Page 9 of Wild in Minnesota

No Strings Attached

S he left for the store as I sat in the ice shack, still smelling her perfume, licking my lips like a lunatic trying to taste her cherry Chapstick.

What was I doing? She was Dave’s sister.

It was so wrong, but she felt so right. Is that a song title?

It should be. Anyway, I couldn’t quite wrap my brain around the carefree woman who could hula hoop, guzzle beer, stitch up a dude, and want a make-out session with no strings attached.

A dream come true was what she just might be.

Since I’d been with her, my brain hadn’t gone dark. The dread and despair were MIA, leaving me feeling at ease for the first time in what felt like forever. Because of her.

The one woman I couldn’t have, for multiple reasons, was the single person who’d flipped a switch. Her even being gone for the past eighteen minutes had something pulling in me. Stop watching the clock, jackass!

Once back in the house, the chili was done so I plopped on the couch and flipped through some channels. But my mind was still in the fishing shack with the girl I couldn’t have. The words made me want her more.

I stopped on a local channel where an alert banner crawled across the bottom of the screen as meteorologist Matt Kirkle stood in front of a weather map.

“We apologize for interrupting regular programming. There’s a severe weather watch in the area ahead of the forecasted one to three inches of snow tonight.

We’ve got some unexpected freezing rain that’s started in outlying areas, and the roads are becoming treacherous. ”

A pounding in my temples as visions of Fern maneuvering the icy highway shot in full force. How could I have been stupid enough to turn off the alerts on my phone?

“We’re advising no travel in the rural areas outside of Stillwater. It’s getting dangerous out there, folks. Stay safe and stay home.”

I dialed her number to hear ringing as her phone sat on the coffee table. Shit.

Five minutes later, I was creeping down the highway. The roads were bad, but I made my way slowly into town and to the craft store. This was Minnesota. It wasn’t uncommon for ice to arrive before a little snow, but I hadn’t seen a layer this thick in some time.

The past and the present swarmed together as a tightness in my center formed at the thought of her being in trouble and me not getting to her in time.

The cabin was a good twenty minutes from town, but it took me closer to fifty to get there with no sight of Fern. I thought that was good until I went through every aisle in the store, and she wasn’t there. I asked the woman at the cash register to page her, but no response.

When I described Fern, she gave me a warm smile, indicating I’d given an overly in-depth description with the words beautiful and special seeming to shoot out of my mouth too frequently. I left my number in case she arrived and nearly begged to her call me if she did.

I dialed the landline at my cabin with no answer as I tried to control the panic that was raging in me like a storm. My truck dashboard said the temp was fifteen degrees, again normal for February, but not if you were stuck somewhere because of ice.

Highway 370 weaved around curves with forests on both sides and could be tricky even in good weather conditions.

The visibility was getting worse as the snow picked up, and my eyes searched more frantically as the seconds ticked by.

Images of her alone and scared in a strange place was strangling me. Please God, let me find her.

Six miles later, there was a kick in my chest when a piece of the guardrail along the highway was missing. I slowed to a stop and forgot to breathe when I saw her car. It had gone down a steep, wooded ravine and run into a tree, which was a good thing as a lake was just beyond where she was.

I slid my way down to her and could see the car had hit the tree with force, as the hood was wrinkled and pushed back nearly to the windshield.

When I finally reached the driver’s door, I looked inside to see her behind the wheel, with her face in her hands.

I tapped on the window, and she jumped, looking over with tears streaming down her cheeks.

I tried to open the door, but it was jammed. I yanked hard, and it opened halfway as she wiped her face. “Gabe.”

I shot her a calm grin. “Please tell me you at least grabbed us the pizza?”

She cracked a little smile.

“Give me your hand.”

“I can’t get out. My legs are stuck under the dash.”

Her teeth were chattering. I took off my coat and wrapped it around her shoulders before leaning down to take a look. It was smashed down pretty good. “This is not a big deal, really kind of a pussy accident if I do say so myself.”

Her giggle wrapped around me.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to push like hell on the dash, and the second you can, pull your legs out. You ready?”

She nodded, and the fear in her eyes grabbed me by the throat.

“Here we go.”

I pushed up on the dash with all my might, very aware of the colorful words shooting out of me. The tree holding the car let out a loud crack, and we were both aware that if the tree fell, the car would roll into the lake.

Her eyes were wide. “What if the tree breaks?—”

“I think I can get it in one more push.”

Her tears broke my heart.

“I’ve got this. I promise.”

She nodded, and I pushed up. A few seconds later, she pulled her feet free as breaking wood echoed around us.

“I’ve got you.” I helped her stand, “It’s steep. You get on my back, and I’ll get us out of here.”

“I think I’m okay to walk?—”

“Let me help you.” I wiped her eyes and shot her a wink. “We both know you’re the badass who beat me up so at least let me get you to my SUV. I think you kind of owe me that.”

I got her on my back as the wet frigid snow covered us. I felt her shaking as I climbed my way up to my vehicle. I put her in the passenger seat as her teeth continued chattering.

She closed her eyes. “Well, this blows.”

“Agreed.” I grabbed my emergency blanket from under the seat and wrapped it around her.

I went around to the driver’s side, and once inside, I looked over to see her wipe her face before looking at me. The shock in her eyes wound something tight in me.

I reached over and pulled her as close as possible so our legs were touching before I kissed her lips.

I buckled her seatbelt as silence filled the space between us for a long minute.

Something was happening that I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around, but there was an unexpected connection between us.

We pulled up to the cabin. I hopped out and opened her door. “I’m going to carry you in.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Now don’t be a pain in the ass. The dash was crushing your legs. Let’s just get you inside for now.”

She looked exhausted as I scooped her up, her body still shaking something fierce. I took her straight up to my bathroom and set her on the vanity. I felt a panic to get the sweet, smart-ass Fern back. Seeing her distraught put a weight on my chest.

“I need to check your legs. Take off your pants.” Okay, I could’ve thought through that sentence before spitting it out.

A giggle snuck through her chattering teeth. “First of all, you will not get me out of my pants. Secondly, if you remember correctly, I’m a nurse, and I can feel my legs are, well, most likely okay.”

“You either let me check out your legs, or I drive you to a hospital right now.” I raised my brows.

“Secondly, at some point, you’ll beg me to get you out of your pants.

” Shit, did I say that aloud? Was another punch on the way?

The words cut through the air as she inhaled deeply, which I liked very much.

I grabbed my navy and green plaid bathrobe from the hook behind the door and placed it next to her. “I’m going to get your suitcase so you can get some dry clothes. You put this on so we can assess those legs.”

She just sat there blinking at me so I guessed she was in agreement?

When I returned a few minutes later, she sat on the countertop wearing my bathrobe that was huge on her and made me weak in the knees because her wet clothes were on the other side of the vanity.

I knew she was naked under there. NAKED IN MY ROBE.

“Let me take a peek at your legs.”

“You’re bossy.” She lifted her legs and pulled the robe up, MY ROBE, with her legs as nude as the day she was born. Pull your head out of the gutter!

My stomach tightened when I saw the purple bruises forming under both her knees, screaming how hard she’d hit the tree. “Oh, baby.”

Her cheeks grew rosy at my words.

“Any pain in your neck or a headache?” I reached out and put my hands at the base of her neck as she turned her head side to side.

“Headache, yes.”

“I have Tylenol or some muscle relaxers from an injury I had last year if you want to try one.”

“Yes, please.”

I leaned in close. “Dr. Gabe is just checking your pupils for dilation.”

“Impressive.” she whispered. “You know your shit.”

“Yes, I do. I’ve lost many brain cells over the years from my head injuries.”

“That explains a lot.”

“Truth.” I leaned in, and those baby blues zapped me. Beautiful, stunning, icy, and I loved them. Wait, no, not loved them. I did not love them. What I meant was that I liked them in the appropriate amount for someone I found hot as hell but had only known a short time. Delete the word love .

Luckily, the eyes I only liked seemed normal.

When I shifted my gaze, her look seemed to speak to me as she put her arms around my waist and pulled me close.

She rested her head on my chest and inhaled deeply.

All sorts of things were shifting, and I didn’t know what to make of it, but I also knew I didn’t want to move an inch. Ever.

Regretfully, she pulled away.

“I’ll turn on the bath water, and you take a hot soak. I’ll toss your clothes in the dryer and grab the meds for you.”