Snowbound

by MG Braden

  her. She felt as if he’d just talk right over her anyway. The petulant little girl side of her wanted to give

  him the silent treatment just because she was cranky and he was being weird. But she wasn’t really up to

  playing games so she thought better of it. “I can make it.” With her ankle wrapped she felt better able to

  put pressure on it, so she limped closer to the fire and sat down. The chairs up in the front of the chapel

  hadn’t overturned with the avalanche. She dragged another chair over to face the one she was sitting on

  and put her foot up. “How long do you think we’ll be here?”

  Daniel was busy unpacking his ski pack and didn’t look up as he said, “I’m not sure. Hopefully by

  tomorrow. It all depends on how much damage was done elsewhere, how deep we really are in here. It

  depends on a number of things. My walkie-talkie is just giving me static right now, so I don’t know much

  of anything. They know we’re here and that’s the important thing.”

  “But, what if...?” She didn’t know what she was going to ask. She felt anxious and the events of the

  day finally caught up with her, leaving her exhausted.

  “It’ll be all right. We have a fire, an emergency blanket which will help with warmth, and some

  rations. It’s not much, but I think we’ll be ok.” Finally his voice held some warmth. Some concern. He

  came over and sat down beside her. “The most important thing is we’ll have to keep warm. Even with

  your bum foot, I’m going to want you to get up and move around every once in a while. At night, we’re

  going to have to sleep close.”

  She smiled. She had no problem with that and was about to tell him when he went on, “It’s purely a

  survival thing. You don’t have to worry about me at all.”

  What is that supposed to mean?

  “Do you have any idea where Rick might have been when the avalanche hit?” he asked.

  “Oh my God. Rick. No—he—I mean...” She was stunned. What if Rick had been caught in that

  avalanche? No matter what, she wouldn’t wish him harm. What a mess this day had become. She felt the

  tear sliding down her cheek, before she even realized she was crying again.

  “It’s ok. They’ll find him,” Daniel reassured her.

  * * *

  Daniel didn’t know what to do with Cassidy crying. He wasn’t good with tears. He probably

  shouldn’t have mentioned Rick, but he did find it odd that he wasn’t close to where he’d found Cassidy.

  Maybe he’d gone down the mountain to get help. He couldn’t imagine why else he would have left her on

  her own, trapped in a tree root, but then who knew what Rick would do. He hadn’t exactly proven himself

  reliable in the past. He just hoped the idiot wasn’t stuck somewhere himself, badly hurt. Poor Cassidy.

  What a wedding day. He gave himself a mental shake. Lighten up, buddy. She blew you off without any

  warning. It’s not like she didn’t know what she was running back to. Yeah, ok, but an avalanche wasn’t

  really part of the plan. She was still sniffling so he found some tissue and handed it to her.

  “Are you warming up? How’s your ankle feeling?” He thought that changing the subject would get

  her mind off things.

  “I’m fine, thank you.”

  When she looked up at him her nose and eyes were all red from crying. Even still, she had the most

  beautiful eyes he’d ever seen. The colour of grey was like no other. Molten steel. Well, actually right now

  they looked like cold steel as she was giving him a dirty look. What’d I do? Except save her ass again.

  He first clued into the fact she was talking to him, right after he realized he was staring at her. “What?

  Sorry. What did you say?”

  “I said, I’m hungry.”

  “Oh, right. Well we need to be careful with these so we don’t run out, but you do need to eat.” He

  went over to the rations and grabbed a bag of trail mix. “When did you last eat?”

  “At lunch, with you.”

  “Whoa, that was almost eight hours ago. Didn’t Rick have this shindig catered? Sheesh. Ok, here

  have this. It’s got a good mix of nuts and dried fruit. Just try to eat it slowly. It will help keep your energy

  up.” He handed her the bag.

  “Shindig? It wasn’t a shindig,” she said. At least he thought that’s what she said, although he wasn’t

  quite sure since it came muffled through a mouthful of food.

  “Sorry. Whatever. Anyway, I’m going to set up some kind of sleeping area. If we’re directly on the

  floor, the cold will seep right through our bones.” He really had no idea what to use since there was

  obviously not going to be any bedding around. He was going to give Cassidy the emergency blanket, but

  they were going to need more than that. Finding some newspapers beside the firewood, he knew he could

  use those to insulate the floor. He took the small pile and laid it out a safe distance from the fire, but still

  close enough that it would warm them. Placing the emergency blanket near the newspaper bed, he then

  took off his jacket and sweater. He was sweating with them on and, once the temperature dropped, that

  could make him become even colder. His t-shirt would be fine. “You should take your jacket off. We can

  put them on top of the emergency blanket for extra insulation. You can use my sweater as a pillow if you

  need to.”

  “Good idea. Thanks. I feel better after eating a bit. I didn’t eat it all because, well, I thought we

  should be careful. You really don’t have much over there.” Cassidy nodded in the direction of the rations.

  “As long as you’re sure you’ve had enough for now. I’ll be ok,” he said.

  “I’m sure.” She shivered.

  “You’re cold.”

  “I think I’m mostly tired. We were up late last night. And then today has been insane. When I get

  tired, I get cold.” A blush stole up her cheeks.

  He didn’t know if it was from thinking about their previous night together, or because she was

  embarrassed at running off and getting married, or standing him up, or what. He decided it didn’t matter.

  “Well it’s not like we have anything else to do, so we may as well go to bed,” he suggested.

  “Really?” One of her eyebrows arched.

  He wasn’t in the mood to play games with her. Although, truthfully, he might have been if she

  wasn’t a married woman. He didn’t play that way. “We need to get warm. The temperature’s dropping.

  Climb under the emergency blanket and go to sleep.” His tone was sharper than he intended it to be.

  “Sorry. I was just teasing. What is up with you, anyway?”

  “Nothing. Let’s just get some rest. As you said, it’s been a long day.” Waiting until she’d shuffled

  between the blanket and newspapers, he then tucked in behind her pulling the ski jackets on top of them.

  He snuggled right up to her, telling himself that they needed to keep warm. That was the only reason he

  was this close to her, he convinced himself of that. His brain didn’t believe it. Neither did his body.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Waking with a start, it took Cassidy almost a full minute to figure out where she was. She must have

  dozed off very quickly after getting into the makeshift bed. She’d been bone tired. When she felt Daniel

  get under the blanket behind her and draw her closer to him, she’d wanted nothing more than to snuggle

  right back into him. Not just to keep warm, but to feel something. Instead she actually scooted slightly

  away from h
im. Sometime during the sleep she must have unconsciously been drawn to his warm body as

  her head was now on his arm and she was tucked up to his side. Her backside, which was facing the fire,

  felt cool and she realized the fire had died down.

  Thoughts whirled through her mind as she tentatively tried to move her head off Daniel’s arm

  without waking him. She’d gone through so many emotions throughout the day she could hardly believe it.

  What a roller coaster ride. What started out with promise for a budding love had ended with her trapped

  in an avalanche with a man who behaved more coldly than the weather outside. She just couldn’t figure

  out what his problem was tonight. After the whole thing with Rick she wasn’t sure she wanted to figure

  men out at all. Maybe it was her. Maybe Rick was right. She didn’t seem to be able to get it right. She

  sighed.

  Once she was able to shift over enough she reached for a chair and used it as leverage to help her

  get up. Her ankle throbbed slightly and she didn’t trust it with all of her weight. Using chairs as support,

  she inched her way closer to the fire and threw another log on. Nothing much happened and she realized

  that the embers wouldn’t be able to light such a big piece of wood. She needed kindling. Newspaper

  would be better, but they were using it for their bed. She tried blowing on the embers. They sparked up

  for a minute and then died back down. Poking them with some of the smaller kindling, she tried to see if

  she could get them to light and make the fire bigger. Nothing. The room was definitely cold. She needed to

  get the fire lit.

  “I can do it.”

  If it was possible, Cassidy nearly jumped out of her body, as Daniel’s voice came out of the dark to

  startle her. She’d assumed him to be fast asleep. “You scared the living daylights out of me!” She held a

  hand to her chest.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to.” He moved around her, added kindling and logs to the fireplace in some

  sort of teepee-looking formation. He then grabbed his matches and lit it. It lit beautifully. Of course.

  “Thanks. I was worried. It was getting so cold.”

  “I know. I must have fallen asleep harder than I expected. I meant to keep an eye on that. Sorry.” He

  was standing so close to her.

  Suddenly it felt more intimate than when they were lying together. She looked up at his face, lit by

  the reflection of the fire. He had such a wonderful face. Reaching up, she touched his cheek softly with her

  fingertips. She would have touched his lips too had he not jerked back away from her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I...I’m sorry. I just wanted...” She was so confused. “Daniel, what happened? You liked me well

  enough in the hot tub. Or was that the ambience and lack of clothing?”

  “What happened?” He asked incredulously. “You’re kidding, right?”

  She was beginning to think she’d entered an alternate universe. “Um, no. I’m not kidding. Look, I

  don’t know what’s going on, but you seem like a totally different guy and I don’t get it. Whatever, I guess

  it’s me.”

  “Of course, it’s you. I’m not a different guy. I’m the same guy.”

  “Why is it always me? I mean, I’m a nice girl. I try to be fair to everyone. This doesn’t even make

  sense. Am I not the right size or shape or not smart enough? I want to know. I really do.” She almost

  stamped her foot. Damn it. If it didn’t hurt so much she probably would have.

  “You’re married!” He shouted it at her, just six inches from her face, then turned and walked away.

  “Wow. What do you take me for? Desperate? That just because I was into you I’m going to seduce you on

  your wedding night? That I can’t resist you.”

  Shocked by his yelling and what he’d said, she was momentarily speechless. What is he talking

  about? “I’m not married.”

  “What?” He seemed genuinely confused.

  “I’m not married. You thought we got married?”

  “What was I supposed to think? You stood me up, you ran to him, you checked out. There are

  flowers and candles everywhere in here.”

  “Broken flowers. Did you not see they were broken?” She swept her arm around the room.

  “Well, no. Actually I didn’t. I just assumed those got broken during the avalanche.” He walked

  around, looking at the floor.

  “Yeah, well I hardly think the snow crushed those petals like that. They are ground in to the floor.

  Didn’t you even look in here for Rick and me first? Surely you saw them then.” She couldn’t believe he

  thought so little of her.

  “I didn’t come in. I saw the snowmobile and foot tracks, figured you’d left already, and followed

  them.” He ran his hand through his hair. “So, why were the flowers crushed? What happened?”

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you come up with your own story since you seem so good at it.”

  “Cassidy, that’s not fair. What was I supposed to think?”

  “I left you a note. I said I’d explain later. You didn’t even give me a chance.”

  “Because I assumed you’d be explaining how you’ve known Rick forever and you’d taken him

  back.” He finally stopped prowling around the chapel. Good. He was driving her nuts.

  She shook her head. “Well, you know what assume does...it makes an ass out of you and me.”

  Sarcasm wasn’t her strong suit, but she figured if the shoe fit.

  “Nice, Cassidy. Really nice.”

  She had to sit down. The fire had warmed up her backside nicely so she hopped over to a chair and

  sat down. “Look, Daniel, I don’t know what you want me to say. Yes, I came to see Rick. Whether anyone

  thinks so or not, I believe he deserved that much. I couldn’t reach him by phone and he had planned this

  wedding.” She thought about that for a minute. “Well actually he hadn’t planned a wedding, really. More

  like an engagement ambush.”

  Daniel sat down beside her. He looked very tired. “All right. I am desperately trying to follow you

  here but I’m not. Man, I sure could use a beer about now.”

  Tilting her head, she looked at him. Her anger had pretty much ebbed away, now she just felt numb.

  Not from the cold, but from everything leading up to this. Why is this all so complicated? She wished he

  would just put his arm around her, pull her close and really kiss her. She felt herself lean toward him, so

  she pulled herself back and straightened up.

  “So, if you couldn’t reach Rick, how did you know he wanted to marry you?”

  “He sent me about a million flowers. There were cards and he spelled it out on the cards. I found

  them right after we had lunch.”

  “See here’s the part where I’m confused. You got the note and came up here. Right?”

  “Right, but...”

  He held up his hand. “So you came up here thinking there would be a wedding?”

  “Yes, but...”

  He interrupted her again. “But you’re not married. Why? Did Rick change his mind again? And

  where did he go?”

  “If you would stop interrupting me I would tell the story. And why would Rick be the one to change

  his mind? Am I that awful that he might not actually want to marry me? There was a ring you know. A

  great big, humungous even, diamond.” She stood up again. She wanted to pace, but the state of her foot

  wouldn’t allow it so she settled for gripping the back of her chair and tapping a drum beat with her

  fingers.


  “No, of course that’s not what I’m saying. Why are you deliberately misunderstanding me?”

  “Why am I deliberately misunderstanding you?” She asked, exasperated. “Now who’s kidding?”

  “Just tell the story. I won’t say a word. And stop tapping. And sit down...please.” He must have

  seen the look in her eyes because he tacked on the please very quickly.

  “I did come up here to see Rick. As I said, I couldn’t reach him by phone and I thought this would

  be better in person anyway. I came up here to tell him that I couldn’t marry him. As soon as I read the

  question on the cards I knew I couldn’t. I came to tell him that I don’t love him anymore.”

  “Ahh. The smashed flowers.”

  “Yes, the smashed flowers.” She took a deep breath in, remembering how angry Rick had been.

  “I’m guessing he didn’t take the news very well.”

  “Good guess. No he didn’t. He went ballistic. Smashing vases, crushing flowers under his feet.

  Yelling at me. Then he took off. He took my skis with him. I guess he thought he was being funny. Well,

  maybe it was payback for showing him up.”

  “He took your skis? I wondered why I was following footprints and you weren’t too far from the

  chapel. I just thought you’d fallen and they’d slid away from you, or something. I guess I didn’t actually

  analyze it too much.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Wow. He took your skis.”

  “Yeah,” she said wearily. “Look it’s the middle of the night, or early in the morning or whatever.

  I’m going to try to go back to sleep.” She inched her way back to the bed and crawled in. Her body

  protested the hard floor but there wasn’t much she could do about it. Wadding up Daniel’s sweater, she

  tucked it under her head.

  This time when she felt him get in and snuggle up to her she wiggled herself back into his arms. She

  didn’t care about their misunderstanding, she just wanted him to hold her.

  “Hey.” He was up on his elbow and had one hand in her hair playing with her curls. She rolled over

  onto her back so she could look at him. “You didn’t deserve that. Any of it. He’s a jerk. You could have

  been killed.” His hand dropped to her face, one finger traced her lips. She could feel them tremble under