I was able to maneuver the car ,so that it was facing forward and on the edge of the road. All she had to do was give it a little gas and she would be home free. It required giving her car a jump to get started, but once I did, I was able to drive it right up to the road. When I got out of her car, she met me, purse in hand, and I groaned, knowing what was about to happen.
“Thank you so much,” she said. “I want to help replenish the supplies you shared with me.”
“Don’t. I helped someone who needed help. I didn’t do it for money.”
“Please. You’ve been so helpful and so nice the last few days. You literally saved my life.”
“Only because you got lucky I was home,” I said. “I didn’t do anything anyone else wouldn’t do. Seriously, keep your money. I can’t take it. I’m just glad you’re okay and can get home.”
“Really, I insist,” she began again.
“No.” I pushed her hand with a stack of bills in it away. “That’s final. I can’t accept anything for this.”
There seemed to be a second where she thought about arguing further, then resigned herself to defeat, nodding as she put the money away.
“Well, thank you anyway. If there is anything I can ever do for you, please let me know,” I said.
“Of course, but there won’t be.”
“The least I can do is save you a trip into town,” she said. “The roads look great from here. You don’t need to follow me.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
She nodded, smiling. “Yes, I’m sure. Thank you, though.”
“Alright, well, then I do have a favor,” I said. “Text me that you got home safe. That’s all. That way I know the story is over.”
She reacted to that phrasing a little strangely, her lips pursing together on one side for a second before giving me a single nod.
“Fair enough,” she said.
We exchanged numbers, and I got back into my truck, waiting for her to drive away and see her going down the road safely before I headed back to the cabin. When I pulled in and got inside, I was struck by the sudden loneliness of the place. Sure, it was peaceful, and it was nice to not have to worry about someone else’s comfort, but at the same time, it was kind of nice to have another human around. Especially one as pretty as her.
At least I would be alone with my thoughts now and able to not worry about someone figuring out the things going through my head. I had a lot I needed to keep from people, just to be normal. The last thing I needed was some woman who I couldn’t resist the charms of getting me to open up. That would be disastrous.
When I was settled back in the house, a plate with a sandwich and a beer on the table in front of me, I pulled up my phone, seeing a text from Desiree saying she got home. I texted Brett, asking if he could take a call. A few moments later, his name and number came up on the screen. I got the feeling Brett got cabin fever a lot faster and a lot more often than he let on with his “wise local mountain boy” act.
“Hey, man, you alright?” he asked.
I laughed and then sighed loudly.
“Yeah, I guess,” I said. “Craziest thing happened, though.”
“You forget something before the storm hit?”
“No. Someone else did. Common sense, mostly.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Well, I was sitting in the living room, reading a book while the storm started piling up, and someone knocked on my door…”
“A person? One of our neighbors?” Brett only lived a couple of houses away, but that was still a good mile through the woods. We had a couple of neighbors around us, but most of them were old folks who one wouldn’t expect to do much of anything as soon as the first flake hit the ground.
“No, she lives down in the town, actually. Apparently, she just moved here the other day and wanted to take a hike before the snow fell. Then she went and got lost and stuck in the storm and happened to stumble across my house.”
“No way,” Brett said. “Lucky lady. What happened then?”
“Well, I couldn’t send her away. It was a blizzard,” I said. “So, I let her stay in my bedroom, and I camped in the living room. I just got her back to her car a little bit ago, and she went home.”
“Man, that’s insane. I bet she’s going to think twice about hiking before a blizzard again.”
“I bet. I’m just glad I could help her.”
We spoke for a little longer, and when we hung up, I felt a little less lonely. Now I just wanted to put the bedroom back in order and get a workout in before I crashed this evening. I had a feeling I’d go to bed early.