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To my right, I heard a clatter, and her heart-shaped face appeared a few feet away. Wordlessly, she set a chair down for me and gestured to it. I frowned, lowered myself onto it, and stretched my legs out in front of me. A moment later, the door slammed shut hard enough to make the walls shake. She let her bag fall to the floor and glanced around, her bright eyes taking everything in.
While I kept sneaking glances at her.
I’d barely said more than a few words to her, but I was already intrigued.
Who was this beautiful woman, and why was she alone on a night like this?
“I think we’re going to have to stay here, at least until the storm lets up.” She appeared in front of me again and crouched. “I’m Martha, by the way. What happened to your leg?”
“My car broke down when I heard you scream. I was running through the woods and fell.”
She looked up at me, and her expression softened. “Thank you for coming to rescue me.”
I sat back against the chair and grunted. “We should try to start a fire or something, and we’ll need food.”
She rose back up to her feet and glanced around. “I don’t know about the fire, but I have snacks I picked up earlier.”
I twisted my arms behind my back and pulled from my backpack. “There’s some food in here and a bottle of wine.”
She took my backpack and set it down on a table behind her, covered in dust. “You celebrating or something?”
I shrugged and didn’t say anything.
I was meant to be celebrating, not stuck in a run-down hut in the middle of nowhere with a woman I didn’t know. By now, I was supposed to be in a luxurious hotel with a view of the sprawling mountains, celebrating the merger over a well-cooked dinner with my father.
Driving down at the behest of my ex-girlfriend, who sent me a text hours ago urging me to meet with my father, was a bad idea, and it was a worse idea to drive down in this weather.
And now I had no choice but to spend the night in a cold, damp hut while hoping that the wolves didn’t come back. Having already scared them off once, I doubted I was going to be able to do it again. With an exhale, I glanced around the room, making out the vague outline of a couch a sheet draped over it, an old fireplace, and two doors that were left ajar. When I squinted, I saw a large wooden bed covered in dust and ash. I glanced back at my companion, and she had rolled up her sleeves and was wiping the kitchen counter.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m cleaning,” she replied without looking at me. “We can’t spend the night like this.”
“It’s not a five-star hotel,” I reminded her tightly. “You shouldn’t waste your time with something like that.”
“Cleaning helps me relax.” She stood up straighter and rummaged through the cupboards. “I saw some gauze and antiseptic solution here. Do you want me to take a look at your leg?”
I blinked. “Okay.”
Once she stood in front of me, I caught a whiff of her floral perfume. I sat up straighter and balled my hands into fists at my side. Martha tucked her long blonde hair behind her ears, lowered herself onto the hardwood floor, and drew her bottom lip between her teeth. In silence, she cleaned the deep gash on my leg, never once balking at the blood.
I stared at a spot over her head as she did and breathed through the pain.
With quick and nimble fingers, she finished and bandaged up my leg. Her fingers were warm and soft against my coarse skin, and I tried not to dwell on it. As soon as she was done, she clapped her hands together and stood back up.
“I’m not an expert, but it should do until you can go to a hospital.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She gave me a small smile before returning to the kitchen. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her return to scrubbing the counter and rolled my eyes. “You’ll feel better when the place is clean.”
I exhaled. “I doubt that.”
I patted my pockets for my phone and pulled it out. The screen was cracked, but it still lit up, showing a few messages from my ex-girlfriend. I held the phone up to my face and frowned. Nothing I did changed the signal on the phone, even limping over to the nearest window and holding the device up over my head.
In the distance, I heard a low growl making the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
When I went back to my chair, Martha was on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floor. “Seriously, you need to stop that.”
