“I WARNED YOU.” I HEARD his gravel coated voice when I finally opened my eyes again.
“Where are we? What happened?” I looked around in shock.
“Intense cold and heat don’t mix. You were in the cold so long that your body couldn’t handle the heat. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.” His voice was practically a growl, deep and rugged.
“Did someone send you to get me? You knew my name...” I held my hands to the heater. “Are you a policeman?”
“No.” He chuckled. “They’re talking about you on the news. You probably don’t remember me, but I passed you on the road earlier today. I saw you turn down Devil’s Pass and when the news said a blonde girl in a burgundy car w
as missing, I figured it was you.”
“Wow...” I blinked a couple of times. “I guess my friends really were worried about me.”
“It’s a damn good thing too. You’re fucking lucky. You weren’t going to survive the night out there.” We reached the end of the road I drove down and he took a left turn. I could hear the snow and ice crunching under his tires.
“I thought it was supposed to be a pretty light storm...” I muttered. “Nothing more than some snow and a little ice. My friends said it would pass by morning.”
“Yeah, that’s what the news said.” He nodded. “Everyone is so fucking surprised it turned into a blizzard—everyone except the locals around here who know how bad storms can get when they hit Wolf Creek.”
“I’m in Wolf Creek?” I looked out the window, not that I could see anything except darkness and snow. “I was headed for Lake Rutherford.”
“You missed that by a few exits.” He laughed and looked over at me. “Let me guess, your GPS quit on you?”
“And my cell phone!” I folded my arms across my chest and shook my head angrily.
“You can’t trust that kind of stuff around here. If you don’t know the area, maps are the only friend you’ll have.” He peered out the window and rolled slowly towards a turn.
“Where are we going, anyway? Is there a police station in Wolf Creek?” I asked.
“There’s a sheriff, but you won’t find him at the station. He’s at home in bed, like everyone else except for the ones out near Lake Rutherford looking for you. I’m sure most of them have given up by now. I’m taking you to my cabin. I’ve got a radio we can use to let people know you’re safe and when the storm breaks, I’ll get you to town so you can get a tow for your car.” He looked over at me again. “I’m sorry about your window.”
“It’s fine.” I muttered, not really caring much about the car itself, but my father’s reaction wouldn’t be quite as nonchalant. “My dad’s going to kill me.”
“Probably, but he’ll want to hug you first.” He pointed at the windshield. “Just a little bit further.”
“Thank you... Um, what’s your name?” I asked.
“Shane.” He replied. “Shane Black.”
“Thank you, Shane.” I forced a smile across my frosted lips that were slowly thawing out.
He is...wow. I’m not sure if it is the delirium in my frozen brain or if he’s the hottest man I’ve ever laid eyes on.
It was a lot to take in all at once. I had been lost in the snow, nearly dead from the cold, or at least it seemed that way. Shane had saved me and now we were on the way to his cabin. It occurred to me that I really had no idea who Shane was. He seemed nice enough and he said the right things, but I was probably delusional from the cold.
Should I really be going with him to a cabin in the woods—alone?
For all I knew, I was on my way to be raped, murdered, and possibly even eaten. I looked over at him and tried to determine if he looked like the kind of man that would eat people. He looked like a mountain man, the kind of man you would expect to live in a cabin, but he was clean for the most part. His dark brown hair was a little long, but it was trimmed. His beard was thick, but it was groomed around the edges and not totally out of control. He looked over at me with a peculiar arch in his brow and I looked away quickly.
I really hope he can’t read my mind—that isn’t possible, right?
No, he didn’t look like a murderer, but what did one look like anyway? It wasn’t like I had researched them or studied them. The truck rolled through the snow, climbing the incline in the mountains easily, and then the headlights illuminated a moderate sized log cabin. It was quaint, but it was a lot better than my car.
“We’re here.” He said as he put the truck in park. “I’ll help you down.”
He pushed on his door and found it frozen shut, so he gave it a hard nudge with his shoulder which quickly dislodged the ice and allowed him to exit the truck. It was a rather large four-wheel drive pickup, so I was happy I didn’t have to get out of it on my own considering I still felt a little weak. He walked around the truck and pulled my door open easily, swinging it wide like it was nothing even as the ice cracked and fell against the ground when he broke the seal that had formed while he drove.
Wow, very strong.