by Rye Hart
I gasped when I found what was inside.
It was a Purple Heart, glistening and gleaming with bravery and victory. My mind started to swirl with the implications of Liam having something like this. It meant he had been wounded in battle somewhere. It meant he had sacrificed a great deal to save the lives of those around him. I sighed heavily before I closed the box, trying to place it back delicately where I’d found it.
I wanted to know what had happened to him. I wanted to know what he’d done to receive a medal like that. I wanted to know how he’d been injured and how bad it had been.
But my phone vibrating in the other room interrupted my thoughts.
Scampering off his bed, I rushed down the hallway to get it. I saw a message from Liam and I opened it, smiling when I realized he was on his way back. That meant he would be back well before dinner but just as I went to message him back, a call came through.
It was Gwen. I smiled.
“Hey there,” I said.
“Girl. What the hell? I’ve been waiting for you to call me and I haven’t heard a peep! What gives?”
“I’m so sorry. Things have just gotten a bit crazy around here.”
“Crazy how? You okay? You find yourself a man? Oh, is he doing you right?”
I blushed at her comments. “Do you want the punchline or the story?” I asked.
“Gimme the punchline and then start from the beginning,” she said.
“I’m snowed-in at a cabin on the mountains with a mountain man.”
Silence fell, followed by a shriek through the phone.
“You’ve been holding out on me! The fuck’s going on?”
“My first day here was okay but they were forecasting a hell of a storm. I, of course, didn’t listen and went on a hike the next day to explore the scenery.”
“Of course, because you’re stubborn as hell,” she said. “Go on.”
“I got lost. Gwen, I was petrified. The snow was thick and it was freezing and I took off running up a hill to try and see if I could get high enough to see the resort.”
“What happened?” she asked.
“I caught my ankle on something and tripped. I went rolling down this damn hill and my leg hurt so badly. I crashed into a tree and couldn’t catch my breath and, when I came to, I was on his couch in his cabin.”
“Oh, shit! Is he hot? Please tell me he’s hot.”
“He is pretty good looking, yes,” I said, giggling.
“Are you gonna do him?’
“Gwen.”
“Are you?” she asked.
“Come on.”
“Oh, holy shit. You already did him!”
“Gwen!”
“I know you, Whitney. Had it not happened, you would’ve denied it time and time again. But you didn’t. That means you finally got some! Tell me all the details.”
“That, I’m not doing,” I said.
“So, you did sleep with him?!”
“Didn’t we just establish this?” I asked.
“I didn’t really know,” she said. “I was just spouting some bullshit to see if you’d confirm.”
“Did anyone tell you growing up that you should’ve become a lawyer?” I asked.
“Nah. I’m just good at arguing.”
“Heaven help the man you end up with,” I said.
“Speaking of men, tell me about him. I’m already liking this cabin story. What else is there?”
“Well, he used to be in the military. He’s retired from it now and living in this cabin we’re in.”
“So, he’s isolated,” she said. “Probably hasn’t seen a woman in a while. He devoured you, didn’t he?”
“Are you on meds?” I asked.
“Just living through you. Building a business doesn’t leave much time for the men of this world.”
“Oh! How is that going? Narrowing down the buildings and stuff.”
“It’s going well. I’ve got it down to four and I’m going tomorrow with a realtor to take a look at them. Expect pictures.”
“I thought you weren’t bringing me in until there were two,” I said.
“Eh, things change,” she said. “Like they apparently have with you. How’s the storm looking your way?”
“Didn’t you guys get snow?” I asked. “How does it look where you are?”
“I mean, we saw, like, four inches. With the way you’re talking, it sounds like you’ve been dumped on.”
“It’s easily two feet but I think it might be a little more,” I said.
“Good thing you don’t have a job right now. You’re gonna be stuck for a bit.”
“I booked three weeks with the cabin at the resort. I’m sure I’ll be out by then.”
“Or you could just cancel and spend the three weeks with your handsome mountain man,” she said.
I felt my body shiver at that comment. I honestly wouldn’t mind spending a few more days with Liam. He was kind and attentive. Sure, he was quiet, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t listening. It would be worth it if I could have just one more night of passion with him. One more night to memorize his muscles and feel the tickle of his beard against my skin.
I felt so beautiful in his arms. I’d never felt that beautiful before.
“Anyway,” I said, sighing. “Let me know how the building shopping goes.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” she said. “You can’t leave me hanging like that. You gotta give me something on this guy.”
I grinned as I sat down on the couch. I knew exactly what I was going to tell her and I knew it would drive her wild. The two of us talked while I stayed cryptic, laughing at her growing frustration. I told her as much as I could, from him taking care of my ankle to him taking me to see the beautiful view he had just in his backyard. It felt so good to talk to Gwen about something that was positive. Something that made me smile and had me giggling like a little school girl.
“Here’s all I’m gonna tell you,” Gwen said. “Seize life. You don’t have anything here waiting for you. No job. No apartment. No nothing.”
“I’ve got you,” I said.
“And I’ll always be here, no matter where you are. Ride this out. Whit, this is the happiest I’ve heard you since before you fucking graduated. Just let yourself have this, okay?”
I looked out the window and noticed that the sun was just starting to set. I pulled the phone away from my ear to check the time. I’d been talking with Gwen for close to three solid hours and I still didn’t have a message from Liam. I got up from the couch and made my way to the window, gazing out over the only trail that led up to his cabin.
And he was still nowhere in sight.
“Whitney, you there?” Gwen asked.
“I gotta go,” I said.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hopefully nothing. I gotta make a phone call.”
“Whit, talk to me,” she said.
“Liam went to the store this morning to get some stuff and he’s still not back.”
“Liam’s the guy?” she asked.
“Shit, did I not give you his name?” I asked.
“No, we were too busy talking about his muscles,” she said. “When did he leave?”
“Eleven this morning,” I said.
“I’m gonna let you go. Call me if you need anything, okay? Do you have his number?”
“I do,” I said.
“Try calling him. And keep a level head. If the snow’s bad, maybe he’s just taking his time getting back.”
“He was walking, Gwen. The snow’s too high to drive.”
The silence on the other end of the phone confirmed my fears. Out of the two of us, Gwen was always the one who kept the level head. She was the one you wanted during emergencies because while everyone else was screaming their heads off, she was dictating what everyone needed to do.
And, when she grew silent, that meant she was panicking.
“Whit, here’s what you do. Give him a call and see if he picks up. If he doesn’t, call the store he went
to. Do you know which one he went to?”
“I could find it, I think,” I said.
“Don’t go out. Don’t go looking for him but see if you can call the store and confirm that he left.”
“I know he did,” I said. “He sent me a text message.”
“Then see if the store owner can check out his window. You don’t see him, right?”
“Nope.”
“And if the store owner can’t see him, it diminishes the places where he could be,” she said. “Do you have access to the internet?”
I held my phone out and checked my service. I somehow had two bars for phone reception but the 4G service would be spotty at best.
“Barely,” I said.
“Get off the phone and call them. Then, go from there. Call me back if you need something.”
“Will do,” I said.
“And Whit?”
“Yeah, Gwen?”
“Don’t be stupid. Going out into that shit is what got you in his cabin in the first place. Do not go searching for him. Call 9-1-1 if you have to.”
“I won’t,” I said.
“Promise me.”
I sighed into the phone before I nodded my head.
“I promise,” I said.
“Good. Let me know when you figure something out.”
CHAPTER 17
LIAM
By the time the cabin finally came into sight, the sun was setting beneath the trees. It was absolutely freezing out here and I had to stop and take frequent breaks. The cold air pierced my throat and every time I started to breathe hard, my chest would tighten. My arms were going numb from carrying everything and my toes were frozen solid but the smoke wafting from the chimney was a wonderful sight to behold.
I walked up the porch and knocked the snow off my body but, before I could open the door, it whipped open for me. Whitney was standing there in clothes that were way too big for her and it took me a second to register whose clothes she was wearing.
She was wearing mine and I felt the entirety of my body throb at the sight.
“Oh, thank fuck.” She grabbed my coat and tugged me into the house. Prying the bags from my hands, she tossed them onto the floor. Then, she slid my coat from me.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I was mesmerized by the way my flannel shirt draped around her and the way she’d tucked my pajama pants into a pair of socks. Her hair was wild and had a kink to it that I found absolutely breathtaking.
She was a dream, running around in my clothes, and I felt my cock lurch to life as she continued to undress me.
“Come here,” she said.
Taking my hands, she pulled me over to the couch. With the fire roaring and the embers crackling, she piled blanket after blanket onto my body. She was frantic while she tried to warm me up and it seemed like the only thing I could do was rake my eyes over her.
I wanted to hold her close to me with her body clad in my wardrobe.
“You’re not going out into this shit again until it’s safe to drive,” she said. “I don’t know why in the world I ever let you out of this cabin. We could’ve made do with paper towels or napkins for toilet paper. This was absolutely insane. Look at you, Liam. You can’t even keep your jaw still!”
Her hands cupped my cheeks and I shivered at her warmth. I would’ve smiled at the earful she was giving me had I not been so damn cold. I still couldn’t feel my toes and that was beginning to worry me. With all the layers I had on and the fire going in front of us, I should be able to at least move them by now.
But I couldn’t.
She looked into my eyes and I felt myself relax. The bags by the door were long forgotten. A gust of wind lurched the door open and snow came pouring into the cabin. Whitney jumped from my lap, sliding across the wooden floors so she could catch the door. It took all the strength she had to get it closed. Then, I heard her gather up the bags and toss them onto the kitchen counter.
I still couldn’t feel my toes and I knew that wasn’t good.
“Whitney,” I said.
“Yes?” she asked. “Yes, I’m right here. What is it?”
She ran around to face me and I could tell how worried she’d been while I was gone. Her eyes were red and her hands were shaking as they sat on my thighs. I couldn’t imagine the worrying she must’ve done once the sun started to set.
“What do you need?” she asked.
“I can’t feel my toes.”
Immediately, she dropped to the floor. I felt her pick up one of my legs and set it in her lap while she slowly worked my boot off. My socks were practically frozen to my legs, and I could hear her drawing shaky breaths as she peeled the crackling fabric off my feet.
“You’re not going out again in this,” she said. “I’m very serious, Liam.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I knew her hands were cupped around my toes but I couldn’t feel them. I looked down and willed my toes to move, trying my best to get them to jump start. I could feel Whitney’s worried stare on my face as she worked my second boot off. Then, she worked on getting my frozen sock off before she tried warming them up herself.
She grabbed a blanket off my lap and wrapped them around my feet. She rubbed her hands together and tried to scoot herself off to the side so the heat of the fire would hit them. My shivering was subsiding but that deep, aching cold was still there. My joints were stiffening and my muscles were beginning to ache.
This just wasn’t going be enough.
“Could I ask you a question?” Whitney asked.
“Sure,” I said.
“How many times did you deploy when you were in the Navy?”
She looked up at me with those big blue eyes and I shook my head in exasperation. I was way too cold to have this conversation, nor was I ready to open up that chapter of my life again. I’d come to the mountains to get away from that life. To never have to talk about it or indulge it or think about it ever again.
“Whitney, I’m just too… cold… right now,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” she said, snickering. “Really bad timing.”
I saw the guilt rush over her face but I could also see that it didn’t diminish her curiosity. If she was wearing my clothes, that meant she had to go rummaging around in my room. That didn’t really bother me too much. I figured she’d want something new to wear eventually. But it meant she’d probably found my Purple Heart.
“I know what’ll warm you up,” she said.
She dropped my feet and all I wanted her to do was come back.
I heard her rummaging around in the kitchen before she stuck something into the microwave. A few minutes later, the wonderful smell of coffee permeated the room and I could feel my salivary glands kick into overdrive. I wanted the blackest cup of coffee she could give me, at the hottest temperature she could make it.
And when she brought it over to me, I sighed.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Not a problem. I’ve got soup coming in a few seconds, too.”
I sipped the hot coffee gratefully. It warmed my insides, knocked the icicles off my bones, and helped my joints relax. I felt the couch cushion compress beside me and I looked over to see Whitney with a bowl in her hand and a smile on her face.
Her gaze danced around my head.
“This new hairstyle looks good on you,” she said.
“Compliments to the stylist,” I said.
“I hope you keep it up after I’m gone.”
Her words pierced me more than they should’ve and I tried my best not to show it.
When the old man at the shop told me we’d be stuck here for at least two more days, I hadn’t been as annoyed as I should have been. When Whitney had first shown up in my life, she’d been nothing but a nuisance. But over the past couple of days, I’d gotten to know her. I’d discovered both a sassier and a softer side to her. I’d felt her beneath my body and I’d woken up to her presence in the same room as me.
She’d etched herself into me somehow and it
was going to be hard to let her go.
I traded her the mug for the bowl and tipped it up to my lips. I practically poured the hot soup down my throat, ignoring the burn and savoring the way my body was finally thawing back to life. My arms didn’t hurt when they moved and it no longer hurt to breathe, but when I went to move my toes, they still weren’t budging much.
“Would you like some more?” she asked.
“Actually, I think I’m gonna need some warm water. My toes still aren’t moving much.”
I saw the worry cross her face but she quickly took the dishes to the kitchen. I heard her pad down the hallway as I got up off the couch. I gingerly walked my way into the bathroom. She was hunched over the tub as she fiddled with the knobs and, the moment the hot water started steaming up the room, I started shedding my clothes.
The water ran while Whitney helped me take off the rest of my clothes. She unbuttoned my shirt and slid it down my arms before I tossed it into the hamper. I noticed her clothes were in there as well and I figured she’d taken a shower while I was gone. I could see her cheeks flushing as she helped work the frozen buckle of my belt loose. I watched her turn away from me as I sat my naked body into the deep tub.
“Need anything else?” she asked.
“There is one thing,” I said.
“What?” she asked.
She whirled around before her eyes widened. She was flustered beyond belief and it honestly looked good on her. The red tint to her cheeks was starting to trickle down her neck and the way her eyes raked over my body caused me to bite back a groan. Whether or not she realized it, her breath was coming in shorter pants. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips. Her fingers were twirling themselves in the excess fabric of my sweatpants.
Every involuntary sign was there that told me I should simply go ahead and ask for what I wanted.
“I’d like you to get in with me,” I said.
Her eyes shot up to mine and I could see them widen. I feared she was going to turn me down. I thought maybe I’d overstepped my boundaries when I saw her fists clench at my question. I could tell she was deliberating, trying to figure out if this was a good idea or not.
The water was still running, filling the tub and finally defrosting my toes before she made a decision.
