Page 66 of Second Chances
“Get in the back seat,” he barked at Charlotte and jumped into the driver’s seat, gunning the engine and heading off to the main road, snow spraying out behind them as he left the shoreline. “She needs to get out of those wet clothes. Get her undressed NOW.”
“Really, can’t I just wrap her in blankets?” Charlotte asked.
“Charlotte, get those clothes off of her right now,” Josh yelled as he maneuvered the truck onto the main road.
Charlotte unbuttoned her friend’s jeans and pulled them from her body, surprised at how heavy and cold they were. She unzipped the down coat and pulled Megan’s long sleeved shirt over her head.
Josh looked in the rear view mirror, “Underwear too.”
Charlotte raised her eyebrows at him but obeyed, sliding Megan’s soaking wet panties from her body. “Meg, honey, can you reach your bra?” she asked. Meg nodded and unclipped her pink bra. Charlotte pulled it off her arms.
“Now wrap her in every blanket you’ve got.”
Charlotte fully mummified her naked friend. Megan was laughing, “Charlotte, I never knew that you wanted to get me undressed. Is this why you’re single?”
“You wish,” Charlotte replied, trying to keep the atmosphere light, knowing that her friend wasn’t out of the woods yet.
“There are some hot pockets in there, crack them open and put them in her armpits, but not directly against her skin. Charlotte complied and noticed that Megan was starting to shiver.
“She’s shivering!”
“That’s good,” Josh said. “That means she’s warming up.”
Josh pulled up in front of his cabin.
“Where are we?” Charlotte asked.
“This is Josh’s cabin,” Megan said, her voice slurry.
Josh ripped open the truck door and pulled Megan’s cocooned body out of the truck and carried her inside.
“What are we doing here?” Charlotte asked, following him into his cabin.
“We need to get her warm. This is the closest place to do it. Get some more blankets out of that cupboard,” Josh ordered, pointing at a glass front cabinet full of quilts.
Megan complied, pulling out a stack of handmade quilts. “Shouldn’t we take her to the hospital?”
“We will, but first we need to get her body temperature up. The ride to the hospital is too far and without a chopper, we would be risking her life attempting to get there – especially with the storm coming in. Now get those blankets on her.” Josh lit a fire and within minutes it was raging, lighting up the cabin with its yellow glow and crackling as the bark burnt. “There are some hot water bottles in the bathroom and there is water in the kettle.” Josh pointed to the kitchen and Charlotte ran to light the propane stove to heat the water.
“Is she going to be okay?” Charlotte asked as she clicked on the burner.
“I think so,” he whispered. “As long as her body temperature keeps climbing, she’s going to come through this with only some bumps and bruises. When she gets warm enough to transport, we can take her to the hospital to get a once-over, but I think that she’s going to be okay.”
“Thank you, Josh.” Charlotte pulled Josh in for a bear hug. “I hope that you two can work everything out.”
Josh didn’t mention the I love yous that had been exchanged out on the ice. He chalked them up to a very intense moment. They could easily be taken back. He looked over at Megan, wrapped up in the comforters, one of his mom’s hand-knit stocking caps on her head, and realized that he didn’t want to take them back. He loved Megan.
“I hope so too.” Josh squeezed Charlotte back. “You were very calm under pressure today. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“Same,” Charlotte smiled and then jumped as the kettle started to whistle. She pulled it off and filled up the hot water bottles.
“I’ll take over,” Josh said and took the bottles from her hands. Charlotte yawned. “Why don’t you go and get some rest? I’ll take care of Meg.”
“I know you will,” Charlotte replied and patted Josh on his sturdy shoulder. She climbed the ladder into the loft and Josh could hear the bed creak as she laid down.
He knelt on the floor in front of the couch and removed the now cold packs from Megan’s underarms and replaced them with the warm hot water bottles. Megan was murmuring incoherently, and Josh leaned closer to try to decipher what she was saying. He pushed her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ears. He kissed her on her forehead and held his face next to hers. It was still cold but felt like skin again, not a hard-frozen surface.
“Josh, I’m cold,” she whispered.
