by A. J. Wynter
“Chopper, you stay,” Mick said, his voice muffled through his helmet. He pointed to Chopper’s plaid wicker bed by the fire. Chopper looked down at the floor, sad that he wasn’t joining us on our next adventure, then turned obediently and flopped down onto his bed.
Mick fired up the snowmobile and it growled to life, its exhaust swirling in the sunlight. I noticed that the toboggan wasn’t attached and wondered how both of us were going to fit on the little snowmobile seat. Mick left the snowmobile idling and walked toward his shed, he motioned for me to follow. I stepped into his knee-deep tracks and gasped when I realized what was about to happen.
“I.. I.. I can’t ride one of those,” I said, pointing to the snowmobile.
“Yes, you can.”
“I’ve never done anything like this before in my life,” I said, exasperated.
“The Lucy I’ve come to know can do anything she puts her mind to,” Mick said, and gently pushed me forward into the shed.
“How do I start it?” I felt like I was looking at a UFO.
“You have to get on it and jump on the running boards three times, it’s like a motorcycle kickstart.”
I flung my leg over the massive machine and stood on the running boards. “Like this?” I jumped up and down.
“Harder and higher should do it.”
I grasped the handlebars and jumped with all my might. Nothing happened.
The machine stayed cold and quiet, I searched the instrument panel for any sign of life, then turned to look at Mick. “Am I doing something wrong?” He was grinning, then he burst out into laughter, doubled over, tears falling from his eyes as he held his stomach.
It was then that my eyes fell upon the key in the ignition.
“You asshole!” I jumped off the snowmobile and pelted mitten-handed slaps on his arms. It only made him laugh harder.
“I… I… I never thought that you would do it,” he managed to blurt out in between his fits of laughter.
“You turn the key to start it, don’t you?” I said. I crossed my arms and waited for this grown-up child-man to stop laughing at me.
“I’m sorry Lucy. I – I – I know I shouldn’t be laughing, but you really gave those jumps one hundred percent. You turn the key and then pull the cord,” he said pointing to a black handle.
“I looked ridiculous, didn’t I.”
“Totally,” he roared.
I couldn’t help it, I tried to pretend like I was pissed at him, but it was pretty funny. I never thought of myself as a clueless city girl, but clearly, there were things that I needed to learn. I turned the key and Mick pulled the cord and the loud engine roared to life. Mick grabbed my hand and placed it on the right-hand side of the handlebars, his gloved hand around mine, then he pushed the throttle and revved up the engine. It was scary and powerful sounding at the same time.
I grinned at Mick. He smiled back at me and winked. “Are you ready to have something this powerful between your legs?”
I blushed. It seemed out of character for him to say something so crude.
“I’ve been waiting my whole life,” I shouted over the sound of the engine. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of embarrassing me twice in five minutes.
He gave me a quick lesson on the throttle and braking systems and explained how I had to lean to steer the machine. It seemed much simpler than I expected.
“Stay behind me and keep in my track. If you get into fresh powder you’re gonna get this thing stuck so bad we won’t get it out until spring.”
We did a few practice loops around the yard. When we circled the cabin, I noticed a clearing that hadn’t been visible in the storm. It looked like it once was a paddock for horses, but there was something big in the middle, buried in a mound of snow.
“What’s that?” I yelled, pointing to the mysterious clearing.
“What?” Mick yelled, pointing to his helmet.
I knew that he could hear me.
“Read to go home, Lucy?” he asked, changing the subject.
I wasn’t ready to leave. After only two days, Mick’s cabin felt like home. I liked being around him. I felt a comfort with him that I had never felt with Lawrence. I felt a yearning to stay wrapped up in blankets in Mick’s arms forever.
When I didn’t answer, Mick lowered his eyes and muttered something that I couldn’t make out.
Chapter 20 – Mick
“I don’t want you to leave me.”
I knew that she couldn’t hear me over the growl of the snowmobile, but it felt good just to get the words out. I didn’t want her to stay so I could get her naked and into my bed. I wanted her to stay because I liked the way I felt when I was with her. Could it be that the cure for my sex addiction came in the form of a hypothermic virgin?
I took it easy as we traveled from the alpine into the trees. I had been monitoring the avalanche forecast on an hourly basis, watching all of the changes. Now, the avalanche risk was at high, one grade down from extreme, so I still had to choose our terrain and path wisely. Even though I enjoyed her company, I didn’t want to have to dig her out of the snow again – or rely on her to dig me out. She understood the avalanche beacon, but I knew firsthand how calm, rational, and smart people can panic in a life or death scenario like an avalanche. I chose the flattest, safest route to the treeline and breathed a sigh of relief once we were out of the exposed terrain. The woods provided us with a little more protection, the trees helped to minimize the storm slabs and offered a bit of stability to the snow. We were by no means ‘safe’, and I was still on high alert watching for changing conditions as the sun rose higher into the sky.
To my surprise, she only got the sled stuck once, I really thought that I was going to spend the majority of our trip digging her out. I knew that it would’ve been faster to clear off the helicopter, but the trip would’ve been too fast, and I wasn’t quite ready to let Lucy out of my sight just yet. I know that it was selfish, but aside from walking or snowshoeing to town, the snowmobiles were going to offer me the most amount of time with her.
**
The Crystalid Spa was on the trail system and we pulled up to the expansive building just after three p.m. The concierge met us at the trailhead and helped Lucy off her snowmobile.
“Mr. Brady, great to see you,” he said, shaking Mick’s hand.
“Great to see you too, Roger. Man, that was some storm, wasn’t it?” Mick replied, removing his helmet.
“That is was, Sir. I believe it has set some ten-year records for accumulation in the valley.” The concierge was an older man who looked like he had seen his fair share of storms.
I’m dropping Miss McKennit off here. She’s joining a party of her friends. I also radioed ahead to have medics here to check her over. She fell victim to hypothermia two days ago, and I’d like her checked over thoroughly.”
“Yes, Mr. Brady. The medics arrived about a half an hour ago.”
“LUCY!”
I heard a high-pitched voice squeal through the lobby and turned to see a blonde girl bounding towards us. She gripped Lucy in a bear hug and I couldn’t help but notice that Lucy didn’t reciprocate the enthusiasm. “Oh. My. God. Are you like, ok? We were so worried. And then they told us that you were trapped with some hermit.”
The girl’s eyes went wide when she saw me. She gasped, “I mean, I didn’t say hermit, that’s what somebody else said.”
It wasn’t the first time that I had been referred to as a hermit, and I actually took it as a compliment.
I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up and a cold shiver passed through my body. I looked past Lucy and her friend to see a young man watching the scene in front of him, but he wasn’t staring at Lucy, he was staring at me. He was clean-cut, like an Abercrombie model, wearing an expensive looking shirt with the collar popped, and totally inappropriate suede driving shoes.
He walked toward us with purpose and that’s when Lucy finally saw him.
“Lawrence,” she said.
“Lucy, I’m so glad that you are okay. I got here as fast as I could once I heard the news.”
Lucy turned to face me and smiled meekly like she didn’t want me to see her interact with her fiancé. I didn’t want to see it either, so I turned and walked away as Lawrence embraced my Lucy.
Roger handed me my helmet. I should’ve said goodbye to Lucy, but the feelings that I had for her would’ve betrayed me, would’ve betrayed us and what we had shared in some way – and I wouldn’t do that to her.
“Wait.” I heard a voice call out. It wasn’t Lucy. “You. Wait up.”
Lawrence had followed me out of the lodge. So much for a tender reunion between young lovers.
I turned to face him. We were of equal height and I was surprised when Lawrence got right in my face and gripped my forearm.
“Did you fuck her?” he seethed.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me, old man. Did you fuck her?”
“Take your fucking hand off my arm before I take it off for you,” I growled.
“Whoa, whoa. Just a question bro,” Lawrence took a step back, his palms up in front of him.
“I’m not your ‘bro’,” I said and turned to walk away. Lawrence followed behind me, slipping and sliding in his expensive loafers.
“Hey, redneck. Don’t walk away when I’m talking to you.”
I kept walking. I knew better than to engage with him. Did it make me look guilty? Maybe, but I didn’t care.
Lawrence followed me to my snowmobile and was shivering in the cold.
“Don’t you know who I am?” he said through his chattering teeth.
“You’re the man who didn’t show up when his fiancée was almost killed. That’s who you are,” I said and put my helmet on.
“If you touched her, you are done you piece of shit,” he shouted, and then quieter as if I’d answer this time, “did you?”
“Did I what?” I was starting to enjoy this.
“Did you put your hillbilly dick in my woman?” His face had turned scarlet red.
“I’m confused. Is it redneck, or hillbilly?” I smirked.
“Just answer the question, Redneck.”
What a piece of work. I couldn’t help myself, “Why don’t you ask her about the redneck power she had between her legs this morning.”
Lawrence took a step toward me and shoved my shoulder. I was ready and able to deflect it. My sudden shift caught him off guard and he slipped in the snow, falling face first with a dull thud. He looked up at me, his dark eyes glowed as the blood gushed from his nose.
“You’re done. You know that, right? You’re done…” He pointed at Roger, “You! Call the police and tell them that Lawrence Locklear the Third has just been assaulted,” he shouted and pointed at Roger. The concierge had witnessed the whole thing and seemed to be frozen in place.
I shrugged my shoulders at the old man, “It’s ok, Roger. You can call the police. They know where to find me.”
I mounted my snowmobile, revved the engine a couple of times and roared back off into the sanctuary of my mountains.
Fuck this. I didn’t need people, I didn’t need drama, and I didn’t need Lucy.
Chapter 21 – Lucy
Lawrence’s hug felt cold and empty. I held onto him a little tighter to see if I could get the same rush in my belly that I got when Mick had held me, but Lawrence pushed me away almost immediately to chase after Mick.
When Lawrence burst back into the lobby, he looked like a madman. His eyes were wild, and his shirt was covered in blood.
“Lawrence, oh, my gosh. What happened?” I asked, looking over Lawrence’s shoulder for any sign of Mick.
“Your boyfriend is going to jail for assault, that’s what happened. Will somebody please call the police already,” Lawrence yelled to no one in particular while flailing his arms wildly.
A couple of big security guards had rushed into the lobby and I could see them conferring with the concierge. The concierge nodded his head and pulled Lawrence aside. Whatever they said to him seemed to calm him down from rage level to extremely agitated, but he was still shaking with irritation.
He walked over to me and slung his arm around my shoulder. “I’m sorry, baby. It’s been a stressful couple of days, knowing that you were stuck out there.” It didn’t sound genuine, but those were the words that I needed to hear. After all, Mick had just dumped me off here at the hotel and hadn’t even said goodbye.
“They’ve called in a doctor to reset my nose.”
“It’s broken?”
“Yeah, that dirty hillbilly punched me in the face.”
I pulled back from Lawrence, “That doesn’t sound like Mick.”
Lawrence looked down at me, and his eyes flashed darkly. “That doesn’t sound like Mick,” he mocked. “How the hell do you know what Mick sounds like?”
He was being an asshole, but he was right. Clearly, Mick wasn’t who I thought he was. The Mick I knew was eloquent, cultured, and wouldn’t resort to violence.
“Why did he hit you?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I just went out there to thank him for taking care of you. And, blam.”
“Really?” Something wasn’t adding up.
“Yep. A real winner, that one.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” the concierge said, “but the medics are ready to look at both of you now.”
“We are in the middle of something. They can wait,” Lawrence said dismissively without turning to face the man.
When did he turn into such a rude and condescending man? Did Mick knock him so hard it had turned him into a deranged tyrant?
“Please tell them we will be there shortly - and thank you,” I said to the man. I felt Lawrence’s hand squeeze my arm heavily and whip me back around to face him.
“Just tell me one thing.” Lawrence leaned in close and whispered in my ear, “Did he fuck you?”
“No!” I pulled back aghast. “Of course not. What has gotten into you?”
“Did you suck his dick?”
“Lawrence, I don’t know what is up with you, but this is not appropriate. The man saved my life. He was a complete gentleman.” I mean it was the truth. I hadn’t slept with him, and I definitely hadn’t given him a blow job.
“Are you telling me the truth?” he yelled, squeezing both of my arms tighter.
Our dramatic conversation was drawing the curious eyes of lobby bystanders.
“Of course, I’m telling you the truth,” I whispered. “And let go of me. People are staring.”
And with the words ‘people are staring’, the evil Lawrence seemed to disappear into thin air.
“I’m just so happy to have you back in my arms,” he said loudly enough for everyone in the lobby to hear. Then he pulled me in for a hug and held me longer than he’d ever held me before. Was it all for show?
“Now, who is fixing my nose,” he said and marched off toward the two medics who had been watching us and their watches.
The female medic took me into a separate conference room and started checking my vitals. She put a blanket around my shoulders asked me questions about what had happened. As I replayed the series of events from the past couple of days, visions of woodstoves, blankets, snowballs, and a tickly rough beard flashed through my mind. I felt a warmth spread through my body, starting deep in my stomach and spreading through my body and out to my fingertips, and I could feel my face flushing red.
“So, Mr. Brady found you unconscious in the snow in a hypothermic state and brought you back to his cabin,” the pretty young medic clarified.
“Yes.”
“And when you woke up, you were naked inside a sleeping bag with him.”
“Yes.” I nodded and felt my face flush even more.
“And was Mr. Brady naked too?”
“No. He had his long johns on.”
The medic sucked in her breath and smiled at me. “You know the protocol for hypothermia, right? It’s skin to skin contact.”
I b
reathed out a sigh of relief. I thought that she was going to judge Mick for what he had done.
“That’s what he said, and I believed him,” I replied. It was the truth. Never did I mistake what Mick had done as lascivious or that he was somehow taking advance of my naiveté.
“He should’ve gotten totally naked,” said the medic as she smiled at me and I saw the glint in her eye. “You know how many women would kill to have gone through what you just did?”
“What?”
“I mean, I know some local women who would crash their car on purpose if they knew that Michael Brady would come to their rescue and get into a sleeping bag with them.”
“Really?” It didn’t surprise me, Mick was handsome, but what woman yearned to be with a hermit who had retreated from society?
“You look surprised,” she said as she pumped the blood pressure cuff.
“I am kind of,” I replied honestly. “I mean, he’s hot, but he can be a bit of an asshole – and who wants to be with a man who gave up everything?”
“Everything?” she looked at me and smiled, “You don’t know who he is, do you?”
We were interrupted by a knock on the door. “You almost finished?” the voice on the other side asked.
“Just give us a few more minutes,” the medic yelled back.
As she released the cuff, she ran her hands over the finger-shaped bruising that was forming on my biceps. Her eyes were filled with concern.
“Are you going to tell your boyfriend all the details of your story?” she asked.
“I hadn’t really thought about it.” I felt the tears starting to form. After Lawrence’s interrogation, I knew that I couldn’t tell him about ALL the details of Mick bring me back from the dead. And I definitely couldn’t tell him that we had kissed.
“You know that it’s not okay for a man to hold you like that. Right?”
“He’s never been like that before. I think that he’s just in shock or something.”
