“I do,” I said.
I gathered up my bags before I nodded toward the man. I waved off the change he tried to give me before I headed for the doors. The bags didn’t seem too heavy in my hands but I knew they’d start tugging pretty badly once I started walking through the woods again.
“You keep warm now!” the man said.
“I will,” I said as I pushed out into the cold. “I definitely will.”
CHAPTER 16
WHITNEY
I had no idea what I was going to do to pass the time. I stood at the window and watched Liam until he was out of sight. There wasn’t a television to keep my mind occupied and I didn’t have anything with me to read. I got the distinct impression that Liam wasn’t a reader himself, so I relegated myself to the fireplace. The living room was chilly and I wanted a warm space for him to return to, so I tried repeating the steps I’d seen him take whenever he built a fire.
I propped up a few twigs into a triangular-type shape before I stuck newspaper underneath it all. It took me a little while to locate the matches but, after I pulled out every single drawer in the kitchen, I finally found them. I had to strike up two of them before I got a flame going. Then, I lit the newspaper on fire and watched it quickly ignite. I scrambled for the small closet that had a bunch of chopped wood in it, then proceeded to squeal while tossing the logs into the fireplace.
It wasn’t perfect but it was burning. I closed the glass doors on it so I wouldn’t burn the cabin down with popping embers.
I went back into the bathroom and started to clean myself up. I passed the time by brushing my teeth and washing my face. Liam kept all types of things in stock underneath his bathroom sink. Extra toothbrushes, washcloths and towels, small travel-sized face washes and hand soaps. I took my time grooming myself before I got into the shower and I allowed myself the time to enjoy it.
I shampooed and conditioned my hair while I hummed to myself. My ankle was still throbbing but the pain wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been. I had to unwrap it last night because it started itching like crazy and I wasn’t even going to try to rewrap it. I had no idea how in the world Liam got it to be stable without being tight and knowing my luck I’d cut off so much circulation that I’d have to amputate my foot while he was gone.
I stayed in the shower until the water started to run cold. I felt clean and refreshed. The steam was comforting while it wafted around my body. I wrapped a towel around me and stepped out into the hallway, shivering at the cold as I quickly made my way back to the fire. I sat down in front of it and allowed my naked body to dry, running my fingers through my hair since I didn’t have my brush.
It wouldn’t look the best but it would have to do for now.
I sat there in front of the fire and listened for my phone. An hour had passed and I hadn’t heard from Liam yet and I was beginning to get worried. He told me it would take him around two hours to get to the store but I couldn’t help being scared. The temperatures were frigid, the wind was blustery, and this snow was way too deep for anyone to be walking in it.
Then, finally, just as I made my way back into the bathroom, I heard my phone vibrate.
I tossed the towel into the hamper in the corner before I went dashing for it. I didn’t care that I was naked and I didn’t care that I was cold. The only thing I cared about was the fact that Liam finally messaged.
At the store. Need anything?
I messaged him back and told him it would be nice to have a razor but, other than that, I was fine. I set my phone down and breathed a sigh of relief.
I slipped into Liam’s room and opened his closet. I pulled out the first flannel shirt I could find and wrapped it around my body. The end of the shirt hung almost to my knees and I buttoned it up quickly before I sighed. It was so warm and soft against my skin, not like I figured flannel would feel. I rummaged around in his drawers until I found a pair of pajama pants. I slipped them onto my legs and laughed.
They were comically long, even with me rolling up the hem.
I pulled out a pair of socks and rolled them up my legs before I tucked the excess length of the pants into the cuffs. I looked absolutely ridiculous but I was warm. I sat on the edge of his bed and smiled. Images of the night we’d spent together came barreling back to me and I could feel my skin puckering at the phantom sensations. If I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, I could still feel the way his hands wrapped around my ass. I could still feel the way his tongue lapped at my breasts. And, if I listened closely, I could still hear his voice rumbling in my ear.
I opened my eyes and took a look around the room. I hadn’t really gotten a good look at it that night because of all the distractions happening. There was a picture of him and that same guy on the wall except, this time, they were at the beach. Their skin was burned and their hair was insane but they looked to be having the time of their lives.
And, again, they were much younger in the picture I looked at.
I scanned my eyes across the room and they landed on a box. It sat on his bedside table and I wondered what it was. I crawled across the bed and reached out for it, taking it into my hands before I popped open the top.
I gasped when I found what was inside.
It was a Purple Heart, glistening and gleaming with bravery and victory. My mind started to swirl with the implications of Liam having something like this. It meant he had been wounded in battle somewhere. It meant he had sacrificed a great deal to save the lives of those around him. I sighed heavily before I closed the box, trying to place it back delicately where I’d found it.
I wanted to know what had happened to him. I wanted to know what he’d done to receive a medal like that. I wanted to know how he’d been injured and how bad it had been.
But my phone vibrating in the other room interrupted my thoughts.
Scampering off his bed, I rushed down the hallway to get it. I saw a message from Liam and I opened it, smiling when I realized he was on his way back. That meant he would be back well before dinner but just as I went to message him back, a call came through.
It was Gwen. I smiled.
“Hey there,” I said.
“Girl. What the hell? I’ve been waiting for you to call me and I haven’t heard a peep! What gives?”
“I’m so sorry. Things have just gotten a bit crazy around here.”
“Crazy how? You okay? You find yourself a man? Oh, is he doing you right?”
I blushed at her comments. “Do you want the punchline or the story?” I asked.
“Gimme the punchline and then start from the beginning,” she said.
“I’m snowed-in at a cabin on the mountains with a mountain man.”
Silence fell, followed by a shriek through the phone.
“You’ve been holding out on me! The fuck’s going on?”
“My first day here was okay but they were forecasting a hell of a storm. I, of course, didn’t listen and went on a hike the next day to explore the scenery.”
“Of course, because you’re stubborn as hell,” she said. “Go on.”
“I got lost. Gwen, I was petrified. The snow was thick and it was freezing and I took off running up a hill to try and see if I could get high enough to see the resort.”
“What happened?” she asked.
“I caught my ankle on something and tripped. I went rolling down this damn hill and my leg hurt so badly. I crashed into a tree and couldn’t catch my breath and, when I came to, I was on his couch in his cabin.”
“Oh, shit! Is he hot? Please tell me he’s hot.”
“He is pretty good looking, yes,” I said, giggling.
“Are you gonna do him?’
“Gwen.”
“Are you?” she asked.
“Come on.”
“Oh, holy shit. You already did him!”
“Gwen!”
“I know you, Whitney. Had it not happened, you would’ve denied it time and time again. But you didn’t. That means you finally got some! Tell me all the details.”
“That, I’m not doing,” I said.
“So, you did sleep with him?!”