Page 13 of Snow Balled

“That’s what they said.”

Kylie was silent for a moment. Hopefully, she was using her knowledge of mountains to think of a way out of here for me. “Ice storms definitely can make roads completely impassable.”

“And it’s not just the ice, it’s all the downed trees.” Hopelessness filled me. “I checked the weather app, and it doesn’t look like the ice is going to melt anytime soon.”

“Crap,” Kylie said. “I wish my guys and I could magically get to you and whisk you away.”

“Me too.”

She was silent for a moment. “What would they do if one of the people renting a cabin had a heart attack or something? They have to have an extraction plan for something like that.”

“I had the same thought,” I said glumly. “The woman said that in that case, you’d call 911, and emergency search and rescue could hopefully airlift you out.” If they could even get there in time.

“Is there any chance the emergency responders do any, like, freelance work on the side?”

“Don’t think so. Apparently, it’s quite dangerous with all the trees around here. A helicopter would lower rescuers down and have to raise everyone back up again.” As much as I wanted to get out of here, I didn’t want anyone to risk their lives, and I certainly didn’t want to take any resources away from people in medical distress.

“Okay, so… let’s think about this,” Kylie said, and my breath caught as I wondered if she had another idea to get me the hell out of here. “Do you feel unsafe where you are?”

I nearly snorted, a sound I hated. “Well, if I step outside, I’ll likely slide down the mountainside, and a tree could crash through the roof at any minute.” Though, come to think of it, I hadn’t heard the deafening sound of branches breaking off much so far this morning. Either this cabin was better soundproofed, or it wasn’t happening as often.

“No, I mean with the men. Have you talked with them?”

“Not much,” I admitted. Unlike Alyssa, Kylie knew a bit more about my history with men.

“Do they seem nice?”

I sighed. “One guy does, kind of. Oh, and the dog, too.”

“There’s a dog?” Kylie’s voice contained almost the same level of excitement as when she spoke about mountains.

I told her what I knew about Zeus, and even I had to smile as I remembered how soft and silky his fur was.

She laughed when I recounted how he’d snuck into my room this morning. “That would’ve freaked me out, too, to feel something move next to me. But hey, it’s good you have your own room.”

“I did last night. Not sure what’ll happen if I have to stay here for much longer.”

“Tell them your friend Kylie said that if they’re gentlemen, they’ll let you keep it.”

“Hopefully.” Poor Kylie had been in a situation not too long ago in which she’d had to share a room with three strange men. I’d die if that happened. Then again, most women seemed to make it through their lives without flinching every time a man came near them.

And I had to admit, things had worked out pretty damn well for Kylie in the end. I didn’t see that kind of thing in the cards for me, though. For me, a happy ending was getting the hell out of here, booking a hotel nowhere near the trees, and finishing my screenplay.

After a couple seconds of silence, Kylie spoke up in a more hesitant voice. “I know you don’t know those guys, and I know this kind of thing makes you really uncomfortable, but it sounds like they really came through yesterday. I hate to think of what would’ve happened if they hadn’t come to get you.”

I hugged my knees to my chest, thinking about that. “Yeah, they were kind of amazing yesterday.” The more I thought about it, the more it was true. But still… as kind as rescuing a stranger was, that didn’t mean they were prepared to have me as a roommate. And I sure as hell wasn’t prepared to live with three strange men.

“Could you try to kind of… give them the benefit of the doubt?”

“It’s not like that,” I said, after some thought. “I’m not trying to think the worst of them—I just know I won’t ever be comfortable here with them.”

That seemed like a lame way to put it, but I didn’t know how else to explain it. I’d spent half my childhood on a set. My mom, the ultimate stage mother, had hired tutors, but I’d never had much chance to be around anyone but fellow actors.

Boys—and then later on, men—were a mystery to me. When the director started filming, they’d do their best to be macho, touching me, grabbing me roughly—even when the script didn’t call for it. There had been a few male actors that weren’t like that, but most of them were—on or off camera.

Growing up in front of the cameras had left me with a distrust of men in the industry. And my single mother’s history of bringing unsavory boyfriends into our lives had intensified that feeling.

And now I’d be staying with three men I didn’t know.

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