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She nodded, not finding any humor in my comment about the stench. “Okay, you lead the way. I have no idea where we are—or how to get back to the highway.”
Man, she’s really putting a lot of trust in me.
“Yeah, I can help with that.” I rubbed my damp arms, preparing myself to head back into the rain—which was going to be much colder than it had been before. I headed up the steps, noticing they were slick from the moisture. “Watch out for those.” I pointed to the soaked concrete.
“Got it.” She held her little fluffy dog in her arms and carefully followed me into the pouring rain. “What is it?” Her voice sounded distant as I stood at the top of the steps, suddenly forgetting all about the cold rain.
You have to be kidding me.
My stomach dropped as I stared across the yard to my truck... Well, whatwasmy truck. It hadn’t been blown about by the winds...
But ithadbeen smashed to pieces by a large oak tree that had landed right in the center of the cab. There wasnoway that was going to get us back to the van—and with how cold the rains were...
It was not a good idea to try and make the trek on foot.
Fuck.
I turned back toward the old hunting cabin. This was my family’s land, though we usually leased out the cabin to hunters when we weren’t using it. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been there, let alonestayed.I pulled my keys out of my pocket, thumbing through them.
I don’t even have a key.
“What are we going to do?” she asked from behind me, her voice a little panicked.
“We’re going inside the cabin,” I said, hoping that I wasn’t lying to her about that.
She didn’t wait for my lead, taking off at a sprint toward the porch. I raised my eyebrows at just how quick she was, darting across the yard, jumping and weaving around downed tree limbs and other debris. I followed her, though not nearly as fast, cringing at the cold rain pummeling me. The numbing sensation only confirmed my doubts about going anywhere on foot. The covered porch came as a relief as I trotted up the steps.
“I don’t have a key for it, so I’ll have to break the lock.” I stared at the padlock hanging there for extra security, grimacing. I had no way of getting it off. “Or maybe we should go through a window.”
She furrowed her brow, her eyes bouncing from the lock to my face. “Do you have any tools in your truck?”
I glanced back over to the truck, my heart dropping at the thought of going back out into the rain, and the smashed toolbox in the bed. “I don’t think it’s going to do us much good.”
“Ugh.” She pursed her lips, before holding out the runt of a border collie to me. “Don’t let him down. He’s scared and might run off.”
“Uh...” I hesitated as I took the dog from her arms, noting the wet dog smell that came with the little bundle of wet fur. The thing snuggled up immediately, resting his head on my shoulder.
“Huh, I’m surprised he didn’t try to bite you.” She laughed as my eyes went wide. “I’ll be right back.” The woman, who Istilldidn’t even know her name, took off at a sprint toward my truck.
What the hell is she doing?
She made it to the truck, seemingly unbothered by the cold rain soaking her even further. Her tank top clung to her in a way that left my core tingling...
Anddamn, that ass.
I cleared my throat, pushing away the thoughts and focusing more on the fact that she just kicked in my truck window, and crawled inside.
“That’s dangerous!” I shouted out across the yard. “Get back up here.”
She ignored me, disappearing into the smashed cab––the one that could collapse at any given point. My heart jumped with worry in my chest. How would I explain that if something bad happened?
Thankfully, I didn’t have to wonder long.
She reappeared, holding the arm of the jack from under the seat. I couldn’t decide if that was ingenious or just downright crazy. But regardless, she jogged back across the yard, clutching the thing like she had just found treasure. She eyed me as she walked up to the padlock, situating the metal arm under the loop of the lock. She had to work to get the metal bar in it, and I couldn’t help but just stare.
Whoisthis woman?
She grunted loudly as she slammed the bar into the side of the cabin, causing tension against the latch. With a loud popping noise, the entire metal latch ripped from the side of the cabin, landing with a thud on the porch.
