by Kira Blakely
I was amazed as I watched her. She pulled a carpet mat from the back seat and began pulling fibers from its top side. When she had a nice handful, she took the cables and asked me to pop the hood. She connected one end of the jumper cable to the battery and scooped out a bowl-shaped indentation in the snow in front of the car. She put the fibers at its bottom. Taking the other end of the cable, she touched the positive and negative clamps to one another while nesting it in the fibers. This generated a spark and the fibers caught fire. She quickly added a handful of leaves and eventually the smaller twigs. As I put the cable away, she was feeding the fire gradually until it was a healthy blaze.
I felt like the Boy Scout who wasn’t going to get his merit badge. “I could have gotten some burning timber from the shack,” I bragged in a defensive voice.
“Yes, but then you’d be soaked again. To tell you the truth, as nice as it was to lay with you, I’d rather stay dry and warm,” she commented in that voice that sounded like bells ringing on Sunday morning. “If you have any tubes or hoses in that kit, you could add some gasoline from the car, but I wouldn’t take them from the engine. That might not be the kind of fire you want.”
She sent me off to bring more dry wood and she built a second fire at the opposite end of the car. “Okay, when this gets going really good, we can get a log burning and maybe melt off some of the snow that’s gotten the wheel stuck. If you want, you could even throw on your spare tire, but that will be awfully smoky. It’s up to you. I don’t know if you can get through on the road, but it would be worth a try.”
I was completely stymied by her knowhow.
“Where did you learn to do all this?” I demanded, feeling a touch of anger. After all, I was the guy and supposed to come up with this shit.
She just shrugged and said nothing, looking completely calm. If what she claimed was true, her amnesia seemed to be selective at worst and spotty at best. I thought it best to let things float for a while before I formed an opinion.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before we transitioned from being a frozen target to looking like we were hosting a Southern barbecue. I pulled out the Scotch from the back and took a healthy sip before offering it to Elspeth.
She shook her head. I was about to pour it on the fire when she grabbed my arm and pulled it back. “You can drink the Scotch; you can’t drink the gasoline,” she pointed out, and I screwed the lid back on and put it away.
We were an odd scene, to be sure; two stranded people—one of whom definitely was a city boy—roasting car tires at the side of the road. All my money and there was no way I could buy my way out of this.
That was when help finally arrived. An SUV clearly marked as a Michigan State Trooper approached. He looked at us and pulled ahead and off to the side. He climbed out of his vehicle, a poncho over his shoulders and his hat wrapped in plastic. “You two mind telling me what the hell is going on here?” he began, eyeing the burning tire.
“Glad you’re here! I didn’t think the smoke from the tire would get high enough above the storm to be seen,” I uttered with relief.
“Didn’t.” He pointed over my shoulder. “Mel Thompson’s deer shack did.”
I looked around and realized that as creative as I thought we’d been, we hadn’t generated a puff compared to the fire behind us.
“Don’t worry,” the trooper consoled me, “it’ll burn out quick.”
“We’re stuck, and I’ve lost my phone. Can you help us out?” I asked.
“Need to see some identification, sir… That is, if you’re the driver?”
I reached for my pocket and pulled out my wallet, handing him my license.
“And you, Miss?” he asked Elspeth.
She got a panicked look in her eyes, and I realized immediately that I should tell the trooper what had happened and put her in his care. Something wouldn’t let me do that.
“I’m Elspeth,” she said quietly and then came that dreaded pause where she offered no last name or plausible reason for being with me.
“She’s my date,” I threw in quickly and looked to Elspeth for confirmation. Not having anything better to say, she nodded. I could have hugged her right then and there.
The trooper took my license and went back to his cruiser. I knew he was running it through the computer. It wasn’t long before he was back. “This your car, Mr. Tremaine?”
“Yes, sir, it’s brand new.”
“You’re a long way from Chicago.” He poked me a bit more.
“Yes, sir. Visited friends in Traverse City and they bet me my fancy car, as they call it, couldn’t make it to Superior and back in the blizzard.”
“Looks like they were right,” he responded, and I choked back my defense.
“And you, Miss? You have any identification?”
Elspeth’s eyes widened, and I quickly jumped in. “She was at the party with me in Traverse; had a little too much to drink and forgot her purse.”
He looked me straight in the eye and then must have decided that what I said checked out with the computer because he nodded and went to the back end of his vehicle and removed a tow strap.
“If you’ll put out those fires, let’s see if we can’t get you back onto the road,” he said. “Any idea how the shack caught fire?”
I shook my head. “I saw the flames as we passed by and stopped to make sure no one was inside. That’s how I got stuck and my clothes got wet. Really glad you came along,” I said quickly. I couldn’t believe my own words. I was an upstanding member of the Chicago business community and here I stood, lying to the law. Most of all, I had no idea why.
He considered my words and shined his light on the snow looking for tracks. I held my breath as I knew there were two widespread sets leading to the cabin, and two sets, sometimes combined into one, coming back toward the road. To my immense relief, the wind and the snow had done its part to cover my lie.
I got busy kicking out the fires and told Elspeth to get into the car and buckle up. I wanted to make the urgency of getting me off the side of the road trump the mystery of the burning cabin. It worked.
A hearty pull and a minimum of spinning tires later, Elspeth and I were on the road and headed south. I lowered my window and waved at the trooper in gratitude as I focused on keeping to the road. I hoped I’d make it to the next gas station.
Chapter 6
Elspeth
“Why did you lie to him back there?” I asked simply.
Finn’s eyes darted to my face quickly before he looked back at the road. “Thanks for not blowing me up.”
“But why did you lie? Or is the part about finding me in the cabin a lie? How do I know what to believe?” I was feeling confused and as though something was very wrong, but I had no idea what.
“Do you have somewhere to go?” Finn’s voice sounded hopeful that I didn’t. Unfortunately, I knew I belonged somewhere, but couldn’t remember where.
“I don’t remember.”
He considered me in a few more quick glances. “That’s really the truth, isn’t it?” he asked, the amazement in his voice clearly indicating he’d thought I was lying until now.
I didn’t know what to say; I had no idea where I stood or who he truly was. He must have taken pity on me because his attitude softened.
“Look,” he offered, “I’m going to assume that you really don’t remember who you are or how you came to be at the shack. Also, going to guess that you don’t know if you can trust me, since you have no way of knowing whether to believe my story… especially after I lied to the cop.” He looked out his side window wryly in a way that told me it wasn’t something he did regularly.
“I would say that sums it up,” I told him.
He was silent for a few minutes and while I thought he was concentrating on the road, I was shortly to learn he’d been thinking.
“I don’t want you to be afraid, okay? In fact, that’s the last thing I want, because I want to keep you safe. Don’t ask me where this is coming from, because there are
a hundred women who would love to hear that from me, and yet you’re the only one I’ve ever said that to. Maybe it’s the result of staring death in the face, I don’t know,” he speculated.
“I think that’s just a little exaggerated,” I told him honestly.
“Yeah,” he looked at me sidelong again, “I guess so, but here’s the deal. Let’s get through this blizzard and over that damned bridge. Let me get back on my home turf and I swear to you, you have nothing to be afraid of. When I get to Chicago, I have everything I need, and I’ll help you. How does that sound?”
What do I have to lose? I nodded. “Okay.”
At that exact moment, we must have driven out from beneath the storm because the sky was solid black again. Within a couple of miles, the snow drifts backed off and the blacktop of the road was once again visible.
“Jesus! I’m glad we’re through that!” he uttered.
I turned and pulled the stadium blanket down from its jury-rigged suspension and laid it over myself. There was nothing more to do than sit and be quiet. My head was aching like nobody’s business, and I reached up to feel where the pain seemed to begin. I could feel a knot there.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?” he sympathized. Quiet for a moment, he added, “Look, I can take you to a hospital and we can get it looked at. But you don’t have any identification or insurance. Even though I’ll be glad to pay for the bill, they’re going to want to know who you are. I’ll have to turn you over to them. I don’t know how you ended up in that shack, and more importantly, how the fire started, but I’m thinking that until you recover your memory, you’re safer with me than being put into a system that could turn out to be kind of nasty for you.”
“That’s true,” I answered.
“If you can hang on a few hours, I’ll have my personal physician meet us in Chicago and he’ll look it over for you. Deal?”
I wondered why he was so interested in keeping me with him. Was he involved in my injury and the reason I’d been abandoned in the wilderness? I couldn’t afford to speculate right then; there weren’t any other options.
“Okay,” I finally agreed and closed my eyes to fall asleep. The hum of the tires on the road and the steady rhythm of the vehicle somehow made me feel safer.
I kept my eyes closed for several minutes so Finn would think I was asleep. When I peered through my lashes, he was focused on the road and his chin was balanced in his hand, as if he were working out a problem. I studied his profile intently, hoping to find something there that would let me remember.
It was like when you couldn’t remember the name of an actor in the movie, except in my case, I couldn’t remember any movie in which anyone played a role. It scared me to think that there was something so horrible in my past that my brain might be protecting me.
Chapter 7
Finn
Once we rolled out of the storm, I was feeling more in control. I spotted a gas station and filled up the car, going inside to look for a phone. Luckily, and possibly because this was the boondocks, there was one and I called my assistant, Leigh.
“Oh, thank God you picked up, Leigh.”
“What’s wrong, Finn? You sound flustered.” Coming from Leigh, this was quite a comment as flustered wasn’t a word I ever wanted to be defined as.
“I’ve been to fucking hell and back, and I mean that, literally. Actually, I’m still there.”
“I don’t understand,” she responded, her voice confused and hesitant.
“Of course, you don’t—not even I do. Okay, I’m in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, don’t ask how I got here. I’m driving the new Escalade I picked up on my way to Traverse City. I left my luggage at Jay’s. My phone fell out of the car somewhere along the way—look I know none of this makes sense, so just do as I tell you.”
“Sure, Finn, let me write this down. Okay, go ahead.”
“Send the company jet to pick me up at the Traverse City airport and I mean now. I want a new phone on board and be sure it’s backed up from my cloud account and has the same number. I want you to go into my penthouse and pack a set of casual clothes for me and put that aboard. I also want you to pick up something comfortable and warm, including coat and boots, for a female. I don’t know her size, but she’s small—like maybe a foot shorter than me and very slender. Put that aboard, too, and tell them I want a hot meal as soon as I board and stock the bar. I figure I’ll be arriving at that airport in about two hours. So, move on this. Oh, and Leigh—need to know basis, got that?”
“Got it, Finn. I’m hanging up now and I’ll get right on it.”
“One more thing, Leigh. I’ll be traveling straight from the Mackinac to Traverse, so if, for any reason, I’m not there in, let’s say, four hours, you send them looking for me. You hear?”
“Okay, sure, Finn, whatever you say.”
I knew I sounded paranoid as I hung up the phone, but after the past day in Hooterville, I wasn’t taking any chances.
Elspeth was watching me as I got back into the Escalade. She rubbed the back of her head, and I knew it had to hurt.
“Hold on a minute,” I told her and climbed out, running inside to call Leigh again.
“Put Pete Harper on that plane—no, it’s not for me, but for the girl. She’s got a helluva knot on the back of her head.” I hung up, and I’m sure Leigh was manufacturing all kinds of plausible stories in her mind, but I knew she’d keep her mouth shut. She was that kind of assistant.
When I got back into the car, something popped up from my memory. You’re not supposed to let someone with a head injury sleep. Is that right?
“Sit up, Elspeth.”
“I don’t want to; it feels better when I lie down.”
“I know, but I think it’s dangerous for someone with a head injury to lie down and sleep. Sit up and keep me company. We’re meeting my jet in Traverse City and my doctor will be on board. You’ll be in great hands soon. Don’t worry.”
“I’m going to sleep,” she said, and I knew I had a stubborn one on my hands. She lay back and closed her eyes.
I poked at her with one hand. “Elspeth, talk to me about something. Tell me a joke. Tell me your favorite flavor of ice cream. Anything.”
“Let me sleep,” she mumbled.
“No, no, Elspeth, you’ve got to wake up. C’mere and lean on me, at least,” I urged her, leaning to pull her upright by the shoulder.
“Noooo… I’m tired. Leave me alone now.” She snuggled further away from me. I noticed her diction had become more Southern than it was earlier. It seemed she had some control over it as the drawl came and went.
The need to keep her awake had begun to reach panic proportions in my brain—probably due to my own exhaustion. I spotted a pull-off to a public access sign ahead and drove into it cautiously, although the snow was negligible there.
“Now, look, Elspeth, you have to stay awake. If you don’t, I’ll be forced to take you to the first hospital I can find and then I can’t protect you. They’ll turn you over to the authorities. I know it’s unlikely, but maybe you can’t remember because you’re involved in something you don’t want to remember. Have you thought of that?”
She nodded. “Like what?”
“Hell, I don’t know! Maybe you robbed a bank or stole a car.”
“Wouldn’t I have a purse full of money and be driving somewhere in that case?”
“For someone who can’t remember, you sure have the answers,” I remarked, becoming perturbed. I wondered why she was getting to me. Was it because she didn’t know who I was and my money wasn’t impressing her to be respectful? Or was it because I was letting down my guard to this blue-eyed urchin with the killer body? “Elspeth!”
“What?” she cried, her petite features pouting as she tried to escape my voice.
I leaned over and pulled her upright—not exactly a feat of strength as she probably weighed less than a hundred pounds. I pushed her legs toward the floor and turned her around until her head was leaning against my shoulder. Puttin
g my right arm around her, I held her upright and drove back onto the road, steering with my left hand.
I began to talk, hoping that my conversation would keep her alert. I couldn’t tell if she dozed off because she wasn’t in the habit of answering me anyway. I looked down at the child-sized woman lying against me and felt the urge to kiss her.
“Are you listening?” I asked her abruptly.
She nodded, at least enough that I was satisfied.
We hit a pot hole and the bump pushed her toward her door. I pulled her back and my hand fastened over her breast, as if it were a handle. Without consciously realizing it, my hand slid beneath her shirt and I began to pet the soft skin beneath her breast. It felt like velvet under my fingers.
“Mmmm…” I swore I heard her say and even if I didn’t, I wanted to. She relaxed into me; she must have uttered that groan of desire.
“Elspeth?”
“Hmmm…?”
“Does that feel good?”
“Mmmm…” was this time accompanied by a nod.
I’d found a way to keep her awake and God knew, I wanted to do that. I snaked my finger into her waistband and popped the button, touching the petal-soft skin I’d touched earlier. Lowering her zipper, my finger went on a quest for her hot box and the tender bud that guarded its entrance. I rubbed it in a gentle, circular motion.
She moaned in pleasure again and her hips pushed backward into me, her legs spreading as my finger continued its ring around her rosy clit. I heard her seatbelt snap back, and she pushed her pants to the floor, her legs spread wide. In the glow of the dashboard, I could see her mound, pulsing, inviting… What could I do, but push in with my finger?
“Ahhh…” she said distinctly, and I knew I’d found her core. She threw her left leg onto the dash and her right over the back of the seat—now openly splayed in our dimly lit bedroom on wheels.
I continued the tender massage until she begged, “Harder, deeper!”