Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“There aren’t any other cabins available. We’re booked to capacity, and there’s no way to get to you right now. I’m sorry.”
“What about that man who brings the groceries, Winston?”
“He can’t get through. There are branches down all over the place. But you should have enough food to—”
My face scrunched up as I held back a scream. But patience would get me further—hopefully—than frustration. “Please, Francine, there must be some way to get out of here.”
“There’s not at the moment,” she said, and for the first time, I heard a hint of sympathy in her voice. “I’ll let you know if the conditions change.”
I questioned her for a bit longer, using the most reasonable, calm voice I was able to muster, but it did no good.
After the call ended, I sat on the bed, trying to figure out my next move. Except, according to Francine, I wasn’t moving anywhere for quite some time.
As I mulled that over, I checked my texts. Alyssa had written back, begging for details about what had happened. She’d also apparently told our mutual friend Kylie that something was up, because Kylie had texted several times, too.
Kylie.
That was who I should talk to. She lived a few hours away in Denver, and she was absolutely crazy about mountains. I’d seen enough women drool over my male costars to recognize a fanatic when I saw one, and Kylie was that way about mountains. She absolutely loved them. Plus, she worked part time as a bartender, and that made her a really good listener.
Hoping that she wasn’t in one of her graduate school classes, I selected her number. The call went through immediately. That was one thing I had to give the cabin company. They sucked at extracting stranded guests, but they made damn sure the cabins had excellent reception.
Kylie answered on the third ring and bypassed a greeting. “Oh my god, are you okay? Alyssa’s super worried.”
“I’m fine. And I texted her.”
“What happened?”
Briefly, I recounted the events of yesterday.
“So, you’re just stuck there?”
“That’s what they said.”
Kylie was silent for a moment. Hopefully, she was using her knowledge of mountains to think of a way out of here for me. “Ice storms definitely can make roads completely impassable.”
“And it’s not just the ice, it’s all the downed trees.” Hopelessness filled me. “I checked the weather app, and it doesn’t look like the ice is going to melt anytime soon.”
“Crap,” Kylie said. “I wish my guys and I could magically get to you and whisk you away.”
“Me too.”
She was silent for a moment. “What would they do if one of the people renting a cabin had a heart attack or something? They have to have an extraction plan for something like that.”
“I had the same thought,” I said glumly. “The woman said that in that case, you’d call 911, and emergency search and rescue could hopefully airlift you out.” If they could even get there in time.
“Is there any chance the emergency responders do any, like, freelance work on the side?”
“Don’t think so. Apparently, it’s quite dangerous with all the trees around here. A helicopter would lower rescuers down and have to raise everyone back up again.” As much as I wanted to get out of here, I didn’t want anyone to risk their lives, and I certainly didn’t want to take any resources away from people in medical distress.
“Okay, so… let’s think about this,” Kylie said, and my breath caught as I wondered if she had another idea to get me the hell out of here. “Do you feel unsafe where you are?”
I nearly snorted, a sound I hated. “Well, if I step outside, I’ll likely slide down the mountainside, and a tree could crash through the roof at any minute.” Though, come to think of it, I hadn’t heard the deafening sound of branches breaking off much so far this morning. Either this cabin was better soundproofed, or it wasn’t happening as often.
“No, I mean with the men. Have you talked with them?”
“Not much,” I admitted. Unlike Alyssa, Kylie knew a bit more about my history with men.
“Do they seem nice?”
I sighed. “One guy does, kind of. Oh, and the dog, too.”
“There’s a dog?” Kylie’s voice contained almost the same level of excitement as when she spoke about mountains.
I told her what I knew about Zeus, and even I had to smile as I remembered how soft and silky his fur was.
She laughed when I recounted how he’d snuck into my room this morning. “That would’ve freaked me out, too, to feel something move next to me. But hey, it’s good you have your own room.”
“I did last night. Not sure what’ll happen if I have to stay here for much longer.”
“Tell them your friend Kylie said that if they’re gentlemen, they’ll let you keep it.”
“Hopefully.” Poor Kylie had been in a situation not too long ago in which she’d had to share a room with three strange men. I’d die if that happened. Then again, most women seemed to make it through their lives without flinching every time a man came near them.