Page 71 of Snowed In with her Mountain Men
“No.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because Ryder only dates girls from either end of the spectrum,” offered Oakley. “Girls that are way too smart to date him for any length of time, or girls so empty-headed they need a tattoo to remind them to ‘breathe.’”
At that, Jaxon actually jumped up and went to the wood pile.
“I swear to fucking God,” he grunted, throwing a couple more logs on the fire. “Ifonemore girl asks me to put that word on her wrist, or her forearm, or—”
A gust of wind cut him off, howling noisily just outside. It rattled the thick paned windows; and changed the air pressure as it buffeted the cabin. All four of us looked around, staring at the walls.
“This is the thick of it, huh?” I asked, quietly.
“The storm?” Oakley shook his head. “Not even close. We’re just getting started.”
I walked to the nearest window, and peered outside. There was nothing much to see. Snow and frost caked the other side of the glass, beyond which lay a swirling, biting blackness. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to be out there. It made me shiver, even though I wasn’t cold.
“We’ll need to keep the panels clean tomorrow,” said Jaxon. “Or there won’t be power for nightfall.”
I nodded. “The solar array outside?”
“The array outside, yes,” he agreed. “But also the ones on the roof.”
My stomach rolled. Heights weren’t exactly my thing. It was one of the first things I learned, upon having moved to a mountain. Still, I wanted to help.
“We’re gonna be stuck here for a while,” sighed Ryder. “And you know what?”
“What?”
He raised his bottle and toasted us, with a smile. “I’m kinda looking forward to it.”
I had to admit, the whole thing was exciting. The four of us, locked inside, without anything to do but each other. I could go upstairs, curl up with a blanket, and write until my fingers fell off. Already I was making good progress on all the work I’d lost. The harder it snowed, the further I’d get.
The wind blew again, even harder, and this time I felt a draft from the window. How bad could a blizzard get in the Rocky Mountains? Pretty bad, from all the activity we saw in town.
“Could the drifts actually bury us?” I murmured, a little fearful of the answer.
The guys looked at each other, shrugged, then tipped their beers back.
“If we’re lucky,” Ryder quipped.
“Internet’s already out,” Oakley noted, stretching his legs. “Could you imagine being trapped in here for a week or more, with nothing but Sarge’s paintings to look at?” He laughed merrily. “Surrounded by frogs bigger than deer and moose?”
“There’s a rabbit with fangs in the upstairs hallway,” said Jaxon. “It looks so ferocious, I think it could take down a bear.”
“That thing scares me,” agreed Ryder. “It hung in the bathroom for a while, but I couldn’t keep staring it while, you know…”
“If the signal stays out, there’s always Sarge’s VCR collection,” said Oakley.
“VCR collection?” I called back, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, I know. It’s some real dinosaur-type shit. But Sarge loved collecting them. Said it reminded him of when he was a kid.”
“Besides,” added Ryder, “he’s got some real 80’s gems in there.”
“Like what?” I mused.
“Nothing but action movies, I’m afraid. But they’re good ones, at least.”
