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Fucking storms.
Fucking winter.
Fucking people.
A storm advisory went out every damn day this week at my request to the local TV station because I knew people wouldn’t listen to the forecast.
It’s fucking Wyoming in January; of goddamned course we’re getting four feet of snow over the course of three days and of fucking course everybody and their mother was running around like lunatics today after the snow started to fall.
If I didn’t love the town of Gateston so damn much, I’d tell everyone they were idiots and call it a day instead of spending it shoveling people out of ditches, helping them ignite pilot stoves and chopping wood. But it’s what I do. Who I am. And I wouldn’t change it for the world.
The illuminated road as I drive home to an empty house makes me wish that being Sheriff wasn’t all I am. I suppose it’s the one downfall to living in such a small town. I know everybody and they’re always trying to fix me up.
Trouble is, there’s only one woman I have my eye on and she’s off limits.
Oaklynn Shaw.
The daughter of Barrett and Nora Shaw, they own the local diner in town and protect her like she’s a princess. Every time I try to talk to her, she blushes and runs away. More than once leaving me with an empty cup of coffee before my shift in the morning. But always leaving me wanting more of her.
I know she’s young, eighteen or nineteen maybe, and if I had my guess, she’s also a virgin. I don’t know when my obsession with her began but now that I’m facing the next three or four days snowed into my cabin alone, without once getting to see her, I regret not asking her out.
Driving around the bend that leads to the driveway of my cabin, my lights flash upon someone walking in this fucking blizzard. “Jesus Christ.” Pulling over in front of them, I open my door, cursing the entire time and rush towards the person.
“What the hell are you doing out in this storm?” I call over the sounds of the wind howling.
“Sh-sh-sheriff?” A soft voice calls back and looks up.
Shit.
I’d know those baby blues and long dark curls anywhere.
“Dammit Oaklynn, what are you doing out here? It’s way below freezing, and this jacket won’t do shit for you.” I scold, staring at the thin coat. It’s better for a fall day than a freeze warning.
She stares down at her feet and it’s then I notice the squirming beneath her jacket and the bulky nature of her normally slim frame.
“Come on.” Gripping her elbow, I half carry, half drag her to my truck. With no choice, I have to bring her home with me. It’ll be days before the plows come out and I know, even with the winter tires and chains, I won’t be able to get her home. “You’ll come home with me until the storm passes.”
She’s silent as I guide her into the passenger seat, the wind whipping at her long hair. “Christ you’re soaked.” I hiss, my anger rising about her being out here. Not only is the snow falling but it’s wet too, like it’s mixed with rain. Making it especially deadly if someone were left out in it.
“Where the hell were you going Oaklynn?” My words are harsh as I begin to unzip her coat, a puppy squirming its way onto the front seat, tail wagging. “A puppy?” Reaching into the back, I grab the blanket I keep there and throw it over her before slamming the door shut and rushing around to the driver’s seat.
“You gotta talk to me Oak, or I won’t know that you’re okay.” I tell her softly. She’s always been a shy girl and I know my antagonistic attitude won’t help in getting her to open up to me.
Shifting in her seat, she pulls the puppy into her lap and her bright blue eyes stare up at me and I can’t read what she’s thinking as we slowly drive down the road. “I was helping Ms. Sawyer collect wood for her stove and close up her house before the storm hit.”
Of course she was. “So how’d you wind up heading this way instead of home?” I live outside of town, she should have gone home.
Biting her lip, I shift in my seat, wanting to be the one nibbling on it instead. “I was on my home when I found him,” she stares down and smiles at the squirming furball in her lap, “And she ran out this way. By the time I caught her, it was easier to try and make my way to you, rather than home.” The sound of her voice decreases as she finishes talking but I heard every word.
“You were coming to me?”
“Yes.” She draws the word out with a soft smile.
Here I thought I would be alone for this storm and now I’ll have exactly who I want.
