Snow Bound: The Complete Story
Snow Bound
The Complete Story
by Julia P. Lynde
This is an omnibus version of the Snow Bound Series, originally published in five volumes of 10,000 words each. All five volumes can now be found in one tidy package. I originally wrote the story as separate volumes to encourage a break for reflection between the volumes.
I hope you enjoy the story of Sarah and Allison.
Julia
Table of Contents
Snow Bound
"Lady," the voice said insistently. "Don't move. You'll be okay, don't move."
Snow was coming in through the open car door, the ding, ding, ding ringing insistently, while a pair of soft hands pressed against my forehead for a moment. A face appeared in my field of vision.
I flashed back for a moment. I'd been foolish to set out for the cabin in the face of the blizzard, but I had thought I could get there before the worst of it hit. I really needed a weekend away, and my cabin on a remote lake in northern Minnesota would provide a needed respite. But the snow had come down sooner and harder than expected. The deer hadn't been part of my plans, either.
I'd missed the deer but gone off the road.
"Lady," said the voice. "My name is Sarah. What is yours?"
"Allison," I said. "Allison Crawford." I looked over to her. "There was a deer."
"I saw it," she said. "Allison, are you hurt? Can you feel your toes?"
"I'm fine," I told her. I wriggled my feet and my toes. "Can you help me back onto the road?"
"No way," she said. "Your car is buried in the snow. It's going to take a tow truck to get you out."
I looked out the car door, turning back the way I had come. The woman was standing in two feet of snow, and I couldn't see the highway behind me.
"I tried calling 9-1-1," Sarah said. "No signal."
I looked at her, still partly in a daze. She was mid-twenties with wild, flaming red hair. She was dressed in jeans and blouse with a white sweater over it. No jacket, hat or gloves.
"You are going to freeze," I told her.
"Let us worry about you," she replied. "My car is up on the highway. Do you think you can make it? It's not far."
I looked out the car door again. I'd have to climb the embankment. I turned to her and nodded.
"You can't see your car from the highway," she said. "When the plow comes through, it's going to be buried until spring. We should hang something in one of the trees to mark the spot."
"I don't have anything," I said.
She looked at me for a moment, considering, then nodded. I watched as she reached underneath her blouse and unsnapped her bra. She wriggled around for a minute then withdrew a bright red bra out the sleeve of her blouse and sweater. She grinned at me.
She stepped to one of the saplings in front of my car. She pulled one over carefully and wrapper her bra around the tip several times, then let it go. "There," she said when she got back to the car door. "That should attract some attention."
I smiled, agreeing with her.
"Allison," she said. "I'm getting cold. Are you okay now?"
I nodded and looked around my car. My purse had flown onto the floor on the passenger side. The car was nose down, and I was held in place by a secure seatbelt. I looked at Allison. "My chest hurts," I said.
"A lot?" she asked? "Or just bruising from the shoulder strap?"
"Bruising," I said. I fumbled for the release.
"Allison," she said, putting her hand over mine. "You're going to want to brace yourself. Feet on the floor, hands on the steering wheel. I'll release the buckle for you."
I did what she said. She reached down and unsnapped the buckle. It was a little difficult for her, but she released me. I would have fallen against the steering wheel if I hadn't been braced.
"Okay," she said. "Let's get you out of there."
"My purse," I said.
"I'll get it," she said. Slowly she helped me climb out of the car. Once she was sure I was steady, she crawled into the car and retrieved my purse, then turned the car off, killing the headlights. It suddenly grew quiet. She crawled from the car and closed the door.
It was slippery climbing up the embankment, and the snow was deep. She helped me up, and soon we were standing next to each other on the highway. I looked around.
The deer was long gone. I could see where I'd skidded off the highway and down the embankment, but the snow was rapidly covering the signs. Standing on the shoulder of the highway, I could see my car, but from the highway itself, you couldn't see it. Sarah's bright red bra was the only marker.
"Come on," she said. She pulled me across the highway to a waiting car, a beat up small SUV. She had left her car running with the flashers going. Sarah walked me to the passenger door, helped me into her car, handed me my purse, and buckled me in. She closed my door, then opened a back door and retrieved a car brush for cleaning snow and ice from the windows. She thoroughly cleaned the remnants from the windows and headlights of her car, then climbed in the driver side, tossing the brush into the back.
She turned to look at me. I stared at her. She was beautiful in a wild, unkempt way.
"Do I need to take you to a hospital?" she said. "I don't know where there is one."
"No," I told her. "I'm fine. I wasn't going that fast." I started to cry. "I'm not hurt, but I could have died. You saved my life."
She leaned over and hugged me. She was wet, but I didn't care. I cried onto her shoulder. "Hush," she said soothingly. "Shhh. No one was hurt, not even the stupid deer."
"No one drives this road," I said eventually. "Not in the winter. What were you doing out here?"
"Looking for a campgrounds," she replied. "There's a lake out here with a campgrounds."
"It's closed for the winter," I told her. "You were going to camp there? In this weather?"
She shrugged. "Home away from home," she replied with a smile. "Where should I take you?"
"My cabin?" I said. "It's just past the campgrounds." I paused. "With the snow, we might not be able to drive all the way."
She smiled. "This thing may not look like much, but she's got spirit, good tires, and four-wheel-drive!"
We turned around. She had missed the turnoff to the lake. She drove carefully but seemed calm and happy. I gave directions and we were soon on the road down to the lake. The snow was deep.
"Allison," she said. "I think your car would have gotten stuck." We were sliding around, but she was keeping her speed up. "I'm afraid to slow down or we'll get stuck, too."
"I think you're right," I told her. "Campsite coming up on the left," I told her. "My place is another half mile."
We drove past the Knotty Hills Campgrounds. I couldn't believe she'd intended to camp overnight. Maybe she would have slept in her car. I didn't want to distract her by asking.
After another couple of minutes I said, "It's coming up on the left. You're going to need to go slow."
She slowed down. "Next left," I said. She slowed down further and started to turn into the driveway to my cabin but stopped.
"I'm going to take a look," she said, climbing out. She walked to the entrance of my drive. The drive to my cabin from this point was downhill. It was steep right next to the road but flattened out eventually. You couldn't see the cabin from the road.
She climbed back into the car.
"How far is the cabin?"
"Quarter mile," I told her. "It's a big lot."
She looked at me. "If I drive down this road, I don't think I can get out. Will you be upset if I set up my tent in your yard until morning? I guess I'll have to shovel us out."
"You will do no such thing!" I told her. "You saved my life and I have a big cabin with plenty of guest beds. And I have a service that plows, but I don't know how soon they'll be out." I looked at her. "Your clothes are wet and you're starting to shiver. I'll build a fire and draw a bath for you."
Then I swore. "Damnit, I left my groceries in the trunk of the car."
She smiled. "I have groceries. A bath and a warm bed sounds lovely. I haven't slept in a real bed for a while."
I didn't ask her about that. "You may stay as long as you like," I told her. "I just came for the weekend, but I may stay a few extra days."
"All right, Allison," she said, putting the car in gear.
She drove slowly the rest of the way. We got stuck once, but both times she just backed the SUV up and gave a little run through the snow drift. I was impressed. We pulled up to the cabin. As soon as it came into view, she stopped the car and stared.
She turned to me. "We don't have a lot in common," she said. "Everything I own is in this car." She paused. "I'll sleep in my tent. I think I can make it back to the campgrounds."
"You will not!" I told her.
"Allison, you don't know me." She turned away and stared at the cabin again.
"Sarah, are you a killer?"
"What? No, of course not," she said.
"Thief? Are you going to steal me blind while I'm sleeping?"
She turned to me. "No."
"Rape me?"
She smiled and leered. "Only if you ask me to."
I stared at her and blushed, looking away.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I can't help being shocking sometimes. I told you, you don't know me."
"Can I trust you?" I asked her.
"Yes," she said. "But you don't know that. The camp grounds are fine."
"Sarah," I said. "Please pull up in front of the garage. I'll get out and open the door. You can park inside."
She stared at me for a moment then nodded and put the car back into gear. She pulled forward and stopped facing the garage. I grabbed my purse and got out to open the garage door. She got out with her snow brush and brushed the snow from her car, then climbed back in and pulled forward into the garage.
I followed her into the garage, turned on the overhead light, and hit the door to close the garage door. Sarah climbed out and turned to me. "Allison," she said. "I'll be fine-"
"Are we still having that discussion? I thought that was settled. Do you have a change of clothes? If not, I can loan you something while we wash and dry your wet things."
She looked away. I watched her, again overcome by how beautiful she was. Did she know the effect she had on people? I couldn't believe she didn't, but she seemed oblivious to the way I was staring at her. Finally she looked back at me. "I'm not used to asking anyone for anything," she said.
"You're not asking, I'm offering," I replied. "Please, grab your things. Do you need help? Come inside. I'll make a fire."
"You have a laundry? May I use it?" Her voice was small.
I stepped past her and walked to the back of her SUV. I fumbled with it but eventually got the door open. I found a well-used backpack, the type that hikers use, and a lonely sack of groceries. That was it. She wasn't looking at me. I walked back to her and she was blushing.
"I should leave," she said. There wasn't much conviction in her voice.
"Are you playing games with me?" I asked her. "That's really everything you own? An old SUV and a backpack?"
"My laptop and photo gear are on the back seat." She turned to me. "I don't need a handout. I'm doing fine."
"I'm not judging, Sarah," I said. I turned my back on her and returned to the back of her SUV. I pulled her backpack to the edge of the hatch and slipped the straps over my shoulder. It was heavy, but I could carry it as far as the laundry. I stepped away from the SUV, slammed the doors closed, and walked into the cabin.
Sarah collected the things from her back seat and followed after me.
* * *
"May I use your laundry?" she said again. "I've been washing in the snow."
I didn't say anything. I had no idea what her story was, but she wasn't leaving until I got it out of her.
I understood her reaction. The cabin was ostentatious. It was a business expense. I hosted retreats here for my clients. I could put up myself plus five more couples comfortably, for which they paid me an enormous amount of money.
The entrance from the garage entered into the kitchen via a laundry room. I didn't have to carry the backpack far, but once I got there, I realized I'd drop it if I tried to set it down. I turned to her. "Laundry is right here," I said. "But I think I need help with the backpack."
She smiled. I turned around, and she helped me ease it to the ground. I stepped past her, turned off the garage light, and closed the door. I turned to her. "Let me show you around, then we can get you out of your wet clothes. I'll loan you a robe. Bath first, then laundry?"
"Hot bath?" she asked.
"With bubbles," I told her.
She peeled off her sweater and dropped it on the washer, then knelt down and pulled off her boots. She left them neatly by the door and stood up.