Page 3 of Mountain Man

“Can I have my clothes?” I said, feeling uncomfortable sitting there practically naked in this complete stranger’s bed.

He grunted, turned to a scarred wooden chest of drawers, and pulled something out. He motioned to a rack above the fire, where my clothes were draped. “They’re still wet,” he said. “Wear this.”

He threw something toward me and it landed on the bed. I picked it up. A red and black oversized flannel shirt. “Thank you.” I stared at him and he stared back, saying nothing. “Can you, um…can you turn around, please?”

He blushed again and spun away.

Not that it wasn’t anything he’d already seen, considering he’d stripped me bare and put me in his bed, but still. I took a moment to assess my body’s aches and pains. The only place I was feeling any pain was my ankle. Everywhere else felt…untouched.

God, this man had saved my life and I’d accused him of molesting me in my sleep. I slipped on his shirt and quickly did up the buttons. I glanced up at the rack above the fire. My sports bra hung up there. I wasn’t exactly lacking in the chest area, in fact, I wasn’t lacking in any areas. Letting the girls swing free wasn’t something I had the luxury of doing. I’d been big pretty much all my life. Thankfully, I’d been blessed with my mother’s hourglass figure, but I was all boobs, butt, and thighs, and lots of all three. I’d given up trying to change my body, and I’d stopped hating it a long time ago. I glanced up at the clothing rack. But, man, I wanted my bra.

“I’m covered up.”

He grunted, moved to the fire, and threw another log into the flames. “Stay under the covers. It’s warmer under the furs.”

He didn’t look at me while he said this, kept his wide, muscled back to me. “So, you…you live here?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Hunting cabin.”

I didn’t know this man, but maybe if I knew some more about him I might feel a little less nervous about being there alone with him. “You live in town?”

He shook his head again. “Nope.”

Okay. “Are you on a hunting…um, vacation?”

He picked up a pot and banged it down on the hot plate over the fire. “Live farther down the mountain.”

“So why do you come up here if you—”

“I don’t go to town. Don’t like people. Don’t like strangers. I also don’t like being asked a bunch of questions.”

I bit my lip.

I’d heard of people who lived on the mountain, who barely ventured to town except to get supplies every few months. Mountain Men, people called them. Men who had, for different reasons, chosen to live solitary lives

I curled my fingers into the covers. “When can I go home?”

He grumbled under his breath. “Blizzards hit. Covered everything in at least fifteen inches of fresh snow. Woman, you’re not going anywhere, not till some of it melts.”

My whole body tensed. “What?”

“You’re stuck here, and seeing as the snow’s still falling and doesn’t look like it’s gonna let up anytime soon, I’d say for a while.”

“What?” I said again, or rather choked.

“You’re not going anywhere on that ankle anyway, not until you can put weight on it.”

I could only see his profile, but from what I could see of his face, his expression said loud and clear that he was about as happy about me being there as I was. He glanced at me and his blue gaze hit mine, then dropped, lingering on my chest. He quickly turned away and started chopping a big slab of meat. I stared at him, not sure what to say, what I could do. People would be worried about me. The hiking group I’d come with probably thought I was dead.

“Do you have a phone?”

“No.”

The hopelessness of my situation sunk in, and my nose started to sting, and tears filled my eyes. I bit my lip, trying to swallow the helpless sob crawling up my throat, but failed.

He jerked around at the sound, and when he looked at me his eyes widened, and he took a step back like he’d been confronted with his worst nightmare. For some men, I guessed that’s exactly what a crying woman was. Especially a complete stranger.

“I’m s-sorry,” I said between shuddering breaths. “This whole thing…it’s been a little…stressful…a-and p-people will be so worried.” I blinked, and tears ran down my cheeks. I dashed them away but more replaced them instantly.