Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
BILLIE
I was not going to get my ass kicked at Scrabble. No way, not after hours of feeling unprepared, overwhelmed, and downright pitiful. I was determined to redeem myself through Scrabble.
I sat across the coffee table from Axl, the board between us. It was his move, and he eyeballed his tray of letters as if trying to read in the dark. I drummed my fingers on the wooden table. The fire crackled and popped behind me. The room smelled of pine and Baileys coffee, which would have been dreamy if we both weren’t trapped here against our will. Every once in a while, the wind rattled the windows, reminding me that I was nature’s bitch, as if I could ever forget.
“You are going to force me to pull out the timer,” I said, pretending to crack my knuckles as Axl debated his next word. Scrabble was my jam — and my path to redemption. After this, Axl would be forced to admit that even if I was woefully unprepared for the snow, I was not a world-class idiot.
The center of the board was anchored by my first word, which happened to be “blizzard.” It was a thirty-two-point word and helped raise my wounded self-esteem. Axl followed “blizzard” with “jackass.” We argued a bit about whether a swear word was Scrabble-worthy, but ultimately decided to let it stand.
“Time is ticking, man,” I said, stretching my arms in the air and waiting for his next move. Time was either moving very fast or very slowly. It was hard to tell and impossible to get a read on the hour, considering the constant wall of white outside.
“Okay, okay,” he said. “Here is another one. S.E.X. Sex.” He glanced up at me as if making sure I heard him. A wicked grin crossed his face. “Ha, that’s, let me see, ten points.”
“Seriously,” I said. “Are you thirteen?”
“Just give me the points, woman,” he said. “I stand behind my choice.”
“You got it.” I wrote down the score as the lights flicked on. “We have power!” I said, jumping to my feet. As soon as I stood, the lights flicked off again. “And we don’t.”
“It will come back eventually,” he said, arms behind his head.
“What if it doesn’t?”
“Well, if it doesn’t? I have flashlights and candles, and we have a fire.”
“What about a lantern? It would be nice to have lights ready in case the power stays off.”
“The lanterns are in the barn,” he said, nodding outside.
Suddenly, I could not shake the image of shivering in the dark cold of the cabin. When I was a girl, Gran and Mom kept one or two gas lanterns on the mantle of the fireplace. I loved watching the flickering flames dance in the darkness. I just knew that everything would feel better if those lanterns were at the ready.
“Let’s go get the lanterns,” I said. Outside, it looked as though the falling snow had slowed a bit, but it hadn’t stopped. “Wouldn’t it be better to do that before we lose even more light?”
“We don’t need lanterns. I also have this new-found technology called a battery. I have lots of batteries and these things called flashlights,” Axl said.
“Ha, ha. Very funny,” I said, looking at my letters. Suddenly, a word jumped out at me. “Z.U.M.B.A. Zumba. Thanks, Mom. ”
“What is a Zumba?” Axl asked.
“It’s a dance class.”
“Sounds like a proper name. I don’t think so … ”
“Look, I gave you jackass.”
“Jackass is a classic, not a proper name or a brand.”
I raised my eyebrows. “There is a show called Jackass , which I am sure is branded.”
He exhaled and looked at me with a half-smile. “You are a hard ass.”
“But not a jackass.”
“Agreed.” He pretended to throw his hands in the air. “Fine. I will give you your Zumba.”
“Thank you,” I said, writing down the score and enjoying the fact that I was clearly in the lead.
Axl glanced outside. “ If we were to go out and get lanterns and some extra flashlights, this might be a good time.” He stood and stared into the snow. “Seems slightly less snowy.”
“Only slightly,” I said, looking at the swirling snow.
“Yeah, let’s do it. Will also help me get a read on bad it really is out there.” Axl stood up and pulled on his boots.
“You sure you aren’t trying to just end a losing Scrabble game?”
Axl laughed. “Nah. I’ll go into the barn and get them. My boots are sturdier, and no reason we should both get chilled. You stay here. We will finish the game when I am back.”
“I’ll go, too. I think it’s better to stick together.” There was no way I was letting him be the hero. I was capable of helping, so that’s what I was going to do. I sat on the couch and slipped into my boots.
Axl exhaled and sighed. “You aren’t going to let me go out there and just do this for you, are you?” He sounded weary.
“Nope,” I said, standing and reaching for my purple coat.
“Okay then,” he said. “We stick together.”
“We stick together,” I said, thinking there was something about those words that I liked.
After my boots, I put on my gloves and coat, and I borrowed Axl’s gray cap again. He put on a thick black coat over his shirt and vest. Cam sat in front of the fire eating a dog treat; Axl didn’t want to manage her outside.
“Follow my steps,” he said, his hand on the doorknob.
I nodded as he opened the back door. The wind stung my face, and when I inhaled, the bite of cold hit me deep in my lungs. The air tasted blue, and everything outside sparkled. It was a winter wonderland with sharp edges all around.
Axl worked his way down the stairs.
I ignored my nerves and racing pulse as I followed him. What was wrong with me? I grew up in Colorado and had spent plenty a snowy day in Smoke River. But this weather was different. This was the deepest snow on the coldest day I could ever remember. It was easy to feel safe inside playing a board game, but people died in weather like this. Gran always told me to never underestimate the mountain and what she could do.
Axl’s legs sunk deep into the snow. I followed him step for step.
“Easy-peasy,” I whispered. Concentrating on staying warm, I visualized myself inhaling warm tropical air. It didn’t help. It was so cold that my lungs ached.
Axl moved deliberately. He turned and looked at me, his cheeks pink, the end of his nose red from just a few minutes outdoors. “It will be warmer in the barn,” he said, his words sounding forced. “I need to pull the door open. Stand back.”
I gave him a thumbs-up.
Axl got on his knees and dug along the bottom of the door to give it some room to open. He made a small trench. I joined in, tossing snow behind us. It was hard, cold work, but soon we carved out a gap wide enough for the door to slide open and for Axl to slide his foot inside. Finally, the gap was wide enough. Axl slipped into the barn, and I followed.
The air inside was less bitterly cold. Axl reached for the light switch, but like everything else on the property, it didn’t turn on.
“Worth a shot,” he muttered.
It was still so cold. I shivered. My breath froze in puffs even in the barn, where at least it was a couple of degrees warmer than outside .
“Lanterns,” Axl said, clapping his hands. “Flashlights. We don’t want to be out here long.” He strode across the room and opened up a cabinet by the tool shed. He pulled out two large lanterns.
“Where is the oil?” I asked.
He handed me a plastic bottle, the oil inside frozen solid. I shrugged. It would have to work. Axl opened a drawer and took out two large flashlights. He flipped one on, illuminating the interior with a warm yellow light.
“Yes!” I said, jumping in the air. It felt so good to finally be right about something.
“Yes, indeed.” Axl smiled. He handed me a flashlight, which I slipped into my pocket. It wasn’t safe to light the lanterns in the barn, so Axl turned on his flashlight as we walked back to the door.
“We need anything else?” I asked.
“Not unless you’ve got a snowblower and a generator in those boxes you brought from Denver.” He nodded at the pile of boxes.
“No,” I said with mock seriousness. “I am afraid my high school yearbook can’t help us either, unless you want to see a picture of my cheating ex-boyfriend.”
“No, thank you, but I appreciate the offer.”
“Oh, I know!” I said. “We could sell my storybook doll collection. It may be worth enough to buy a snow shovel, though it would pain me to sell Alice in Wonderland.”
“You collect creepy dolls?” Axl said, his face in a grimace.
“I was ten, and yes, totally creepy dolls. I couldn’t throw them away, which is why they are here.”
“I’m not going to judge. Just don’t put any on the bed while you are here. They’ll give me nightmares.”
“I think you just did judge,” I said, smiling, “and thank you for the amazing idea. I suppose waking up in bed beside Little Red Riding Hood, Alice, or Sleeping Beauty might be payback for greeting me nude.”
“It might,” he said. “I think creepy dolls are way scarier than me naked. I mean, come on.”
“I am the one who was subjected to your nakedness.” I laughed .
“Oh, you liked it. Come on.”
We were having fun, but I also felt like we were playing make-believe. Axl and I were pretending to be friends. We were two people stuck in a cabin, playing Scrabble, sorting out lanterns and flashlights in a dusty old barn. The fact that we were now joking about our naked introduction felt both surprising and totally natural.
“You doing okay?” Axl asked
I realized my smile had fallen. “I’m good. Let’s get back inside so I can finish kicking your ass.”
“You talk a big talk.”
“Thank you for noticing.”
Axl held open the door, and I followed him outside. Once we left the barn, he pushed the door closed again with a big shove and a bang. Suddenly, there was a rumble and a roar from above. I looked up, confused by the noise. A wall of white crashed onto me. I fell to the ground, my lungs aching. I could barely take a breath. I blinked, feeling the grit of snow against my skin. I saw white all around me, only white, and I wasn’t sure which way was up or down.
I panicked, and half-buried in the snow, tried to move, but I was topsy-turvy and stuck. I heard muffled shouting and tried to rotate toward the noise. I squirmed and wiggled, trying to make a pocket around my body and figure out which direction was up. My head felt tingly, making me guess I was upside down.
Panic rising, I wiggled when I felt a hand on my leg. I squirmed as the tugging on my leg became more urgent. Then I felt my body wiggling and heard crunching. Axl was trying to dig me out. I felt dizzy. I couldn’t move and get myself right-side up.
I tried to take a deep breath, but there was no air to fill my lungs, then I felt Axl’s hands pulling me upward by both legs.
“Jesus, Billie!” he shouted.
Tumbling backward, Axl yanked me out of the snow. I stood, coughing and choking. My legs buckled as my vision dissolved into a head-rush of stars. Axl caught me before I hit the ground.
“Let’s get you inside. Come on,” he said. His arm around me, I tried to step with him, but my legs wobbled .
“Okay, girl. Up you go.” He scooped me up in his arms. He walked toward the house holding me as if he were walking me across the threshold.
“I’m fine,” I gasped.
“Put your arms around my neck,” he growled. “You are not fine. Quit talking.”
I complied. He was so strong, his chest firm against my body. He was a tall, muscular, machine-of-a-man, and I was lucky he was there to save me.
With every step, his feet pumped the ground, making sure it was solid. He carried me across the yard at lightning speed. I imagined pure adrenaline fueled him. He moved like a man on a mission.
“That was stupid.” His teeth gritted as he carried me up the stairs. “You need to get warm. Now.”
He opened the door to the kitchen, slammed it shut behind us, and carried me into the great room. He stood me in front of the fire, keeping an arm around my lower back to hold me steady. I shivered and shook. My fingers nearly frozen, they screamed and throbbed.
“Let’s get your clothes off,” he growled, unbuttoning my coat. Then he pulled off my clothes, stripping me down to my bra. He tugged off my wet jeans, clumps of snow falling to my feet by the fire.
Axl wrapped me in a blanket and lowered me to the ground. The heat felt delicious soaking through the blanket, but my body still shook, and my teeth were chattering.
Axl stood up. “I’m starting a bath. We need to raise your body temp.”
“The fire will be fine,” I said.
I heard a door open, and the sound of running water carried down the hall. Axl’s heavy footsteps followed as he came back to the great room.
“The fire is doing the trick,” I said, looking up at him. “I’m fine.”
“No, you got snow down that stupid coat of yours, in your shoes, down your pants. You need to get your core warm or you’ll get sick.”
“Oh,” I said, shaking.
“Let’s get you in the water. ”
“Did you put some of your fancy bubbles in it,” I asked.
He ignored my joke and took my hand. I stood up, unsteady. “You good?” He didn’t wait for me to answer. He swooped me up into his arms for the second time in minutes and carried me down the hall.
I didn’t fight him, but I was aware that under the blanket I wore nothing but my bra and panties. I wasn’t self-conscious. I was grateful, even if I wasn’t used to needing someone like this. Preston women did things on our own.
Inside the bathroom, Axl closed the door behind us so the room filled with steam.
“It’s like a spa,” I murmured, inhaling the smell of rosemary and mint. “Do you have fancy bath stuff, too?”
“I told you. I like nice things,” he said softly, setting me down. The blanket fell to the floor. I stood with my back toward him, wearing only my bra and panties.
“You should take those off,” he said, nodding at my almost naked body.
I gripped his arm and wiggled out of my panties. Then I let go of his arm to struggle with my bra. The hook wouldn’t come undone, or maybe my fingers were shaking too much.
“Let me,” he said. I glanced over my shoulder to see him staring into the corner of the room while he fiddled with the clasp. It popped open.
“Well, aren’t you talented,” I said. My mouth was dry, and I felt dizzy, not sure if it was from being trapped in the snow or from the way Axl’s hands felt on my bare skin.
“Get in the water,” he said. “I’ll look away, and then you’ll be in the bubbles.”
“Okay,” I said. Holding his hand, I stepped into the warm bath. It felt amazing against my cold feet.
“It shouldn’t be too hot. We’ll have to warm you slowly.”
I nodded. As he held my hand, I lowered myself into the warm bubble-filled water and leaned against the back of the tub. I stretched my legs out, wiggling my toes.
Axl stood above me, a smile on his face .
“Were you a Boy Scout?” I asked.
A cloud passed over his face, and his smile vanished. “No,” he said, “but I spent a good amount of time in the snow.”
“The military?” I asked softly.
“Yep.” He sat on the edge of the tub, and using a small plastic bowl, scooped up more water and poured it over my shoulders.
“Well, this is a full-service spa.”
He didn’t react, but instead continued to bathe me. The water felt like liquid gold running over my skin. I closed my eyes and breathed, grateful for his caring touch.