Page 3 of Cabin Fever With My First Flame

“We can help!” Jonah shouts, puffing out his chest.

“We can be brave, just like you!” Isaac adds.

I smile proudly at the three boys, who are practically bouncing on their toes, ready to jump into action. “Are you sure? It could be dangerous.”

Three heads of black hair bob in unison, their dark brown eyes gleaming with excitement. I press the talk button again. “Chief, let dispatch know that help is on the way.”

“Roger. Thanks, Finn. I know you’re taking some time off to spend with the boys and grieving the loss of…”

“It’s fine. We’re happy to help,” I reply, cutting him off. The holidays are going to be hard enough without the reminder that Jenny won’t be here with us.

After receiving the approximate location of the stranded family, we set off with Isaac as my copilot while Jonah rides with Micah. The highway isn’t far from us, about a mile away and on the other side of the mountain.

“Who would be stupid enough to drive in this weather and then run out of gas?” Isaac asks, having overhead the details that the Chief relayed to us.

“We don’t call people ‘stupid,’ Isaac. Accidents happen all the time.” I chastise. “In all fairness, the storm wasn’t supposed to hit until tomorrow and is going to be much worse than expected.”

When we crest the hill, the stranded vehicle comes into view. The snow is nearly two feet deep, with six inches covering the roof and hood of a food truck. The visibility is getting worse, and there isn’t much time to waste before it will be eight people stranded instead of four.

I don’t see anyone in the driver’s seat, so I peer inside the window and knock on the glass.

The three girls I can make out through the frosted window all scream when they see me. I chuckle since I can only imagine how a man in a black ski mask must look to them. “We’re here to rescue you, miladies. We got a call that you were in need of assistance.”

Micah stands on the front bumper as Isaac and Jonah climb onto the hood. Micah rolls his eyes at my attempt to put the girls at ease. He waves the girls over and then points to the ATVs parked at the top of the hill. “We’re your ride. Grab your stuff, and let’s go.”

I’m grateful that the mom doesn’t waste any time getting her kids squared away. She opens the door and jumps down, falling knee-deep in the snow. Quickly getting her feet under her, she turns toward her daughters. One by one, I help each of them down and pass them off to Micah. We get them situated in the quad runners before I return to help their mom.

The scarf covering the woman’s face falls, and the plump pink lips that I used to nip at on a daily basis curve upward. I stop in my tracks as I take in the beautiful sight of Bailey McNamara, now Bailey Johnson. I frown; the name Johnson feels like acid in the pit of my stomach.

Bailey turns around to see what has captivated my attention, not realizing that it’s her. She gives a quick shrug of her shoulders and then blows past me toward the ATVs. Once she’s situated, I hop in the driver’s seat only to feel a tap on my shoulder. She gives me her parent’s address, but I shake my head.

“No can do. Visibility will be zero within the next ten minutes, and it’s too dangerous to stay out here in the middle of a blizzard. Our cabin is on the other side of the hill, less than amile away. You and your girls will be safe with us while we ride out the storm. Don’t worry, Bailey Bug. You’re in good hands.”

Bailey’s face contorts in confusion and then turns to mild disgust. “Finn?”

“In the flesh. I bet you thought you would never see me again?” I joke.

She doesn’t laugh. Instead, she mutters, “Hoped was more like it. What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in California jumping out of airplanes and fighting forest fires?”

“I’ve been back for three months. I live here now with Micah, Isaac, and Jonah,” I tell her.

Isaac turns around in his seat to peer at Bailey. “When our mom died, Finn took us in but said ‘he needed all the help he could get.’ He moved us here because our Grandma and Grandpa live down the hill.”

Micah tears off ahead of us, most likely showing off for the pretty little blond in his back seat. I try not to laugh but fail miserably. He’s a Hollister to his core.

Bailey taps me on the shoulder again and leans forward so that her head is between Isaac and me. Her warm breath crystallizes in the air as she huffs. “Finn, we can’t stay with you. Please take us to my parents’ house.”

“Bailey Bug…”

“It’s Bailey. No ‘Bug,’” she corrects. “You lost the right to call me that when you left and never came back.”

“Why would I come back after….You know what? It doesn’t matter. We’ll leave the past where it belongs. Regardless, you’re stuck with us until the storm passes. It’s either that or you spend the next few days in your truck. Take it or leave it.”

Her eyes widen as big as saucers as she screeches, “A few days?”

I bark out another laugh, this one without any mirth. “Haven’t you heard? This storm is supposed to drop several feet of snow,and another one is right on its tail. When we get to the cabin, you can call Daniel and your parents and tell them that you’re safe and ‘snug as abugin a rug.’”

“We don’t live with Daddy anymore,” says the little girl sitting next to Bailey. “He’s getting married on Christmas to some hoochie-mama.”

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