by Kori Hart
She left. Just like that.
We had something special going on. I know she felt it. We belonged to each other last night; it had been incredible and more than just a good time.
The anger I could feel building up inside was about to be unleashed. I didn’t know if I needed a stiff drink or to hit the gym. I started to pace in my kitchen as I went over everything in my mind.
“I can’t believe this,” I grumbled.
As I turned to make another lap around my kitchen, I looked at my front door. There was Anna, standing on the front porch. I could see her through the window as she faced the driveway. I knew she was waiting for someone but I had to stop her. I quickly moved around the counter and sprinted for the front door.
“Anna!” I shouted the second I stepped out onto the front porch.
She looked at me for a moment before facing the driveway again.
“What is going on?” I asked a little more calmly, taking my steps slow.
“I’m going home,” She answered with her back to me. It was only a few seconds but felt like an eternity before she turned to look at me
“I can take you.”
She made a face. I couldn’t tell what it meant. Was she annoyed? Or something else?
“Scott is already on his way,” She replied. “I wrote you a note…”
Scott? Did she have a boyfriend? I felt like someone had punched me in the gut.
“I saw the note,” I said plainly. “I had thought it might be easier since I’m already here.”
“I didn’t want to bother you,” She said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“So last night…” I was trying so hard not to spit the words at her. “Was it nothing?”
“We live in two different words,” Anna argued.
“But…”
A car engine suddenly roared through the trees and I looked up to see a cherry red mustang appear. I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair. Any second now and I would see the guy that had planted himself in Anna’s life. I didn’t know if I would punch him or throw up.
“Anna, can we at least talk?” I asked quietly as the Ford pulled up in front of us.
“There’s nothing to talk about. I can’t do long distance and you already said you won’t ever live in the city.” She looked at me and I swear I saw a hint of sadness on her face. It lasted only a split second and then it was gone.
“Ready to go?”
I looked up and met the eyes of the man there to take my Anna away. My nostrils flared and my hands balled up into fists. The things I wanted to do to him would have scared Anna, but I believed she knew that we belonged together. Last night was just not a onetime thing. We were both feeling things that couldn’t be explained.
Anna was looking at me and I didn’t speak. There was nothing left for me to say. She took a step towards me but then stopped herself.
“It was nice meeting you, Paul.” Anna gave me a little wave and then walked with the shorter, scrawny man back to his hot rod.
As I watched her get into the passenger seat, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t do anything. If I did, I might have don’t something unforgivable.
The moment that the mustang disappeared back into the trees, I let out a frustrated growl.
Anna
Getting into Scott’s car was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. The look on Paul’s face broke my heart, and I wanted to run to him and wrap my arms around his body. I wanted to kiss his face and nuzzle against his beard.
But I couldn’t. My life was in the city.
If I was really being honest with myself, I would see that this was all a bunch of crap. I was making up excuses because I was scared. It was so much easier to run away from my problems. Wasn’t that what got me into this mess? Trouble at work, run away to go spend some time with a former roommate. Handsome stranger steal your heart, run back to the city.
I ran my hands over my face and groaned. I never thought I would fall for someone like Paul. He had such a simple life, content on being out in nature. His coffeemaker was from the 90s, I’m sure of it. I didn’t even know if he had satellite TV or internet. What did he do with his free time? There was no way I could live like that.
There I went again. My mind kept trying to think of all the reasons I couldn’t think about him.
No, this was best. I belonged in the city.
“So…” Scott said as soon as he pulled out onto the highway.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I slumped down in my seat and kept my eyes on the passing scenery.
“Which part? The part about you driving out of town to run away from work? The part about you spinning out on ice and crashing into a ditch? The part about your car smoking? Or the part about me having to drive an hour to come pick you up at the ass crack of dawn? Oh, and you were at a strange but handsome mountain man’s home.” Scott wasn’t amused, I could tell by the tone, but he would get over it. I picked him up more often than not.
“All of it,” I retorted. “And he’s not a mountain man. He’s a lumberjack.”
Scott scoffed. “Same thing.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“You will seriously argue with me about this, won't you?”
“They aren’t the same. Paul works with wood. He cuts it. He even built his own house.” I was getting defensive and I could see Scott eyeing me out of the corner of my eye. No matter how much I claimed I didn’t want to be with Paul, that didn’t mean I would let anyone talk bad about him.
“That sounds like a mountain man to me.”
“You’re wrong.”
“What’s the difference?”
I didn’t know how to answer him. I groaned softly and put my focus back on the window.
Scott laughed. “There is no difference. Just admit it?”
“Why don’t you drop it already?” I snapped.
Scott stopped laughing and put his attention back on the road. I felt a little guilty about my outburst but I was on the verge of tears. The last thing I wanted was for Scott to see how torn up I was over Paul.
Chapter Six
Anna
It had been a few weeks since I ended up in the ditch and I would like to say that things had gone back to normal but it was far from the truth. I lost my job because the state department shut down the daycare. The paperwork was never done correctly or at least that's what I heard. I’m sure there was more to it than that. It sucks not having a paycheck but I’m glad not to have that stress over my head.
Because I wouldn’t have a steady income and all my job prospects were drying up, I moved in with my sister. I was the temporary nanny until she found someone who would take the permanent position.
“Are you sure you don’t want to do this full time?” Beth asked, picking up her six-month-old daughter from the changing table.
“I don’t want your place to turn into a place I associate with work,” I replied. The truth was, I didn’t know what I wanted to do or else I would have jumped at the full time pay. I felt like there was something better out there for me, a calling of sorts. I just had to figure out what it was.
“You don’t know that will happen,” Beth argued. She bounced the baby a little while patting her back and then left the nursery. I followed.
“You’re right but I also feel like there is something else out there for me,” I tried to explain.
We reached the couch, and both took a seat. My niece was resting her head on Beth’s shoulder, looking at me with big eyes. I smiled at her and wondered what it would be like to have a child of my own. A sense of loneliness hit me and I thought of Paul. As soon as his face came up in my mind, I pushed it away. I wouldn't think about him.
“Something else or you mean someone else?” Beth said. She must have read my mind.
“Something,” I retorted sternly. “You know I don’t want to talk about him.”
“Why not?”
“Because…”
“Because you th
ink you can’t hack it out in the woods? That is the stupidest reason to give up on a guy you are obviously crazy about.” Beth was giving me one of her infamous looks and I knew she was right.
“My life is here.”
“What life?”
“Ouch.”
Beth gave me an apologetic smile and reached out with her free hand to pat my knee. “You know I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that now might be a perfect time to think about a change. There is nothing tying you to the city anymore.”
“You’re here. Same with mom and dad,” I pointed out.
“We’re less than an hour away. Nothing but a snowstorm will keep us from seeing each other.” Beth smiled at me as she gave my knee a little rub.
“Besides, even on snow days, we can do video chat too,” She added. Her attention went back to her baby, and she cooed at the little one with a big smile.
“I don’t even know if he has internet.” I sighed and slumped a bit against the couch.
“You had cell service. You could call our cousin,” Beth reminded me.
“What would I do out there all day?” I asked.
“You are trying to find every excuse under the sun. Why don’t you think of the positives?”
“There are no positives.”
“Yes, there are. I’m sure you can think of at least ten. Go on. Let’s hear them.”
I gave my sister a look. She had to be kidding. Beth looked amused as she nodded, encouraging me to start my list. I sighed and tried to think of all the positives.
“Number one is Paul. He would be there. He has a big, beautiful home. It needs a woman’s touch, but it wouldn’t take much to spruce it up. Number two would be the peace and quiet. His place is tucked back in the woods and you only hear a car when it’s coming down the driveway. Um… three would be the view. It was absolutely beautiful. Everything was so colorful and full of life. I should have taken a picture. I’m going to say that four is relaxing. I got the sense that everything wasn’t go, go, go like it is in the city. He worked, but he didn’t have to do anything else but go home. That leads me to five. No traffic. I hate traffic with passion. I’m sure it takes longer to get to the stores and restaurants, if they have any out there, but it’s a scenic drive instead of wall to wall cars. Six, I have to think of this. Oh, no neighbors. I guess that is both good and bad. You don’t have to listen to them stomp around or blaring their music. Bad in the sense that if you needed help, they weren’t close enough. Though I guess you never know if your neighbors will help or not so I’ll scratch that.”
I put my hands on my thighs and ran them down to my knees. I didn’t want to admit that the idea of moving to the middle of nowhere wasn’t such a terrible idea.
“You have four more positives to come up with,” Beth reminded me with a big grin.
I playfully rolled my eyes.
“Seven. I have the opportunity to grow my own food, if I wanted. I know I’m not known for having a green thumb but having a strawberry plant or something sounds really amazing. Fresh fruit and veggies always tasted better. Number eight, I’m going back to the neighbor thing. You can blast your music as loud as you want and chances are nobody will complain. You can have parties and everyone will have space to park, run around and have a good time.” I started to picture a party at Paul’s house and how much fun it would be, having everyone there and not worrying about having to put quarters into the meter or having the cops show up to say that the noise was too loud.
“Privacy would be number nine,” I commented with my mind still on the party. “You could walk around naked if you wanted and only the birds will see you.”
“That also means you can have sexy time whenever, wherever,” Beth teased. She laughed and then gave me a look. I knew what she was thinking.
“Yes, I know. I can be a little freaky in the bedroom and get loud. Being in the woods would allow me to be myself and get as loud as I wanted.” The images in my head switched from the party to the night I spent with Paul. The way he made my toes curl. I was definitely loud that night.
I pressed my knees together and squeezed my legs shut, trying not to think about the hottest night of my life.
“And ten?”
I looked over to Beth and tried to think of another reason. My heart was hurting as I kept picturing his face.
“I wouldn’t be alone,” I told her softly. I’m sure the sadness I felt seeped into my voice and I didn’t care. I missed Paul and I probably ruined my chances of ever seeing him again.
“You…” Beth started to say, but I cut her off.
“Can we do something else?” I asked.
Beth looked at me for a minute and then nodded her head. She reached for the remote and passed it to me. I hit the power button, needing a distraction.
When the screen came to life, I realized it was on a local news station. I was about to change it when the screen went red, announcing an emergency message.
A woman started to talk, but I didn’t have the volume on. I looked to the headline scrolling across the bottom. There had been an accident outside of the city. I felt my stomach drop.
Then the screen changed again.
Inching to the edge of the couch, I couldn’t look away as a video started playing. There were a bunch of logs scattered on the ground with a log truck tipped on its side. I noticed it said ‘live’ up in the corner and I could feel the knot in my stomach grow tighter.
The video started moving, following the dirt road. A firetruck was parked by a couple of ambulances. It looked like there was a large tow truck on scene as well but it was the white pickup that stopped my heart.
Oh god.
I frantically tried to get my finger on the volume button, needing to hear what was being said. My heart was beating out of my chest and all I could think about was whether Paul was okay.
“To recap what we know so far, there was a major incident at a logging site this morning. Several of the workers were injured when a log truck unexplainably tipped over, sending all the logs down the embankment. At least one man was pulled out from underneath the logs. None of the workers' names have been released. We will bring you more information as it comes in.”
The woman moved a piece of paper to the side and then the screen cut back to the scheduled program.
I could feel tears building in my eyes and I knew what I had to do. I jumped to my feet and raced to my purse off of the kitchen counter.
“What are you doing?” Beth asked, following me with her baby still in her arms.
“I’m going to the hospital to see if Paul is okay. I have to see him.” I didn’t have time to explain any further. I walked past her, grabbed my jacket and walked out the front door.
I had parked my rental car along the curb and the windows had already started to frost over. I'd need to defrost them before driving down the road. I don’t think I could handle waiting that long. With a quick glance up and down the road, I didn’t see any cars. That meant no random taxis driving around.
“Anna…”
I looked back to the house and my sister was on the porch. She held up a pair of keys before tossing them to me.
“Take my car!” She shouted. The garage door started to open, and I smiled.
“Thank you!” I shouted back and ran to the driver’s side. I pulled out of her driveway in a flash and headed to the main hospital in the city, praying that Paul was still alive.
Paul
I blinked my eyes slowly, but a bright light seemed to be pointing at me. It took a minute before I could open them completely and look around. I didn’t recognize where I was right off but then remembered what happened. Images started to flash back in my mind. Lots of yelling, a log truck tipping to the side, the road underneath the truck giving away and logs, lots of logs rolling down. More yelling. Pain.
I was in a hospital but everything hurt. I looked at the heart monitor peeping nearby and then the IV pole. I hoped that one bag connected to my arm had some of the good stuff. All I
needed was a little to take the edge off.
I looked down at my hands. They were bruised and scraped up. Nothing too terrible. I kept looking down my body and so far everything seemed to be in working order. Then my eyes fell to my legs. Both were wrapped in white plaster.
Fuck.
My head fell back against the pillow and I sighed. I wished I could remember exactly what happened.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Smith. It’s good to see you awake. I’m Dr. Anderson. I’m the one taking care of you. Can you tell me what day it is?” A woman walked in carrying a clipboard, speaking in a way that made it a little hard to hear.
“I’m sorry. I can’t really hear you,” I said trying to shift into a seated position.
She put her hand on my shoulder to keep me from getting up. After checking my eyes, my pulse and putting more liquid into the IV, she looked back at my chart and didn’t say anything for quite some time. Soon my head wasn’t spinning as much and everything was much clearer.
“How are you doing now?” She asked.
“Much better. Thank you,” I answered.
“Can you tell me what day it is?”
I had to think about it for a second, never having been good with remembering the date. “Thursday.”
“Good,” The doctor smiled. She scribbled something down on the clipboard before looking back at me. “You suffered a fracture in both legs that we were able to set and cast. You are very lucky, Mr. Smith. Your other injuries are minor cuts and bruises. I’m going to keep you overnight though for observation. Do you have any questions for me?”
I shook my head. There was a lot to take in but thankfully she had the good stuff dripping in my IV. The pain I felt earlier was completely gone.
“If you need anything, there is a call button attached to your bed. A nurse will be right in to assist you,” She explained before walking to the door.
She paused before opening it and looked back at me. There was a smile on her face and I felt reassured that she was doing everything she could for me.
“How is everyone else?” I asked, needing to know.
“I don’t know the extent of everyone’s injuries. There are a few concussions, more broken bones and a deep laceration. I’m sorry to say that you lost one member of your team.” The woman spoke softly and I could tell she had had to deliver bad news before. It didn’t make it any easier.