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I smirked at her. “Aren’t you glad I thought ahead?”
She rolled her eyes at me, momentarily lightening the mood. “Yeah, okay, boss. Let’s go.”
I reached back and grabbed the duffle bag from the backseat before turning off the engine and pushing open my door. A blast of cold air hit me in the face, and I pulled the lapels of my coat together as I got out, grimacing as my foot sunk into the foot deep snow. I wished I had a hat and gloves, but I was also worried about the fact that Sophie didn’t have any, either. I needed to get her inside that building where she’d hopefully be safe and warm.
Forgetting all about my rule to keep my distance, I took her hand for the second time today and we hurried toward the building as fast as we could while navigating through the thick snow. Fresh snowflakes landing on my hair and face and my nose burned from the cold.
As we got closer, I could finally see that the building was a small log cabin and the chimney on the roof made me hopeful that it had a fireplace. There was no porch, just a wooden door, and when I grasped the doorknob, I said a little prayer.
It turned, and I was flooded with relief as I pushed the door open, letting Sophie in first. Following, I slammed the thing shut and paused to catch my breath. It was dark in the cabin and I could sense Sophie close beside me. Feeling along the wall beside the door, I finally found a light switch and flicked it on, casting the interior of the cabin in a soft, yellow light.
I turned to see that we were in a basic looking cabin with a tiny kitchen, a twin bed, and a living room area with a small couch in front of a fireplace. There was a door on the far side of the cabin that I could only hope led to a bathroom, because we were going to need one if we were here for a while. It was barely warmer in here than it was outside, but there was chopped wood in a box near the fireplace, so we could at least fix that problem.
“What do you think this place is?” Sophie asked, stepping into the miniscule living room area.
“Caretaker’s cabin, maybe?” I couldn’t imagine who else would live in this tiny cabin near the lodge.
Sophie rushed to an end table next to the couch where there was an old rotary style phone. Picking up the receiver, she held it to her ear for a moment, before letting out a small, defeated groan.
“It’s dead,” she said, turning back to me. “We’re really stuck here.”
“Maybe not.” I crossed to the only window in the cabin, pulling back the curtain and peering through the snow flying around outside. I couldn’t be sure with the lack of visibility, but I thought that I saw the outline of the lodge looming in the distance.
How far away was it? Could I make it there? Even if I could tromp my way through the storm, I wasn’t sure that I could get inside, but I had to try. If not, Sophie was right about us being stuck.
“I’m going to try to get to the lodge,” I said, turning to Sophie with a sense of determination, despite the way that my wet, ice cold jeans were sticking to my legs and the numb feeling of my ears.
“You’re going back out there?” she asked, her voice rising incredulously. “Are you nuts?”
“There might be a working landline there.”
Her lips pursed, and she shook her head at me, causing her dark hair to swish across her shoulders. “Or you might turn into a living snowman.”
“I think that’s a chance I have to take.” Or God only knew how long we’d be stuck here.
Sophie moved closer, until there was only a foot of space separating us. She tilted her head to look up into my eyes, and I felt the crazy urge to kiss her. Before I could, she held out a pair of thick, padded gloves.
“Wear these then,” she said, pressing them into my hand. “They were on the table by the phone. They might keep you from losing a finger or two to frostbite.”
I smiled. Even at a time like this, she was assisting me.
“Thanks,” I said, tugging the gloves over my chilled fingers. “And don’t worry. I’ll be back.”
I sounded more certain than I felt as I zipped up my coat to my chin and walked back out into the snow. I’d only gone a few feet when I started cursing my decision to wear practical tennis shoes today. I hadn’t dressed for a damn blizzard and my feet were already wet and cold.
Still, I forced myself to press on, heading in the direction that I thought led to the lodge. The gloves helped keep my hands warm, but there was nothing to protect my head. I kept my shoulders hunched up, trying to shield my ears from the biting wind.
My eyes watered, and I couldn’t stop myself from shivering as I trudged through the snow. It came up almost to my knees in some places, and I figured out pretty quick that I wasn’t going to reach my destination. At least, not while the snow was still coming down so hard. I was worried that I’d get lost if I kept going, especially when I glanced back at the cabin and it was little more than a dark mass among a complete whiteout.
I had no choice but go back to the cabin. It felt like I had been gone for at least half an hour, but I couldn’t be sure. It also felt like I had run a mile, the short walk was so physically exhausting.
When I got back to the cabin, a part of me expected Sophie to be angry. This whole thing was my fault. First, I chose this frozen tundra of a place for the retreat, then I insisted she come with me to check it out. I’d even ignored her concerns about the weather.
But damn it, this storm had come far earlier than expected.That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
Opening the door, I paused at the entrance only long enough to try to stomp some of the snow off my shoes before stepping inside. Sophie was in the little kitchen and when she turned her head and saw me, she grinned.
“Too cold out there, huh?” she asked, a little too smugly. “You know, there’s no snow in the Keys.”
Her teasing tone shocked me. There was no anger or irritation or even a satisfied,I told you so. She seemed almost. . .amused.
“Okay, you win,” I grumbled in agreement as I rubbed my hands together to generate some warmth in my numb fingers. “Next year, we’ll go wherever you want.”
“I’m holding you to that.” She opened a cabinet in front of her and pulled out a full bottle of amber liquor, a smile spreading across her lips. “For now, let’s start a fire and drink to our bad luck.”
Nowthatsounded like an excellent plan to me.
