Page 9 of Knot Her Mountain Men

“Oh. I didn’t know that was a thing.” I wedged the dog between us even though my instincts demanded I burrow into his cedar and woodsmoke scent. Now wasn’t the time to be cuddling up on a stranger, even if it did appear he had saved my life.

“What happened to you?” he whispered.

I picked my way through the events of yesterday. Or at least I assumed it was yesterday. I didn’t really have any concept of how long I had been outside after Brandon had abandoned me.

Bear growled lowly.

“Do you think he meant to hurt me?” I asked quietly, both knowing the answer and terrified of it.

“He meant to kill you,” Bear whispered. “No other explanation.”

“Him being too dumb to realize it was that dangerous isn’t an explanation?”

Bear gave me anare you serious?look.

“I don’t like thinking a friend was capable of that.”

Bear did the sign forfriendand rolled his eyes.

“I never said he was agoodfriend. I have to go home.”

“Storm,” Bear signed.

“Are we just supposed to stay here?”

Bear shook his head. “Home closer than road.” He swallowed hard, pressing his fingers to his throat. I suppose it helped to leave out unimportant words so he had to speak less.

“How many hours to home?”

He held up three fingers.

“And to the road I was trying to get to?”

He held up five.

“Shit. And probably no truck even if I got there. Brandon drove us out here. Does your home have road access?”

Bear nodded.

“Okay. I guess I have no choice but to trust you. Please don’t murder me in the woods. I’ve already had enough of a brush with that.”

Bear looked insulted by the very idea. He tucked me tightly into the blankets and climbed out, pulling on his discarded clothing before passing me my own. He bustled around, looking like he was preparing to abandon the cabin. I hastily dressed, thankful the fabric was warm from its proximity to the stove. I chugged down some water he offered, infinitely grateful to soothe my parched throat. I was still starving, but I could survive a few more hours.

Bear passed me the last protein bar from a plastic bag in one of his numerous pockets, gesturing for me to eat while he got us ready to leave. In a matter of minutes, the fire was banked and we were ready to leave. He offered me a set of snowshoes from a locked box outside the cabin, raising his eyebrow in question.

“I know how to use them. That’s how we got out to our campsite.”

Satisfied with that, he hitched me up onto my pair and ushered me on ahead of him while he grabbed my empty sled and Pumpkin sprinted around us.

“I don’t know where we’re going.”

Bear clacked his mittens together, a sharp metal sound striking through the quiet of the forest. He pointed up a slim trail to the right and tapped the mittens again.

“Does that mean walk in that direction until you tell me otherwise?”

Another nod.

We set off, my legs protesting with every step, but I couldn’t exactly ask Bear to pull me along in the sled. That wouldn’t be fair.

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