Page 11 of The Mountain Man's Virgin
The sounds of the ocean ripped away instantly and were replaced by howling wind and a crackling noise. The sand on my feet started to feel slippery, like silk.
My eyes flew open, my idyllic beach scene gone.
Where was I? The light was dim and warm – a fire -- that was the crackling sound. The walls surrounding me were made of logs, and there was a buffalo skull on the wall. I tried to stretch my legs, but they were confined. I looked down and realized that I was encased in a sleeping bag, explaining the silky sensation.
The beach scene was gone, but the arms were still around me.
“Let me go!” I screamed.
“I’m going to let you go,” a deep voice said calmly. He eased his grip on me and I immediately started punching at his arms.
He grabbed my wrists.
“Who are you? Where the hell am I?”
“My name is Mick. You are recovering from hypothermia. I’m going to let you go, but you have to promise not to try to hit me again.”
I was terrified, but for some reason, the smoothness of his baritone voice calmed me down
“Ok. I promise,” I whispered.
He let go of my wrists, but I remained tense. My hands were balled up into fists and I crossed my arms protectively across my chest. My naked chest. Why was I naked?
“Get off me!” I cried.
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” the voice said again, this time a little exasperated.
“I’m in the sleeping bag with you. I’m going to get out now.” He unzipped the mummy bag and I felt the pressure from his body disappear as he slid out. He reached down and zipped the sleeping bag back up and draped a patchwork quilt over top of me.
I was confused, and my vision was coming and going. I didn’t know whether I wanted to look at him, and I didn’t know whether or not to be scared. I felt bandages wrapped around my left arm. Then the events of that day started coming back to me: the girls’ weekend, the car, the cliff, the snow.
I bolted upright. “The girls. Oh, my god. There was an accident – we need to get help.”
I found the courage to turn and look at my captor. Rescuer? But he was gone. There was clattering coming from the other room and I heard the whistle of a tea kettle.
I slid out of the sleeping bag, pulled the quilt around me, and tiptoed to the kitchen.
The man was standing at the stove, his back to me. He had a huge broad back and was wearing a one-piece suit that looked like it was made of wool. His dark hair flicked out the bottom of a red wool hat.
“We need to get help.”
He jumped a little at the sound of my voice and turned. “It’s okay. Search and Rescue found your friends. Two of them are in the hospital in town.
“Oh, God,” I whispered. Did that mean one of them had died?
“No, no. That came out wrong.” He said quickly. “Everyone is alive and going to be okay.”
I felt something wet on my fingertips and yelped in surprise.
I looked down to see a black nose and heard the unmistakable sound of a lab’s tail whacking against the furniture.
“Hi, you.” I leaned down to give him a scratch behind the ears.
“That’s Chopper. You can thank him for saving your life.”
That’s when it hit me. This man had rescued me. I took a closer look at him and realized that I was staring at the most gorgeous man I had ever seen. Even in his ridiculous outfit, he looked like a model. Not a runway fashion model, more like an Eddie Bauer model, like he should have a pick-ax in one hand and a chainsaw in the other.
I gripped the quilt closer around me and fought the tears welling up in my eyes.
