One of the things that her grandmother included in renting the cabin was the use of towels, sheets, and blankets. No one had been in the cabin all winter, so Harper hadn't had a chance to bring the freshly laundered linens up to the cabin before Nash Webber had arrived. She had intended to give him all the things he needed when he'd stopped by the station during lunch. But he hadn't come during lunch. And when he had come, the phones had been ringing off the hook and she'd forgotten.
“Wouldn’t you know the storm is going to be a twenty-year storm,” she said to herself.
She grabbed her snowbrush and slammed the trunk shut. As she began clearing the snow off her car, she thought about the time and the amount of accumulation that had already fallen.
The temperature was dropping and Nash was going to need a good blanket even if he managed to get the woodstove going. Surely she had time to take a quick drive up the mountain to drop off all the linens he needed and then drive back down before the storm got any worse. Her car had all-wheel drive. It wasn't as if she was an out-of-town virgin driver on these roads either. She knew them well, and she knew that mountain road.
Not bothering to open the trunk again, she took the wet brush and tossed it on the floor in the back seat of her car. Then she climbed inside and turned on the engine.
She quickly called home. When her grandmother answered, she said, “Grandma, I have an errand to run before I head home.”
“Now? In this weather?”
“It shouldn’t take too long. Is everything okay there?”
“Of course. I’m fine. You be careful driving.”
“I will. I’ll see you soon.”
She hung up the phone and put the car into reverse. Then she glanced behind her as she pulled out of her parking space. She’d take it slow.
But when she got to the mountain road leading to the cabin, Harper was kicking herself for forgetting to give Nash the linens and having to do it now. The main roads were plowed. But the mountain road still had a layer of snow that was getting deeper by the minute. She saw the fresh ruts in the snow most likely caused when Nash headed up to the cabin. By the look of the tracks, he’d been hauling something. A trailer of some sort by the way it was fishtailing on the road. It was most likely filled with supplies and equipment Nash needed for his research.
Harper thought more than a few times about turning back. Nash had all the info he needed to run the water and for using the solar system for the cabin. He was a scientist. A good-looking scientist at that. He could figure it out.
Her grandmother told Harper that he’d spent a good deal of time overseas working as a survivalist in some remote part of the world. Montana was probably nothing for someone like him. Certainly not as exotic or interesting as a jungle or a remote island. He’d probably be fine.
As she tried to her convince herself turning back was the smartest thing she could do, she decided she couldn’t leave him there without a blanket. Say he managed to get the solar system going, it didn’t provide heat. He’d need the wood stove for that and given the amount of snow they had, she couldn’t guarantee the wood would light, if he even had a set of matches to light it with.
No, she couldn’t take the chance. The weather report she’d heard on the drive over was already talking about bad weather that could knock them all off the grid for days. If the storm got that bad, it meant it would be days before anyone could get up the mountain to help him.
It wasn't unheard of for Montana to have a sudden snowstorm late in the season, sometimes even into June. The people in town had provisions for this and neighbors always helped neighbors in times of crisis.
But Nash wasn't from this area. He wasn't from Montana. He knew no one in town except for her and her grandmother. She couldn’t leave him stranded up on the mountain even if he was a survivalist.
The back tires slid for a second, but she corrected herself. She was even glad for the ruts in the snow that Nash’s truck had created because it made it easier to see where she was going. But she’d be losing light soon, so she had to hurry. The drive down would be faster than going up, but it would be more treacherous.
The snow was beautiful. But just last week, she and Hattie, one of her friends in town, had been talking about how blue that big Montana sky was and how they were waiting for the first signs of wildflowers and huckleberry. The annual Fire and Police Department’s potluck was in just a few weeks and they’d always had good weather for that.
She was about two thirds of the way up the mountain road when a thought occurred to her. What if he wasn’t even there when she reached the cabin? Maybe he’d seen the forecast and decided to stay in town for the night so he wouldn’t be stranded.
“You think too much, Harper,” she said to herself. “If he’s not there, leave the bag with linens and a note by the door and he’ll get it when he returns. Simple.”
Her mind wandered as she drove. She’d forgotten to tell her grandmother to put the flashlight next to her and take the extra batteries out of the cabinet in case she needed them before she got home.
She sighed and leaned forward in her seat to see the road better through all the snow. Her wiper blades were swooshing back and forth, but they couldn’t keep up.
Her grandfather had bought this cabin years before her mother was born. She’d visited it many times when she was a child with her grandparents and then her mother and father. Her grandmother used to say that the cabin was a little piece of heaven where her grandpa could be a little devil if he needed to be.
She barely remembered her grandpa. He’d died of a heart attack when Harper was very young. Her grandmother had never remarried because she said that he was her one and only. And she couldn’t go back to the cabin because the memories were too painful. But she couldn’t let it go either.
It had been painful for her mother to see the cabin remain empty and become rundown. So Harper's father and mother worked on it and brought Harper and her sister, Gail, up to the cabin a couple of times during the summer. The rest of the time her grandmother used her business skills to rent out the property so she could keep up the taxes and have a little bit of extra income to supplement her retirement.
Her sister had moved to Great Falls a few years ago and rarely came to visit. Their parents were now gone, something that was hard to ignore as she drove the road up to the cabin they’d spent so much time at as a family. That left Harper to take care of her invalid grandmother, which Harper didn't mind. She loved her grandmother. It was just a worry and left little time for other things. Especially on days like this.
The higher up the mountain she got, the more snow covered the road and it became hard to navigate her car. Her car usually performed well in the snow. She turned off the radio and turned on the dispatch scanner. She was off work and didn't need to hear the calls coming in regarding accidents and police dispatch. On days like this, all of the police officers were called in for duty or least put on call in case something big happened that needed attention. Harper had learned a long time ago that if she wanted to know what was going on in town, the best way to find out was to listen to the police scanner.
She took her eyes off the road to adjust the buttons for just a second and when she looked back up, an elk was standing in the middle of the road. She’d been going slow enough, but given the road conditions, she was no match for an elk who had stopped dead right in front of her.
Her reflexes took over logic. She slammed on her brakes to avoid hitting the elk head on and slid sideways on the road. She overcompensated, directing the car until she started to fishtail and go sideways again, moving dangerously close to the side of the road where she knew there was a big drop off.
Her heart was in her chest, and blood pumped wildly through her veins as she saw tree after tree. But it was all happening so fast that she couldn't comprehend everything. A tree. The elk. A drop off. And then, she was going over the side of the embankment and sliding.
Terror froze her in place with her hands white-knuckling the steering wheel. The car was rolling down. The world in front of her spun out of control as she tumbled down the embankment. Things were hitting her body and her head and she banged against the inside of the car even though she was securely belted in her seat. And then she abruptly stopped.
It took a few seconds for her to catch her breath and to see in front of her. Adrenaline raced through her body. She had an odd sensation and then realized she wasn’t sitting upright. She was on her side and the weight of her body was pulling against the seatbelt.
It hurt to move her head, but she forced herself to so she could get her bearings. She turned to the right and saw a big drop. The car was propped up by a few trees that weren't taken down by her car rolling down the mountain.
She had to get out of the car in case the trees gave way. The only problem was that she was stuck. Everything was quiet and cold and serene at the same time. Reaching her hand up to her head, she felt wetness on her fingers. Her stomach rolled as if the car was still moving and she felt dizzy. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d sat there with her eyes closed. The car was getting cold and she began to shiver. But the stars she’d seen when she’d bumped her head were gone and she didn’t feel dizzy like she was going to pass out.
Someone was chopping…or knocking. She wasn’t sure.
Harper opened her eyes and saw Nash Webber at the driver’s side window. He was knocking lightly on the door and calling to her.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
So much was confusing to Harper. She was on her side and felt heavy. Her seatbelt dug into her shoulder and her side. When she opened her eyes wide and peered out the passenger window, she saw nothing but mounds of snow and small trees that were growing in a funny direction. She turned back, looked out the driver’s side window again, and focused on the position Nash was in. His hand was not on the car at all. He was holding some sort of a strap that was tethered to something somewhere Harper couldn't see. Her shoulder felt as if it was on fire.
“I’m…I'm okay,” she said. She was okay. If she felt pain, then she was alive. That was something.
“Don't move. Not at all. I want you to take your instruction only from me. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Nash disappeared for a few minutes. At least it seemed like only a few minutes. She was starting to feel the pain in her head and time was a little sketchy. She saw strange shadows in front of her but it didn't make any sense. Then she realized her headlights were on and she could see some light against the snowflakes that were falling. It was getting darker. And that was odd. She hadn't expected it to get dark for least another half hour. How long had she been like this? She reached her hand out and touched the heat register. It was cold. It had been blasting heat just fine while she’d been driving.
“Can you try to unlock the door?” Nash asked, suddenly appearing in the driver side window again.
Confused at his position, she leaned forward as best she could to look out. Her head was swimming so badly she slumped back against the headrest and closed her eyes.
She heard the knock on the window again. When she opened her eyes Nash appeared a bit panicked. “Stay with me. Don't go to sleep.”
Asleep? Why on earth would she sleep in her car?
“Make sure you stay still,” Nash said. “If you can reach the lock, unlock the door and I will open it. You’re going to feel a burst of cold air hit you, but don’t worry, and don’t move. Do you understand?”
Cold air. Yes, she was cold. She turned her head and nodded.
“Here we go,” Nash said.
He yanked on her door but it wouldn't budge. “Did you unlock the door?”
She reached her hand up and it felt strangely heavy. Then she fumbled around the door armrest until she found the button that unlocked the door. As soon as she did, she closed her eyes and rested her head against the headrest again as if that one small move had zapped all of her energy. Her head was resting in an odd position. She felt as if she was floating.
Within a few seconds, she heard the door open and then the rush of cold air Nash had mentioned. Wet snow came into the car along with the cold air, shocking her skin and her senses.
“You had quite a tumble down that embankment. You're very lucky,” Nash said. She watched him as he did a quick check of her arms and neck and then looked at her head. It felt so weird to have a man touching her like this. When his hands reached her thigh, she pushed his hand away.
“Hey. Knock that off.”
She heard his low chuckle. “I'm not getting funny with you. I promise. Just checking to see if you have any broken bones. The more you're able to help me, the quicker we’ll be able to get you out of this car and up to safety.”
“Up?”
“Looks like you rolled a few times down this embankment before these trees caught you. You took down a lot of young saplings along the way. But these two trees were sturdy enough to hold the car which is good, because if you had gotten any further along things could've ended…differently.”
“What are you talking about?” She opened her eyes and turned her head to the passenger side, blinking her eyes to focus. The snow was coming down hard but in an instant she suddenly understood. The car had rolled down the embankment and was dangerously close to going over a cliff.
“Oh my goodness. I could have…”
“But you didn't. And you're going to be safe in a few minutes.”
“You mean, I’m not now?”
“Let’s get you out of this car and hooked up to the harness that I’ve secured at the top of the hill. It’ll help us climb up.”
“I don't think... I don't know if I can.”
He was busy doing something. She wasn’t sure he was even paying attention to her ramblings. But then he turned and looked straight into her eyes.
“Much as I'd love to make this easier for you, I can't,” he said gently. “The only way out of here is to climb. I’ll help you. But you’re going to have to listen to me. The more you can do without hurting yourself further, the easier it will be for both of us.”
“There was an elk,” she said.
“I saw the tracks. I need to strap you into the harness. If you can’t handle that, or if you feel pain when you move, I’ll have to strap you to my back and climb that way.”
She frowned and it hurt. She tested her head with her fingers again, rubbing the spot where it throbbed. Her fingers were sticky.
“Is that blood?” she asked, glancing at her fingers.
“We’ll deal with that later.”
“I’m going to move my arm behind you to put this harness on. Don't you worry,” he said, reaching behind her in the seat and running a strap behind her. “I'll do most of the work. Just don't faint on me or pass out or it’ll make this tougher. Is it a deal?”
She turned to look at him and squinted trying to pull in all his features and get a grip on where she was. “My grandmother is alone.”
“You can worry about your grandmother later. Let's just worry about you for now.”
She heard something snap. When she looked down in front of her, she realized Nash had somehow managed to put the harness on her without her knowing. That's when panic set in.
“I don't know if I can do this.”
“One way or another we have to.” He reached behind himself and he tugged on a second line. “I'm going to undo your seatbelt now and you're going to feel your body being pulled away from your seat. But don't worry. The harness is strong and you won’t fall. I’ve got you.”
She forced her eyes to stay open, not even realizing they drifted closed. She was so tired all of the sudden.
“Ready?” Nash asked.
She nodded and immediately regretted doing so as the dizziness from the motion made her head swim.
When Nash abruptly released the seatbelt, she felt her body instantly fall a few inches, making her insides fill with panic and her eyes fly open wide. Pain pierced her thigh. Her hands reached the steering wheel and gripped it. But she felt Nash’s arm snake around her waist and pull her towards him.
“You’re okay. Now let’s take it one leg at a time. I want you to turn your body so you're facing me and then lift your legs out of the car. It's okay if they dangle because I have you. You’re going to feel your body fall back a little, but don’t worry. I won't let you fall. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” She held on to each word he said and did as he told her.
“Okay one leg at a time.”
Her legs felt like lead and it was hard to lift them. It took considerable effort for her to lift her left leg and get it free from under the steering wheel. As she tried to do her right leg, Nash maneuvered her body sideways until both of her feet were outside the car.
“I’m going to place my hand behind your neck because I don't know if you have whiplash or were injured in any way. I don’t have a collar or I’d put one on you. Do you feel any pain in your neck?”
She shook her head.
“I don't want your head to snap back, so I’ll keep my hand there. I want to make sure you don't bump your head coming free of the car. So I want you to listen to me carefully. Try to put yourself in a fetal position, you know, with your head pulled forward and your knees to your chest. I know this will be hard, but it’ll make it easier.”
She listened to each instruction, and moved slowly. His voice was calm and patient, something that was so much the opposite of what she was feeling as the gravity of what had happened to her began to sink in fully.
“This is the toughest part,” he said. “And we have to do it fast because I’m not sure how long these trees will hold you here.”
“Oh, joy. It gets worse?”
He chuckled low. “Hopefully not. I want you to put your arms around my shoulders and hold on as tight as you can. When I move your body to get you free of the car the door is going to swing shut with gravity. Do you understand?”
A branch snapped and her car slid an inch or two lower, moving Nash further away.
“That didn’t sound good.”
“It’s not. Let’s do this. Now!”