"So, what do you think?" Eric asked as he lifted up the seat of the snow sled and pulled out an energy bar. He ripped into it and shoved the package in his pocket, then broke it in two and gave one half to Ana.
"It was so exhilarating!" she said excitedly.
Eric grinned at her. "Does this mean you won't be willing to ride on the back anymore?" he teased.
Ana laughed. "I'm not so deluded as to think I can take some of those corners we hit on the way up here. Not without tipping that thing over," she said, motioning toward the snow sled with her head.
"I bet you could with more practice," he commented.
"Are you offering more lessons?" she asked hopefully.
"Why not?" he returned with a grin. "I survived this one, didn't I?"
"Ha ha," she said, slapping him playfully on the arm.
Eric shoved the last bit of his energy bar in his mouth and then pulled his gloves on. "It's starting to snow," he said as he looked up at the sky. "We better get back."
"Do we have time for one more spin around the clearing?" she asked.
He arched a brow at her. "A quick one. But we need to head back before it really starts to snow."
"Can you see?" Ana yelled a little while later as her hands tightened anxiously around Eric's waist. She couldn't see a thing.
"Not really," he yelled back. He brought the snow sled to a stop and pulled his helmet off, then turned around so he was looking at her. "I think we're going to have to find shelter for the night."
"You mean sleep under some trees?" Ana asked in a panic. "Umm...won't we freeze to death?"
Eric chuckled. "No. I know where there's a cabin. We'll have to backtrack a bit, but it's a lot closer than my parent's place."
Ana nodded. The sooner they were out of this weather, the better.
It'd been nearly two hours since they'd turned around, but Eric had had to slow to a crawl because of visibility. The wind had picked up, rendering it nearly impossible to see. He'd lifted the lid of his helmet in an effort to see better, but when the snow had started turning to ice on his lashes, he'd put it back down.
Eric was relieved when, at last, the cabin came into view. It had taken so long he'd begun to wonder if he'd lost his way, but he hadn't wanted to say anything to Ana. He drove right up to the front door and stopped, climbing off. "Wait here," he yelled to Ana. "I need to find a way in."
Just as he'd predicted the front door was locked, so he made his way around the cabin as best he could looking for an easy entrance. When it was clear he wasn't going to be able to get in through a door, he lifted up a gray colored tarp and wrestled one of the logs away from the wood pile. It took him forever since the pile was frozen together, but once he finally got it free, he walked over to one of the windows and pulled the screen out. He hit the glass hard with with the log, and thankfully it broke through. Using his elbow, he cleared the rest of the shards away, then went inside and hurried to the front door. Ana was still sitting on the snow sled when he hurled it open. "You OK?" he asked as he turned the snow sled off.
She nodded, and he took her hand to help her stand. Eric quickly closed the door once they were inside and shed himself of his jacket, ski pants, and boots. Thank God it was warm in there!
Ana made her way slowly over to the couch and after taking her helmet off and putting it down, she placed her hands on the back of it. "You s-s-said that thi-this was a ca-ca-cabin," she said between chattering teeth.
"It is," he told her.
"Cabin's are qu-quaint," Ana insisted. "This is a-almost a ma-mansion." As she swept her arm through the room for emphasis, she swayed forward; Eric was in front of her in an instant.
"I thought you said you were OK," he said accusingly.
"I am. Just a li-little cold," she said.
He quickly pulled her gloves off, and then pushed her jacket down over her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. Then he knelt down in front of her and pulled her boots off one by one. She gripped his shoulders in an effort to steady herself, and he could feel her ice cold hands through the fabric of his sweater.
"We need to get you in the shower to warm you up, Ana," he said as he stood, then unbuckled her ski pants and shoved them down over her legs. "I can't imagine the power is going to be on much longer. Can you have a seat while I go find it and get it started?"
Ana nodded as she sat down on the couch. The bathroom was just down the hall, and Eric turned the spray on warm and returned to the living room. "Come on," he said helping her to her feet.
Her teeth were still chattering as they made their way to the bathroom, and once inside, Eric reached for the hem of her shirt. "What are you doing?" she asked shrilly as her hand covered his in an attempt to stop him.
"You need to get in the shower, Ana," he reminded her.
"Yes, but not with you in here!" she screeched.
"Ana, you can barely stand," he pointed out. "I'm not going to leave you in here alone."
Ana sighed as she looked over at the shower. "Turn around," she ordered.
He crossed his arms as he quirked a brow at her, but did as she requested.
Ana had never been so mortified in all of her life. Here she was, stuck in a cabin with the man she'd had a crush on for ages, and she was about to get naked.
And not in the good way.
She shook her hands to try and restore feeling, then whisked her shirt off, followed it with her bra, shoved her jeans and panties down her legs in one quick motion, and bolted for the shower. Luckily she made it without stumbling.
"OK," she called as she pulled the door closed. "There's a seat in here, so you don't have to worry about me falling. I should be fine!"
"OK," he returned.
Ana frowned when she thought she heard him chuckle.
"I'm going to see if there's another bathroom," he informed her. "I want to take a quick shower, then get something started for supper."
"Did you check your cell phone?" she asked lifting her face to the warm spray.
"I can't get a signal," he returned.
A second later, she heard the door close and sighed when she realized she was alone.
"Whatever you're cooking, it smells delicious," Ana said as she walked into the kitchen half an hour later.
"Spaghetti sauce," he said, then frowned distastefully. "Out of a can."
Ana laughed. "I didn't know there was another kind."
"You look much better," Eric commented.
Ana felt her cheeks heat as he looked her up and down. She knew it was an innocent perusal, but it made her heart kick up a notch just the same. "Thanks," she said in a small voice, then blurted, "how long before someone finds us, do you think?"
Eric shrugged his shoulders as he turned back to the stove. "It depends on when the weather lets up," he told her. "No one is coming up on this mountain while it's like this."
"You mean...we're trapped here?" she asked, as her heartbeat picked up even more. Alone? Together? The voice in her head was as shrill as she was sure her tone would've been if she'd spoken the words aloud.
"Nervous, Thompson?" He tossed her a grin over his shoulder.
"Why would I be nervous?" she asked, her throat suddenly dry.
He chuckled. "Secluded cabin...hot older man..."
"Who says I think you're hot?" she asked before she could stop herself.
Her heart melted at his knowing grin, and somehow Ana knew that whatever happened over the next twenty four hours, her life was never going to be the same again.