Cabin Fever

by Rye Hart

  “If it makes you feel any better, at least you had a plan. This cabin. This mountain. Hiding away.”

  “I’m not hiding away,” I said.

  “Yes, you are,” she said. “At least call it what it is. But it’s better than what I’ve got going for me, which is nothing.”

  “You have a law degree and experience in the corporate sector,” I said. “That’s not something to simply spit at.”

  “It’s nice to know you were listening,” she said, smiling.

  I brought her hand to my lips to kiss and I watched her turn her gaze toward me. I could see the reflection of the sun in her eyes while the red tint of her cheeks grew deeper. I had no idea what possessed me to show such a public display of affection toward her, but it seemed natural.

  Everything with her seemed more natural than I could’ve ever expected.

  “I don’t know where to go from here,” she said. “After all of this, I don’t even go back to a home. Or an apartment. I go back to living with my best friend.”

  “That doesn’t sound so bad,” I said.

  “It does when you realize the only things I own are safely tucked away in my car at the resort.”

  “Everything you own?” I asked.

  “Yep. All my clothes, books, and furniture.”

  “You have furniture in your car,” I said.

  “My blow-up mattress, yes.”

  Furrowing my brow at her, I watched her shoulders roll back. I watched as her eyes glazed over and I knew what that meant. She turned her gaze back out toward the city but that wasn’t what she was seeing at all. She was allowing herself to slip into the past. She was allowing her memories to consume her.

  I would’ve never thought this beautiful, vibrant woman would’ve had memories that swept her away like that.

  “Sorry,” she said, mumbling.

  “No need to be,” I said. “It happens sometimes.”

  “I admire you for having a plan of action afterward,” she said.

  “You’ll come up with one,’ I said. “It takes an intelligent person to obtain a law degree. You’ll figure it out.”

  But she didn’t seem at all convinced that she would.

  “Could I make you dinner tonight?” she asked.

  “What?”

  “Dinner. Tonight. Would you let me cook it?”

  “Any particular reason?” I asked.

  “Just as a thank you. For bringing me here. For opening up a little bit. I know how hard that must’ve been for you. I want to thank you for letting me get to know you a little bit.”

  Our heads turned and our eyes connected once again before I nodded my head. She smiled up at me before she threw her arms around my neck, elated at the fact that I was going to let her cook again. The fact that something so simple made her so happy, struck me. Could happiness really be that easy? I pulled her close to my body while the scenery around us faded into the background and, for just a moment, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to imagine.

  I imagined us dancing around a ballroom with a beautiful dress fluttering around her body. I imagined us holding one another in bed while I slept peacefully at her side. I imagined us laughing with one another on the couch by the fireplace while we talked about memories from our childhood.

  Then she released my body and we headed back toward the cabin while the images receded to the back of my mind. I had no idea what this woman had opened up and I had no idea how long she was going to be with me but maybe Paxton was right about more than one thing.

  Maybe this wasn’t just about me opening up and talking to someone. Maybe this was about making a connection with someone so I felt a little less alone in this world.

  But what would happen once the snow melted and she was gone?

  CHAPTER 14

  WHITNEY

  I was whirling around the kitchen, trying to season everything while it was cooking. I was impressed at the selection of meat in his deep freezer. I had to run it under some hot water to get it to thaw quickly enough but, if I seared both sides of the steaks, it would still keep a lot of that juice inside of the meat. I flipped the steaks in the pan while I tossed the vegetables around in some garlic and pepper. I had to keep an eye on the buttered rice but that could pretty much sit there until it was done.

  I could feel Liam behind me, watching my every move while I prepared dinner for us. I checked the fridge to make sure there was sweet tea for us to drink. Then, I removed the steaks from the stove and placed them into the oven. I wanted to broil a bit of cheese on top before I sprinkled them with the extra-crispy bacon I’d fried up. My mouth was already salivating from the smells swirling around the kitchen.

  “Where’d you learn to cook?” Liam asked.

  “My grandmother taught me,” I said.

  “Ah, cooking in the kitchen with grandma,” he said. “You did grow up in a southern home.”

  “Born and bred. My mother wasn’t much of a cook. I mean, she made do, but my grandmother was fantastic. Always had a pot of rice and beans on the stove in case anyone came in hungry.”

  I could feel Liam’s smile crawling across his face while I watched the steaks carefully.

  “Well, it smells delicious,” he said.

  “There isn’t much I can cook this well but steaks were my grandmother’s specialty. She ate slabs of them until the day she died. I still don’t know how she lived to be ninety-two.”

  “Ninety-two?” he asked.

  “Yep. She’d lather on the butter and drink wine all throughout the day. She didn’t put a vegetable in her body if she didn’t have to and she somehow managed to outlive every single one of her sisters.”

  “How many did she have?”

  “She was the oldest of six,” I said.

  “Six daughters? Her father’s in heaven somewhere for just being able to tolerate that many women.”

  I giggled at his remark before I pulled the steaks from the oven. They were sizzling while the cheese melted on top and I began breaking up the bacon so I could add the finishing touches. I heard Liam step up behind me and start grabbing plates from the cabinet and I could feel his body heat radiating against my back.

  “Here,” he said.

  “Thanks.”

  “So, who do you get your lawyer chops from?”

  I felt myself stiffen while I dished out our dinner. I wasn’t liking where this conversation was going. I didn’t want to talk about my family. I didn’t want to go into any of the things I had to deal with while I was a teenager. I had positive memories of my grandmother before she died and those were the memories I wanted to focus on. Memories of covering the kitchen in smoke because I cooked the butter in the pan too long. Memories of burning cakes in the oven because we’d get to watching a movie and forget it was in there.

  “No one, really,” I said. “My mother saw I had a knack for helping others and she was the one that suggested it when I was younger.”

  “Your mother must be proud.”

  “I wouldn’t know,” I said.

  I could feel his stare on me while I spooned the rice onto our plates. I tried to take deep breaths and control the shaking of my hands. I was having a good day and I didn’t want to think about the people who’d abandoned me as a teenager.

  “Look, this is gonna be a wonderful dinner and I’d rather not spoil it with talk about my shitty family,” I said.

  “Fair enough.”

  It was easy to get him to shut down about it but, when I turned around with the plates, I could see the curiosity in his eyes. I knew he wanted to ask more, just like I did about his nightmares, but he didn’t push the subject. Instead, he grabbed glasses and filled them up with sweet tea.

  I walked the plates over to the small table in the corner and set them down. Liam was behind me in an instant with the glasses. We sat down next to a window that looked out over the winter wonderland that had blanketed the forest and I couldn’t help but gaze out the window while I began to eat. It was so beautiful and peaceful out he
re. I could only imagine what it was like during the summertime. I bet the forest came alive with flowers and animals during that time of year. I bet there was green that overtook the landscape surrounding the cabin. I took mindless bites of my vegetables while I imagined living a life in a secluded place like this but it was Liam’s voice that brought me back to dinner.

  “We’re almost out of some things we’ll be needing to get us through the rest of this stuff,” he said.

  “You’ve got plenty of meat in the freezer,” I said.

  “But we’re running out of some other things. Like toilet paper.”

  “Yikes,” I said. “Yep. That’s a problem.”

  “I’ll have to walk into town to get it, which’ll take me a while. There’s a small corner store about a mile down the main road but I’ve gotta walk through four miles of woods to get there first.”

  “So, I can’t make that trip with you,” I said.

  “Probably not, with your ankle.”

  “Are you gonna be able to do something like that safely?” I asked.

  He paused with his fork halfway to his mouth before a grin tugged at his cheeks. I watched him place the piece of meat in his mouth before he groaned and sat back in his chair. I’d never seen someone actually enjoy my food the way he was before and it was a really nice feeling. He closed his eyes and savored the taste. Then, he swallowed and nodded his head.

  “I’ll be just fine. I’ll take my phone, just in case, but I’ll be good.”

  I nodded before I took a bite of my steak and I couldn’t help but smile. Holy hell, it really did turn out good. I heard a small chuckle come from Liam’s side of the table while we continued to eat but, this time, my eyes weren’t focused outside.

  This time, they were focused on him.

  “Anything else you need to get besides toilet paper?” I asked.

  “We could do with some more batteries around here. I forgot to grab some when I was in town last. Too focused on food.”

  “Well, food’s a good focus to have during a storm like this. And you didn’t anticipate some silly girl falling down a hill, so it’s more than warranted.”

  I felt his eyes move up toward me while I grabbed my glass of tea.

  “You’re not silly,” he said.

  I paused my glass in midair as my eyes hooked on his gaze.

  “Not by a longshot,” he said.

  I felt a blush tint my cheeks before I smiled lightly in his direction. He released the hold he had on me and continued eating. I swallowed about half my tea down to clear my throat. I felt my mouth grow as dry as cotton underneath his stare and, the more my body began to heat, the worse it got.

  “You want some more?” he asked.

  “I can get it,” I said.

  “Nope. Sit.”

  He got up before I could make a move and went to grab the pitcher of sweet tea. I studied him while he walked away, clocking the strength hidden underneath his clothes. His broad shoulders tapered to a slim waist and his ass flexed with every step he took. His large hands wrapped around the pitcher and brought it to the table but the only thing I could think about was the palms of his hands wrapping around the swell of my thighs.

  He topped off my glass while I tried to clear my head but the grin on his face told me he already knew what I was thinking.

  The real question was whether or not he was struggling the way I was.

  CHAPTER 15

  Liam

  I woke up the next morning and readied myself for the journey ahead. Even in clear weather, a trip like this would take me a couple of hours but, with the snow, it would take me most of the afternoon. I took a warm shower to loosen up my body before I ventured out into the kitchen. I could hear the sizzling of sausage already happening. Biscuits were being warmed and the smell of gravy permeated the air. Soon, there was a bowl being shoved into my hand by a beautiful woman I’d actually come to enjoy.

  “You like biscuits and gravy?” she asked.

  “What kind of question is that?” I asked.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said, giggling. “Coffee?”

  She poured me a mug of it before I could even answer her and I started to notice the way she was walking. She was a little steadier on her ankle but her limp was still prevalent. Her shoulders were rolled back and her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. She brought the mug of coffee over to me while I stood in the corner and I could tell her back was tense. She turned and walked away from me to spoon herself up some breakfast and I realized what was going on.

  She was nervous.

  “Did you sleep well?” she asked.

  “I did,” I said. “I had a full stomach that lulled me right to sleep.”

  “When are you thinking about heading out today?” she asked.

  I watched her play around with the food in her bowl but I never saw her take a bite. I stood in the kitchen with her while her coffee grew cold, watching her push around her soggy biscuits. It should’ve bothered me that she was wasting food, especially since we were technically rationing things out in case the weather got worse, but all I could do was study her. The way her brow was furrowed slightly and the way her eyes were darkening. I watched how tightly she gripped her spoon, trying her best to conceal the tremor of her fingers.

  She was clearly worried about my safety and that was something I hadn’t experienced before. Sure, I had my platoon looking out for me when I was still enlisted. Sure, I had Paxton watching my back from time to time. But I’d never had a woman worry this way over me before.

  It was a new sensation and one I wasn’t completely opposed to.

  “I promise I’ll be okay this afternoon,” I said.

  “Oh, I know,” she said. “You’re very tall. And strong. And you were in the military. I’m sure you know your way around the woods and stuff, too.”

  She was rambling and I set my stuff down and walked toward her.

  I plucked the bowl from her hands and set it off to the side. I crooked my finger underneath her chin and slowly pulled her gaze up to mine. The look in her eyes almost took my breath away. It was filled with concern and worry, with just a hint of fear.

  “I’ll be back by dinner,” I said. “Promise. Why don’t you take a nice long shower while I’m gone? I didn’t have time to wash your clothes before the fire went out, but you can borrow anything of mine you want.”

  She nodded before she slipped away from me and I sighed as I heard her retreat. I was ready for my journey to the store. All I had to do was bundle up and I could get out of here. I walked over to the front door and threw my coat on, pulling on my snow boots and placing a hat on my head. I zipped up the coat and turned around, trying to catch a glimpse of Whitney one last time before I left.

  But she was nowhere to be found.

  Letting out a sigh, I opened the door and stepped out into the cold. It was frigid outside and I was already beginning to shiver. I’d severely underestimated the chill that had descended over the cabin and, for a moment, I thought about backtracking inside and getting another coat.

  I heard my name being called.

  “Liam! Wait!”

  I turned around and saw Whitney striding down the hallway, her face contorted with pain while she tried to move as quickly as she could. I stepped inside to figure out what was wrong. I thought maybe she’d done something else to her ankle but, once she got to me, she held out another jacket, waiting for me to slip my arms into it before she’d let me go.

  “Come on,” she said. “It’s freezing outside.”

  The look of determination on her face was one that would forever be carved into my memory. In that one moment, she had both conceded defeat and exposed how much she was really worrying. Sliding my arms into the coat, I felt her push it up onto my shoulders and I had to admit I felt a little better.

  “You’ve got your phone?” she asked.

  “I do.”

  “Let me see it.”

  She held out her hand and I sifted around for my ph
one. I placed it in the palm of her hand and she promptly started typing on the screen. She sighed before she handed it back to me, a number, along with her name, saved into my contacts list.

  “Call me now quickly so I have your number,” she said.

  Grinning, I pressed the call button. I heard something vibrating in the living room and she nodded in satisfaction.

  “Let me know when you get to the store, okay?” she asked.

  “I will.”

  I started the journey through the woods and I could feel her watching me from the cabin windows. The snow was deep and it was hard to move. Each step seemed a little harder than the last. The snow was so high that I slammed my shin into the fucking tree that was down in the middle of the road and I had to pause to catch my breath.

  I stepped in holes that put me in snow up to my waist and I cursed as my boots slipped on other things strewn along the road. Carcasses of animals and other trees that had fallen in the path littered the route I chose and I could feel sweat dripping down my back. But finally, after walking for close to two hours, I saw the store.

  I shot Whitney a text message, letting her know I was safe before I started down the road toward the small building.

  I walked in and immediately grabbed a basket. I was going to make sure I didn’t have to make a trip like this again. My legs were shaking with exhaustion and it was becoming more painful to breathe. The air was so cold, it physically hurt to face it, and I relished the heat of the store while I started picking things up.

  I grabbed toilet paper and batteries. I grabbed body wash and shampoo. I grabbed another tube of toothpaste just in case we needed one and I snagged some basic medication. The shelves were practically bare, besides the few essentials I could find, and when I made my way up to the cash register, I decided to shoot Whitney another message, just to let her know I was about to head back.

  “You’re the first person I’ve seen since the storm hit,” the man said.

  I looked up at the old man standing behind the cash register before I drew in a deep breath.

  “Thanks for staying open through all this,” I said.