5. Miles
Chapter Five
MILES
Taking Paul to the hospital was the easy part.
His husband Noel arrived in a BMW - I recognized him as the guy who I saw dropping Taylor off when I caught a glimpse of her in that tight red dress earlier in the year. Noel told me at the hospital that he splits his time helping out with the business and doing something with dog shows.
Guess I got the wrong idea when I thought she was out on the town.
From the glowing things both Paul and Noel say about Taylor’s caring nature and work ethic, she doesn’t seem like a party girl.
And I saw she was having trouble with that cigar-chomping prick Henry but she handled it well.
I’m not going to leave her up there with him.
Getting back to check on how it’s going back at the Lodge is more difficult.
There’s a tree down about a mile away on the only road up into the woods from town.
I’m not going to renege on my promise though, so I park my car up at the side of the road.
Getting around the tree involves some digging, but my nothing too hard.
I’m almost enjoying myself getting some hard physical effort in - the gym never cuts it when I’m back home.
I like being in the fresh air and the worsening weather makes this a challenge.
The snow is falling heavily as I make my way up to the lodge. There’s a freezing wind which is blowing the snow in gusts, making visibility difficult. I navigate using the lights of the Lodge to guide me, staying on the road to the top.
The group has finished dinner and is getting drunk, judging by the sounds coming from the living room. I’m not tempted to join them so I head into the kitchen to find Taylor.
The kitchen is completely clean with the dishwasher running, but the back window is propped open. As I walk over to shut it there’s a burned-out pot sitting on the stove and a smell of smoke in the air. No Taylor. I wait for a few minutes to see if she’ll come back in from the sitting room.
The door swings open and Henry comes in, weaving slightly from side to side on his way to the refrigerator for more alcohol. He stops at the sight of me.
“Are you looking for that dirty girl?” He’s slurring as he tries to light one of those disgusting cigars. I’d never let myself get sloppy like that.
“You mean Taylor?” I say, raising myself up to my full height from the counter where I’m leaning. I’m a head taller and fifty pounds heavier, plus I don’t think he could bench press a strand of spaghetti in his current state.
“Stupid bitch set the stove on fire and then abandoned us.” He points at the pot. I walk over and check it over. There’s a pool of burned oil with something floating in it. It’s a cigar butt. I’m getting an idea of why Taylor left in a hurry.
I walk over to him and use an arm to knock him back against the refrigerator.
He splutters in shock. “I saw you offer her money, you dick. She may be serving you your food but you need to treat people with respect.” I knock him with my other arm, staring down at him to make my point. “Where did she go?”
“I...I don’t know.” Henry’s scared - it’s the first emotion that’s touched his seen-it-all before demeanour. Maybe he’ll remember this particular New Year’s Eve in the morning. “She said she was going home.”
Home? Paul was worrying as he’d driven them both up to the Lodge and was meant to drive them back. She wouldn’t try and walk back - would she? In the height of summer you can walk from the woods to home in forty minutes, but in this weather?
It’s clear what I have to do and it doesn’t involve wasting time with this idiot. I release him and jog out the back door, searching for tracks. Although the snow is coming down hard, her boot prints are still visible. She’s going to be in big trouble if she stays out for long in these conditions.
I pick up my pace, grateful for my training. The fireworks are starting down in the town. Must be a couple of hours before midnight - I check my watch. 2200 hours.
She’s followed the trail that leads to the periphery of the woods.
She probably won’t know that they built in a new trail this spring to connect it to the ski run.
The old trail was remade and now goes deeper into the woods.
It’s mainly used by loggers in the winter and hikers in the summer.
The problem is in deep snow you can’t see the markings and it’s easy to go off track without knowing it.
Once I’m at the place where the old and new trails diverge, I make out her prints leading along the old path. Shit. She’s going further into the woods and it’s icily cold. After fifteen minutes of walking, I catch sight of a small figure standing still up ahead.
She’s in big trouble. I run towards her to catch up.
“Hello - help?” Her voice is shaky.
“It’s Miles. Are you okay, Taylor?” I hold onto her shoulders.
“No. I mean, I thought I was but now I’m just lost. And cold. And having the crappiest New Year’s Eve in recorded history.” She gives a small half smile.
“We need to get you out of the cold.” She’s shivering as the wind blows the snow against her body.
“I’m not going back to that Lodge with that awful man.” Her eyes are fierce. I’m struck by her bravery, out here lost in the woods and still determined to do things her own way.
“My grandma’s old cabin is about ten minutes from here - can you make it?” I look down at her. “I can carry you if you like?”
Her eyebrows fly up in surprise. “No way! I can make it.”
“If you follow me it will shield you from the worst of the wind. Kind of a human windbreak. Keep your hand on my back. Step in my boot prints. Pull on my coat if I go too fast.” I orient myself and set off back to the trail.
She keeps up well even though I’m moving quickly, keen to get her out of the cold.
We’re soon at the cabin. It’s cozy but small, with a living room and kitchen in one, a bathroom and a bedroom at the back.
Inside I’m glad there are still logs in the basket and I set to work getting a fire going while Taylor takes off her snow-covered coat and boots.
I wrap her in a quilt to warm her up and go looking for some brandy.
The colour has started to come back to her cheeks and with her shiny hair spread over her shoulders she is breathtakingly gorgeous.
She reaches out for a glass of brandy and smiles. “Thanks for rescuing me. I was sure I knew the way. I’m pretty familiar with these woods.” Her pretty, pouty lips taste the brandy and I can’t help imagining what they would be like wrapped around my cock.
“They changed it this year - it’s not your fault you didn’t know that. You sure looked determined to get home.” The firelight is picking up the warm highlights in her hair and her eyes are brighter.
Taylor laughs. “It’s been a crap day. The thought of my family eating dinner, playing games and then gathered around the fire toasting the New Year was a powerful motivator!”
I can’t help admiring the rosy flush of her cheeks as she glances at me. “Will they be worried about you?”
“My family still think I’m at the Lodge.” She sighs and looks at the fireplace as the logs start to burn more steadily. “I couldn’t stay there Miles, that guy Henry creeped me out and he set the stove on fire and blamed me. I guess I’m in trouble.”
“No you’re not. He won’t say a thing - not that it’s your fault anyway.” I resist the urge to reach out and brush her hair behind her ear. The last thing she needs is another creepy guy trying to touch her.
Taylor looks around. “I like your Grandma’s style. I’d love to have a cabin like this to come to when things get too much. I’m a homebody - I like cooking, walking, the simple things in life. Guess you had me pegged for a party girl, huh?”
I’m not sure how I got her so wrong. She’s broken through my preconceptions into a place where I’ve only let family in before. “Yes, but I’m not going to admit I made a mistake. That’s confidential.” I wink at her.
She smiles. “I like the way it feels here - it reminds me of your Grandma.”
“Yeah, it’s a special place. I miss her. She brought Bobby and me up, so she was like mom and dad to us.” I can’t believe I’m being so honest with her, but there’s something about her soft eyes and gentle expression that makes me want to open up to her.
“That must be so hard.” She reached out a small hand from underneath the quilt and grasps mine.
Her hand is warm. She runs her fingers back and forth over my palm.
Her soft skin against mine is electric. I gaze down at her and can’t resist reaching to caress the tumbling strands of her silky hair.
There’s a sharp intake of breath as I move closer, relishing the soft musk of her perfume, as I stare deep into her eyes. I have to kiss her.
My lips press down on her soft mouth as she drops the quilt and leans closer to put her hands around the back of my head. Her breasts press against my chest and I’m hard as a rock, my cock pressing against the zip of my jeans.
All I want to be is inside this beautiful woman, right now. It feels so natural to have trekked through the snow to rescue her. And now she’s here; my instinct is to throw her over my shoulder, take her clothes off, throw her down on the bed and fuck her. It’s primal but oh so right.
And by the way, she’s looking back at me, I’m pretty sure she wants the same thing.