Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

I jolted awake, unsure of what disturbed me. Glancing around, I realized I was in total darkness. From the lack of light and sound, I guessed the power had already gone out.

I got out of bed and carefully made my way to the bathroom, only tripping once on my way back.

“Sarah,” Jake called from downstairs, and I almost groaned. Dealing with Jake first thing in the morning during my disaster of a life and an actual natural disaster was not something I ever thought I would be doing.

“I’ll be right there,” I said and hurried to smooth my hair and pull on a hoodie. Then I thought better of it and mussed my hair. I didn’t want him to think I was trying to look good for him. Then I smoothed my hair again because that’s what I would have done in a similar situation not involving Jake. When I reached to mess my hair up again, I balled my hands into fists and managed to stop myself before I spiraled out of control.

Exhaling slowly, I opened the bedroom door and was pleased to see there was some light filtering in from outside, making it easier to see.

“Morning,” Jake said when I reached the living room. He was sitting on the couch in front of the fire he’d already started, seemingly without a care in the world.

“Morning,” I replied by rote. “When did the power go out?”

“About an hour ago, I think.”

I walked over to a window and looked outside. The snow was still falling at a steady rate, and the trees were covered with a layer of ice, causing some of them to bend at unnatural angles. I’d never seen anything like it.

“Have you seen this?”

“Yeah,” Jake replied casually.

“What should we do?”

He shrugged. “There’s nothing we can do but wait for it to be over.”

Even though I knew he was right, I didn’t like his answer. Sitting in a house without power with Jake for an undetermined amount of time was going to be a special kind of hell.

“There’s coffee in that thermos on the counter. If you’d like a cup, help yourself.”

“Thank you,” I said and made a beeline for the thermos. Coffee made everything better.

As I sat at the kitchen table and sipped my coffee, I stared out the window and wondered how long it would continue to snow, and how long I would be stuck in Jake’s cabin.

“Are you hungry?”

“No, I’m okay right now.”

Jake nodded. “When the snow eases off, I’ll heat up some food on the grill.”

“When do you think that will be?”

“It’s hard to say. Originally, they said it should clear up by noon, but we’ve already gotten more snow than we were supposed to. My phone isn’t working, and I can’t pick up anything on the weather radio, so I don’t know what’s going on.”

“That doesn’t sound like good news.”

“It’s not, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”

He was making me nervous. “What’s the worst-case scenario here?”

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “The worst-case would be the snow continues to fall, and the cabin gets taken out by an avalanche.”

“Are you serious?” I shrieked and jumped to my feet.

He held his hands up in a placating manner. “You asked for the worst-case, and that’s it. Do I think that will actually happen? No, I don’t.”

“What do you think will happen? And don’t say, ‘It’s hard to say.’”

“I think we will have a lot of downed trees and power lines. I’m sure many roads will be impassable from trees or snow accumulation, or both. In short, I don’t think we’ll be going anywhere, anytime soon.”

“Say what now?”

“It will take time for the work crews to get things cleared out. They’ll start on the main roads first and work their way to the more remote areas. We’re higher up, so it will take longer for the snow and ice to melt.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes,” he said slowly. “Have you never been through a snowstorm before?”

“No, I haven’t. Not like this, anyway. What in the hell am I going to do?” I was starting to panic.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” Jake assured me and walked over to where I was standing. “Yes, you might be stuck here for a little while, but I’m not going to kick you out. I have plenty of food and water for both of us. And once the storm passes, I’ll get the generator going so we’ll have some power.” He reached out and gently placed his hands on my upper arms. “Go sit down in the living room, and I’ll bring you another cup of coffee.”

“Okay,” I agreed quietly. I felt like I was going to cry. Just the thought of being trapped somewhere with limited resources and no communication was far more upsetting than I ever imagined.

“Here you go,” Jake said and placed the warm mug in my hands.

“Thank you.”

He took a seat on the couch across from me. “We didn’t get a chance to talk much yesterday.”

“I don’t think there’s much to talk about.”

“Of course there is. I haven’t seen you in years. What have you been up to?”

Was he serious? After studying his face, clearly he was. Fine, if he wanted to act like nothing happened between us, I could, too.

“Nothing special. I finished college, got a job, met a man, and got engaged.” I wanted to slap my hand over my face. Why did I mention Brock? I’d either have to tell him what happened or pretend to still be happily engaged, neither of which sounded appealing.

“Congratulations,” he said, though he didn’t sound like he meant it.

“Uh, thanks.”

“So, what are you doing here?”

I sighed and figured I might as well tell him. If he somehow found out the truth later, I’d look like an idiot for lying to him. “I caught my fiancé cheating on me with my best friend.”

“Oh, Sarah—” he started.

“Stop right there. I don’t want or need sympathy.”

“So, you left town to decide what to do?”

“What? No! I left town the day before the evidence of their affair was displayed on five billboards around the city. I didn’t want to be around when the shit hit the fan.”

Jake laughed and tried to cover it with a cough. “Sorry. The cheating part isn’t funny, but the billboard part sure as hell is.”

I smiled proudly. “I thought it was clever. They can’t deny it or try to explain it away.”

“How long were you together?”

“Brock and I were together for two and a half years. Stacey and I were friends for seven years.”

“Oh, that sucks.”

“It does, and it doesn’t. There was always something about her that bothered me that I couldn’t put my finger on. Now I know what it was. She was jealous of me and wanted what I had.”

“You know what they say. If he’ll cheat with you, he’ll cheat on you.”

“Exactly,” I said and raised my mug as if I was going to make a toast. “I wish them well.”

“You seem to be doing okay, considering the circumstances.”

“I am, and it’s a little surprising. Deep down, I guess I knew something wasn’t right, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. I’m glad they forced me to. I should probably thank them.”

“Have you heard from anyone since the billboards went up?”

“Yes, and no. I turned my phone off before I got here and only turned it on long enough to text my dad about the storm. During that time, numerous messages came through, but I didn’t look at any of them. I turned it off when I was finished talking to Dad and haven’t turned it back on since.”

“So someone does know where you are?”

Something about his question concerned me. “Yes, my dad knows where I am. Why do you ask?”

“No reason. I was just wondering if everyone thought you disappeared into the ether after your discovery.”

I didn’t think that was why he asked, but I didn’t push him for another answer. Instead, I changed the subject. Or tried to. “Now that we’ve talked about me. What have you been up to?”

I wanted to take it back as soon as I asked. I didn’t want to hear about how wonderful his life had been since he dropped me like a bag of rocks.

“Nothing much. I moved into town for a couple of years. I decided it wasn’t for me and moved back.”

“Well, that’s boring.”

Unfortunately, my flippant remark backfired when he mistook it as me prodding for more information.

He sighed. “Fine. I was married for a few years. I found out she was cheating on me when she had a baby that was born with a blood type that wasn’t mine or hers. We got divorced, and I moved up here.”

“Hey, at least she wasn’t cheating with your friend.”

“How’s your foot taste?”

“No,” I gasped. “Really?”

“Yep. What a coincidence. We have a lot in common,” he said flatly.

The bastard. We’d always had a lot in common. That was part of what pulled us together. Until he pushed us apart.

“Well, that’s enough catching up for me,” I said and directed my attention to the closest window. Despite the amount falling, the snow was beautiful.

A loud crack sounded in the distance, followed by a low thud. King and I both jumped to our feet and looked around. “What was that?”

“A tree.”

“What?”

“That was the sound of a tree snapping and falling. I’m sure we’ll hear more.”

He was right. Minutes later, we heard the same sound again, followed by another, and another. It went on for what felt like hours. Some were louder than others, and some were downright terrifying.