Page 1 of Mountain Man Crush
Chapter One
BETHANY
I’ve just finished logging my hours on my computer when the emergency warning goes off on the TV behind me. The news anchor comes on.
“This is a winter weather advisory for the counties list at the bottom of your screen. We’re expecting anywhere from several inches to up to two feet of snow. Damaging winds and ice are possible, along with temperatures into the negatives. It’s strongly suggested you stay inside during this storm. With wind speeds up into the thirties, be prepared for power outages. Here is a list of supplies we suggest you gather to be fully prepared.”
I turn back to my screen and log off, knowing that I need to venture down into town to stock up on supplies. Living on the mountain, I’m used to cold temperatures and lots of snow, so I stay well stocked all year round. I only go into town once a month to re-stock. I wasn’t planning on going until later in the month, but it’s best I go sooner rather than later with this storm coming. During the last big storm, I didn’t stock up enough, and I vowed to never be unprepared again.
I push my chair back and head to my bedroom to pull on some clothes. Being an online therapist is great if you’re a homebody like I am. I almost never have to change out of my pajamas or even step outside. The job provides me with enough money to live comfortably inside the warm confines of my cabin.
I pull on a pair of jeans, some knee-high boots, and a sweater. Then I check my hair and face in the bathroom mirror and pull on my sock hat. It’s only about twenty degrees out there today, and just thinking about the temps dropping into the negatives causes a chill to run up my spine. With my blonde, messy bun pulled through the hole in the top of my sock hat, I head for the front door where my coat and purse are hanging. I take my cell off the charger and slip it into my pocket, and lock up the house behind me.
An icy wind whips around me and makes me rush to the car. I hit the unlock button on the key fob and climb inside. I press on the brake and push the button and the car starts, cold air blowing through the vents. I quickly shut them until the air warms up and pull on my seatbelt before starting my way down the driveway. I drive slowly on the small mountain roads. It’s below freezing, and I don’t want to hit a patch of black ice. The sun is nowhere to be found in the sky, just thick, gray clouds. The wind is blowing its icy breath over the mountain and everything is freezing quickly. I only hope that I have enough time to grab what I need and get home before the storm hits.
There isn’t much activity in town today due to the weather. There are usually people out walking or going in and out of the store fronts, but not today. Everyone knows it’s too cold to go out and they’re staying home where it’s warm. I slowly drive down Main Street and stop at the market. This is the busiest place of all, but even that isn’t saying much. There are only about ten cars in the parking lot, including mine.
I climb out of my car and grab a cart before walking into the store. Inside, it’s quiet except for the soft beeping of the customers’ groceries being scanned at the checkout. I start down the first aisle, picking up some jugs of water for cooking and a few cases of bottled water for drinking. All of my water comes out of a well, so if it freezes, I’m out of water. I stock up on dry goods, fruits, vegetables, and non-perishables, getting a few things to snack on and enough produce to cook three meals a day.
I head to the register with my cart loaded down and begin checking out. When I have everything on the belt, I step up to the card machine. “Can I get a couple bundles of that firewood you have outside too, please?”
“Sure thing,” the cashier says, scanning the paper they have by the register.
I swipe my card to pay and wait as my items are bagged up.
“Would you like help out to your car, ma’am?”
“Thank you, but I can manage,” I tell the bagger as I begin pushing my cart toward the door.
On my way back to the car, I grab extra firewood that’s been wrapped up in shrink wrap, because I don’t know how much I left. I take everything to my car and toss it in the trunk. By the time everything is loaded, I’m shivering from the cold winds and my fingertips are burning. I hurry to return the cart and climb back into the car, blasting the heat.
Now that I’m all stocked up and not as worried about surviving this storm, I head deeper into town. I stop at the local bookstore to make sure I have something to do if the power goes out and buy a ten-book series. That’ll keep me busy. Being this far into town, I decide to drive by this new hotel that my sister has been telling me about. I follow the road in the direction I believe it to be. The moment I start getting close, I can see the top of the building standing taller than any other around it. I make a couple more turns until I’ve found my way to the parking lot. I pull in so I can stop and admire it. It’s tall and built of gray brick. The whole front lobby is nothing but glass with a big chandelier hanging in the center of the room. The landscaping looks good, with small trees and bushes. I’m sure there are flowers, too, but they’re hiding away from the harsh winter weather.
I smile as I shift into drive and start making my way toward home. I think of my sister and her magical love story with the hotel owner. I have yet to meet him, but I’m sure I will soon. They’ve been too busy travelling, thanks to all the promotion they’re doing for her business and the hotel itself. She’s never been so busy, and I’m proud of her for sticking with her dream and seeing it pay off.
As happy as I am for her, I’m also a little jealous of the love she’s found. I’m the older sister, and I always thought I would be married and having kids first. I haven’t even found the man I’m meant to spend my life with yet, and I know I won’t meet him any time soon since I never leave my house. You’d think the powers that be would send my other half directly to my door, but so far that hasn’t happened.
Before I make it back through town, the sky grows darker and the wind feels stronger as it blows against my car. It’s so powerful that I have to keep both hands on the wheel to keep it from blowing me to the side of the road. If there was anyone else out on the road at this point, they’d probably think I’d been drinking, given the way I’m swerving around the road.
As I make my way back down main street, I see the diner is open and I decide to run in and grab some fried chicken and all the fixings for dinner tonight. It will be the perfect stormed-in dinner. I rush into the diner and stop at the counter. A waitress stops on the other side.
“Can I get you something, hun?”
“Yes, I’d like to order your fried chicken dinner to go.”
She nods as she pulls out her notepad and writes my order down. “Mashed potatoes and gravy?”
“Yes, please.”
“It comes with a biscuit, but would you like the slaw or the home baked mac and cheese?”
“Mac and cheese. And you know what, go ahead and add on that peach pie, would ya?”
She smiles. “Absolutely. I’ll box that up while the cooks prepare your to-go order.”
I have a seat and watch as the waitress takes the pie out of the case and puts it into a box. She sets it in front of me and goes about her business until my food is up. Then she puts everything into a bag.
“That’ll be twenty-two fifty.”
