by A. J. Wynter
Deep breathing and visualization had kept my dirty thoughts at bay throughout the meeting, and thankfully, I was able to focus on the task at hand. But, as soon as the meeting was over, my energy was sapped. I’m sure it looked rude, but I couldn’t help it. No, I couldn’t stay and make small-talk, there was to be no mingling over cappuccinos, I just got the hell out of Dodge.
It seemed like the universe didn’t know what would tempt me, so it sent me every stereotype in the book. The hot blonde who looked like she was straight out of Scandinavia, the hourglass-shaped black woman, the girl-next-door brunette, complete with a smattering of freckles across her nose. They had one thing in common, they were all sexy as hell. If I only had to choose one, it would be a tough call.
I have to admit that during the meeting my mind had wandered a couple of times, thinking about which one I would take to my bed first - and which positions I would get each of them into. The blonde, Samantha; her legs would look amazing with her ankles up beside her head. Sabryna, I would take her from behind and stare at her delicious ass. The brunette, Marissa, while she looked innocent, would probably be the kinkiest of the bunch.
FUCK.
I wasn’t ready. I needed to get the hell out of the city and back to my estrogen-free cabin. The three Torver execs were smart and very capable women that could help elevate my corporation to new levels, and here I was reducing them to sexual positions. I didn’t want to be this person anymore.
“Are you ok, Mr. Brady?” Jeff asked.
I hadn’t specifically told Jeff why I had retreated to the mountains, but he was a smart guy, and after my performance at the meeting, I’d be surprised if he didn’t put two and two together.
“I’m fine, Jeff,” I insisted, pulling the silk tie from my neck. It had gotten tighter as the meeting had progressed and now felt like a noose.
“Do you want me to set up the next meeting?” Jeff asked, perusing his scheduler.
I sighed. “Yes. What’s the latest date we can book it in?”
Well, there are a few milestones that both we and Torver need to hit before we can make the next move, so two weeks, three might be pushing it.
“Ok. Let’s do that.”
“Mick?” Jeff asked hesitantly.
“What,” I snapped.
“Do you want me to schedule the meeting with just the CFO, Cassidy, and the lawyer, Kirk? Only the two of them?”
He did know. This was a fucking disaster. I was one of the most successful businessmen in the country, and here I was, trying to avoid talking to women like a nerdy high school teenager.
“I’m sorry, Jeff, and no. That won’t be necessary,” I felt weak for not being able to control my frustration and that I had taken it out on my assistant. Maybe exposing myself to temptation was the only way that I could get better. That’s what Dr. Vanessa had said, but I didn’t believe her. Maybe I should’ve listened to her advice.
I left Jeff with an extensive list of tasks. I had been flying him to the Crystalid Hotel once a week to go over details and devise strategic plans. There was no internet at my cabin, which made running a corporation tough, but not impossible. Once we started putting this new merger into place, I was going to have to start spending more time in the city in meetings. I hoped that I would be ready. I could feel my cabin therapy working, but dammit it just wasn’t working fast enough.
I changed out of my suit and threw it on the chair. After spending months in my lumberjack clothes, the suit felt like a costume, the worn pants and flannel coat, like an old friend. I checked the forecast and saw an incoming front. If I wanted to beat it home, I’d have to leave immediately.
Seattle was soon just a speck in the distance behind me. The weather system was growing in intensity – a pineapple express. It was going to SOAK the coast in rain, and potentially bring multiple feet of snow to the mountains. The last time a pineapple express parked itself over my range, people were snowed in for days. Doorways were buried, and people had to dig themselves out of their cabins.
**
Once I was back at the cabin with the fire crackling and the kettle on the woodstove, I took a moment to reflect on my day. It had been tough, but I had gotten through it. Maybe Dr. Vanessa was right, maybe I was too hard on myself. After all, what red-blooded man wouldn’t think about all the positions he could put each of those women in, and what he would’ve done to each of them.
I had heard the gossip about Torver’s CEO Johnathan and the CEO blonde, Samantha’s, relationship. It had shocked the business community and been front page news for about five minutes before people moved onto the next scandal. Today, when I saw the way that Johnathan and Samantha had looked at each other, the kindness and respect between them shone, even when they disagreed with the terms of the business deal. They respected each other, and I found myself wondering if I could ever have a relationship like theirs.
“It’s just you and me pal,” I said, reaching down and scratching Chopper behind his ear, his remaining back leg kicked in time. That was his spot.
The screech of the radio interrupted my thoughts. I had been partly listening to the chatter about the incoming storm, it was going to be a bad one. Search and rescue had already been sent out to a bad accident on the mountain road. It was likely to be the first of many calls for the organization.
If things got really bad, SAR would call me in as a volunteer rescuer. I didn’t mind, I loved the adrenaline of storm flying and the satisfaction of helping people. But, if the storm continued its current path, nobody would be able to fly in it, not even a cowboy like me.
Chapter 7 – Lucy
I blinked my eyes and squeezed them tight again in an attempt to get the world to come into focus. Why was everything so gray?
I heard a strange moaning sound and tried to find its source.
Ouch. I winced to myself, it hurt to turn my neck. I reached up and felt the seat belt digging into the flesh above my collarbone.
The moaning was coming from Tania, her torso was crumpled on the steering wheel and deflated airbag. The airbags, the snow blocking the windows, that’s why everything was so gray. The pieces were slowly coming together, the girls’ trip, the icy roads, the Jeep rolling over and over down the steep mountain cliff.
I held my breath and tried to wiggle my toes, exhaling when I realized that I could move all of them. I brushed the broken chunks of glass off my shirt and shivered. How long had I been unconscious?
“Tania!” I croaked. Her moans were getting louder. “Avery, Montana,” I managed to shout, but the other girls didn’t respond. OH, MY GOD. Were they…dead?
I oriented myself and realized that the Jeep had come to a stop upright. I unclicked my seatbelt, the release of pressure an instant relief on my body. I shuffled over to Montana and felt her wrist for a pulse. It was there. “Avery, Avery, are you ok?” I tapped her on her shoulder. There was no response.
I tried to push the door open, but the snow was lodged against it. I pulled myself onto the centre console and felt Avery’s neck for a pulse. Her neck was warm, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I felt the thump of her pulse against my hand.
“What happened?” Tania murmured. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that she was sitting up in her seat.
“We rolled,” I groaned as I tried to open the door again.
Tania moved to unclick her seatbelt and screamed out in pain.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What do I do? I wasn’t trained in first aid. I had always intended on taking a CPR course but had always prioritized my school work over any elective courses.
“What hurts?” I asked.
“My leg. I think my ankle is broken.”
“Can you move your toes?”
Tania took a minute and grimaced, “Yes.”
“Ok. That’s good.” At least I thought that was good. She could feel that her ankle hurt, and she could move her toes. That meant she wasn’t paralyzed.
“Oh. My god. No, no, no,” Tania screamed when she realized tha
t Avery was unconscious.
“Montana is out too, but they’re both alive,” I said, looking around to try to find my phone to call for help.
“How long have we been here?” Tania screamed, fear settling into her voice.
“I don’t know. I can’t find my phone.” Now I was starting to panic.
Tania fumbled around in the front seat and found her phone - it had been plugged in, charging.
“What time is it?” I asked anxiously.
“2:42,”
I breathed a sigh of relief. I remember marveling at how the sun seemed to set earlier in the mountains, and that was at 2:30, so we had only crashed about ten minutes ago. I don’t know why, but it felt like it had happened hours earlier. I realized that if we had been unconscious for hours we likely would’ve been frozen.
“Wake UP!” Tania screamed, jostling Avery by the shoulder.
“Don’t do that. Don’t move her too much.”
“What do we do? What do we do?” Tania was either coming out of shock or going deeper, I couldn’t tell.
“Call 911. I’ll try to find their coats, or a blanket to try to keep them warm.
“There’s no service!” Tania screamed, tossing her phone onto the dashboard amongst the chunks of glass. “We’re going to freeze here. We’re all going to die!”
“We’re not going to die. Stay calm.” I crawled into the back of the SUV. Luckily, we had tossed our coats onto the pile of suitcases and I only had to shove a couple cases to the side to find them. I pulled out one coat at a time by their sleeves, shaking out the glass shards. I passed the first two to Tania. As I tucked Madison’s coat around her, she opened her eyes and looked at me confusedly.
“What… what’s going on?” she said, trying to move.
“We’ve been in an accident. I’m going for help.” I hadn’t realized that was the plan, but if it kept snowing the car was going to be covered in no time. We couldn’t just sit here waiting for someone to come and rescue us. In my whole life, I had never played a damsel in distress and I wasn’t about to start now. I have always been the hero of my own story.
“No. You should stay,” Tania screamed, “Someone will find us.” Her panic seemed to be growing by the second.
“I’m just going to hike up the embankment and flag down a car. We can’t be that far from the road. If we just wait here and the snow builds up, then we’re going to be in trouble.”
“You’re bleeding!” Madison exclaimed, and pointed at my arm.
I looked down at my left arm and saw that blood had soaked through my sweater.
“My arm is ok. It must be cut from the glass,” I said, pulling up my sleeve to look. There were several cuts up my arm that had been bleeding, but it looked like they were all crusting up. “I’m going to be fine. Stay here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
I tried the door again and was able to open it about an inch into the compacted snow. The impact of the rollover had blown out all the windows and I was able to crawl out through the shards, cutting my hands as I gripped the window frame.
“Lucy. Take these.” Tania said, thrusting her leather driving gloves at me.
“You will need them. I’ll be back in a couple minutes to get mine.”
“Don’t be stupid. Take them.” Tania said, thrusting the gloves at me. I slid the fur-lined gloves onto my bloody hands, wondering how much it was going to cost me to replace them. My hands instantly felt warmer.
“Thank you,” I said to Tania. “I’ll be back soon.” I pulled on my old ski coat, thankful to discover that my phone was in its inside pocket.
I jumped into the snow and immediately sank up to my crotch. Luckily the snow around the car was light and fluffy, and following the swath that the rolling Jeep had created, I was able to trudge in the direction of the road. Huge snowflakes were swirling in my face and sticking to my eyelashes. I was sweating and breathing heavily. I was in good cardiovascular shape but fighting through three feet of snow was harder than anything I had ever done.
The tracks from the Jeep were filling in fast and my heart sank when I realized that we had dropped off a small cliff and I wasn’t going to be able to climb up. I turned to see that the Jeep was quickly becoming covered in snow. Shit. I was going to have to walk adjacent to the rock face until I could find a place to climb up to the road. Thankful for Tania’s gloves, I turned and followed the cliff band, wading through the deep snow. I knew that I had about two hours before complete darkness set in. If I got up to the road and couldn’t find service, I wasn’t going to be able to call for help, I’d have to hope I could flag down a passing car. That was the moment that I truly started to get scared. We could all die out here in the snow.
Keep your head on your shoulders. I whispered to myself. Everything is going to work out.
The cliff band started getting smaller and smaller as I made my way along its base, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I found a narrow gap between the rocks that was at an angle that I would be able to climb. It was slow going, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other and crawled up the gap.
See, Lucy. Stay positive. Everything always works out… I smiled to myself as I reached the top. My positive thoughts were quickly replaced with dread.
Where was the road? I looked to my left and then to my right. The snow was falling heavily, but not heavily enough to block my vision - there was no road in sight. The damn thing must curve away from the cliff. I thought to myself.
That moment was a crossroads in my life. I had a choice, turn around and go back to the car – or keep going to try to find the road. I was warm enough in my coat and knew that if I went back to the car, we might all freeze to death. I decided then and there. One that would change my life forever – and I kept walking.
With every corner I turned, every hill I crested, I expected to see the road. The minutes turned into what seemed like hours and I knew I had made a horrible decision. Was I going to die out here? Who would take care of my sister if I died? I couldn’t die. I had to keep going.
The light was starting to change, and I realized that the sun was setting. I was breathing heavily and decided to sit down to take a break, rationalizing that I needed a break if I was going to have to walk through the whole damn night.
I didn’t even try to find a sheltered spot because I was only going to rest for a minute. Just one minute. I sat down, the fresh snow supporting me like a cold recliner.
This is nice. I thought to myself.
Then the strangest thing happened. I started to feel warm – and then the world disappeared.
Chapter 8 – Mick
The snow swirled and danced around my windows as the storm increased its intensity. I kicked back in my favorite chair and opened one of my business books. As a young business student, I learned that readers are leaders, and that adage stuck with me throughout my career. I read at least one book a week - all business except for my vast Clive Cussler collection.
I was deep in concentration and almost didn’t hear the distress call come through on the radio. My secondary personal radio channel squawked, and I heard the voice of local Search and Rescue lead, Tony, scratch out of the tiny speaker.
“SAR to Mick. Mick. Do you copy?”
I grabbed my radio off the table and set down my book.
“Copy Tony.”
“What’s your twenty?”
“I’m at the cabin.”
“We have a missing person, last seen on highway five ten at the hairpin.”
Missing person? I was expecting evacuations, hospital trips, digging out stuck vehicles, but a missing person? Jesus Christ. I checked the thermometer, it was hovering just below freezing. If they were dressed appropriately they might still be alive – unless they had to spend the night out there.
“I don’t think I can fly in this,” Mick radioed back.
“We can’t either. We located an overturned car on the road near your place. One of the occupants left to go for help.”
I
shook my head. What kind of an idiot would head out to look for help? It always surprised me that people didn’t know the basic tenets of rescue. Stay in place. This dude had just turned a car rescue/retrieval into a missing person’s search. One that would likely turn from a search and rescue into a search and recovery.
“I’ll take the snowmobile and see what I can do,” I said, already collecting my survival gear.
“When the SAR snowmobile search team is mobilized, we will send them out to join you – they’re about two hours out at an avalanche site.”
“Ten-Four,” I replied and set down the radio.
I looked at my open book and the warm afghan that my mom had knit for me. Of course, it was terrible news that someone was missing, but my night just got a lot more exciting.
I pulled on an insulated one-piece Gore-Tex snowmobile suit, grabbed my survival pack from its post by the door – where it was always packed and ready to go, pulled my balaclava on, and topped everything off with my helmet and goggles.
Chopper had started pacing, he always sensed when something important was going down. I usually operated at a leisurely and steady pace, but tonight I was dressed and ready to go in less than two minutes.
I debated whether or not to bring Chops with me, he would have a tough time in the deep snow, but as a retired resort avalanche dog, his sniffer could come in handy. I whistled through the face of my helmet and Chopper was up like a shot and out the door. He took his place on the front of my snowmobile and I attached the toboggan. My snowmobile started on the second pull, and the smell of premium gas filled the air. I knew that electric snowmobiles were on their way, and I would definitely get one, but I would miss the obnoxious brapp sound and fuel smell from my high-powered sled.
