What Cat Lost (The Last Life of Cat Book 1)

by Chelsea Thayer

  Luke just nodded.

  Cat pulled her sweatshirt off, as she lay down across the seat. Luke did the same. Despite the long-sleeved t-shirts they were both wearing under their layers, it just felt right to be that much closer. His hands moved to her face, he held her cheeks and kissed her fully on the lips, until she felt like she could melt. Then his hand moved lower, across her chest. He lifted her shirt just enough to slide his hand under.

  Cat shrieked, “Oh my gosh!”

  Luke quickly moved his hand away, “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Cat laughed. “Your hand is freezing!”

  “Sorry,” Luke chuckled. “Maybe I’ll just keep it here till I warm up,” he said, placing his hand around her waist.

  “I could help you warm up,” Cat said mischievously, as she slid out from under him and allowed him to take her place, lying down in the seat.

  Kissing him forcefully, she straddled him and moved against him. She knew they were taking things too far. The little buzzer in the back of her head was starting to send off warning sirens, but it felt so good. So right.

  She could feel him giving in to her efforts. His hands slid under her shirt again. This time, she didn’t shriek. She didn’t need to — they were warm. She began to kiss down his neck, she lifted his shirt to kiss his chest, his stomach.

  “Holy shit!” Luke exclaimed.

  Cat thought she must be doing a really good job, as she moved to kiss him again, but Luke jumped up so suddenly it stopped her.

  “Holy shit, Cat!” Luke pointed outside, “Look!”

  Cat did. The snow was falling thick and fast. There was already a thin layer covering the ground around them. Cat frowned, as she knew that was the end of their make-out session. Now there were other things to worry about.

  “Should we go?” Cat looked at him.

  Luke paused for a moment, “I only need a dozen more rocks, at most,” he said. “Thirty minutes won’t make too much of a difference.”

  Cat bit her lip; she didn’t have a good feeling about this.

  Luke noticed.

  “We’ll be fine,” he nodded and kissed her quickly, before scooting back out of the truck and sliding back into his waders.

  “Thirty minutes?” Cat questioned.

  “Not a minute longer,” Luke assured her.

  She watched him as he quickly set back to work. She could have used a cold shower, but the cold air and heavily falling snow did the trick.

  He worked efficiently and before the half hour was up, he had the truck full of rocks.

  “With five minutes to spare,” he smiled as he hopped into the truck beside her.

  “Good. Cause it’s really falling now,” Cat commented.

  “We should be fine. I think,” Luke added, as he carefully began to turn the oversized pick-up truck around.

  Cat felt her worries subside as they began back up the steep incline. The snow had covered the dirt road and made it slick in spots, but it was no match for Luke’s four-wheel-drive. Or so she thought. No sooner had she let herself relax, did the tires start to spin and she felt the truck sliding backwards in the direction that they had come.

  Luke took a deep breath, “Let’s try this again,” he said and he revved the engine to give it another go.

  Four tries later and they were no better off. Cat was on the verge of tears and Luke had gone from frustrated to pissed off.

  “Luke, you said we would be fine,” Cat said, as tears threatened to spill over.

  “We are fine, Cat” Luke huffed, “the roads just got slicker than I anticipated and the truck’s weighed down with literally a ton of rocks. It’s just taking a little while to get up the road. But we’ll get there!”

  Cat could tell she had annoyed him, so she did the opposite of what she typically did — she said nothing. She said nothing as Luke tried a fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh time to climb the hill. When the tires began spinning and digging them into a hole they both knew they couldn’t get out of, she bit her lip and refused to make a sound. Finally, Luke turned off the truck.

  “Damn it!” he shouted, punching the steering wheel.

  Cat turned to him. Men could be so silly sometimes.

  “You were right,” Luke muttered.

  “Thank you,” Cat responded calmly. “So, what’s the plan now?”

  “You tell me,” Luke smiled at her hopefully.

  Cat smiled back, “Well, I think we should start walking to the road. We’ll just freeze if we stay here. Then, when you get enough signal on your cell, we can call for help.”

  Luke nodded, “Yes ma’am.”

  They started up the steep incline. Cat decided to go first, with Luke behind her so that he could catch her in case she slipped. Several inches of fresh snow were already on the ground now and it showed no signs of stopping. Cat’s knee started bothering her before they had been walking for five minutes. She tried to push the pain to the back of her mind and focus on something else, like the cold. Her toes were numb. Her face was burning from the cold. She was grateful for Mimi’s suggestion of bringing extra layers along. It would be much worse if it wasn’t for that.

  They didn’t talk as they walked. Cat could hear Luke’s heavy breathing as he climbed the mountain behind her. They were almost to the top, Cat realized. This realization should have made Cat feel better than it did. It was followed by the thought that they still would have another couple of miles to get to the road.

  Cat felt like someone was driving an ice pick into her knee, but she didn’t want to stop walking. She wanted to press on. She wanted to get someplace warm, and quickly.

  She picked up her pace only the slightest amount. The snow was falling heavily. Thick beautiful swirling flakes, the kind you see in movies. Cat would have enjoyed watching the snow, if she was watching it from indoors. Preferably in front of a crackling fireplace with a steaming mug of hot chocolate in her hands. She closed her eyes only briefly to picture the scene, as she took another step ahead. Her foot caught on the roots of an overturned tree. This brief moment was all it took for her misstep. As she put her foot down, she fell forward, right onto her knee.

  Cat exclaimed some choice words as she fell forward into the soft cushion of snow. It was almost healed, and to only injure it again seemed so unlikely. But then again, Cat wasn’t known for being the most graceful. She cursed at her own clumsiness, and kicked the roots with her other foot as she clutched at her knee.

  “Cat,” Luke rushed to her side, “are you okay? Do you think you can walk?”

  “I’m fine,” Cat snapped, wiping tears from her eyes, lest they freeze onto her cheeks.

  “I’m sorry,” Luke spoke, as he knelt down to hold her. “This is my fault. I let myself get distracted with you. Then, I insisted on finishing the work, even after it started snowing …. I screwed up, and now you’re hurt, and it’s all my fault. Damnit!”

  Cat could see Luke getting more upset as he spoke. She raised her hand to his lips to shush him.

  “I will be fine,” she said calmly. “We will be fine. Let’s just call for help, okay? We’re probably close enough to get a signal on your cell now, right?”

  Luke didn’t seem certain, “Cat, I barely get signal from the barn. And in a snowstorm … it seems unlikely. But I’ll try.”

  “Good,” Cat said, trying to stand. The pain was so much that she instantly sat back down. “I don’t think I can walk any further, Luke.”

  Luke looked at her wide eyed as he checked his pockets, a second and third time.

  “Don’t you dare tell me,” Cat shook her head slowly.

  “Shit,” Luke shouted. “Damn it to hell!”

  “Where the hell is your cell phone, Luke?” Cat couldn’t hide the frustration in her tone now.

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” Luke said through gritted teeth. “I had it in
my back pocket when we took a break.”

  “You mean before we started rolling around in the truck?” Cat asked him.

  “Exactly,” Luke said curtly.

  “So, it’s probably three miles behind us on the floorboard of your truck,” Cat said miserably.

  “Probably,” Luke sat beside her, the snow falling heavily on both of them.

  “This sucks,” Cat felt hopeless.

  “We can’t stay here, Cat,” Luke took her hand. “We have two more miles to the road. Hopefully, we can flag a car from there. If not, we’ll just go to the barn and stay the night there.”

  “Luke, I can’t walk,” Cat felt tears welling up in her eyes. “You’ll have to go get help and come back for me.”

  “Like hell I’m leaving you here alone,” Luke practically shouted. “This is my fault. I’ll carry you if I have to.”

  “Well then, you’ll have to,” Cat said. She was relieved that he wouldn’t leave her alone. But if he had to carry her three miles, they would be lucky to get to the barn before nightfall. The sky was already dark from the snow clouds.

  Luke lifted her easily and set off. Cat buried her head in his shoulder and shivered against him. Moving had kept her body warm, but now she was absolutely frigid. The parts of her body that weren’t numb were so painfully cold that she wished they were. Luke began to slow his steps. Cat could tell he was exhausted, his breath puffed out in short little spasms that reminded Cat of a steam engine.

  “Let’s stop,” Cat said through chattering teeth. “You should rest for a second.”

  “No,” Luke said firmly. “It’s getting dark, Cat. I won’t stop until we get to the road. We’re almost there.”

  Cat clung on tightly as he continued moving. Cat couldn’t help but notice they were going slower and slower. She didn’t think she’d weighed that much, but over a few miles, Cat imagined she would be quite a burden to carry.

  “I can see the road,” Luke spoke finally.

  Cat raised her head to see the forest clearing ahead, giving way to a road covered in white.

  “There aren’t any tire tracks,” Cat observed.

  “No one’s driven on it recently,” Luke answered, “but that doesn’t mean that someone won’t come along.”

  Cat wasn’t so sure. No one in their right mind would drive right now, unless they absolutely had to do so.

  “Mimi, will come looking for us,” Cat said certainly.

  “Her truck wouldn’t even make it in this mess,” Luke frowned. “Her best bet would be to call the highway patrolmen … but even they would have to wait until the snow plow clears the roads.”

  “What should we do?” Cat’s voice was rising in pitch, a sure sign that tears were on their way.

  “We’re going to my barn,” Luke said, tightening his grip on her. “We can’t wait here for someone who may or may not come by. We’ll stay the night at the barn, and in the morning, I will come out to the road to flag someone down.”

  “How much further?” Cat asked.

  “Maybe two miles, at most,” Luke’s voice sounded worried, though he didn’t show it on his face.

  Cat could no longer feel her arms that were wrapped around Luke. She hoped her grip wasn’t loosening, so she tightened them again.

  “I won’t drop you,” Luke responded to her action by squeezing her tighter.

  “I know,” Cat whispered, “I’m just making sure I have a hold of you. I can’t feel my arms to tell.”

  Luke glanced at her and picked up his pace. She thought he might pass out at any minute. Cat closed her eyes and whispered a prayer for their safety. She wasn’t worried about her knee anymore; she was worried about Luke.

  They turned onto the gravel road that led to the barn. Luke had now been carrying her for at least two hours Cat guessed by the darkening sky.

  “Let me walk, Luke,” Cat said earnestly. “It’s not much farther.”

  “You can’t walk on your knee. You’ll only make it worse,” Luke’s teeth were now chattering as well.

  “I can put my arm around you and hop,” Cat pleaded. “Please, Luke!”

  Luke stopped. Cat knew he must be in pain because he nodded and lowered her feet to the ground.

  With one arm around Luke’s shoulder and his arm around her waist, Cat hopped the remainder of the way to the barn. When they finally arrived at the door, darkness had fallen.

  Cat sighed with relief as they entered the familiar space. Luke flicked on the switch for the light. Nothing happened. He flicked it back and forth several times before letting out a roar of anger. Cat would have jumped back from him if he wasn’t supporting half her weight.

  “I can’t freaking believe this!” he cried.

  “At least we have shelter,” Cat soothed. “And you have that old lantern in the other room.”

  “All right. Well, let’s get in here,” Luke guided her through the dark, into the small former tack room that held most of his art supplies.

  In the darkness, Cat could make out the old couch where she had sat a few months ago and told him her whole sad story. That seemed like an eternity ago now. She hopped over to it while Luke fished through drawers to find matches.

  The warm glow of the lantern finally greeted them. Luke set it down carefully, far from his paints.

  “My space heater is no good to us now with the electricity off,” Luke said gloomily.

  “Do you have food?” Cat asked.

  Luke began scrounging about for any unspoiled snacks he may have inadvertently left there. He returned to the room a few minutes later with two half-full bottles of Gatorade, a pack of crackers, and a small bag of Chex mix.

  “Bon appetit,” Cat smiled, as he sat in front of her.

  Cat was still shivering uncontrollably. She couldn’t seem to stop. Even though they were now safe from the snow and the wind, it was still freezing in the barn, and their clothes were still dripping wet.

  “We are going to have to get you out of those clothes,” Luke noticed her shaking.

  “You’re shaking too,” Cat commented through chattering teeth.

  “I don’t have anything but blankets for us to wear,” Luke said.

  “That will probably be better than these wet sweaters,” Cat nodded.

  Luke left the room once more and returned with two old quilts. When he came in, he stopped short. Cat was standing there shivering, in nothing but her underwear, her wet clothes already in a pile to the side of the room. He walked to her slowly and opened the quilt for her to step inside. Then he wrapped her up tightly.

  “Better?” Luke asked.

  Cat nodded, “Much.”

  Luke didn’t feel the least bit self-conscious as he stripped down to his boxer briefs, at least, not until Cat whistled at him. He blushed as he looked up at her, and wrapped the quilt tightly around him.

  They sat huddled on the couch, wrapped as tightly as mummies, eating their dinner. They talked about what college would be like together, when they would get engaged, and when they would get married. Cat felt like a day that was so disastrous could not have ended more perfectly.

  They were still cold and exhausted as the later hour brought with it much cooler temperatures.

  Luke noticed Cat was still slightly shivering, though her hair was finally dry.

  “Here,” he said, “open your blanket.”

  Cat raised an eyebrow.

  “That’s not what I’m thinking, Cat,” Luke laughed. “We’ll both be warmer if we wrap both blankets around us together.”

  “Ah,” Cat nodded, “The old boy scout body heat trick … so that really works?”

  “We’ll see,” Luke smiled and stood up, so he could unwrap his blanket.

  Cat watched him as she unwrapped her own. She stood up and walked into his arms so he could double the blankets and enclose them bot
h.

  They laid back down on the couch carefully, so that the blankets would remain tucked snugly around them. Cat felt her breath catching in her throat. Her heart felt like it was pounding through her chest. She was certain Luke could feel it against her own. Being close to him like this was intoxicating, she felt dizzy even.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Cat peered into his eyes.

  “Are you warmer?” Luke asked as he brushed the hair from her eyes.

  Cat nodded.

  “Then it was a good idea,” Luke smiled. “You’re almost impossible to resist, but I’ll consider this a test of my willpower.”

  “Since we failed miserably earlier today,” Cat chuckled.

  “We won’t this time though,” Luke looked determined, “I just want to keep you warm.”

  “I just want you,” Cat responded quietly.

  “You have me, Cat,” Luke kissed her sweetly. “Always.”

  Chapter Thirty

  The sound of a vehicle outside woke Cat suddenly. It was still early. The sun wasn’t quite up yet but the sky was lighter; Cat could tell from looking out the window above her head.

  Cat nudged Luke. Suddenly, she heard voices outside. Several voices — her heart began to race. Had people been looking for them? She was certain Mimi would be worried sick. What would it look like if they were found like this? In their underwear, wrapped up on a couch; Cat’s stomach did a flip at the thought. She nudged Luke even harder.

  “Hmmm?” he responded groggily.

  “There’s someone here!” she hissed in his ear. “Luke, we have to get clothes on. Now!”

  What she had said must have registered with him because he was up like a shot and scrambling about the room for their clothes.

  “Where are my pants?” Cat spun in her spot, glancing frantically around her.

  Cat heard footsteps and voices getting louder. Then, she heard it. The unmistakable creaking of the barn door being opened. They were in the other room. Luke threw her jeans to her as he pulled his own up. Cat was frozen.

  When the door to the room swung open, she stood still, paralyzed with her jeans in her hand.