by Chant, Zoe
Was someone else around? Or was it some kind of animal? Curious, she kept going, and the sound got louder.
The trail curved upwards as she walked, with roots occasionally sticking out through the dirt. Katie used them as makeshift stairs, enjoying the feeling of exercising her body after months of staying inside with Noah.
She crested the little hill and looked down on a sudden clearing. Square in the middle of it was a little cabin like the one she was staying in, and just outside of the cabin was...a man.
A shirtless man.
A shirtless man dressed in cutoff jean shorts that strained around his powerful thighs. He was holding an ax. A real, actual ax. As Katie watched, he raised it over his head and brought it down hard on a chunk of wood resting on an enormous tree stump. The thunk was the noise she’d been hearing, and the result of the thunk was that the chunk of wood split cleanly in two.
He’d clearly been at it for a while, Katie thought dazedly. Sweat was glistening on his chest, despite the relatively cool fall air. He must have had to strip off his shirt because he got too hot—
Noah made a loud noise, waving his arms, and the man looked up sharply. “Who’s there?”
Katie squeaked, moving backwards automatically.
Her foot caught on a root as she retreated without looking, though, and she tripped.
She had a moment where she could see exactly what was going to happen. She was falling backwards, her arms starting to windmill, her stomach dropping as she went into free-fall. She was top-heavy with the baby on her chest, and there was no way to save herself. She was going to fall all the way back down the hill, and Noah—
Noah was coming with her, and Katie couldn’t get the baby backpack off fast enough to get him to safety somehow—she was going to have to curl around Noah and keep him safe, oh God what if he hit his little head—
Strong arms caught her, and she jerked to an abrupt halt.
“Are you okay?”
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