Snowbound (13 page)

They had been in the chapel for about sixteen hours now. The walkie-talkie had never come back to life, so he could only assume that there was a rescue team trying to dig them out. Even though they had been careful there weren’t very many rations left. One and a half bags of trail mix weren’t going to go very far. They were also down to their last stack of wood, so he sure hoped they were going to be out of here soon.

The silence between them was easy now, having already spent the morning talking. He kept encouraging her to move around and keep her energy up. Staying active would help with the stiffness, so he kept moving around too. Checking on her ankle, he’d left it unwrapped for a while, when she wasn’t walking on it.

“Time to rewrap that ankle and get you moving again.” He smiled at her. She was sitting in a chair near the fire with her foot propped up. She had her eyes closed, but he knew she wasn’t asleep. When she opened them he was once again struck by their colour. The grey eyes were surrounded by thick dark lashes and always a stray curl from her head in the way, making them appear to peek out from behind. She must have got some sun this week, as there was a smattering of freckles just across her pert nose, and a warmth of colour added to her creamy skin.

“Yes, master.” When she used that tone, adding her wide smile, he would almost swear she was up to something. There was a good sparkle in her eye, something he hadn’t seen when he first met her. He hoped he was the one who put it there.

As she turned to walk she caught the edge of her chair and stumbled. He caught her easily. “Dance?” Since they had woken up he’d tried to keep a slight distance from her. Not because he didn’t want to touch her, but because he feared if he started again he might not be able to stop. She deserved better than that, she deserved romance. Now, holding her in his arms again, he wondered if he was out of his mind. He wanted to kiss those full lips, explore her lush body. He felt his resolve dim and lowered his head toward hers.

* * *

Just as Daniel’s lips were about to touch hers, Cassidy put her hand up in front of them. As much as she wanted to kiss him, and she really did, she hadn’t brushed her teeth since yesterday morning and she was feeling less than hygienic at the moment. Fuzzy teeth did not make for hot kisses.

Horrified at what she’d clumsily implied, she rushed to answer, “No! Oh no, I meant for me. I’m sorry, but it’s been a while since I brushed my teeth and...”

“Ahh, I see. That I understand. I bet mine could use something too, but I don’t have anything that will help.” He walked away to the busted out window. She watched him grab some snow and scrub it into his face.

She couldn’t believe she just spoiled a tender moment between them.
Stupid Cass, really stupid. Way to ruin the kiss. Last night you were ready to jump his bones and today you’re pushing him away. He’s going to think you’re wishy-washy.
Wanting everything to be perfect, she didn’t want him to kiss her and think about how awful her breath was. She wondered if she would ever feel self-confident again. There were moments where she was filled with it, then in a rush of insecurity, it would be gone. Man, she was going crazy in here. The need to have a shower and a good night’s sleep overwhelmed her. Rubbing the back of her neck, she tried to ease the tension.

“Let me do that.” He came up behind her, using his hands and fingers to work out the knots. It felt so good. She said nothing, afraid to ruin yet another moment between them. His thumbs worked their way up the cords of her neck and then down to her shoulders, he continued down using his whole hand along various pressure points in her back.

“Mmm.” She would have purred if she could have.
Oh this feels so good.
She’d never had a man massage her like this. In fact, she’d given Rick massages all the time but he had never once offered to return the favor.
Why was I with someone like that?
After a pause the next thought came quickly to her.
Because I didn’t know men like this existed.

“Here—sit facing the back of the chair.” He flipped a chair around for her and she straddled it, leaning over the back with her head on her arms. His hands slid up and down her spine, working their magic. She almost dozed off as his hands slowed down. He wasn’t massaging anymore as much as he was lightly rubbing her back. Up and down, into her hair, around her shoulders, back to her hips. Her breath came more quickly and the feeling of sleep was replaced by a delicious coiling inside her abdomen. She knew she need only turn around, and he would be encouraged to go further. They could turn that coiling into an explosion. Yet, there was no demand from him to have any more than this and slowly she drifted off into that state between sleep and consciousness.

It was hard to say how long they stayed like that; time seemed irrelevant since they couldn’t go anywhere. When she finally became fully aware, the first thing she noticed was the temperature had dropped and there was a heaviness against her back. Shifting, she felt Daniel’s head resting awkwardly against her. The soft snoring sounds told her he was asleep. She was trying to figure out a delicate way of extricating herself when a tumble of snow fell through the open window at the front of the chapel. She forgot about being delicate and jolted straight up, cringing as his head bobbed down and then back up, waking him rudely. At that moment she was more concerned about the snow that continued to fall in through the windows. Was there another avalanche? No, there couldn’t be. There was no noise, no shaking. Just snow falling through the window.

She looked over to Daniel who still yawned and looked around, as if he was trying to get his bearings. “What’s going on?”

He shook his head. “I’m not sure. It seems as if the snow is collapsing.” He tried his walkie-talkie again, but now it was completely dead. “Must be the batteries or something. I’m not sure if I grabbed a charged one or not, I was in too much of a hurry.” Picking up his sweater, he pulled it over his head, then he went over to where the snow was falling in through the window. “I wonder if we can find a way to sweep this to the side, so that when it melts it doesn’t make a path down to where we are sleeping. I chose that spot because it was close to the fire and therefore still dry from the avalanche. I’d hate to see it get wet, because then we won’t have any padding at all to keep us off the cold floor.”

Cassidy grabbed her jacket from the floor and put it on. The air was cooling rapidly and they were trying to save what little wood they had left for night time, when they’d need it the most. “It’s coming in too fast. I don’t think sweeping is going to help, not that we even have a broom.”

For a time they just stood watching the snow fall into the room, getting deeper with each dump. Her feet were chilled, so she walked around, trying to warm up as best she could with her hobbled ankle. Every part of her was so cold. Curiously, she noticed that the snow wasn’t falling through any of the other broken windows and she pointed it out to Daniel. “It’s only that one window. That’s so weird. I wish it would stop. I’m getting worried.”

He went to each of the other windows where the snow from the previous days had come through and packed itself in. Then he went back to the first window. “Wait, I think I hear something. It sounds like... it sounds like equipment of some sort.”

Suddenly she was able to hear the noise too and it was getting louder. “I can hear it! It’s getting closer.” Trying not to get excited, she couldn’t help herself from hoping. The humming noise grew louder, more snow fell in the front window, then the chapel shook slightly. Her eyes widened. What if they were wrong? What if something else was happening? No.
Think positive, Cass.

The chapel stopped shaking. The door opened with such a force that both she and Daniel jumped back. She was so surprised she grabbed him and gripped his sweater tightly.

Chapter
Fifteen

“Fancy meeting you two here. Someone call for a ride?” Sandra asked, with what sounded like forced cheer, as she peered in through the door.

“Well, it looks like you two didn’t do too badly. Let’s get you back down the mountain. I’ve got a physician standing by to check you both over to make sure.”

“I’m fine, but Cass has sprained her ankle pretty badly. Are there snowmobiles out there?” He indicated toward the door with his head.

“Yes. Go ahead, take the first one. We need to check out the damage here so I’ll hop on back with one of the other guys to get down.” Sandra moved further into the chapel to look around as some of the others on the team were still working outside.

“You got everything?” he asked Cassidy. They both looked around the room. “I guess there’s not much to have, but I mean your coat or whatever.”

“Okay, here we go.” Lifting her up, he carried her to the snowmobile and liked the way she felt in his arms. Not feather light, but she felt real and solid in his arms. He liked that he could hold her and had something to hold. Having briefly dated a woman who dieted herself down to some anorexic weight and felt too fragile, he always worried she’d break when he touched her. Being too thin like that kind of creeped him out. He liked a woman to curve like a woman and not just at the bust line. Settling Cassidy on the machine, he then swung his own leg over.

“Wait, please.” She laid a hand on his back, turned and yelled out to Sandra, “Did you find Rick? Is he ok?”

Daniel was surprised she was still worried about Rick considering what he’d done. Then again, one of the things he liked about Cassidy was her concern for others. Even if Rick wasn’t the most decent guy, being buried alive in an avalanche wouldn’t be something Daniel wished on anyone.

Sandra came out to stand beside the snowmobile. “We found out that he made it down before the avalanche hit. He’s completely fine. He turned in your skis and was about to leave when he heard about it. He told us where you were, but by then Daniel had already reached you. I think he feels pretty bad.” She paused. “He’s still down at the lodge.”

“Thank you.”

Daniel turned to look back at Cassidy. “You, okay?”

She only nodded, wrapped her arms around his middle and put her head down into his back. He wasn’t sure if she was crying or just preparing to face the wind. “Okay, hang on tight.” Turning on the machine, he revved it and took off. He loved the exhilaration of riding on a snowmobile with a pretty woman sitting behind him and clinging tightly. Especially when that pretty woman was slowly thawing his long frozen heart.

* * *

By the time they made it to the bottom of the slope and into the lodge, Cassidy’s whole body was numb, outside and in. She couldn’t believe all that had happened in such a short space of time. The whole thing was mind boggling and just a tad surreal to her. A medical team greeted them upon their arrival in the lodge and he and Daniel were separated to be checked over. It all happened so quickly, but somewhere in the flurry of people she swore she had seen Rick’s face. Her thoughts drifted, though she snapped out of it when she heard the doctor speak to her. “Pardon me?”

“I was just saying that overall you check out, but you’re probably suffering from shock and mild hypothermia. Your ankle is sprained, but it looks like it received appropriate care. There’s not much you can do for that except keep it elevated, iced and wrapped when you are walking, which you should try to minimize if you can. In the meantime, I’d like you to have a warm bath, not too hot, to bring your temperature back up. Then you should dress in some warm pajamas and climb into bed.”

“I can do that. Thanks, doctor.” Cassidy didn’t move off the bed where he was examining her. The medical team had commandeered several rooms on the main floor of the lodge. She didn’t think she had the strength to stand up and wondered how she was going to get up to her room—she was so tired. She worried about Daniel and wondered how he was making out. He’d done his best to keep her warm, and in doing so she suspected he’d ignored his own needs.

“Ms. Jensen?” She heard the voice of the doctor, as if from far away. “Ms. Jensen, we’re going to get you up to your own room now. I’m going to have a nurse go with you because I don’t want you to fall asleep in the bath. She’ll take care of you.”