It filled Nash with mixed feelings he couldn’t sort out.
“It'll be safer for us to get down the mountain on the snowmobile than trying to bring the truck,” Nash said, busying himself with details instead of dealing with the obvious.
She was leaving. That was a good thing for both of them. She’d be able to check on her grandmother so neither one of them would worry anymore, and Nash could finally get started on his work.
But that nagging feeling in his gut told him it wasn’t that simple.
“The truck is good in the snow, but it’s deep. Are you sure you're up for this kind of trip?”
“I’m glad you were able to get the solar system running and there was hot water. The shower helped a lot,” she said. “I'm sore, but I’ll live. To be honest, if I stay back here, it will drive me crazy sitting alone in this cabin and waiting for you to come back. It was hard enough the first time.”
He frowned. “Okay. If you insist on coming with me, you have to get more clothes on.”
She looked down at her pants and her shirt. “This is all I have. And since I was able to hand wash them and dry them by the wood stove overnight, they shouldn’t smell because I’ve been wearing them for two days,” she said, laughing. He’d given her a big baggy sweatshirt and a pair of his sweats for her to sleep in. It drove him crazy how sexy she looked in his clothes.
“They’re fine. I have my jacket, boots, and my gloves. I should be okay. I was the other night.”
“The other day you were in shock. You weren't feeling the cold. It's warmer today. But it’ll still be cold moving fast on the snowmobile. You need more layers. You can always take the sweatshirt and sweats off if you get too hot. Why don’t you put the clothes I gave you last night on over these clothes?”
“Okay.” She proceeded to grab the clothes she’d folded neatly and placed on the kitchen table. “I wish my cell phone still worked. It would be nice to be able to give my grandmother a call as soon as I get close enough to the bottom where there is some reception.”
“I pulled the radio from my truck out and hooked it up to the snowmobile. It doesn’t look pretty but it’s functional. This way we will be able to radio somebody down at the bottom of the mountain when we get a signal. It shouldn't be long before someone comes to rescue you.”
“You already did that?”
He turned while she slipped the sweatshirt over her head making her blouse stretch tighter over her chest with her movement. He couldn’t stand it. She seemed so unaffected by his reaction that he hoped it wasn’t obvious. She was driving him crazy. Each time she laughed it sounded like music to his ears and he waited for it happen again.
She needed to go home. He needed her to.
“The plan is that we radio someone and wait at the bottom of the mountain road for someone to pick you up and bring you home. You’ll be all warm and cozy in your bed tonight. You might even have a decent meal.”
He glanced at her and smiled. She’d made such a big deal the last two days over the fact that he liked eating rations for a whole host of reasons. She went on about her famous lasagna and about he hadn’t really lived until he’d had a chance to try it. But they were both thankful they’d had the rations while they were stranded there.
Ten minutes later they climbed on the back of the snowmobile. Nash set the channel on the radio so he could test reception at various points on the way down the mountain. Pretty soon, Harper Madison would be leaving him and his life alone would go on as normal.
Sweet Montana Rescue: Chapter Six
They were only on the snowmobile for a few minutes when Harper decided she was glad she’d listened to Nash and put the extra layers of clothes on. Nash was taking it slow given that the snowmobile was still hard to maneuver with all this snow on the narrow road. He’d speed up and then slow down. When they started to sink a little, he’d speed up again. The last thing they needed was a repeat of sliding down the embankment like she had done the other day.
Then Nash abruptly stopped the snowmobile.
“Do you hear that?” Nash asked. He turned off the engine.
“I didn’t hear anything except the snowmobile.”
“Ssh. Just listen,” he whispered.
Harper sat still and listened to the rustling of trees and the sound of moist snow packs falling from the leaves and hitting the ground.
“I still don't hear anything.”
“Okay,” Nash said. But Harper could tell by the look on his face, he was skeptical. He glanced up at the hill in the trees that seem to go on forever up the side of the mountain. Then he started the snowmobile’s engine and they burst out of the hole the snowmobile had sunk into. It had taken fifteen minutes for them to ride up to the cabin from where her car had rolled off the embankment. It was during the snowfall and Nash had been trying to keep her steady on the back of the snowmobile as they moved. It took just as long this time but for different
