CHAPTER THREE
Zoe
I woke gradually but didn’t open my eyes, fearing the light on the other side of my eyelids would make my excruciating headache worse. The pain was terrible, like a jackhammer digging around inside my skull. Very slowly, I lifted my hands to my face, hoping that by shading my eyes, I could open them.
Just as I felt something wet on my fingertips, I noticed a metallic smell mingling with the hot scent of gas and rubber. I was hot, but at the same time very very cold. I was also having trouble breathing. Whatever was happening to me wasn’t good.
Forcing my eyes to open, my vision was blurred and spotty, but I was able to see a thick tree limb pinned against my chest. Smaller branches poked into my face, neck, and arm. Fighting against the pain, I lifted a hand and pushed the branches away, snapping the smallest ones so that I could very slowly turn my head.
The Jeep was pinned against a tree whose sturdy limb had burst through the vehicle, going into the passenger window, across the cab, and through the driver’s side glass. How had this happened? My pounding head made it difficult to think. Then I remembered. The scary climb up the mountain. Stopping before heading down the other side. The curve. The slide. Dropping over the edge. Glass shattering. A brutal stop. Then nothing. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been passed out, but from the amount of snow now inside the Jeep, it had been several minutes at least.
The vehicle’s engine had died, and the only sound was the eerie creak of metal and my heavy breathing. As I listened, the howl of the storm could be heard above the roar of the blood in my ears.
Very slowly, I took inventory of my situation. I didn’t think anything was broken. My fingers and toes could move at least. My head seemed to be my biggest problem, and I was able to get my left arm up and over the limb so that I could probe a wet gash in my hairline. I didn’t remember hitting my head, but from the pounding radiating across my skull and the blood flowing down my face, I’d done a pretty good job of it.
The vehicle creaked and then suddenly slid a few inches. The scream of metal piercing the air mingled with my own. I braced for impact, but no impact came as the Jeep resettled onto the tree that had saved me from plummeting to the bottom.
For how long?
I had no way of knowing if the tree would hold me, but I knew that my chances were better out of the Jeep. I’d always heard that you should never leave your vehicle in bad situations, but as the Jeep slid another couple inches, I recognized that staying was the worst of my limited options.
“Help.”
The cry was useless, even more so because it was barely a whisper, and I realized that was because I was finding it hard to breathe. Looking down, I found the reason for my continued distress. When the vehicle shifted, the branch that had busted through the window moved and was now pinning me even harder to my seat.
The Jeep had lodged against the tree at an angle, so I wasn’t completely on my side, but the driver’s door was above me. Snow and ice fell through the broken glass, covering me with its icy cold. Using all my strength, I tried to push the door open, but the weight and gravity were too much, especially since I was pinned the way I was.
It was a good thing and a bad thing, I realized.
The thick branch was keeping me from falling, but it was also keeping me from climbing out. I didn’t know what to do, and the pounding in my head didn’t help me think, so I just sat there for a moment, my chattering teeth making everything worse.
“Pull it together, Z.”
Taking breaths as deep as I could, I swiped away the blood, blinking hard until my vision cleared a bit. The hat. With the very tips of my fingers, I could reach the wool cap. I was also able to reach a t-shirt I’d tossed inside a couple weeks ago.
I wiped the blood from my eyes so I could see better, then folded the shirt and wrapped it around my head, tucking the ends before securing the makeshift bandage with the hat. There, I’d solved one problem. Now, I just needed to solve the next.
As I continued to force myself to remain calm, thinking became a little easier and I remembered the lever at the side of the seat. Reaching down, I pulled it up and eased the seat backwards into a reclining position.
That was better. The pressure from the tree branch was off my lungs and getting air in and out was considerably easier. Looking around, I wished the Jeep was a ragtop. If it was, I could have maybe clawed my way out. Since it wasn’t, I needed to find a way to heave the door open. I looked right, and froze. From my position, I had a view out the passenger window, and what I could see brought a new wave of fear.
Nothing.
Even through the blur of the blizzard, I could see that nothing besides this tree and a number of smaller ones was stopping me from plunging hundreds of feet to the bottom. The very knowledge stopped me cold.
I was going to die here. I’d either freeze to death or fall.
No.
I wasn’t ready to give up yet. I wanted to know how my story ended. Not just the novel I was writing, but my story. Zoe Elaine Meadows. I’d fought through the embarrassment of my childhood and was on the cusp of enjoying life for the first time. I wasn’t ready for it to end. Not like this.
Bracing my elbow on the passenger seat beside me, I slowly reached for my seatbelt and pushed the button to be freed from the restraint. As I expected, my weight shifted, but I hadn’t expected the Jeep to shift too.
This was it.
The branch in front of me cracked, straining from the weight, and when I looked down this time, the chasm below me appeared to loom closer.
Crack.
The Jeep shifted again, the front end sliding several more inches. Knowing I had so very little time to spare, I squirmed under the branch until my boots were on the seat beside me before pushing my hands and shoulder against the door, heaving with all my might. It moved. Only a few inches, but the snow blew in on my face as I adjusted my feet for better leverage, refusing to give up.
Crack.
The Jeep shifted again, but I didn’t stop pushing, straining, screaming with the effort. Ten inches. Twelve. Then, as if it were a miracle, the weight of the door was lifted off me.
“Here, take my hand.”
I didn’t question, just locked my hand around the one extended toward me. Strong fingers circled my wrist as the Jeep shifted even more.
Crack.
“Please, don’t let go!”
Two hands were on me now, the bite of the man’s grip cutting nearly to the bone. He pulled, but the tangle of the branch was snagging at my clothes like demons trying to pull me into hell.
“I’ve got you,” he roared, and the tree appeared to respond with a roar of its own. I felt myself sliding, my hand slipping through his as my glove tried to come off in his grip.
Then I was free, the Jeep falling from beneath me to crash to the mountain’s floor. Legs and arms surrounded me, pulling me higher onto the man’s body. Shock and adrenaline battled through my system, causing me to shake more from their symptoms than the cold, and I buried my face into his chest.
“I’ve got you,” he said, his hand stroking my back, his breath warm through the woolen hat. I tried to respond, but the harsh chattering of my teeth prevented me from voicing any words. He sat up, still holding me tightly against him. “We’ve got to get out of this.”
I nodded, the violent shivering making even that gesture disjointed, and I felt him wrap something around my waist. A rope. He finished the knot then looped it between my legs, making a harness of sorts, adding a carabiner to keep it together.
“Can you walk?”
I wasn’t sure, but I was damn well going to try. I’d lost my glove, and the warmth of his palm felt wonderful as he took my hand. He pulled me to my feet, and I forced my quaking legs to stand, proud that they did as I bid. I looked up at him, trying to get a glimpse of my savior, but he was all hat, goggles, and ice-encrusted beard.
Grizzly Adams in the flesh.
“You first,” he said, yelling over the wind. “Grab the rope. I’ll help from behind.”
I nodded, still unable to speak as he guided me in front of him before forcing my numb hands to take hold of the rope. There was a harness around him too, and between the two of us, we started up the steep incline, his hand on my back to keep me going.
“Almost there.”
At the top, the man quickly untied the rope from around me, then pulled a blanket from a four-wheeler, draping it over my head and shoulders before untying himself. My stomach heaved and the world went sideways. “I’m sorry,” I said before turning and emptying the contents of my stomach on the snow.
He held my shoulders, pulling my hair back as I heaved. Tears and snot were pouring from my face, but I didn’t care. Couldn’t care, as it took every last bit of energy I had to stay on my feet as the world spun crazily around me.
Very gently, he wiped my face with something before guiding me over to the four-wheeler and helping me climb on.
“Thank you.” At least I tried to say the words, but they could have just been lost inside my head. I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure of anything any longer.
Between the hat and dark googles, and the beard that covered the lower half of his face, I still couldn’t see him. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. I couldn’t tell what kind of man he was. All I knew at the moment was that he had saved me. He had risked his own life to save a stranger. That was good enough for me.
“We need to get out of the weather. It’s about to get worse.”
I was incredulous. Worse than this? Was this mountain about to turn into an iceberg?
The off-road vehicle dipped as he sat down behind me, my ass nestled between his strong thighs. I tried to move away, but he hit the gas, and I didn’t have the energy or strength to do anything but settle back against his chest and huddle deeper into the blanket to keep the worst of the snow from smacking my already frozen face.
How he knew which way to go was beyond me, but when I peeked out, I noticed a set of tracks that were quickly filling in with additional snow. He pulled something from his pocket and held it up. A blue light flashed. A GPS, I realized. I needed to get me one of those.
Some time passed before I noticed a twinkling of lights in front of us, and in those minutes the adrenaline faded, causing all the aches and pains to reintroduce themselves. Every muscle in my body sang, but it was my head that was causing the most trouble. When we hit a hole and were jarred sideways, I reached up and pressed my skull with my hands, hoping to keep my brain from jostling around too much.
“Almost there,” he promised, one arm tightening around me. And even with all that had happened, and all the uncertainty still to come, I’d never felt so safe. Ever.
When he turned off the ATV in front of the cabin, the blessed silence nearly made me groan, and before I could attempt to climb off myself, I was swooped up in his arms. Six steps later, we were on a porch then… warmth. The sudden change of temperature caused me to shudder.
“Let’s get you warmed up,” he soothed, his voice a deep rumble as he sat me down on a long sofa in front of a roaring fire. A beautiful brown dog with a wide head and calm chocolate-colored eyes came forward, tail wagging as she inspected me. Her fur was soft under my fingers as I stroked her pretty head and scratched behind her ears. Within ten seconds, I was in love.
“That’s Maggie.”
His words brought my attention back to my savior, and as I watched, he kicked off his boots and shrugged out of his jacket, his gloves and wool hat landing on the hearth. The goggles came next, revealing eyes that were the bluest I’d ever seen.
I remembered watching Beauty and the Beast as a girl and had always loved the moment when Belle saw past the monster and looked into the beast’s eyes. Not that this man was a monster. Hairy yes, but that was where the resemblance ended. The beard and long hair gave him a rugged look, but beneath them were fine bones that I wanted to trace with my fingers.
Stop it.
It must have been the brush with death and the happiness to be alive that had me thinking so sensually, so vividly. So wildly. Because of my mother and the world she lived in, I avoided sex at all costs. I’d never met a man who’d so much as stirred enough curiosity to tempt me over to that dark side. To me, sex wasn’t a beautiful thing. It wasn’t a natural thing between two people. It represented greed and power and control.
I’ll make you feel good, honey.
I shivered at the memory of those words, but refused to let my thoughts go there. I turned my gaze back to the dog, who’d plopped her broad head on my thigh, looking up at me with instant adoration.
Even though my vision was still blurred, I could see my savior unbutton a thick flannel shirt in my periphery, shrugging it from his shoulders to reveal a — good heavens — light gray t-shirt that clung to his muscular chest.
My fingers began to tremble in Maggie’s fur, and I couldn’t make them stop. And although I was getting warm, my teeth continued to chatter. I had no control over my muscles and felt like an earthquake was going off inside me.
My savior dropped to his knees in front of me, concern in his blue eyes. He untied my boots and dragged them off along with my socks, warming my toes with his hands.
“You’re going into shock, but you’ll be okay, I promise,” he soothed, his voice a low rumble. “Look at me.”
I did, and he clamped his long fingers on either side of my face to keep me steady. Nausea churned in my stomach and I swallowed hard, willing myself to keep it down. It had been humiliating enough to vomit in front of him outside. I’d be mortified to do the same inside his home. On the lovely rug in front of me. On him.
“Your pupils are uneven but are reacting to the change in light. Is your vision blurry?”
I nodded. The edges of my vision were worse than what was immediately in front of me. It made me feel claustrophobic, like I was trapped when I clearly wasn’t.
Still frowning, he unzipped my jacket and pulled it down my arms. The hat came next, and he frowned at the blood on the t-shirt I’d wrapped around my head, but he didn’t remove it. “Let’s get you out of all these wet clothes first.”
I wanted to protest but found I couldn’t as he undid the button of my jeans, then lifted me so he could pull them over my bottom and down my legs. I was still shaking uncontrollably as his fingers touched the sides of my plain cotton panties. He frowned and looked up at me. “These are wet too. We need to get them off.”
He tossed a blanket over my legs, then waited as I tried to remove them myself, but for some reason, my hands wouldn’t do what my mind was telling them to. When it was clear I couldn’t complete the simplest of tasks, he removed my underwear for me. The actions were almost clinical in their speedy precision, and he didn’t look at the white cotton as he tossed them closer to the fire.
My cheeks flamed. “Th-th-thank y-y-ou.”
He nodded, his face grim as he clenched his teeth. Pushing to his feet, he was gone then back a moment later. “Let’s get the sweater off.”
I tried to tell him I’d do it myself, but I couldn’t seem to find the hem. My head swam, and I grew hot from the effort of moving. Sweat popped out on my upper lip, and I tried to swipe it away. I missed, and my hand got tangled in my hair instead.
“I f-feel like I’m d-d-drunk,” I confessed, trying again. “But I s-swear I’ve n-not had a d-drop of alcohol.”
The sides of his mouth quirked up a little bit. “You have a concussion.” He blew out a breath. “Here. Lift your arms.”
“O-o-kay.”
I did as he told me, and soon, my sweater was over my head. The lines on his forehead only got deeper. “Your tank is soaked too.”
I didn’t know how. Surely my thick sweater and parka had kept it dry. Looking down, I saw the red staining the white cotton, realizing it was blood. My blood. I blinked as the red circled around my vision. “Is th-that all f-from m-me?”
“Yeah. Head wounds bleed like a mother. Arms back up.”
My arms felt like lead weights as I lifted them over my head. Seconds later, the tank was gone, and the heat of the fire and his eyes warmed my skin. Through a distant realization, I understood I was naked in front of a complete stranger. But it was so hard to care. The only thing that mattered was how heavy my eyelids were, and how, if only I could sleep, my head wouldn’t hurt so much. And maybe all of this was a dream, and when I woke, I’d be in my little cabin, safe and warm.
He pulled a t-shirt over my head, stuffing my arms through the arm holes like I was a child. “There.” His voice was deep and gravelly, comforting. “We’ll get you in something better later. My clothes will swallow you, but they’ll be dry. When you warm up and the shock and adrenaline fades, I’ll tend your wounds, but I think they can wait for now.” He unwrapped the bloody t-shirt and pressed a thick towel to my head. Pain exploded once again.
“Sorry,” he said, and seemed like he really meant it.
Maggie plopped down on my feet, and her warmth and weight were instantly soothing. “Sh-sh-she’s a g-good d-d-dog.”
He piled some pillows next to me, and I gratefully laid down, then snuggled under the additional blankets he placed over me. Maggie moved from her position and hopped onto the sofa, lending her warmth to my feet again. It was so sweet. Like she knew what I needed.
He patted her broad head. “She’s the best. I’m going to get you something warm to drink. Coffee okay? Sorry, but I don’t have any tea.”
I actually did prefer tea, but I’d take anything hot. “Y-yes. Th-ank you.”
But even as he walked away, his wet jeans clinging to his legs, my eyes refused to stay open. I tried to look around at the room, but the effort was too much, and soon, I was lost in the abyss once again.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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