Page 8 of Married to Her Yeti
Tseten, too calm for Mari’s liking, paused for a moment, then asked, “Let me get this straight. You were partying at the Blackwoods’ house with a bunch of college kids?”
Mari released an exasperated sigh. “You know I wasn’t there for the party. I wanted to see Nima’s work without anyone knowing. Don’t judge me.”
“I’d never,” Tseten replied, his tone earnest. He knew she cared about Nima. He’d provided updates about her ex all these years, after all, even when she claimed not to care. “Just like none of you judge me for the relationship I have with Rosa.”
“Of course we wouldn’t.” Poor Tset. He’d fallen for a woman in California who didn’t know he was a yeti. They hadn’t exchanged pictures and didn’t have video chats, sticking only to audio—which seemed to happen with increased frequency. It could spell trouble for Tseten one day, but for his sake, and Rosa’s, they all hoped it worked out somehow.
Mari took a breath. “I snuck up to the bathroom to see the tilework you’ve all been raving about. When I heard voices, I tried to hide in the closet, but Nima was already in there.”
“In the closet?” Tseten unhelpfully repeated. “Well, that explains why he never made it to my house. I’m en route back to Wildwood to look for him. He’s not answering his phone.”
Although Tseten couldn’t see her, Mari shook her head. “It must be on do not disturb or somethingbecause it didn’t ring or buzz—that I noticed—while we were in the closet.”
“You got in the closet with him?”
Yeti weren’t the only ones capable of growling. “Yes. I didn’t want to get caught, and I couldn’t reveal Nima. We were stuck in there for a while. The people who came up to, uh... see the bathroom were not quick.” Well, the couple had come upstairs for aquickie, but Mari was not about to share that detail. “The point is, Nima is still trapped in the bathroom closet, and we need to get him out. Can you help me create a diversion?”
Mari tried to think up a good plan, but her mind wasn’t cooperating. She kept recalling how she’d climaxed in Nima’s arms less than an hour ago. She ran a hand across her face as if that would wipe away the post-orgasmic tingle in her limbs and clear her thoughts. It didn’t.
“I hate to burst your bubble, but he’s trapped because he’s a yeti. How is another yeti going to help the situation? Why didn’t you call Toni, Gina, or Emma?”
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Mari flopped into a kitchen chair. “They’re all out of town. Gina and Emma’s parents are visiting, and they rented a large house near Talkeetna. Denzin and Toni are upin Denali for Christmas. Helen returned to the Toklat Lodge tonight. Jack and Pema are more than an hour away—I don’t want to call them unless we have to.”
Tseten made a humming sound. “How do you know more about everyone’s plans than I do? What about Andy? He and Dawa would never close the cycling store with two holiday shopping days left.”
As Mari pondered this, her dishes rattled in their cabinets. She swore under her breath, recalling Nima’s tense reaction to the earthquake they’d felt together in the closet.
“Another trembler.”Fuck, she had to help Nima.
“Nima still doesn’t like earthquakes,” Tseten reminded her, not that she needed it.
“I know,” she said as she pushed stray strands of hair from her face. “I’ll see if Andy can help, then give you a—” She paused, looking toward her front door as she heard heavy footsteps and crunching snow on her porch. She glanced at the clock. Nearly nine p.m. In a low voice she said, “Someone is here, but I’m not expecting anyone.” An uneasy shiver passed through her adrenaline-logged body as a loud knock sounded at her door.
Mari’s cabin stood at the end of a dirt road. Emma and Yeshe lived over a quarter-mile away.The location was remote enough that trick or treaters didn’t visit on Halloween, and no one made unannounced, late-night house calls, especially when all her friends were out of town. “Stay on the phone with me while I answer the door,” Mari whispered to Tseten as she crept forward. Though it was unlikely her visitor could hear her through the cabin’s thick logs.
“I’m only a few miles away,” he whispered back.
Mari appreciated Tseten’s brotherly protectiveness, and she felt braver as she slid the curtain aside to peek out the window.
A large figure stood on her porch, illuminated only by the silvery moon and colorful holiday lights strung around the eaves of her cabin. She momentarily debated whether to turn on her outside light or grab her bear spray and wait for Tseten to arrive. But then her visitor moved. Despite the subtle changes to her ex’s body over the years, Mari couldn’t mistake his silhouette.
“It’s Nima,” Mari told Tseten. “I’ll call you back.” She disconnected the call and tossed her phone onto the table. She grabbed the legal envelope full of divorce papers, flicked on the porch light, then yanked open the door.
Mari stepped outside, closing the door behindher, and then forced herself to look up at her soon-to-be ex-husband, whose... chest heaved. She paused, taking him in as he gulped mouthfuls of air, his breath condensing into frozen clouds around his head. “You’re panting.”
Nima pressed a hand to his side as if he had a stitch. “I ran,” he said, sucking in a deep breath, “from the Blackwoods. My truck is blocked in.”
Mari blinked. “That’s over five miles.”
“By road, maybe. I came through the woods.”
His route might have been shorter, but not easier. Her gaze traveled up brown, snow-crusted Carhartts to what looked like a fresh tear in Nima’s flannel shirt. “How did you get out of the bathroom?”
Nima stood to his full, impressive height as he exhaled. “I jumped out the window. Mari, listen, I shouldn’t... I don’t even...” He dropped his arms. “I’m sorry.”
She bit her cheek. “For what, exactly?” There were so many things to be sorry about. He might have jumped from a second-story window and run through the woods to find her, which was... well, gratifying. But it didn’t erase her anger and hurt. She needed to know what he was thinking.
He stared at her for a beat, and she forced herself to stay strong even though his aqua-blue eyes wereringed with sadness and regret. She knew the look. She saw it in the mirror every day.
