Page 2 of Single Mom for the Mountain Men
My hands busy themselves with chopping the fresh produce the old man left behind. Jack might be grumpy enough to be unpleasant, judging by his moue when we got here, but there sure is a hidden heart in that man’s chest.
“Mom, Mom, why are there so many sleeping curses in these princess books?” Sophie turns up her nose as she flips through the new, pink storybook that I got her just before we left for Whitefish. Her long, brown hair spills over her back as she lies on her stomach in the living room.
“So many? There’s just two:Sleeping BeautyandSnow White,” I reply, amused, as I toss in the carrots and radishes.
“Two is too many,” she grumbles, flipping disinterestedly through the book again and again. “I would never sleep for that long, doesn’t matter what witch curses me.”
I breathe out a small laugh. Sophie always seems to have a strong opinion about every fairy tale. It truly is one of the most endearing habits she has. How I have managed to raise a littlefeminist, I don’t quite know, but it gives me hope that she will grow up to be tougher than I’ve been.
Right as I’m about to reply to her, the lights flicker out completely, leaving us in an abrupt darkness. The bubbling of the soup in the pot and Sophie’s squawk of surprise are the only sounds in the dark room.
“Stay where you are, Soph,” I warn her while gesturing to the stove. “The stove is on.”
“I don’t like this,” she whines, “we were supposed to have fun here. How will I read my book now?”
Normally, seeing her pout would fill me with affectionate exasperation, but now, under these circumstances, it makes me want to hold her close. “Don’t whine, baby. It’ll be okay soon, I promise,” I console her. It doesn’t seem to work, as she continues complaining about being here. Grabbing her in the dark and pulling her along with me, I turn off the stove, dismissing what little illumination the blue flame provided me with. “I’m gonna call old man Jack, and he’ll fix this.”
“He’s so old, he won’t be able to fix anything,” she says disdainfully. I hush her in a reprimanding tone.
I call Jack, but his line seems to be dead. I text him a desperate message, then call again when he doesn’t respond, but to no avail. Tension familiarizes itself with my body again, and I hear Sophie’s feet tap softly against the wooden floor as she comes to stand beside me.
Irrationally, I feel like throwing a tantrum the exact way Sophie does sometimes.We were supposed to be safe here, so why is the first night going this badly?
“Is old man Jack coming?” Sophie asks me.
Holding back my frustrated sigh, I pat her twice on the head. “He isn’t picking up, Soph, but maybe he’ll call back soon. I’ll go outside and check if there is anything I can do in the meantime.”
Jack didn’t tell me anything about power outages when we discussed our rental agreement. He assured me, in fact, that those were a myth, even here in the rural mountainside.This is what I get for trusting a man’s word yet again.
I make my way outside, the frigid air biting my nose and the tip of my ears as I leave Sophie in the warm, but dark, cabin.
I’m not prepared to deal with this type of situation at all. Feeling an intense surge of helplessness, I stand still for a moment, just looking up at the stars. I stomp my foot and curse loudly, wishing that I knew what to do.
The tall and menacing trees remain indifferent to my presence, not moving even in the slightest.
Titling my head back down, I try to decide what I should do next. Suddenly, three tall and imposing silhouettes emerge a few feet from the boundary of my cabin.
Fear, unfiltered and raw, creeps down my spine at the sight of them. My throat dries, and I’m unable to do anything except gape at them the longer they stand there.
“Hey, there! We heard you shouting. Mind if we help you?” a voice bellows, gruff and thunderous as it reaches me.
“Stay away from me!” I shout while backing toward the front door, hoping I don’t trip over something and fall down.
One of the men moves, not toward me, but closer toward the other men next to him.
“Tanner, Aiden, stay here,” he says. He has a quiet, yet most commanding voice I think I’ve ever heard. It has a soothing quality, even if his presence still fills me with dread. “Sorry for sneaking up on you,” he calls to me in that same soft but firm tone. “We just figured that you might need help.”
Swallowing drily, my throat clicks as I croak out an affirmative. I’m not sure it even reaches their ears.
“Is it the power outage?”
“Yeah,” I call back, this time in a louder and surer voice. “The power just randomly went out, even though the landlord said that power outages aren’t an issue up here.”
“Ah. Would you mind if we came inside? It’s completely fine if you don’t need help, but we’re used to this kind of thing. We’rebasically experts at this point.” There’s a smile in his tone, even though I can’t really see his face in the dark.
I ponder the situation. If they wanted to, they could have already overwhelmed me. Asking for permission and actually waiting for my answer…that’s not what I’m used to. I don’t quite know how to handle men who ask and don’t take.
“Sure,” I say finally, relenting in spite of my lingering worry. “I’d appreciate the help.”
