Page 130 of Tangled up in You

“Maybe tomorrow. I don’t think we’ll be able to build one and keep it going right now,” he said. “Too wet and overcast and windy. They won’t be flying in this weather.”

“I could try walking out.”

“Absolutely not,” Mark said. “We have no idea how deep the snow is. She won’t be able to trudge through it.”

“We could make a traverse stretcher for her,” Chris suggested. “Cut some branches, use the tent and emergency blankets and paracord.”

“No. If I had snowshoes then I’d consider leaving you here with her and try to locate the cabin.”

“We could make some.”

Mark slowly shook his head. “I’m not Daniel-fucking-Boone, Chris. Any energy we expend means we’re worse off.”

“Can it hurt to build a signal fire?” Chris asked. “We have to dosomething.”

JESSE

She’d been aware of the men softly talking, but drifted in and out of sleep, dreaming about an annoying mosquito. Finally, the men’s voices raised in volume from whispers to normal, apparently forgetting they’d been trying to stay quiet.

But that’s not what woke her up.

She sat up, cocking her head, listening.

“Guys?” The men continued talking, about making a sled or something. “Guys!” she said.

They both fell silent and turned. “What?” they asked in unison.

Normally that would make her chuckle, but she pointed toward the back of the tent. “What is that I’m hearing? And is it coming from that direction?”

Like a couple of golden retrievers the men cocked their heads as their eyes widened. Before she could ask, they jumped up and started running, blowing whistles and screaming.

The sound changed from a whine to a low, steady thrum, then picked up again, growing louder.

Oh please let that be help!

She scrambled to her feet and followed the men out of the tent. Mark had started scrabbling up the slope behind the tent, sinking to his knees with each step as he screamed. Chris had stopped at the bottom of the slope and was blowing his whistle as loud as he could, nearly non-stop except for taking breaths.

The sound grew louder, closer, stopping somewhere at the top of the slope.

Chris stopped, while Mark kept yelling.

Then, she grabbed Chris and started screaming with joy, jumping up and down with him as the snowmobile helmet and orange vest of a park ranger appeared at the top of the slope and he waved at them.

It wasafter dark by the time the paramedics released them and they were dropped at the men’s cabin. Someone had retrieved Chris’ truck, along with the rest of their things that had been on the mules.

She’d already talked to her father, who only that morning had been contacted by park officials to let him know there was a problem. He was already en route to Montana and would arrive the next morning, but Jesse begged him to go home.

He refused, compromising with her that he’d get a hotel room in Gardiner and let her know when he arrived.

All she wanted to do was eat and take a shower.

They started with soup, heeding the medics’ cautions to start light. Then they crammed the three of them into the men’s shower where soaping each other up and shaving soon led to mutual teasing that quickly led them back to bed where she happily fucked both men and they took turns getting her off.

Followed by a nap.

Followed by lasagna, which Chris had set out to thaw earlier, and quickly nuked for them.

Now with comfortably full stomachs, they returned to the men’s bed and fell asleep again.

---