the car? You were in an accident too?" He jumped up.

  "I’m sorry…" She almost came off the couch. "You'll never trust me with a car again."

  He forced her back down. "Just relax. I'm just trying to find out exactly what did happen."

  She closed her eyes for a minute, and then opened them; there were unshed tears. "When they hit me, I spun around, and came to a stop on the ledge, only there was no ground under the passenger side of the car, and the snow kept melting and before I knew it, I had rolled out of the car and onto the snow and the c
ar…it fell over the ledge and burned."

  "Good grief, you could have been killed…" He grabbed her to him and hugged her. "I was so afraid when I saw the car, Annie."

  It felt so good to finally hold her again. The thought that he could have lost her seemed to sober him completely. But it also brought out his feelings and he wondered wildly when he had put Gina away.

  She sighed. "But I wasn't. I kept thinking I had laundry to do and supper to fix." She almost laughed.

  He laid her against the pillow. "You need some rest."

  "I knew it was only about five miles home, but I got so stiff I could hardly walk, and so sleepy." She smiled at him now.

  "We need to get you out of these clothes…" he said in a soft murmur.

  He went up the stairs and came back with her pajamas. "Come on, I'll help you."

  She stared at the clothes and then him, her puzzling look making him almost smile.

  "I won't look…" he insisted. "But you'll need some help. And I really need to check you for frostbite."

  He peeled the coat off her and the sweater. She shivered. Standing there in the living room, with only her underwear, the firelight flickering against the paleness of her skin, she felt exposed, and suddenly, very safe. He grabbed her and pulled her to him. She looked so vulnerable and felt so soft.

  "I think I better do this myself…" she whispered.

  "Wait…" He put his arms around her and undid her bra. She gasped.

  When he looked into her eyes he saw a raw desire that matched his own. At that moment he knew he wanted her, but this was no time to be making love. She had nearly frozen to death and all he could think about was making love to her, his eyes smoldering into hers.

  He didn't move the bra away, he couldn't. If he touched her much more he knew it would happen and he wasn't sure if it should.

  "Trust me, Annie." He smiled into her puzzled face.

  She swallowed hard. "I think I can manage now…"

  In seconds, she had slid into her pajama tops while he turned himself away from her and stared into the fire.

  But her fingers felt numb and she fumbled with the buttons on the pajama top.

  He took over the job, not looking at anything until he had fastened the last button. He had seen the outline of her small breast, the creamy texture of skin, and the curves of a woman. And he frowned at the strain of not letting his physical needs be announced, but this was just not the time to even think such a thing, and Annie was in no condition to notice what was happening to him.