by Ray Gorham
“Are you a doctor?”
She laughed. “No, I’m a realtor, or at least I was. But I raised two boys in the Wyoming mountains who loved to be outside, and I learned to be prepared for a lot of different situations. I never had to treat my boys, but I guess it worked out well for you.”
Kyle nodded, the fatigue growing stronger, his eyelids heavier. Even as Rose spoke, he let his eyes fall shut and was soon fast asleep. He slept most of the day and into the night, waking occasionally, drinking his honey water, and wearing out a path to the bathroom. Once when he woke up he found sweatpants and a t-shirt placed on the table beside him. A large German Shepherd kept guard on the floor of the living room throughout the night, his head perking up to watch Kyle every time he got up from the couch, but he never barked.
Saturday, October 22nd
Sometime early the next morning, Kyle awoke feeling rested and relatively good. He sat up, emptied his mug and, for the first time, looked around the room without the mental fog that had plagued him the day before. The pale moonlight provided adequate light for him to see a few more details of Rose’s house, at least enough to tell that her home was decorated with a definite horse theme: horse pictures, figurines, a few trophies on a shelf over the woodstove, and a pair of spurs over the sliding door to the back yard. Even the furniture had a western feel to it, although it was too dark to make out the colors. He walked over to the window and peered outside. Seeing the snow brought back memories of the day before, and flashes of struggling towards the house came back to him. Shivering, he returned to his bed on the couch and lay down, pulling the warm blankets over him.
He was wide-awake when Rose walked into the living room an hour after the sun came up. “Good morning,” Kyle said cheerfully.
Rose started a bit, then returned his greeting with a smile. “Good morning. Looks like you’re feeling better.”
He nodded. “I feel worlds better. It’s amazing what thirty hours of sleep will do. My arms and legs still ache, but the rest of me feels remarkably good.”
“You were in rough shape when you got here. I’m surprised you’re doing as well as you are.”
Kyle looked at Rose for the first time with a clear head. She had sandy-blonde hair, with a bit of natural curl to it that was pulled back in a loose ponytail. A slender nose and prominent cheekbones adorned a face that was clear and tan. Her lips were a little on the thin side, and when she flashed her farm-girl smile, they revealed teeth that were a little too straight and a little too white. As to her age, Kyle estimated that Rose was in her early forties, but knew he could be off by five years either way.
She wore a thick, white robe tied snuggly at her waist that seemed to hide a slender body with feminine curves. She appeared confident, not at all intimidated at having a strange man in her home. He watched as she walked over to the woodstove and tossed in some wood.
“I bet you’re hungry,” she said, turning back to Kyle.
Kyle nodded. “I am. I can’t remember the last time I ate.”
Soon Kyle was sitting at the kitchen table, eagerly feasting on a plate of scrambled eggs. “This is delicious,” he said, wiping food from his beard when he was done. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
Rose took his empty plate to the sink, then sat down across from him at the table. “You don’t need to thank me, Kyle, but I would like to know who you are. I’ve been pretty curious this last day and a half.”
Kyle cleared his throat. “Well, to make a long story short, I’m Kyle Tait, from Deer Creek, Montana. It’s a community just a little east of Missoula. I was in Houston for work on September 2nd, and I’m in the process of going back home. The snowstorm caught me off-guard, and somehow I ended up here. That’s it in a nutshell.”
“You’ve walked here from Houston?” Rose asked, her eyes wide in disbelief.
Kyle nodded. “Well, I guess not from Houston, but from San Angelo. It’s a little closer.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. I’ve met a few people heading in different directions, but no one from that far away. Most were just trying to get across the state or to Montana or Colorado. How many miles have you covered?”
“By my calculations, I’d say I’m right around a thousand miles, with close to six hundred to go.”
“What’s in Deer Creek?”
“My wife, Jennifer, and our three kids. What about you, Rose. Are you here alone?”
“Yeah, but I do have Max,” she said reaching down to pat the German shepherd resting beside her chair. “I have two boys. Anthony’s with the marines in Germany, at least he was last I knew, and William graduated from college last spring and took a job in Atlanta. I’d give anything to know how they’re doing right now. My husband, Bruce, was back East on September 2nd, but I don’t expect him to be showing up anytime soon. Your kids are lucky to have a devoted father like you,” she said, with a note of sadness.
“Thanks,” Kyle said. “I just pray everything’s okay when I get back. Listen, there’s one thing I want to know. I can remember walking in the snow for what seemed like forever, but I don’t remember coming in your house. How’d I end up here? Was I just too cold and don’t remember.”
Rose shook her head and motioned to her German shepherd. “No, Max saved you. I was about to crawl into bed when he started barking pretty crazy-like. He’s usually quiet, as you’ve probably noticed. The last time I remember him barking like that was when we had a cougar lurking around. Anyway, I tried to get him to shut up, but he kept on, so I came out to the living room to see what was up. When I looked out the window, I saw a little bit of movement and realized there was a person in the front yard. After that it was just a matter of dragging you in, which took a little bit because you weren’t exactly cooperative.”
“Sorry,” said Kyle. “I was a little out of it.”
“You were more than a little out of it. Somebody must be looking out for you is all I can say. Max is starting to get old, and it takes quite a bit for him to get excited. He’s even quit barking at the UPS truck. Why or how he noticed you is beyond me. Of course I’m kind of glad he did. It would have been kind of creepy to find a body in the front yard when the snow melted off.”
Kyle laughed. “Maybe I’d have made good fertilizer. You could have had a nice patch of green grass come springtime. Seriously though, I owe you and Max my life. I really don’t know how to repay that kind of a debt. Thanks just doesn’t cut it.”
“I’m sure you’d have done the same thing. That’s just what people do.”
“Well, not everyone,” responded Kyle, “but that’s another story.” They sat in silence at the table before Kyle spoke up again. “How long do you think the snow will last?”
Rose looked out the window at the sky. “It’s hard to say. This is pretty early for winter, even in Wyoming. It’ll probably warm up in a day or two and start to melt off, and then most of it should be gone in five, maybe six days at the most, especially in the areas where it hasn’t drifted.”
“I’ll get out of here as soon as I can. If you like, I can even leave today. I’m feeling pretty good. The cart I’ve been pulling is just a couple of miles back, and with the better weather, I’m sure I can find some shelter. Then once the roads are clear, I can keep going. Your husband would probably worry about you if he knew I was here.”
“Oh, I don’t think he’d care too much. You don’t seem to be too threatening, and I’ve got Max to protect me. Besides, it’s been pretty quiet around here for the last month and a half. You’re welcome to stay until traveling is good.”
“I appreciate that, and don’t worry, I’ll get out of here as soon as the roads are good. Maybe I can work off some of my debt while I’m here.”
“I’ve been doing pretty good on my own, but I’ll take a look and see if there’s anything I need help with.”
Rose cleared the dishes and sent Kyle back to the couch to lay down. With little to occupy him, Kyle spent the rest of the day napping, pacing the house, flipping through old ma
gazines, and stretching the stiffness and aches out of his arms and legs. His body felt like it had spent twelve hours at the gym, which Rose, with her eclectic wealth of knowledge, explained was a build up of chemicals, a result of his muscles being short of blood and oxygen when he nearly froze. At her direction, he continued to drink the honey water mixture and, consequently, spent a lot of time in the bathroom.
Kyle watched the thermometer throughout the day, never seeing it rise above 30º. Water dripped from the roof, but the amount of snow on the ground didn’t seem to change. In the distance, he could see the delivery truck he had briefly used for shelter, the last place he remembered clearly, and tracks in the front yard where Rose had pulled him through the snow, which were now mostly drifted over. Recalling the bitterness of the storm, and noting the size disparity between the two of them, Kyle wondered at the effort it must have taken Rose to get him inside.
In the late afternoon, Kyle heated up some water on the woodstove and took a long, hot bath, reflecting that never in his life had bathing seemed like such a luxury. He scrubbed his body from head to toe three times and soaked until the water was cold and brown and his skin was shriveled. He rinsed with clean water, then climbed out of the tub and dried off, feeling truly clean for the first time in weeks. Rose had provided him with deodorant, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and shaving supplies, and by the time he emerged from the bathroom, he felt almost human again.
Dinner was a simple meal of deer steak and potatoes with gravy, but was like manna to Kyle’s still-recovering body. Dinner conversation started slowly, but gradually picked up momentum, revolving around their families and experiences since the attack. Between the two of them, they’d tallied just a few short hours of human interaction over the past six weeks, and this pent up need to share soon had their conversation flowing like a mountain stream in the spring, spilling haphazardly over its banks as it shed a season’s worth of build-up.
Rose shared her story with Kyle, that she had grown up on a ranch, loved her horses, and done barrel racing as a kid, then eventually gone to college in Colorado and met and fell in love with a city guy. Bruce was into computers and could barely tell a horse from a cow, but love had won out and they’d gotten married. After graduation, they’d moved to Denver where he was successful, and she was unhappy. When their kids were six and eight, they’d bought the place in Wyoming and moved back closer to where she’d grown up. There she was happy, but he wasn’t. Bruce had worked from home and traveled to meet with clients as needed, and that had been okay, but the last few years he’d needed to meet with clients a lot, she observed, which left her alone more and more often. She enjoyed her independence and the time it gave her to spend with her horses, as well as the less structured nature of her job in real estate, but in the rural setting, the work was more of a pastime with a part-time income, rather than a full-time occupation.
Kyle told Rose about the experiences he’d had on his journey, the highs and lows and the challenges he’d faced. It felt good to share his stories with someone, to talk about things he hadn’t been able to talk about, except for occasional entries in his journal, and some of which he would probably never share with his family. To talk about escaping death and taking a life, after mulling it over in his mind for weeks, was therapeutic. He bragged on his kids and the good people that had helped him on his way, and voiced how he worried about his family and what they might be facing without him there to take care of them.
At sundown, Rose dug out a candle, and they talked and laughed and cried in a lavender-scented haze until the candle burnt itself out. Neither of them wanted the evening to end, the conversation being so welcome and humanizing, but candles were scarce, and the periods of silence grew more frequent.
The clock on the wall indicated it was well after midnight, so when Kyle struggled to stifle an extended yawn, Rose directed him to Anthony’s bedroom, where he’d gotten some clothes earlier in the day. The room had been empty for over a year, Rose explained, but she had left it as it was when Anthony joined the service so that he would still have his room to come home to when he was on leave. In flickering candlelight, Kyle took a look around, noticing an assortment of posters on the walls ranging from the Swedish bikini team, to fighter jets, to Nickelback concert shots, along with a large marine logo painted on the wall across from the bed. On the desk was a framed picture of a young girl, who Rose identified as Anthony’s fiancée. Other than the fact it was far too tidy, the room looked like the bedroom of a typical teenage boy.
Kyle wished Rose a goodnight and hurried to climb between the sheets in the chilly room, nestling deep under the covers, ready for a night of much needed sleep.
CHAPTER 27
North Central Wyoming
Sunday, October 23rd
With blankets piled deep in the cold room, and a bed that was soft and comfortable, Kyle slept through the entire night for the first time on his journey. When he awoke the room was bright with filtered sunlight, and he could see clear, blue sky through the cracks of the blinds. Kyle heard Rose cooking in the kitchen, and the smell of food filled his senses as he lay in bed pondering his good fortune in going from nearly freezing to death to enjoying five-star accommodations. He crawled out of bed, put on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, and walked out to the kitchen.
“Good morning,” he said with an energy he hadn’t felt in weeks, the abundance of sleep and food having done his body good. “It smells wonderful.”
Rose jumped before turning. “Oh! You surprised me,” she said, pressing her hand to her chest. “I’m not used to having company. Good morning to you too. I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to wake up, but figured you needed your rest.”
Kyle glanced at the clock on the wall. It showed 9:35 A.M. “Guess I still had some sleep to catch up on. I can’t remember the last time I slept so well.”
Rose smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. You need your strength. I hope you don’t mind venison for breakfast. I ran out of bacon seven weeks ago and haven’t come across any pigs to butcher.”
“Venison is great. Can I help with anything?”
“No, I’m good. Just sit down. It’s almost ready.”
Kyle sat down at the table and glanced out the window. With the sun’s intensity and the reflection off the snow, the scene was beautiful but nearly blinding. The thermometer showed 39º, and streams of water ran off the roof. “Looks like things are warming up.”
Rose nodded. “I figured it would. Usually it’s mid-November before we’re done with fall. Too bad we don’t have a weatherman to tell us how the rest of the week shapes up.”
Kyle watched Rose as she finished preparing breakfast. This morning she wore a snug pair of Wranglers and a bright red sweater that clung to her nicely. Yesterday she had been a mother of twenty year olds. Today she looked like a well-put-together professional. Rose set a plate of food in front of him, and he caught the soft scent of perfume. As she walked back into the kitchen, he noticed the sway of her hips and that her legs were slender and long and joined just right with the pleasant curve of her rear end.
“Did I forget something?” Rose asked, looking at Kyle, a friendly grin on her face.
“What was that?” Kyle asked calmly, trying to bluff as he looked away but knowing he’d been caught.
“I wondered if I’d forgotten something. You don’t seem interested in your food.”
“Um…no. It’s fine,” he replied. “Do you have any salt and pepper?” he asked in a further attempt to bluff.
“They’re on the table, right in the middle.”
Kyle instantly spotted the large salt and pepper shakers, the only items on the table besides his plate. He looked back at Rose and wondered how red his freshly shaved cheeks were turning. “Thanks,” he said, feeling foolish. “Guess I missed them.” He picked up the salt, shook some on his food, and started to eat.
Rose returned to the table with her plate and sat down across from him. “Was there anything else you wanted?” she a
sked in an innocent voice.
Kyle inhaled some eggs and started to cough. “Pardon me?” he choked out. He had heard what she said but wasn’t sure how she intended it.
“I just wondered if there was anything else you wanted, you know, for breakfast?” she said. Her head was tipped forward, and she looked up at him with big, blue eyes and a smile that made his heart skip.
“This is good,” he answered. “I’ve eaten more in the last twenty-four hours than I have in a long time. You’ve been really good to me.” He noticed her eyes for the first time, large and bright, a pretty shade of blue, with eyelashes that might stir a breeze if she blinked too fast. Kyle caught himself staring at Rose again, and turned back to his breakfast, concentrating on cutting his meat.
Thinking back over the last two months, he wondered how long it had been since he’d talked with an attractive woman around his age. His time in Houston had been busy with work, and since September 2nd, he’d met only a few women: Donovan’s wife, the wife in the family that had driven him that second day of walking, the occasional housewife at farms he’d stopped at, and a walker here and there. Most of the people he’d met, let alone the women, had been scared, tired, hungry, and dirty. Many of these ladies would likely have been attractive, but conditions were such that hygiene and beauty routines weren’t a priority, if even a possibility. It was survival that was the priority that topped everyone’s list.
Kyle had last seen Jennifer in August, and now here it was going on November. It had been a long time since that part of his brain had stirred, and he was surprised it still functioned.
“Is the food alright?” Rose asked.
“Huh? Oh, the food? It’s good. It’s really good. If you keep feeding me like this I’m going to gain back all the weight I’ve lost.”