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4
RED
I must have gonea bit crazy.
But they say brushes with death do that to people.
Staring down a snarling wolf, one that Hood said may have been rabid, left me to go with whatever I thought felt good at the time.
And following Hood is what felt good. Even when he’s proposing something completely absurd and being a bit more forward than I’d like out of a potential boyfriend.
Then I got naked with him and jumped into ice cold water in the middle of winter.
He’s carrying me in his arms, along with all of our other possessions. It doesn’t even seem to be taxing him. Hood is quite the man, and definitely the type of man who can charm a girl like me into such sudden and rash actions.
It works. I’m not ready to go to grandma looking like a drowned rat like I do right now. I didn’t give her a hard time when I’d be back, so she wouldn’t be worrying about me just yet.
As he carries me, my teeth still chatter. Even as amazing as all of this, I’m still cold, although I can’t tell if my nipple’s hardness is due to Hood or the weather around me.
Soon, we arrive at a cabin. A small, cozy looking one, but much newer than the one my grandma lives in. He carries me in and places me on a nice comfy leather couch, before setting our things on a nearby arm chair. There’s wood in the fireplace, and he pulls out a lighter. With little trouble, he gets a fire roaring and the room warms up nicely not long after that.
“You live here?” I say as I sit up, still bashful that I’m sitting around butt naked with a guy who I had just met. The towel is around me, and I take care to use it as cover, despite the fact that Hood has already seen everything I have to offer.
“Sometimes? I guess it’s not my current address,” he says, as his next thing is going to a cabinet and pulling out two glasses as well as a tall glass of whiskey. “It will be eventually. Or maybe I’ll just get a PO Box to spare the poor mailman from coming out this far.”
I giggle. “It’s a nice cozy little place. When did you buy it?”
He pours a glass and offers it to me. I’m wordly enough to figure out it’s whisky, even though I’m hardly much of a hard drinker.
“I didn’t buy it. I built it,” he replies, sitting down on the floor next to me. “On and off over the past five years.”
I look at him with amazement. “You built a cabin like this? All by yourself?”
“My father and brother helped me a good deal. My sister too, for that matter. But it’s mostly my brainchild and my project.”
I look around the place. I would have never guessed it was his doing. It looked expertly done. “Your family did it? It’s up to code and everything?”
He nods. “I guess I hired people to do the wiring and plumbing. I’m an aspirational carpenter, not an electrician or plumber.”
It doesn’t make his accomplishment any less to me. I sip the whisky. It burns a good burn down my throat. It’s a bit rash of me to be going into his house and accepting drinks, but it’s also rash to go skinny dipping in the middle of the winter. I’m just in a rash kind of mood, I suppose.
“You asked what I’m doing out here,” he says, looking into his glass. “But I think it’s a more pressing question of what you’re doing out here, Red. You ain’t from around here, that’s for sure. I’d remember if I’d seen a beautiful woman like you in Linesworth before. Plus? No offense, you seem a bit clueless to be a local.” I blush at his one two of compliment and playful jab.
I laugh. “You’re right about that. I live in Seattle. I’m in town to tend to my Grandmother. Truth be told, she’s getting up there in age and I’m contemplating moving to Linesworth to be closer to her. She’s out here all alone and I worry about her all the time.”
“Linesworth’s a lovely little town. Lots of character. It ain’t Seattle, but it ain’t gotta be.”
“I’ve liked what little I’ve seen of it. And yeah, it isn’t Seattle, and I can’t say that’s for the worse. It’s weird I’m starting to recognize people who work at certain places despite only being here a few weeks.”
“Well, I ain’t the town’s welcome wagon, but I’m sure the town would be happy to have someone like you, if you’re willing to come here for your grandmother. Family’s super important for a lot of people in this town.”
I take another sip. “Important for you too?”
He nods. “I still live with my brother, my sister, and my parents. Crumble Dairy Farm, maybe you’ve heard of us.”
“I have. But still living with your parents? That’d be something associated with being a loser in Seattle.”
“Maybe, but they’re my family. I need a reason to be away from them instead of a reason to be with them. But someday I hope to turn this cabin into a real family home. Keep expanding it, building on it. Make it something special. Build and build, make it beautiful.”
