Chapter 5 #2
He and his brother have a complicated relationship.
He’s an actual Boy Scout.
He spent a considerable amount of time being forced to survive in the wild by his own father under the guise of self-improvement.
He hates the family name and all the benefits that apparently come with possessing it.
He’s kind enough to keep her from wandering the darkness outside alone, even after she tried to elbow him in the ribs.
That all paints a picture that’s slowly coming together, and she decides that maybe she got lucky crashing with him, if luck is even an option anymore. She forces herself to leave out the fiancé-shaped parts that she’d rather forget.
Soon enough they shove their socked feet together, tucking the blankets around themselves and rearranging back into a proper pile.
“Mmm. That’s good,” she mumbles into his shirt. “You want me to move a little? I’m kinda on top of you.”
“Nah. You’re fine.”
She may as well be in his lap, still situated between his spread legs with her head tucked under his chin.
She’s never even slept this close to her own husband, either of them, and yet there’s nothing about this she doesn’t like.
Worries she’s smothering him, or that his legs might go numb, but she hasn’t felt this warm and safe in a very long time.
It might be a frost-prompted illusion, but she goes with it. For now.
Sleep is elusive, though. Nora can’t do more than doze. As the sun comes up, something firm pokes against her hip. That’s her cue to move away. She doesn’t want him to feel awkward when it’s only biology. That sort of thing happens in the morning.
It has nothing to do with her at all.
She doesn’t comment, and he doesn’t offer an explanation, but the tint to his cheeks tells her he’d rather not talk about it.
Theo has plenty of time to walk it off when there’s another hike ahead of them in a whirl of windswept snow and no telling how long it’ll last.
* * *
There’s a house staring back at them like a mirage, shaded by large trees, out of place in the desolate landscape.
“You see it too, right?” she whispers.
“Yep.”
It’s only then that they race for the building, nearly tripping in their excitement before flying onto the broken-down porch and banging on the door.
This is it. Salvation. They found their own damn rescue. They’ll be in a heated hotel soon enough, and then she’ll tell Gwen all about this guy she met and almost died with.
This guy she survived with.
This guy that she’s starting to like a whole lot more than she should, but she spent all night in his arms, after all, and that’s not the sort of thing she can do without feeling different.
Relief quickly turns to frustration when their pleas go unanswered.
“No one’s home.” He braces one hand on the glass to shield his vision as he peers inside. “It’s empty.”
She glances around the property, taking it in for the first time after being too distracted by the hope of rescue. No tracks. No car. No dog sled. No nothing. Can’t even see where the driveway is or where the road connects. If there is a road at all.
Their miracle is nothing but false hope.
“Let’s break in,” she says, matter-of-factly.
He grabs a rock from the ground without question, breaking the glass window in the door and they slip inside, surveying the interior of a hunting cabin.
Dozens of animal heads adorn the walls, staring down at them in morbid curiosity.
She ignores that and aims for the kitchen, smiling in delight at a few cans of food and boxes of snacks that aren’t even expired.
She grabs a handful of crackers to inhale, offering Theo the box to do the same. They aren’t exactly minding their manners right now, and she laughs, covering her mouth with her hand.
“There’s not much here, but it’ll do. There’s gotta be a phone or a radio. Checked the cell and still no service,” he mutters, searching the house in vain for a phone that doesn’t exist before huffing in defeat.
“Do you think they have sled dogs out here?” She points out the window toward the little houses in the backyard, all lined up and empty.
“Looks like it. Or may not yet, maybe the dogs are coming. It’s weird no one’s here if that’s the case, ‘cause you can’t just pack up a sled team and take it somewhere else easily, you know? That’s a lot of dogs to travel with.”
She nods. “Yeah. Weird. They’ll get back and think they’ve been robbed when they see the glass everywhere.”
“Technically, they have been. We’re eating their food, about to sleep in their beds tonight, and…” He walks a few steps to grab a hunting bow off the wall. “We’re taking their weapons.”
That’s a sound plan. They need a way to defend themselves from various dangers. She aims for the opposite side of the cabin and pilfers a rifle from above the fireplace.
“Wait,” he warns. “Do you know how to use—”
Nora checks the chamber for rounds before closing it up again and cocking the handle.
“Okay. Looks like you do,” he finishes. “Is this one of the skills you were talking about?”
“I may have taken a class, or five, after my first divorce,” she smirks, enjoying his clear surprise, followed by something that looks vaguely smitten filtering across his face. “Are you sure you know how to use that? Don’t hurt yourself.”
He hefts up the bow she points to, screwing his face up in mock confusion. “Is there a safety on this thing? It’s pretty heavy…”
He pretends to almost drop it, watching her face transform from worried to annoyed as she shakes her head and turns away.
“I’ll manage,” he continues, shoving the weapon into the corner. “We’ll leave them a note before we go, let ‘em know we’ll return what we’ve taken and pay for the food.”
Their tour is short-lived when it becomes clear they’re stuck in here now instead of being stuck out there.
No radio. No way to call for help. Still better than the cave.
There’s no working power and no heat, but the cabin feels like an upgrade with two bedrooms and decent-looking beds.
A bathroom the size of a shoe box waits near the back, and a polar bear head smack at the end of the hallway sets the mood.
She grazes her fingertips over the black nose, passing by sharp teeth. “Think it’s real?”
He nods. “I did some research before I came out here. They’re all over these parts. It’s illegal to hunt them, though.”
“So that’s why you’ve been worried about running into one?”
He shrugs. “Crazier things have happened. They’re one of the only animals to see us as a food source, and we’re traipsing all over their territory.”
Nora shakes her head absently. “When Gwen told me she might be moving here, I thought she was crazy. Imagine choosing to live beside one of your only real predators.”
“You said before that she’s a scientist?”
“She is. Could have picked something warmer to study, though.”
“That’s the last type I ever expected Oliver to get hitched to. Bar flies are more his speed. Can’t wait to find out how this even happened. Did she tell you? ‘Cause he didn’t go into much detail.”
“She didn’t either. Said she’d tell me everything in person like it was some grand secret, but that’s just her.”
“Well, it’s looking more and more like we might be hearing that story sooner rather than later. This here is a windfall. If there’s a house, we gotta be heading in the right direction.”
“How long are we staying?”
She wants to hold up here until someone appears at the door to whisk them away, but for all they know, that could take weeks or months.
“We should catch our breath. Get warm. Maybe a couple of days? If we get lucky, someone will come home by then. What do you think?”
She nods. “Okay. A couple of days.”
They’ve found themselves a cabin, and right now it’s the closest thing to home they’ve got.
They don’t sleep in the beds, choosing instead to spend all their time in front of the fireplace after gathering enough wood from the chopped pile out back.
Each at one end of the large sofa, curled up in their blankets and snacking on canned peaches.
The only important thing they talk about is the next crossword puzzle question.
For now, they’re warm, safe, and sleep comes easier than it did the night before. The fact that she misses being closer to him is an unexpected side effect of recent events that she squashes the moment it springs to life.
Letting anyone in is dangerous. Everyone leaves one way or another. Maybe that’s why she’s gotten so good at running away first.
She has no plans to quit protecting her heart, especially near someone who can be so cruel to someone he intended to marry.