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Deb sat upright. “Ow!” She reached for the back of her thigh. “Ei-yi-yi-yi!”
As predicted, her muscles had cramped. Michael sat on the edge of the bed next to her. “Straighten your leg slowly, and rub toward your heart.” He was going to regret it, but he couldn’t stand to see her in pain. He put his hands around her thigh, and kneaded her hamstring, interspersed with long strokes. Medical treatment, not caresses; that’s all he was doing. But neither his body or his brain believed him. Deb’s knotted muscles smoothed under his touch, and her pinched expression faded.
“Oh, that’s so good. Don’t stop.” Her voice was breathy and she ended on a moan.
Michael forced his fingers to release her. If he kept stroking, and she responded like that, they’d be doing something more dangerous, because he’d like to hear those words in a different context. And while she might admire his body, a beautiful, successful woman like Deb deserved someone better. Someone whole. Someone who didn’t struggle with chronic pain. He rose and fetched her glass. “Here, drink.”
“Thank you.” She took the glass and swallowed half of it, then got up and padded to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
She was too beautiful, too tempting. But that changed nothing; he had to keep his distance. She wasn’t for him. He drank some more water, checked out the windows again, and plopped down. They’d figure out a better solution in the morning, because holding Deb for another night was bound to end badly. The only reason he hadn’t done anything stupid was his physical limitations; he was too tired and worn to act on his base impulses.
Deb returned and drank more water. “Thanks for your help.”
“Of course.” He wanted to say more, but he couldn’t. “Let’s go back to sleep.”
She slid on to the futon, and curled into a ball. He sighed, then followed her, wrapping around her shivering form.
“Thanks for being so nice. I appreciate it.”
“Of course. You’re family.” It was true, if not in the sense he wished. But wait a second—what was he thinking? She was family; his sister-in-law. Anything different would be weird. No matter how much he wanted to hold her romantically, he couldn’t. Anything more wasn’t right.
“Of course. Family.” Deb sighed and relaxed.
If she sounded disappointed, he’d ignore it. Attraction was simply physical and it wasn’t enough for him. He pictured bounding sheep and counted, ignoring the soft warmth of the bubbly beauty in his arms.
When light woke him, he stretched and realized Deb was missing. The delicious scent of toasty, buttery bread and hiss of propane reassured him; Deb must be cooking pancakes again. While he wouldn’t normally eat so many empty carbs, they’d worked it off hiking up, down, and around the mountainside. He got up, moved the futon into the couch position, and grabbed his work clothes. He’d wash up and they could talk about the next steps.
As he left the bathroom, Deb jolted. “I hear something. Maybe a motor?”
Michael grabbed his weapon and ran to the window overlooking the road climbing to the cabin, staying out of sight. Their footprints were still obvious if someone knew how to look and most all-terrain vehicles could make it up the snow and ice covered road. They needed a backdoor in the cabin; the bathroom window was too high for Deb and too small for him to get out. Standing to the side of the small front window, he darted a glance. Deb was right; a two-seat side-by-side ATV was headed their way. “Deb, get in the bathroom, crouch behind the toilet if you can.”
The whine of the motor increased, then decreased. Michael risked another glance. The driver wore a helmet and the passenger seat was empty. The engine noise faded to an idle, and Michael crouched, then popped around the window frame to look at the ATV stopped fifty feet from the cabin. The driver climbed out and removed his helmet—it was Tom Borde. Michael’s tense shoulders sagged, and he holstered his pistol.
“It’s okay. It’s Tom.” He opened the front door, surveying the area around the cabin before waving at Tom. He waved back, climbed into the ATV, and drove to them, snow flying from his tires.
Stopping near their door, Tom climbed out, stretching into a back bend. “I’m not used to doing that many miles in one of these anymore.”
“Rough ride?” Michael stuck his hand out.
Tom shook firmly with a smile. “Yep, and I’m getting old and lazy. But we wanted to throw off any followers, so we left the truck miles from here and I took some really sketchy back trails.” He shrugged. “And some non-trails, too.”
A buzzing noise drew Michael’s attention to the sky overhead. Tom waved. A drone circled lower, then rose almost out of sight. “Wiz is watching my back.” He opened his neon orange hunter’s jacket and pulled a thick black rectangle out, handing it to Michael. “Satellite phone. Keep it on. Wiz will text alerts if she sees anything, but the drone’s night vision isn’t very good, and it needs charging a lot. I’ve got a small battery pack and solar array in case you have to move out fast, too.” He turned to the back of the ATV, and thrust a rifle at Michael. “AR-15. I’ve got another pistol and body armor for both of you. And food, all your medications, a couple of backpacks, hiking boots for both of you, clothing and some other gear you might need.” He picked up a box and handed it to Deb, then grabbed another and followed her inside the cabin.
Michael picked up the last box, glancing up when movement caught his eye. Their watcher was back.
Inside, a phone buzzed, the vibration coming from Tom’s jacket. He put the big box on the floor and pulled another sat phone from his inside pocket, listening intently. “Got it, hold on.” He pointed toward the top of the mountain behind the cabin. “Wiz says someone’s watching you. She hasn’t gotten a clear view yet; the person is concealed in the bushes and rocks above us.”
Michael nodded. “Yeah, I’ve caught glimpses, and there are traps set all over the hillside above us. I think we’ve got a mountain man.” He shrugged. “I’m not worried about the guy.”
Tom nodded, then spoke into the phone. “Michael’s noticed. Thinks he’s a non-issue, maybe an old-school survivalist. There are more than a few around here.” He listened, then laughed. “Exactly. Love you, see you soon.” He hung up and put the phone back in his jacket. “I’m not staying long, because I don’t want to draw attention. We’re going to park this ATV in a plain grey box trailer down the hill a few miles by road, but less than a mile if you can walk straight down the mountain. I’ll strap a bag of survival gear in the back, with a tent, stove, dehydrated meals, and a water filter. Wiz has dropped a pin on a map on your sat phone already along with the lock combination in a text. You should be able to reach the trailer fairly quickly by going around the back of the mountain, then down. There’s game trails crisscrossing the hillside, so it’s not impossible, but will be difficult at night, even with these.” Tom reached into the box at his feet and pulled out night vision gear; a monocle mounted on an adjustable strap.
Michael chuckled, but reached for the headset greedily. “I’ve never been so grateful for smart, paranoid, wealthy friends.”
Tom laughed. “She’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It is.” She’d gotten the good stuff, too. If he tried to buy these, his credit card would scream and die a horrific death.
Deb stacked more cans on the counter, along with boxes and bags. “Please give her my thanks. I’m so lucky to have friends like all of you.” She smiled, but it was slightly pained.
