The shadow stooped in the snow and the face of a handsome man came into focus. There was a bright smile on his face that wiped away my fear, and his blue eyes were captivating. He wore a large, heavy coat that couldn't hide his slim, well-built physique. His hair that wasn't covered by his cap was a dirty blond, and he wore boots and gloves.
"You honked?" he asked me. I was too dumbfounded to speak. Maybe I'd died and gone to heaven, and this was my guiding angel. "One sec and I can get you free," he told me. He pawed at the snow in front of the door and pulled at the handle. The door came out and I was free of my metal prison.
I was so happy to be free and see a face that didn't belong to a yeti that I launched myself out of the car and into the arms of my rescuer. We tumbled into the snow and I ended up on top of him. He lay on his back and was partially buried in the snow. My rescuer wheezed and coughed out bits of the white fluff.
A smile graced his lips as his blue eyes looked into mine. "Is that a thank-you or are you trying to tell me you don't like me?" he teased.
"Oh! Sorry!" I pushed off from him to stumble back. My pushing shoved him deeper into the snow until he had made an impression a foot deep in the ditch.
He sat up and brushed the snow from the arms of his jacket. "You must have been trapped there a while," he commented.
I shook my head. "No, but long enough to be worried."
He tried to stand, but his position was unstable. The snow kept moving on him. He stretched out his hand to me. "A little help here?" he pleaded.
I grabbed his hand, stiffened my legs, and yanked back. He pushed off his his free hand, and our combined powers was a little stronger than I expected. My rescuer flew from the snow and tumbled into me. I fell back into the drifts, and ate snow and his jacket. His body spread out over me and he raised himself on his arms. There was a mischievous grin on his tasty lips.
"We seem to be in some sort of an infinite swing," he mused.
"I wish it would've stopped on the other swing," I returned. The wetness from the snow sank into my coat and I shivered. "Can we break this vicious cycle and just get back into my car?" I pleaded.
He stood and helped me to my feet. This time we didn't go tumbling into the snow. "Actually, my truck's just over there." He nodded in the direction of the road.
I looked past him at a large white pickup truck that idled on the road. My knight with a white horse had arrived. I turned my attention back to him and smiled. "Any way you can give a poor girl a lift before the snowmen try to woo her?"
He smiled and gave a nod. "I'd like nothing better than to save a damsel in distress, especially one so beautiful."
I blushed so hard I was surprised the snow around me didn't melt. "Can we skip the chit-chat until we-we-achoo!" I sneezed hard enough to give myself whiplash.
The stranger wrapped his arms around me and led me to the running truck. "I think that's my cue to get you into my truck."
"But my bags-"
"I can get your bags, but what I don't want is for you to get a cold on my watch. I'm not that great of a patient, and even worse a nurse," he told me.
I imagined him in a slimming male-nurse's outfit, and the image warmed me in not-unpleasant ways. His eyes flickered down at my face and he frowned. "Do you have a fever? Your face is red."
I shook my head and rubbed my palms against my cheeks. "N-no, just thinking of-um, warm places." Like him inside my body. That dirty little tempting thought made the heat inside me worse.
"All right, but don't think so hard that you combust on me," he teased.
We reached his pickup and he helped me into the tall cab. He shut the door and I watched him flounder back into the snow and grab my few bags. Good thing I traveled light. He shut the car door and returned to the pickup where he put my bags on top of his own in the back seat.
"You travel light for a girl," he teased as he slid into the driver's seat.
"I wish I hadn't been traveling at all," I quipped.
"It is pretty bad, isn't it? I don't know how much farther ol' Bessy can take it, herself," he mused as he patted the top of the dashboard.
"Do you know how far it is to the High Mountain Lodge?" I asked him.
He turned to me with a smile and a raised brow. "So you're going there, too?"
"Yeah. I'm supposed to be on a relaxing vacation, but I'm not seeing much of the relaxing part," I told him.
"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we've still got about twenty miles until we reach the lodge, and it'll be night in ten minutes," he revealed.
I cringed. "So do we wait it out here or keep going?"
He shook his head. "If we keep going we'll end up in a rerun of your accident. I'll keep driving until it's too dark to see, and you keep your eyes out for the hunters' cabins I know are up here. They're about thirty yards off the road on either side, if they aren't buried up to their chimneys in snow."
"And occupied by anybody else who's dumb enough to be up here," I added.
The stranger pressed his foot slowly on the pedal and we creaked forward. "I was the last vehicle allowed on the pass from our side, and I doubt anybody else will be coming from the other direction," he revealed.
"So we're essentially the last two people on the mountain?" I guessed.
That sly smile of his slipped onto his lips and his eyes flickered to me. "Possibly the last two people in the world."
I snorted. "So the fate of our entire species rests on our shoulders? I admit my shoulders are a little broad, but that's a pretty heavy burden."
One of his eyes scrutinized my appearance while the other kept on the road. I squirmed under his careful, thorough gaze. "I can think of a lot of worse fates," he quipped.
"Like what?"
He nodded out the window where the snow kept its steady falling. "Like getting stuck in this blizzard. If we don't find a cabin soon we'll have to sleep in the truck. I haven't tried it yet, and I'd rather not start now."
I peered out the windows for a sign of anything that wasn't white-colored. "I'll look, but I charge by the hour for being a spotter," I teased.
He chuckled. "I can afford it. And speaking of myself, I haven't introduced myself. The name's Nick Frost. I'd shake your hand, but-" he nodded at the wheel where clutched both his hands.
"My name's Crystal," I told him.
"Is that a first or last name?"
"First."
"Did your parents forget the last name?"
"No, but we only just met," I pointed out.
He raised an eyebrow. "And we're completely alone on a mountain top in the middle of a blizzard. If I wanted to do something to you that you wouldn't like then I wouldn't be trying to drive us out of this mess," he returned.
I furrowed my brow. He had a couple of good points. "Smith."
Mr. Frost frowned. "I know we only just met, but you have to trust me enough to at least give me your real name."
I snorted. "That is my real name. Crystal Smith."
He blinked at the windshield. "Smith?"
"Smith."
"You were hiding Smith?"
I sheepishly smiled and shrugged. "An ordinary name for an ordinary woman."
"I'll be the judge of that, but have you spotted anything? We should be getting to one of the cabins soon," he reminded me.
I turned my attention back to the windows. My eyes swept over the area as we puttered through the thick snow. Even his truck couldn't break twenty miles an hour without starting to fish-tail along the slick road. I pursed my lips and squinted my eyes. Wait!
I jabbed a finger at the left side of the road and thirty yards off where the road should end. "There!"
Frost slowed the truck and followed my finger. He leaned over the wheel and squinted at what I pointed out. It was the brown, steep roof of a squat log cabin. A road filled three-feet deep with snow led through the trees and to the front door. I could just make out some windows on the front and a ston
e chimney on the roof.
A smile lit up his face and he nodded. "Good job. That's just the cabin I was looking for. Let me just park here and we can get out and take a look at it."
"Park in the middle of the road?" I questioned him.
"It's safer than the sides where we might slip into the ditch," he pointed out. He stopped the truck and jumped out. I followed suit and joined him on the driver's side of the truck. "Looks intact, but we'll have to get a closer look before we move in. You stay with the truck in case somebody should come by," he advised.
"All right, but if you're not back in ten minutes I'm sending out the dogs," I warned him.
Frost chuckled and trudged forward. He dove into the deepest settled snow and worked his way through the thick white stuff. I watched the road, but mostly him. Even with the deep snow I could still admire his rear, and I had to admit it wasn't too bad. Frost ended his journey at the door and pushed the snow from the entrance. He squeezed inside and, though he was only out of sight, I felt oppressively alone.
I wrapped my coat tighter around myself and looked down both sides of the road. There was nothing but the softly falling snow and the ghostly trees for company. The feared night fell as I waited, and my heart lifted when, in the darkening gloom, I saw Frost's shadow emerge from the cabin. He hurried back to me with a smile on his face and his clothes soaked to the skin.
"It's dry in there. We'll pack our supplies inside and wait out the storm," he proposed.
I rubbed my arms and shivered. "Sounds better than staying out here."
He looked me over with a careful sweep of his eyes. "You're sure you're okay?"
I managed a smile and nodded. "Yeah, just-well, everything's pretty quiet out here," I admitted.
Frost grinned and a teasing look slipped into his eyes. "Well, I'll keep talking while we pack our supplies into our new home."
I snorted. "I don't know about you, but I'm not looking forward to dining on my underwear."
He chuckled. "I have something that doesn't have as much fiber, but it tastes better."
I raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
He nodded at the rear of the truck. "Let me show you."
CHAPTER 3