Chapter Five
Xander
I stared out the kitchen window at the snow covered mountain just past the glass. The gravy was starting to thicken as I slid my wooden spoon through for one last stir. Bailey, if that’s even her name, was on the couch looking through an old photo album I’d tucked under the coffee table. I turned off the propane powered camping skillet, looked over my shoulder, and had a strange feeling roll through my gut. The same feeling I’d had several times over the last few days.
Bailey pushed her long red hair away from her face, showing off her sleek profile as I brought her a plate. “Thank you,” she said softly, looking up at me with a look of embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I hope you don’t mind,” she muttered.
“No, of course not,” I smiled, sitting down beside her on the couch. I leaned in, checking out the photos that she was browsing through. “Those are my SEAL brothers,” I said proudly, watching carefully how her smile creeped up higher on one side of her face. A few freckles adorned her cheeks, perfectly positioned on each side like a masterpiece. That feeling rolled through my gut again, nearly leaving me breathless.
I knew she was younger than me, but probably not by much. She had to be close to thirty, if not already. At thirty-five, I wasn’t exactly old, but her sweet, innocent features made me worry I was having feelings for someone far too young.
“How long were you a SEAL?” she asked.
“Eight years,” I responded.
I watched her eyes drift away from mine and back to the photos. I hadn’t looked through the album myself for years, but I drug it around with me everywhere I went. It was one of the few personal items I had that meant anything to me.
“Who’s that?” she asked, pointing to a picture of me and Liam. He was a short, stocky guy that looked like he spent more time at the gym than anyone else I knew. “Liam,” I chuckled as I thought about some of the crazy shit we’d done over the years. He was a real firecracker, the nice guy in the muscle-bound body, but he had a wild side like me.
I scooted closer to her, taking in the faint scent of vanilla still left on her skin. We looked through the album together, while I reminisced about the ‘good ole days’ and shared stories with her that I hadn’t shared with anyone before that wasn’t in them. “You think you know someone in the military?” I asked, thinking maybe the album peaked her interest due to a locked-up memory or two. She shrugged, her expression dangled with frustration, and I knew she was fighting back tears.
The last three nights had been tough, but Bailey proved to be tougher. She’d quit tearing up when she couldn’t answer a question and even quit asking for my help to the bathroom. She was strong and independent, and I was growing to really enjoy that about her. That umbrella, the one she threatened me with that first night, was now her cane, and it took everything I had not to chuckle when I saw her hobbling around the cabin with it. “I know there’s a couple Navy bases not too far from here,” I explained the reasoning behind my question. They weren’t far, three hours or so, and I knew them both well. Bethel was a nice secluded part of Maine, one usually only frequented by tourists for the snow-capped mountains in the winter. It was a very likely place for a Navy family to migrate.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” I consoled her with a pat on the back. Shit, you are gruff, Xander. Why can’t I handle crying women?
“It’s okay. I just feel so lost and alone,” she sniffled, wiping away the tear that escaped.
“Why don’t we try to jog your memory?” I suggested.
Her smile was faint, but present, so I took that as a yes. “Good. Let’s start simple,” I sat on the edge of the couch and reached for my plate. “Do you like biscuits and gravy?”
I was hoping she hadn’t remembered what good biscuits tasted like; mine were two days old, kept in the bread box on my counter. “I don’t know,” she giggled, reaching for her fork. I watched her as she took her first bite. Her expression was hard to read as she swallowed the stale biscuit coated with my famous gravy. The guys used to lap it up when we were deployed, saying it would make an old shoe taste good.
“I like it,” she smiled, taking another bite.
We’d spent a lot of time talking over the last few days, but mostly about the weather, about why I’d moved out here, and her injuries. She was getting better, but still not fit to make it down the snow covered mountain side. One slip, and she was bound to break something, and with her stubborn independence, I knew she wouldn’t agree to me carrying her down.
“When you think about food, is there anything that comes to mind, something you crave, or remember eating?” I asked, hoping the topic would at least bring some light onto her past, for her, and for me. The mystery that surrounded her had me more than a little intrigued. I wanted to know—needed to know—who this beautiful woman was and why she was out here all alone.
Her eyebrows pushed down on her face, and she wrinkled her nose as she stared at her plate of food. “Lobster rolls?” she said curiously, and then laughed.
Her laughter was a light that brought power into the cabin, no electricity needed. “Well, that makes sense. We are in Maine,” I teased.
“Maine?” she questioned.
“Yes, why?” I leaned up to look into her eyes. Confusion swept through them. I hadn’t realized that she wasn’t aware what state we were in. “Does that not sound right to you?” I questioned, fearing she was a tourist, someone who’d go home, far away after healed, that I’d never see again.
It was nice having someone around the cabin to my surprise. I hated to think of her leaving.
“I-uh. I mean, I’m not sure,” she stammered.
“Maybe you’re vacationing here?” I suggested.
“Maybe,” she sighed. “But, alone?”
There was no ring on her finger, nor any untanned line on her skin to represent one being worn recently. “You’re not married, obviously,” I stated, eyeing her left hand.
Bailey tucked her hand under her thigh, her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink that set off her cute freckles, and she appeared anxious. “I guess not,” she smiled nervously.
“So what do you remember about lobster rolls?” I asked, deciding to change the topic from her availability back to food.
“I dunno,” she set her plate down on the coffee table and leaned back onto the couch.
“That’s okay. It’s a start,” I encouraged.
I noticed her looking towards the window. It was starting to snow again, although a lot lighter than before. “It will ease up soon,” I promised, even though I wasn’t certain by the radio forecast I’d heard earlier that morning. ‘Another burst of cold, and more snow,’ the weather man reported with a perkiness that told me he was somewhere warm, with power, and not suffering through this storm one bit.
“What about movies, books, TV shows, anything you can think of that you liked, didn’t like?” I continued to push her to remember something, anything.
“What do you like?” she asked.
“I don’t watch much TV up here, but I have a stack of movies I watch from time to time,” I admitted, reaching into the table drawer beside me and pulling out my stash. I handed them to Bailey for her to look through, but nothing seemed to jog her memory. “I know that’s probably not your genre,” I said, putting the old war movies back where they were stashed.
“What about books?” she asked. I chuckled. I wasn’t much of a reader. If it wasn’t instructions for cleaning a new gun, a map, or of the political nature, I didn’t find any interest in it.
“I’m not a reader,” I admitted.
“Oh.”
“You’re in good shape, great shape actually. You must go to the gym,” I acknowledged, trying not to linger too long on the curve of her calves or the muscle that indented into her thigh as she sat.
“I don’t remember a gym,” Bailey grunted.
“Well, you were out here on this mountain all alone, so maybe you’re just an adventurer. I’m certain if you’ve spent much time hiking, you’re bound to have scars to prove it,” I noted, immediately stretching out my arm to show her my four-inch scar.
“What happened?” she asked, her fingers sliding back and forth carefully along the tough skin.
“I got caught up in a vine while carrying a buddy out of a blast zone, fell, and ripped my arm open on a piece of shredded metal,” I divulged with pride.
“So you’re a hero,” her eyes lit up as her smile showed appreciation.
My cheeks started to burn. The last time I blushed, I couldn’t have been more than nineteen. It was my first visit to a strip club and all the guys initiated me with a lap dance. I was never comfortable around women, not even then. But I was comfortable around Bailey.
“I’m not a hero, just lucky enough to serve with a large handful of them,” I declared.
My phone lit up and buzzed across the table. Fuck, I got a signal. I reached for it, noticing Liam’s name across the screen. “Holy shit,” I exclaimed as I answered.
“How you doin? I heard there was a hell of a storm beating the shit out of your neck of the woods,” Liam blurted.
“You have no idea brother, no fucking idea,” I sighed with relief to hear his voice, to hear anyone’s voice.
“I was worried about ya. I don’t know why—you can take care of yourself,” he chuckled.
“Yes, I can, never a need to worry,” I assured him. “I need you to do me a favor though,” I quickly added before my signal was lost again.
“Anything,” Liam vowed.
“I don’t have any way to charge this bastard, and it’s nearly half dead. Not sure when the signal will come back, but I need to know if anyone’s looking for a woman, one who was hiking when the storm hit,” I explained.
“Sure thing. What’s her name? She there with you?” he questioned.
“She doesn’t remember, that’s the thing. She hit her head pretty good, she’s fine though, safe, and yes, with me,” I told him.
“Okay. I’ll look into it, and I’ll get back with you soon. You sure you’re alright?” he asked.
“I’m doing great. I just can’t get her off this mountain right now, and I would sure like to let someone know she’s safe,” I reported.
“Gotcha,” Liam said, his voice already starting to break out.
We said our goodbyes, and I wasn’t sure if he even heard me before I hung up. Fuck, the signal was gone, and for how long, I had no idea.
Bailey’s eyes were wide and hopeful. I hated to tell her that the signal was lost again, so I just sat the phone back onto the table and offered her a smile. “He’ll find something out. He’s one hell of a sleuth,” I laughed.
Bailey seemed content with being in contact with the outside world, mainly because she had no idea that Liam was in Texas, over two thousand miles away, and that most of the town was probably out of power. It wasn’t going to be an easy task for Liam to find out anything, especially with no name and no real way to contact local authorities. Still, I knew he’d figure it out. The man was smart, the kind of smart that should’ve gone to Harvard, not risking their life in the SEALS.