Page 20 of Stranded with the Billionaire
Chapter Four
The next morning Sterling woke early to the sound of birds singing outside. Yawning, she debated snuggling back in for the warmth or answering the call of nature. The fact that the stove had gone out and she was hopeful of the jar of instant coffee Jake had unearthed, made her crawl out from under the covers.
First, she hobbled over to the stove and got it started. Her knee had swollen further during the night, probably from all the walking they had done yesterday. It ached horribly but she would just have to put up with it. Next, Sterling made her way outside. It was a beautiful sunrise. It would be even more beautiful if she had appropriate clothes, a coffee in hand and indoor plumbing. Shrugging, she looked around for an appropriate spot when she saw the outhouse.
Outdoor plumbing! Maybe with toilet paper? Sterling stumbled through the snow, using nearby trees to help her make her way to the tiny structure with a traditional moon cut into the door.
Wait! She hauled out her phone, taking a picture of the outhouse, the shack and the sunrise through the trees. Perfect, Sterling thought. All good fodder for an article of making their way down the mountainside to rescue.
She hoped things weren’t evolving too rapidly elsewhere in the Ramesly family drama. Sterling had been out of touch and needed desperately to engage with her contacts for information so that she could get her articles written and submitted to Grange. The last thing she needed was Grange to declare her MIA and decide to put some other climbing tabloid writer in her place to cover the Rameslys. That would be the death of her career.
As much as she’d rather not work at the tabloid, Sterling wasn’t ready for that. Which meant she had to submit today. If she could just find….
A signal!
Right at the outhouse. Even better as it was private, and Jake would have zero chance to interrupt to find her emailing Grange. Sterling stepped inside, happily typing on her phone as she enjoyed the necessity. Email and photos sent, Sterling leaned back with a smile. She checked her other emails and texts.
Ted S. no known allergies, was in good health. Autopsy results support anaphylaxis shock diagnosis.
Sterling quickly texted a contact she had at the Ramesly Pharmaceutical company. This contact was fairly new and Sterling wasn’t sure she would be able to get the information that Sterling wanted. However, Sterling knew of no one else except the Rameslys themselves who might have access to this information.
Mindy need info if Ramesly Pharma ever aborted research on a drug due to allergic reactions. Thnx Sterling.
Thank goodness her email was stuck on auto correct. Maybe they could manage to email someone since Sterling was getting a good enough signal to send out the emails?
A text popped up.
Who is this? You do realize it’s not funny to send texts like that.
Max Ramesly. Possibly their ticket out of this mess. Sterling was about to ask him for his email address when she realized that without an a it came out more like ‘emil ddress’. She didn’t think he’d get the point.
Sterling looked at the phone. Three signal strength bars and low on battery. Pressing the call button, Sterling decided to grab Jake to convince Max of who they were.
“Max Ramesly, Blow It Up Demolition services,” came a deep voice over the phone. There was some static on the line but otherwise the signal was surprisingly good.
“Max, this is Sara Hawkins. I was travelling on the plane with Jake Ramesly, your cousin. The plan crashed,” Sterling took a step. There was a cracking noise as a rotting board gave away under her foot. With a shriek, she fell forward, wedging her knee between the floorboards. A piercing pain traveled from her already swollen and hurt knee up her leg. Sterling grabbed at her knee which was stuck between the boards, gasping in pain.
“Hello? Hello?” Max’s voice came from far away.
Sterling looked around frantically. “I’ve dropped the phone. Look, we’re stranded in the mountains after the plane crashed. You need to get someone to trace this phone call then search and rescue can find us.”
“Hello? I can barely hear you,” Max yelled from the phone. “Who did you say you were?”
“Stay on the line,” Sterling called out. “Jake! Jake, I need help!”
“My name’s not Jake,” Max replied. “You’re breaking up.”
“Don’t you dare hang up on me!” Sterling couldn’t find the phone. She tried to move her leg but it wouldn’t budge. “Jake!!”
The door of the outhouse opened and Jake frowned. “What is going on?”
“Down here,” Sterling sagged in relief. “My leg is stuck and I’m not sure where the phone went.”
Going down on one knee, Jake looked at the area by Sterling’s knee. “It looks like the wood has rotted out.”
“Can you get me out?” she asked, blinking back tears. Her knee was throbbing.
“Just a moment,” Jake ran back to the shack.
