Owning Beauty (Taking Beauty Trilogy 3)

So I tightened my jacket back up and headed for the door. “Don’t run away!” I said with a wink as I headed back out into the tundra.

Sarah

I leaned against the window frame and watched as Nathan walked around, trying to find a way to set the sign up where someone could see it. The entire time I hoped someone would drive by and see him, rescuing us from this frozen nightmare.

Eventually, Nathan hung his make-shift sign from a low hanging branch. Still though, not a single car had driven by. Hell, I hadn’t even seen a deer or a moose or any other type of wildlife. For all I knew, we were the only living things left on this mountain right now. The zombie apocalypse could’ve started and we’d have been none the wiser.

After securing the sign, Nathan trekked back up to the cabin. But instead of coming inside, he walked around the side of the cabin.

What was he up to now?

When he didn’t reappear, I walked to the window at the back and peered out it. Nathan was shuffling around out there by what looked like a wood pile. He examined it carefully for a few moments. Then, he brushed some snow off the side and uncovered what looked like an axe.

He shuffled around some more until he uncovered a small stump only a few feet away. He took one of the logs, knocked the snow off it, then place it standing up on the stump. I held my breath as Nathan removed his gloves and stuck them in this pocket before taking told of the axe again. I was sure Nathan was about to lose a hand or a foot or some other body part.

But he lifted the axe high, then swung it down and split the log in a single motion. As I watched, he cut a few more until he had a sizeable pile at the base of the log. Even from the window and even with him wearing his winter gear, I could see his muscles flex and bulge as he swung the axe.

Where’d he learns to do that? I wondered briefly. It wasn’t like he’d ever needed to chop wood back home. Even if for some reasons he’d needed firewood, he had servants and all to handle that type of work. Or he’d have sent someone down to the store to buy pre-chopped wood.

I was actually pretty impressed by the time he leaned the axe back up against the wood pile. He’d chopped a good number of logs and it looked like he barely broke a sweat. Maybe he wasn’t just the spoiled rich boy I’d always thought he was. Then again, chopping wood wasn’t exactly rocket science.

When Nathan loaded the split logs into his arms and headed for the cabin again, I ran over to the back door and wrenched it open. It squealed as I did, requiring all of my strength before it was wide enough for him to slip inside with his load. Then I had to use my shoulder to slam it closed again. Apparently whoever owned the cabin didn’t much use the back door or at least hadn’t in a long time.

Nathan deposited the wood into a weird looking metal contraption that I’d seen but hadn’t been able to identify. When he stood up and began rubbing his hands together to warm them back up, he grinned at me.

“Now we won’t freeze!” he said proudly.

“How are we going to light it?” I asked, hands on my hips.

Nathan’s smile disappeared, quickly replaced by a frown. He ran back over to the kitchen and began opening and closing drawers. Moments later, held up a box of matches in triumph. Then he disappeared behind the sink only to reappear holding some more cardboard.

“To help get the fire going,” he explained as he walked back over to the fireplace. He tossed a couple logs inside, then arranged some of the cardboard around it. Once he seemed satisfied with his effort, he opened the box of matches, struck one, then brought it to the cardboard. The cardboard caught instantly, and a minute or two later, the wood began to burn as well.

“There we go!” Nathan said as he stood up. “One fire! Now we can stay warm while we wait for someone to show up.”

I walked back over to the window and stared out at the sign he’d put up. “What are the chances of someone showing up?”

“I’m not sure,” Nathan said, walking over to stand next to me. “This is a back road that not many people know about. Plus, with the weather, most people will probably take the main road anyway. Maybe when the storm breaks we’ll get some people coming by. Until then, we’ll just have to sit tight.”

I frowned. God only knows when the storm was going to break. If anything, it seemed to be getting worse out there. I could barely see our footprints from when we’d arrived and that hadn’t been all that long ago.

At this rate, we were liable to be snowed into this place.

“How long will the wood last?” I glanced back over at the pile he’d brought in.

“A day or so, I guess.” He shrugged. “There’s plenty more outside. I’d just have to go out and chop it.”

“Speaking of, where’d you learn how to do that? Was there a lot of wood to chop in Atlanta?” I smirked at him, then gently elbowed him in the ribs.

Nathan laughed and shook his head. “I haven’t chopped wood in years. I used to be a Boy Scout though, and that’s one of the things they teach you?”

“You were a Boy Scout? You?” I took a step back and looked him up and down before laughing.

His snow gear may have been a bit more well used, but it was no less expensive than mine had been. Nathan had grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth, never having to work a day in his life. His father’s father had been loaded, and his father had grown their fortune through investments. Even now, Nathan had his own investment portfolio worth more than most people would make in a lifetime.

To picture him sharing a tent in the woods with a group of other guys was laughable in itself. But to picture him actually getting his hands dirty by chopping wood or fishing or whatever else the Boy Scouts did? That was just too much to bear.

“Yes, me.” Nathan rolled his eyes. “I was in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts growing up, thank you very much. And we do more than sit outside Wal-Mart selling cookies.”

I rolled my eyes. “Please. I was never a Girl Scout. I was much too busy actually taking care of the house while Momma worked two jobs.”

He needed the gentle reminder that not all of us had grown up without a care in the world. I may not have been able to chop wood, but I could cook, do laundry, sew, and scrub a house cleaner than any maid could. Before Momma met Nathan’s father, I’d had to do all of that.

We hadn’t moved in with Nathan and his father until I was sixteen.

Though, I had to admit, I’d taken to the upper class life like a fish to water. It was nice not having to do all the household chores. And it was nice being able to buy new clothes whenever I wanted, without having to worry if we’d have enough to pay the bills that month.

Still though, Nathan deserved a bit of a reminder of how fortunate he really was.

“Sorry,” he said, blushing. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

I shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal. Besides, if I’d had his life, I probab

ly would’ve been a Girl Scout. I wondered briefly if they did the same things the boys did – camping, hiking, wood cutting. Maybe if I’d been a Girl Scout I wouldn’t have hated the cold so much.

“Let’s just hope someone else is as crazy as we are and takes this stupid short cut of yours.”

“Hey!” Nathan said defensively. “I resent that. This short cut would’ve knocked hours off our drive! Besides, the storm wasn’t that bad while we were driving. If we hadn’t blown that gasket, we’d have gotten to the lodge, no problem.”

“Uh huh, sure.” I drew out the word and rolled my eyes for emphasis. Just because he’d been a Boy Scout didn’t mean he knew everything.

Although, a part of my mind told me, you were perfectly willing to trust him earlier, when he said we’d get there quicker. And we probably would have, if we hadn’t broken down.

But there was no way I was going to admit that to him!

He needed to be knocked down a peg or two. And I was just the girl to do it.

Walking away from the window, I started to remove my winter gear. It was still chilly in here, but I didn’t need to be bundled up like an Eskimo any more at least. The layers were definitely warm, but they weren’t the most comfortable thing to wear.

Nathan followed my lead, removing his outwear as well. Soon, we were both in a sweatshirt and jeans. Along with the fire, it would be enough to keep us warm, so long as we kept the doors closed from now on.

Nathan walked over to the bed and sat down on it, sending up a cloud of dust that had him coughing and covering his mouth and nose. I laughed as he stood up and tried to catch his breath. Now that was certainly a good way to knock him down a bit!

Once the dust had settled, he pulled the outer blanket off and tossed it into a corner. Then he stood frowning at the bed, like he wasn’t quite sure what to do.

Rolling my eyes, I walked over and nudged him out of the way. Chopping wood was easy to him. Cleaning a bed apparently wasn’t. I pulled the sheets off along with the pillow cases. They weren’t nearly as bad as the top blanket had been, but they still needed cleaning.