AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter One
Nora
I stare up at the dark night sky, watching the silver light of the moon shine from behind a few clouds. I’ve been sitting out here for hours listening to coyotes howl. I’m sure sooner or later they’ll come to investigate. For now, I’m pretending to be on a camping trip minus the food, water, shelter, and ability to move.
Leaning down, I tighten the t-shirt that I’ve tied around my leg and blow out a heavy breath as I scan the gravelly patch of dirt for anything resembling a weapon. I’m going to need something to keep the animals away tonight. I’m sure they can smell the blood on my leg for miles. At least that’s what the hundreds of episodes of survival television have told me. I laugh to myself at the irony of it all. I should be home watchingAlone and Afraid, notbeingalone and afraid.
In the distance, an owl hoots and tall trees creak in the wind. I’m only two miles from town, but I may as well be in the middle of nowhere.
So, let’s do the math. Last I checked, Rugged Mountain was home to a few thousand people. I’m on the only road going west, but there’s nothing west of town. It’s also after midnight. That all adds up to no one being out here until morning.
If they’re smart… unlike me.
Coyotes howl again. They sound closer this time. Then again, it could be my imagination. It’s always been a little wild.
I spin my head as far as it will go in both directions, trying to see as far into the night as possible. But given the fact that I’m not a cat and the only light out here is the glow of the moon, there’s not much I can see but the shadowed valley floor, some sagebrush, and a few hunting birds that seem far too interested in the unmoving human on the side of the road.
Gripping hold of the biggest rock I can find, I hold the sharp edge outward. It’s not going to do much damage to anyone, but at least I have it. Holding firm to the rock, I stare out into the nothingness and try to calm my mind.
I always thought life or death situations were supposed to bring someone clarity. Sure, I’m broken and in shock, but the effects of that are supposed to make me appreciate my life in a new light. Instead, I’m circling the drain of regret. Where my friends put time into dating and relationships, I poured everything I had into work. First, it was the realty business and then it was my dating agency.
Realty was never my dream, but it was a doorway to entrepreneurship that I learned a lot from. The dating app was where my heart has always been. I want to help people find love. Real love. Not the fantasy-fairytale kind, but the real, gritty, life is hard sometimes kind. The kind where things can go wrong, and people stay and work it out.
That’s not easy to find. Not in today’s world. Today, people fall in and out of love because the toaster broke. I want more than that for my clients, so I developed a program which requires rigorous testing of both parties before they’re accepted into my service. Too bad I can’t seem to pass the test myself.
My chest tingles and tightens as a wave of nausea washes over me. I’m not dizzy per se, but I’m feeling off.
What if I die like this? Found on the side of the road with no shirt on and my leggings torn to pieces. What if people find me surrounded by those wild birds? What if this is it for me and I’ll never know what it feels like to be touched with love, to be looked at with adoration, to care for another human being? What if tonight is my last night on Earth?
The lightheadedness I felt a few minutes before turns into dizziness and my fingers go numb as I repeat the same thing over and over. “This isn’t happening. No.I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine.”
The only reprieve from my insanity is the light that catches the corner of my eye. At first, I wonder if I’m seeing things, but the closer it gets, the more real it becomes.
Loud rumbling takes over the sound of my own voice and the light temporarily blinds me. It’s a biker coming inward toward Rugged Mountain. Normally, I wouldn’t recommend flagging a stranger down in the middle of the night. Right now, I think I have a good excuse.
I wave my hands as fast as I can, hollering and shouting, but I’m convinced that whoever’s driving is going to miss me.
They can’t miss me!
“No! No! No!” I scream out with the last bit of strength I have and tear off my white bra, whipping it in circles, hoping it reflects some sort of light and grabs the biker’s attention. It’s a random thing to do and now my tits are screaming out for pervs far and wide, but here I am, trying to keep from being eaten alive.
I’m not sure what does the trick, my bare tits or the bra swirling in circles, but the person slows to a stop and props the bike.
“Oh my god! Thank you!” I scream out, but my voice is cracked and ragged. “Thank you!” My thoughts scatter from gratitude, to fear, to shame, and back to appreciation again as the biker makes his way toward me.
This close, I realize the biker is a man. Not a normal man, but a giant man. Tall and wide, he strides toward me, one heavy footstep after another. His beard is long, and he’s covered in dark black ink. I should be relieved that he’s here, but my stomach knots as I reassess the new dangers in front of me. The reality that my chest is bare sets in, and I throw my arm up, covering what I can as the man draws closer.
Maybe this is how I go. Death by biker. I think I’d have rather taken my chances with the coyotes.
“Nora?” The man’s heavy brows narrow as he steps into focus.
“Doc?” Elation returns and the fear that knotted my stomach releases and replaces itself with warmth. “What are you doing here?” Doc and I don’t have a long history, but we have a safe one. He’s part of Rugged Mountain MC and we met about six weeks ago.
“I don’t remember teaching you this.” He laughs, bending to my side to study my leg. “In fact, I think there was a whole section we went over in biker school about not getting naked and crashing your bike.”
A smile lifts onto my face. “Is that what you’re calling it now? Biker school? I thought it was a few lessons behind the diner. We drove around bales of hay, and you showed me how to signal.”
He unbuttons his flannel and wraps it around me, trying not to smile as he works. “You must have fallen asleep during the keep your clothes on speech.”
