by Skye Tisdale
I unlocked the door and stepped into the hallway. A not–so–pleasant part of me wanted to slam the door shut in her face and tell her to get lost… But instead, I took a deep breath and moved to the side to let her in. “Let’s get you in front of a fire,” I said.
“Gladly!” She smiled and followed me inside. Phoebe jumped out of her arms and made a run for the couch, where he curled up on top of my used sweatpants.
I shut the door behind us and kicked my shoes off. We were out of the wind now, but I’d been gone all day, which meant it wasn’t much warmer inside than it was outside. I knelt by the fireplace and piled a handful of logs and twigs on top of last night’s coals. Finally, I lit a bundle of tinder and stuck it in a gap. The cottage slowly lit up as the fire spread from the tinder and onto the logs. I exhaled deeply. It felt like routine… Everything did nowadays. Rodite Mountain wasn’t exactly the place people went for excitement.
I looked back over my shoulder and saw Morgan standing exactly where I’d left her, hesitantly looking around. Despite the dim lightning, I could clearly see the tense look on her face. Was she disappointed? My cabin wasn’t a luxury mountain retreat, but it wasn’t some hobo shack either. It had exactly what I needed, but nothing more. It might just be that I needed less than most.
Morgan cleared her throat quietly. “It’s… quaint,” she said. “Did you move in recently?”
“Nah,” I grunted. “This is how I like it. Is it not good enough for you, princess?”
“No, I didn’t mean that!” Her cheeks reddened. “I just thought, because there’s no pictures on the walls, or decorations, or anything like that… You know, the kind of stuff that normal people have in their homes. I mean—…” She paused and chewed on her bottom lip. “N–not that you’re not normal. I’m sure you’re a really nice guy.”
I shook my head and turned back to the fire. There was a good reason my place was so bare. I knew that, one day, I might have to leave everything behind and run. It wouldn’t be the first time, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. And getting attached to things—or people—only made the process that much harder. It was better this way.
“That came out wrong,” Morgan said behind me. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“That’s all right, I don’t really care.” I stood up and wiped the sawdust from my hands. “You know, my truck’s parked right outside. I can take you somewhere else if that’s what you prefer. There’s a hotel at the base of the mountain, where—”
Her eyes widened. “N–no! Not a hotel!” she sputtered. “I–I mean, can’t you hear the wind howling outside? I think the storm’s starting to pick up. It’s probably not a good idea to be driving around right now.”
“You’re right about that,” I agreed.
“And you’ve been drinking… Right?” she continued. “So, even if I drove the truck—”
I snorted. “You’re not driving the truck.”
“I said if!“ she shot back. “Let me finish! As I was saying: even if I drove the truck down the mountain, you’d still have to drive back up—drunk, and through a snowstorm. That’s just asking for trouble. So, maybe it would be safer if I just stayed here?” She glanced up at me hopefully. “I mean… if that’s still okay with you.”
I sighed. If I ever needed a good reason to quit drinking, she’d just given me one. If I hadn’t drank those shots of whiskey after closing, I could’ve just dumped her at a hotel somewhere and forgotten all about it. Instead, I had no choice but to let her stay. The worst part was that we’d only just met an hour ago, and she was already driving me crazy. This was going to be a long, long blizzard…
“Bed’s up there,” I said and gestured to the loft begrudgingly. “I’ll take the couch.”
***
CHAPTER 5
MORGAN
Axel intimidated me.
I looked at him where he sat, knelt by the fire, his face illuminated by the soft, orange glow of the flames. He was ruggedly handsome with his broad shoulders, strong jaw, thick locks of chocolate brown hair—and those eyes. His eyes were such an icy shade of blue that I felt myself shiver whenever I looked at them. He was strong, too. The way he’d picked me up and carried me all the way to the cabin with such ease had made me feel completely weightless. My skin still felt warm to the touch in the places where he’d touched me…
I didn’t think it was ever possible for a man to make me feel this way.
A part of me was scared. I was in a cottage in the middle of nowhere, with no–one to keep me company except for a complete stranger who just happened to be an absolute bear of a man. He was so much bigger than me. So much stronger. If he decided that he wanted to hold me down and take me against my will, there was nothing I could do to stop him. The only thing I could do was to hope that he was the teddy kind of bear—rather than the grizzly kind…
“You should take your clothes off,” Axel grunted in a deep, husky voice.
I gasped. “Why do I need to do that?!”
Axel looked up at me tiredly, like I’d just woken him from a pleasant dream. He glanced at my body before responding. “Your dress is soaked through,” He said blankly. “If you want to sit around in wet clothes, then be my guest. I’m not stopping you. Just thought you might prefer to hang them by the fire and let them dry out.”
“…Oh.” I felt silly. Of course that’s what me meant. Still, I would rather be wet and uncomfortable than strut around in just my underwear. I didn’t care how wet my clothes were—he was still a complete stranger, and I was not stripping down in front of him. Not even David had seen me in that state.
Axel pulled a pair of tartan pajama pants and a plain white t–shirt from a pile and handed them to me. “Here,” se said. “I haven’t had time to do laundry, so you’ll have to wear mine. Sorry.”
“That’s okay,” I said and took the clothes. “Thanks.”
“No problem, princess.”
As soon as he turned his back, I raised the shirt to my nose and gave it a hesitant sniff. Instead of the rancid sweat smell I’d been dreading, I found myself inhaling the pleasant scent of Axel’s cologne mixed with firewood smoke. Perhaps that’s what all his clothes smelled like.
I saw a door in the kitchen that I assumed had to lead to the bathroom. I went there, tried the door, and escaped inside as soon as I saw the indicative stone tile floor. I stood on the fluffy bathroom carpet and wrestled my way out of the wet and sticky dress before hanging it over the edge of the clawfoot bathtub. The bathroom window was covered in a thin layer of frost, and there was so much snow swirling in the air that I could barely see outside. But even though I couldn’t see it, I could hear it. I heard the howling of the wind, and the way the trees creaked and crackled as they struggled to remain upright.
It was terrifying to think that I would still be out there if Axel hadn’t found me. Shuddering, I quickly put on the clothes he’d given me, snatched up my dress, and returned into the living room where it was toasty warm. Axel was sitting by the fire, staring wordlessly at the burning logs. His eyes were glazed over and he seemed… distant. It was like he was there, but not really. I stood there and looked at him for a long moment, feeling like I wanted to say something, but not knowing what.
Why did he live like this, all alone in a cabin in the middle of nowhere? Why did he feel the need to go to such lengths to isolate himself from the rest of society? How lonely it must be. There had to be a very good reason for it all—or at least that’s what my gut was telling me. I had the feeling there was much more to Axel than just his grouchy hermit exterior. He had a story, and if we were going to spend the next few days together in this little cabin, I might as well try to figure out what it was. Maybe I’d tell him my story, too… assuming he even cared to hear it.
I shook my head and turned away. I didn’t dare to go closer and disturb Axel when he was so deep in thought, so I just hung my dress over the back of a kitchen chair before climbing the sturdy ladder to the loft. It was cozy up there.
The roof was arched, and bookshelves had been built into the walls on either side to make room for a queen–sized bed in the middle.
I removed the checkered bed throw before getting into the bed. I stretched my legs underneath the duvet and felt my heart jump. I’d touched something soft and animal–like with my feet. Lifting the duvet hesitantly, I saw a sheepskin rug laid across the foot end of the bed. I wasn’t sure how I felt about snuggling up with a dead animal’s pelt, but the wind howling just above my head convinced me to leave the rug be. The temperature was only going to keep dropping, and I didn’t want to wake up with frozen toes.
I laid back down and pulled the duvet up to my chin. I felt… strange. I didn’t want to go home, but I missed the comfort and familiarity of my own bed. I missed the smell of my own fabric softener, and how my pillow was lumpy in just the right way. Tears began working their way out of my eyes, but I blinked them away stubbornly. What was the point in being homesick, anyway? I could never go home. Not as long as David was there, waiting for me…
I turned to my side and saw Axel moving around downstairs. The angle meant that I could see him perfectly, while he could only see my head sticking out from underneath the duvet—and that was only if he craned his neck. I watched silently as he stood up and pulled off both his t–shirt and sweater in one pull. He was muscular but covered in scars. I wondered if the scars were remnants of a rowdy childhood, or something more… Either way, I shouldn’t have been staring.
It wasn’t until he began to unbuckle his belt that I finally pried my eyes off his chest. I even went as far as to pull the duvet over my head so I wouldn’t be tempted—but that didn’t stop my mind from wandering. In my mind, I could see him clear as day, and no–one would ever know. Soon, I found myself imagining things that would’ve made any good and decent woman blush…
It made me blush, too.
Just for the wrong reasons.
***
CHAPTER 6
AXEL
Survival wasn’t some foreign concept to me. I grew up in the Alaskan wilderness, meaning that my childhood consisted of fishing and building shoddy shelters to keep myself alive while exploring the old forest behind my parents’ house. By age 7, I already knew the trails like the back of my hand. At age 14, I shot and killed my first bear. And once I came of age and made the decision to join the military, I came to learn of a completely different type of a survival—one where it wasn’t man versus nature anymore, but man versus man.
Morgan, on the other hand? I knew just from looking at her that she’d never been in a survival situation before. She wasn’t the type of girl to put herself at risk like this—at least not without a good reason. That meant she must be running from something… or someone. If so, it was probably that fiancé she mentioned earlier. He must’ve done something real’ fucked up to send her running straight into the heart of a blizzard like that.
I laid awake listening to her breathe. Not because I wanted to, but because I’d trained myself to sleep light so nothing could sneak up on me in the night. The problem was that Morgan made a lot of noise. Never realized how creaky that bed was until I had to listen to her toss and turn every half hour… But the worst part was the mumbling. She was talking in her sleep, begging and pleading the nightmares to leave her alone. It made my skin crawl. I decided to wake her up—if not for her sake, then for mine.
I forced myself to open my eyes. The cabin was pitch black and there was a chill in the air. The logs had burned out, leaving nothing but a pile of glowing embers at the bottom of the fireplace. The wind howled in my ears as I got up to feed the fire. Phoebe, who had been sleeping in the gap between my feet, yawned and stretched himself out on the couch.
“You wake her up,” I said to him. “Go on, you lazy cat. Make yourself useful.”
I looked on in disapproval as he yawned again and curled into a ball, completely ignoring my request. I would have to do it myself after all. I sighed and climbed the ladder to the attic. When I reached the top, I stood at the foot of the bed for a moment, silently watching Morgan where she lay. She was all tangled up in the bed sheets, with strands of messy hair glued to her sweaty forehead. Her sleep was far from peaceful.
I reached out and put my hand on her arm.
“No!” she screamed. “No, don’t touch me! Get away from me!”
I jumped backwards and nearly knocked the nightstand over. “Sorry!” I sputtered. “Sorry. I’m gone now, okay?”
Morgan opened her eyes and looked at me frantically. Her tense body seemed to soften somewhat. “Oh,” she said. Her voice was hoarse and quiet. “It’s just you, Axel. I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else…” She sniffled and reached up to wipe the sweat from her forehead. “What’s going on?”
“I… You were talking in your sleep,” I said. “You sounded upset and I thought I should wake you up, but now I don’t know what I was thinking… Sorry.”
“No, don’t be sorry,” she croaked. “I’m glad you woke me. I was having a terrible nightmare…”
I hesitated before responding. “Was it about what happened down the mountain?” I asked carefully.
She looked at me for a long moment, eyes filled with fear and hesitation. Finally, she nodded. “Yes,” she said in a voice that was barely a whisper. “I dreamt that they came back for me.”
“Who’s they?” I pressed.
“My fiancé, David,” she croaked. “And the man that was with him, too. They came back to get me, and this time I couldn’t run away. I wasn’t fast enough, Axel.“
I could see her starting to panic again. “It was just a dream,” I told her, but it was like she couldn’t hear me. “Your mind’s playing tricks on you, Morgan.”
“They found my car!” she said suddenly, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. I couldn’t tell if she was still talking about her dream or not. “They saw the car and that’s how they tracked me down. I have to go move it!”
“Slow down now,” I said. “Don’t you hear that storm howling outside? That’s no cozy Christmas snowfall. That’s a blizzard. All right? Your car is probably buried under a foot of snow by now. Nobody’s going to find it.”
“It doesn’t matter!” she said and frantically climbed down the attic steps. “They’ll still find it. They’re looking for me and they’ll never stop!”
“Morgan, stop.” I followed her down the ladder. “It’s not safe out there, especially not for an outsider like you. Do you even know the way back to your car?”
Morgan ripped my coat from the hook on the wall and pulled it on. “I don’t need to know,” she said stubbornly. “I’ll just follow our footsteps.”
“What footsteps?“ I boomed. I was trying to make her see reason, but she refused to hear it. “They’re gone, Morgan. The snow buried them hours ago—just like it’ll do to you if you decide to go out there right now! Don’t you understand?”
“You don’t understand!” she cried out and spun around to look at me, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You don’t understand that the things they’ll do to me if they find me are much worse than some stupid blizzard. You don’t understand anything!”
“Well, you’re not exactly making it easy for me, are you?!” I snapped back. “You stumble into my life and expect me to help you, but you won’t tell me anything about what’s going on! How am I supposed to protect you when I don’t even know what I’m protecting you from?“
Morgan just stared at me. “You would protect me?” She asked incredulously. “But… Why?“
I sighed and slumped onto a kitchen chair. She was asking one hell of a question—and I didn’t even know the answer to it myself. “Because you’re going to get yourself killed if I don’t,” I said finally. “Is that a good enough reason?”
“I guess.” She sniffled and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “But you don’t even know me…”
“So what?” I raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t help a stranger in need?”
“Of course I would!” she said
heatedly. “I’m not a monster.”
“Exactly.” I nodded and took a deep, tired breath. “Now can we drop this? You’re not the only one who should be in bed.”
“But my car—”
“Let me worry about the car,” I interrupted her. “I can make my way to the bar and back without getting lost, and I’m better equipped for the cold. All right?”
She nodded wearily and took off my jacket. When I went to take it from her, she suddenly reached up and wrapped her arms around me. I was stunned. She was hugging me. I couldn’t remember the last time somebody had given me a hug—let alone a complete stranger. I put my arms around her hesitantly and hugged her back. Maybe this time I’d been wasting my time trying to talk reason to her, when all she really needed was a hug…
“You’re a good guy, Axel,” she mumbled into my chest. “That must be why God led me to you.”
I winced. After what I’d seen, I no longer believed in God. Our world was too rotten for divine beings. Plus, I was the last person anyone should be guiding anybody towards. I was far from the good guy Morgan had somehow convinced herself that I was. Suddenly, her arms wrapped around me felt more like a straight jacket than a hug.
I wrenched myself free and grabbed my coat from her. “I’ll need the key.”
“Oh…” She looked confused for a moment. “I think it’s still in the ignition.”
I put my jacket on and stuck my feet into my boots. “Sun’s coming up,” I said without looking up. “I’ll probably be back before you wake up, but if I’m not…” I shrugged. “Make yourself at home, I guess.”
“I thought you were going back to sleep,” Morgan said.
I grunted and pushed the front door open. A heavy gust of wind grabbed hold of it and nearly pulled it out of my hand. “I changed my mind,” I grunted and stepped outside. “Go back to bed now.”
“I will,” she promised. “Goodnight, Axel. And… thank you.”
“Night,” I grunted.
I left without another word. I had to get away for a while—not just to move the car, but also to clear my head. Bringing Morgan here was a mistake… People were chasing her, and if they were really as bad as she said they were, then the last thing I wanted was for them to show up on my doorstep. I couldn’t afford to take risks. The logical decision would’ve been to leave her in the parking lot to fend for herself, but… I wasn’t thinking logically. That was the problem. As soon as she looked at me with those big, brown eyes of hers, I felt an almost primal urge to protect her. No other woman had ever had that kind of effect on me before.