Page 7 of Mountain Man Crush
Shaking the thoughts from my head, I try to focus on my book, but it’s like he’s inside my head, screaming at the top of his lungs, and I can’t ignore him no matter how hard I try. I sip my tea and focus on reading one paragraph at a time. Just when I find myself falling back into my story, the sound of a revving engine pulls me from it.
I sit up and close my book. What in the world? Who would be driving up the mountain in this storm? I set my book aside and move to the front window, looking out. That’s when I see a man pull into my driveway on a four-wheeler loaded down with wood. I smile to myself as I pull on my coat and step out onto the screened in porch.
I close the front door behind me to keep the heat in and lean against it as I watch him through the screen door. He hops off the four-wheeler, releases the straps holding down the wood, then he picks up a few pieces and walks up my steps, opening the screen door.
His eyes meet mine and he freezes.
“Whatcha doing?” I ask with a wide smile.
He lets out a huff and rolls his eyes, but continues his way up onto the porch with his arms full of wood. “You said you only bought two stacks of wood. That won’t be enough.” He sets the wood down in the pile.
“So, you just thought you’d run out and chop me a bunch of wood in the middle of this storm?”
“No, I have plenty and it was just sitting around.” He turns and walks back out to carry in another load.
When he comes in again, I ask, “Do you want help?”
He sets the stack down and stands up. He towers over me, so he looks down to meet my eyes, but I see his eyes fall further, looking me over. “No, I’ll do it.” He walks out.
Not much for words, this one.
I step out of his way and watch as he goes in and out until my wood pile is double the size it was and his four-wheeler is completely empty. “That’s it,” he says, dusting his hands off.
“Thank you.”
He nods. “It’s going to get cold so don’t let your fire die out. If it does, you’ll freeze trying to warm the place back up.”
“I know,” I tell him, nodding my head as I cross my arms over my chest.
“The worst of the storm is yet to come. You have enough food and water?”
“Oh, yeah. I have plenty.”
“If your well freezes…” he starts.
“I won’t have any water, I know. I’ve already stocked up on water for cooking and drinking. I’m good.”
He slides his hands into his pockets. “Alright then. Ugh,” he stammers, pulling his hand out of his pocket. There’s a piece of paper in his palm. “This is my number. You know… just in case you have an emergency.”
I reach out and take it before looking up at him with a smile. “Thank you, Jack.”
He nods and without another word, he walks past me, out the door, down the steps, and to his four-wheeler. He climbs on, and seconds later, he’s creeping out of the drive.
I laugh and shake my head as I watch him go. When he’s no longer in eyesight, I go back into the house. I lock up for the night, stoke the fire, and lay down on the couch, pulling a blanket off the back to cover up with. My bed is more comfortable to sleep on, but the living room is so much warmer. I’m tired from all the running around today and all that shivering didn’t help. My eyelids feel heavy, and they close as I listen to the TV instead of watching it. Within minutes, I’m slipping into a deep sleep.
Chapter Six
JACK
Iwake in the morning and I stretch and groan, feeling stiff from loading all that wood yesterday. I push the blankets down my body and roll from bed. I grab my shirt off the floor and tug it on as I move the curtain to the side and peek outside. There’s nothing but white as far as the eye can see and while the snow has slowed, it hasn’t stopped yet.
I slide my feet into my house shoes and go to the living room to toss more wood on the fire. It’s still burning from last night but only the embers are left. With the fresh wood, it roars back to life. I turn and head to the kitchen. I flip the switch and the light doesn’t come on. Damn it. Power is out. I walk to the back wall and flip the switch, turning the generator on to power the fridge and deep freeze.
I pull out my old percolator and make some coffee on the gas stove, using a match to light the burners. While it seeps, I pull out my cast iron frying pan and make some bacon and eggs for breakfast. I use another pan to toast a piece of bread, since there’s no power for the toaster. In about thirty minutes, my breakfast is ready, and I take it to the living room. Instead of sitting on the couch, I sit in the lounge chair by the window. I pulled the curtains open so I can look outside, watching the squirrels play in the snow.
I love living in the mountains. Not only is it quiet and relaxing, but it’s nice getting to see all the wildlife. As I watch the sun climb the sky, I run through a list of things I need to do today. Taking Bethany all that wood yesterday has left my pile a little lower than I like it. With the sun back out and the snow slowing to nearly nothing, I’d like to get outside and chop some more wood to replace what I’ve given away. I guess I could put the plow on my four-wheeler and clear off my driveway as well. I’ll wait before going into town and plowing any more driveways since the snow hasn’t stopped completely.
I finish breakfast and pour another cup of coffee, wanting to sit in the silence a little longer to enjoy the sunrise. The percolated coffee is strong and helps get my mind moving. My thoughts are racing, and not only am I thinking about what I need to do today, but I’m thinking of things I’d like to tackle this spring. I’d like to increase the size of my garden this year and maybe start selling the extra produce to the local grocery store or at the farmer’s market. That would bring in a little extra cash. I’d also like to tear off the back deck and build a new porch, one that’s covered so I can start stacking my wood out there instead of having to leave it outside as habitat for spiders and snakes.
