Page 27 of Finding Love on the Slopes

Having taken a moment to regain some strength and prioritize the tasks that needed to be done, she straightened from the door, removed her helmet, and sat it on the table.

“Okay, first things first, we need heat. This place may be protecting us from the wind, but we will freeze to death just as fast if we don’t figure out a way to warm it up. Do you know how to start a fire?” she asked, looking at Enrique for the first time since they entered the cabin. She hadn’t noticed how large he was; he took up a lot of space, making the cabin feel even smaller.

Enrique nodded from where he leaned against the back of the couch, “I frequently accompany your brother on adventures. There is no way he would let me tag along without knowing how. You know his motto, ‘Pitch in or be pitched out.’ If you can’t help the camp thrive, then you are sent home. I learned that the hard way. Building a fire is one thing I am actually good at.” He circled the couch and started rummaging through the items on the mantle, then stacked wood in the fireplace and rooted around in the firewood box. “The problem is, I’m not finding any matches.”

Leigh had been opening boxes to inventory their available supplies. “I’ve got that covered.” Retrieving her forever-match fire starter, she approached Enrique, who was kneeling on the floor. “Did my brother show you how to use one of these?”

“Oh yeah, I got a few good laughs out of my learning process, too. I always seem to be able to get great sparks but never get the match to light. Curtis made it look so easy. If you want this fire to catch quickly, you should probably be the one to light it.”

He shifted to the side to allow Leigh the space she needed to work. First, she shaved a small pile of magnesium off the stick near the base of a dried piece of wood. Then she turned the striker over and slid it down quickly, catching the small fibers on the end of the metal stick on fire. Holding the now-lit match to the magnesium shavings and wood, the flame grew until she felt it had enough life to remove the match. She pushed the still-burning end into the small metal tube and screwed it shut.

“This baby is one of the best gifts my brother ever gave. I never have to worry about running out of matches, wet matches, wet or old striking pads. This little gem is waterproof, strikes anywhere, and is almost foolproof.” She grinned at Enrique, watching for his reaction. It took a second, but he laughed, getting her joke.

“Haha. You’re funny. I’m sure I just need more practice. You and your brother probably sat around watching TV, striking those things until you could do it in one pass. Then you make us city kids feel dumb when we can’t get it to light on the first try.”

Standing and making her way back to the kitchen, she chuckled, “Something like that. I found food, so I’m going to work on that while you get out of those wet clothes. We can hang our wet ski suits over the backs of the chairs by the fire and see if we can get them dry enough to sleep in. Here.” Leigh tossed him three items in plastic wrap. “I grabbed these on a whim when I ran out of the shop a few days ago. I couldn’t even tell you what size I grabbed because I wasn’t thinking we would actually need them. Guess I learned my lesson. Hopefully they fit. While you’re changing, look for any injuries I need to evaluate. If anything is dark blue towards purple, I need to see it. Your head stopped bleeding; try not to rip it open until after I have food ready. I need more energy before I clean you up.”

“Aye, aye, captain.” Enrique would have clicked his heels together and saluted, but he was too tired and sore to waste the extra energy. He saw the corners of Leigh’s lips lift in a grin, so that was enough for him. Levity went a long way in circumstances like this. Well, that is what he had heard anyway. He didn’t have any personal experience to base that on. Yes, he had faced life and death before, but none of those were long-term situations where he had another person to think about. They were more like, look for your opening and take it because you may only get one, miss it, and your blood is on the floor.

Thankfully, the fire had taken off, so Enrique was able to use the glow to see what he was doing tucked behind the curtain. The packages he held in his hand turned out to be thermalunderwear and socks. She had grabbed a large, which sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. Guess they would find out.

Removing his suit hurt like the dickens. He pressed his lips closed to stop a moan from escaping and was promptly reminded of the busted lip, which was now dripping blood down his chin. He quickly dabbed at it with the bottom of his thermals, which were black. The ones she brought were white.Lovely.Beggers can’t be choosers. Suck it up. This isn’t a fashion runway.He chided himself. It took much longer than usual for him to change in the minuscule space provided, and he felt like the guy in that Elf movie when he pushed back the curtain.

The clothes fit snugly, like thermals were supposed to. But they were a little short in the arms and legs, apparently not made for a 6’3” man. It was weird, but he felt more exposed than he did in his swim trunks, with his torso on full display for the ladies. Every crack, crevice, bump, and bulge seemed to be accentuated in this getup. It’s a good thing there wasn’t a mirror anywhere, or he may not have had the courage to come out from hiding.

What made matters worse was Leigh’s expression when she glanced up and saw him standing there. She did a double take when she heard the curtain scraping on the rusty rod. He couldn’t tell if she was impressed, shocked, mortified, or scared… she just stared, like she had never seen a man before. Enrique quickly looked down to make sure everything was in place, and no extra skin was showing. Nope, everything that could be covered was.

He cleared his throat, “Not too much damage—lots of bruising but nothing scary. I, um, can’t see my back, but my right ribs must have hit something hard; they’re pretty ugly.”

Leigh nodded her head and went back to what she was doing. “Dinner is ready; come eat, and then we will get to that. I imagine if it were going to kill you, it would have already. I think better when I have food in me, and I am pretty sure we are going on close to ten hours since we last ate. If I get any weaker, I’m not sure I will be able to stand.”

Once all the food items were set out, Leigh switched off the flashlight to conserve the batteries. Not knowing how long they would be here made her a little nervous. The fire illuminated the room in a dim, orangish glow, but it was bright enough to see both of their faces and the food on their plates.

“This smells good. What is it?” Enrique asked, poking at the brownish globs of food.

“Beef stew MRE. They are known for keeping our servicemen and adventurers alive. From what I hear, flavor is optional and greatly depends on how hungry a person is. I, for one, am ready to eat just about anything. The person who stocked this cabin apparently really likes beef stew because there is an entire box of it. There are also crackers, beef jerky, dehydrated fruit, rice and beans, jambalaya, chili, macaroni and cheese, and teriyaki chicken. The water is from the small stash I had in my bag. We will have to thaw out the frozen water over there for our next meal and drinking,” Leigh finished, pointing to thebladders of water piled on the floor by the sink, which looked to be frozen solid.

“Why do you think they did the water that way and not just a case of bottled water?” he wondered aloud.

“Probably because bottled water is likely to burst from the pressure. It looks like those bladders are specifically designed to expand as the water freezes. Perhaps even handle boiling over the fire without the plastic melting too quickly. I found a kettle and have water heating over there.”

“Wow, that is quite a bit of ration you found,” Enrique commented, pointing to the wall shelf stacked with supplies. Is each pile a different flavor?”

“Yep, between what the rangers provided and what I had in my pack, we will be set for at least five days if we eat two thousand calories a day. I’m sure it will all start to taste like cardboard by the end, but starving to death won’t be our greatest worry. Staying warm, on the other hand, will be. That pile of firewood doesn’t look like it will last us through the night. I don’t know if there is more stacked somewhere nearby or if I’m going to have to go find some. All I know is that right now, looking isn’t an option. We are in for a very cold night. Hopefully, that fire will dry our clothes enough to layer up again.”

The food wasn’t as bad as it looked, and both were satisfied by the time they finished. Leigh placed the plates into the metal dishpan, splashed some boiling water on them, and wiped them clean with a dishrag. Not finding a dish towel she placed them back on the shelf wet.

Enrique sat on the couch in front of the burning hearth, lost in thought as Leigh set out what medical supplies she had. The rangers also had a fully stocked first-aid kit, so she hoped that between the two, they would have what they needed to patch Enrique up and make him as comfortable as possible over the next few days.

Chapter Twenty-One

“Okay, let’s see what the damage is,” she called to Enrique. “Come sit in here where I can see you by flashlight and get a more accurate picture of your skin color.”

“Why don’t you change out of your wet clothes first? You have been seeing to my needs the entire time but haven’t attended to yours. Change and warm up. I can wait a little longer.” Enrique assured her without moving from his place before the hearth.

“Oh, I totally forgot about that. Yeah, if this thing has any chance of drying, it needs to get in front of those flames before they die out.” Grabbing her extra thermals and woolen socks, Leigh dipped behind the curtain to change.

“Yes! An incinerator toilet!” Leigh shouted gleefully.

---