Chapter 2
- 2 days ago
- 9 min read
Snowed In with a Bigfoot, a Yeti, & a Werewolf
by Honey Cummings
The familiar buzzing of a cell phone and wolf whistle notification tone stirred Wilma from her sleep. Her head was pounding, her body sore. Another buzz and wolf whistle forced her to roll where she slept tucked in a cover on a couch. Blinking, eyes blurry, the sleep faded from them until she found herself staring at a fire crackling in a fireplace. Light slanted in from the front windows of the cabin. Another wolf whistle sounded again, sharp and from across the room. Goosebumps rolled over her skin as she realized someone stood by the door, eyes glowing amber in the corner where he stood. Unlike last night, Lucan’s red locks fell in thick waves across his shoulders where he squatted.
“I think my whistle sounds better, don’t you, Ms. Hart?” Lucan mused as a chill snaked up her spine.
“How do you know my name?” Wilma sat up slow, unwilling to take her eyes off him to search for her cell phone now blasting Chopin’s Minute Waltz. “Who are you?”
“First off,” He pointed to the ground next to where she sat, arching a brow. “Your luggage tag has your name and so did the drivers license in your wallet.”
Her eyes fell to the pile off to the side of the couch. On the side table her phone buzzed and flashed Mille and on the ground there was her luggage, purse, and even her water bottle that had been rolling around in the backseat for months.
“Oh,” she managed to take it all in.
“I’m Lucan.” He chuckled as she twisted to look back his way. “And the big guy who rescued you is Boone. He’s trying to figure out what to do about your car.”
“Oh,” she repeated as the ringtone continued to play, keeping the awkward silence at bay.
Shaking his head, he half laughed. “Are you going to pick up the phone?”
“Oh, yea… yea.” Wilma reached for it, but Mille had gone to voicemail. “Shit.”
“Did you hit your head or something?” Lucan stood up, stepping into the light she realized he was in jeans and had on a laid open red flannel shirt.
“Oh.” Her eyes dipped, the muscled torso putting all her ex-lovers to shame.
“I can take it all off, if you want?” Lucan gave her a wild grin.
The door swung open and a large burly man, the lumberjack, came in and slammed it shut. “Keep your fucking pants on, Lucan. Tenzin is coming this way.”
Lucan rubbed his jaw. “And there goes all my fun…”
Boone looked at her and his expression softened. “I imagine you feel rough this morning from the looks of the car.” He swallowed, scratching his beard. “It’s going to be a few days for the snow to melt so a tow truck can make it up this way. That, or I can get Tenzin…”
“Tenzin to get his hands dirty,” Lucan scoffed. “I’d pay to see that shit. Why do you think he hired me last summer, huh?”
“Um, I’m going to make a call.” Wilma pressed the call back button for Mille.
It rang twice before the familiar song-toned saying belted, “Where are you?”
“A cabin on a mountain,” drawled Wilma.
“You were supposed to call me … when you got there,” fussed Mille.
“I crashed my car,” answered Wilma as she eyed the two rather different but equally attractive men watching her.
“Oh my god, are you ok?” Mille’s playful tone shifted to concern.
Wilma wasn’t sure how to start. “A lumberjack and a…”
“Handyman,” Boone offered and held a hand up to silence the grinning red head beside him.
“Right, handyman, saved me?” Wilma scanned Boone, trying to figure out why she was so certain he looked like Bigfoot last night. “I was a bit delirious last night and passed out.”
“You sound like you're in a Honey Cummings’ story.” Mille fell silent before the giggling started. “Are they both hot?”
“Mille. This is serious.” Wilma pinched her nose, another pause. “I can’t say anything at the moment, but I will text you later.”
“Oh, so they are. Send pics,” Mille insisted. “How bad is the car?”
“Well, they are saying it’ll need a tow truck but we’re snowed in,” confessed Wilma. “I just hope Granny Anderson is ok.”
“Wait, snowed in? How?” The sound of the tip-tap of her fingers flying for answers via a keyboard resounded. “Wow. You have the worst luck, Wilma. A freak snowstorm in the mountains, huh?”
“Yea. Let me make some more calls.” Wilma gave a defeated sigh.
“I want pictures,” reminded Mille.
“Yes ma’am.” Wilma squinted her eyes at Boone as he pushed Lucan into the kitchen. “Talk later, girl!”
Wilma started looking over the other missed messages as she kept glancing up to see where the two strange men had gone. The sounds of the sink running and things clanking were drowning out the hushed whispers. Part of her wanted to go spy on them, but she stopped on the last and very strange text from her grandmother.
[GRANNY ANDERSON: Did you make it to the cabin? Have you met Tenzin yet?]
Wilma’s anger rose and she called her immediately. The phone rang a few times. As soon as she picked up the phone, Wilma blurted, “What do you mean by have you met Tenzin yet?”
“Good morning to you too, dear.” Her grandmother seemed unphased.
“Granny, you said this was where you lived and that you needed help!” Wilma stood, the blanket falling to the ground as she began pacing the room, holding her head. “I crashed my car! Some Bigfoot-sized lumberjack had to rescue me last night!”
“Boone’s there?” Her grandmother fell silent, mumbling something about a spell. “Not Tenzin?”
“Apparently he’s on his way, and I get the feeling he’s going to be very ang-”
The door swung open and Wilma dropped her phone, startled.
“Oh, you are all in a lot of trouble starting with you.”
A cold breeze blew in and the tall dark man towered over her. His eyes narrowed, doing nothing to quell the ice blue irises that picked her apart. He was dressed in a business suit, a long scarf flapped in the breeze before he slammed the door shut, making her yelp. It was clear the snowstorm had started up once more. Inhaling, his eyes dilated and a growling sound rolled from his chest like a thunderstorm brewing deep at his core.
“Wilma?” Granny called out from the phone on the floor. “Tenzin?”
Sighing, Tenzin reached down and answered her grandmother in a stern, deep voice. “Mrs. Anderson. I should have known you were involved.”
Wilma couldn’t hear what was unfolding as Tenzin brushed past her and marched for the kitchen. She stood, shock and confusion locking her legs in place. The man was gorgeous with stark white hair, but the commotion in the kitchen made her cringe. Anyone could mistake it for wild dogs growling and snarling at one another.
“What the fuck are you two buffons doing in my fucking house with the mountain witch’s granddaughter in tow,” Tenzin roared, the rage icy. “You could have brought her to your place on the other side of the fucking mountain, Boone!”
“She was cold,” Boone boomed back.
“Why are you cooking shit on my stove,” demanded Tenzin.
“Because she’s hungry,” offered Boone.
Lucan interjected with, “But it’s cute when her stomach grumbles.”
“Shut the fuck up Lucan!” Boone and Tenzin roared in unison.
Lucan threw up his hands, turning to gnaw on a piece of bacon.
“This is my territory, my home, Boone.” Tenzin dropped the cell phone on the table, already having hung up on Granny Anderson. “I don’t care if this all unfolded from her meddling, you had options and this wasn’t one of them and you know it!”
Boone ignored Tenzin as he finished plating bacon, toast, and eggs beside a cup of coffee. “Ms. Hart, do you like sugar and cream in your coffee? Come eat, and warm up.” It was a command, and his rumbling voice broke her frozen state and Wilma rushed to take a seat. “Well?”
“Two sugars, three creams–Not sure what that actually means outside the Starbucks.” Wilma scanned the room, the tension and burning glare from Tenzin on the dismissive Boone impressive. She watched as Boone sashayed to the fridge and pulled out a carton of creamer, the clinking of the stirring spoon the only sound in the room other than what distinctly sounded like growling animals. Every hair on her neck and arms were standing on end. Something about these three men was off, wrong, and almost damn near supernatural. Wilma dropped her eyes back to the plate of hot food and on cue her stomach grumbled.
“Aww, I can listen to that sound all day,” Lucan cooed, propping his chin in a palm as his amber eyes locked onto her, complete with a fanged smirk. “Eat, please, I want to watch.”
Boone thunked Lucan on the back of the head. “Go fetch firewood.”
“But I’m going to miss out on her eating,” Lucan pleaded.
“That’s the point,” retorted Boone. “Stop being a creep.”
Lucan huffed and left the kitchen behind her.
“Besides, who wants you gawking at them eating,” Tenzin marvelled, before dragging a hand over his face. “Boone, I trust you have some logical explanation for this shitshow in my cabin.”
“Yea, I’m not a fucking yeti who can traverse a snowstorm.” Boone kept his voice calm.
“But why were you on my side of the mountain,” pressed Tenzin, taking a step closer towering over Boone, ignoring the offer of coffee. “Explain yourself.”
Sighing, Boone slid into a seat not returning the aggression as he stirred his own coffee at the table. “Ms. Hart, I would eat before it gets cold.”
Nodding, Wilma began to chop up the scrambled eggs and slid the first bite between her lips. A hot breath washed over her shoulder, and she froze, swallowing her food.
“Good girl,” rumbled Lucan’s whisper in her ear. “Eat. You’ll need the energy for later, my moonshine.”
Before she could turn to face Lucan, he was at the door tugging on his coat. “You both owe me,” barked Lucan in annoyance. “Why do I have to do this when I have the least amount of fur, huh? I’m not built like you two apes.” He spoke loud, whining to deaf ears as Boone and Tenzin glared at one another like lions preparing for a territory war. “No one touches her until I get back.”
“What?” Wilma’s silverware clattered against the plate and his words broke the pissing contest. “What does that mean?” She swung back to the other two, Boone and Tenzin. “What do you plan to do with me?”
“Nothing!” Boone waved his hands. “The mutt’s out of his damn mind!”
“Unbelievable,” guffawed Tenzin. “Does he not respect me as the fucking alpha?”
“You’re not in a pack,” drawled Boone. “Lucan’s a lone wolf, and the fact he’s behaving at all with that scent…” Boone shut his mouth as they looked her way.
“That scent.” Tenzin’s nostrils flared. “She needs to go before…” He stopped himself short as well.
Dread filled Wilma.
“I need help pulling her car out of the trees,” Boone expressed. “Or one of us will have to carry her down the mountain through the snow dunes.”
Tenzin looked to the ceiling, searching for solutions. “We’ll wait for it to melt down and get a tow truck out. She can stay here in the meantime.”
With both men looking away, she stole a sniff under one arm then the other, mumbling, “Do I really smell that bad?”
“Alone with you, absolutely not,” Boone chuffed.
“She stays, and the rest of you get the fuck out,” Tenzin declared.
“I am not leaving her alone with you or Lucan,” Boone insisted. “It’s not like you’ll take care of her at all.”
“Why should I,” reeled Tenzin. “She’s a grown ass woman!”
“Um, do I get a say in any of this?” Wilma scowled. “Yes, I crashed. Yes, Granny sent me here for some strange reason like some crazed matchmaker. And no, I don’t want to be left alone with any of you.” Stomach growling, she began to eat angrily, talking between bites and gulps. “I didn’t ask for this either. Don’t get me wrong, it’s any girl’s wet dream to be snowed in a cabin with three wildly hot guys, but this… not this bullshit. I don’t know what territorial alphahole shit is happening up here in the mountains, but leave me out of it.”
“Yes ma’am.” Boone blinked before the corner of his mouth kicked up. “Whatever you say, Ladybug.”
“Ladybug?” Wilma arched her brow.
“You were lucky you didn’t fall off the mountain last night when I was on my way home from the logging camp.” Sipping his coffee, Boone then added, “Ladybugs are lucky, you know.”
“Right.” Wilma went to fork more eggs to find she had engulfed them already. “And this smell…” Her face flushed at confessing maybe she was smelling off, though maybe she was sweating during the crash or in her sleep. “I guess if I can use your shower, Tenzin?”
Tenzin’s eyes bounced over her and she shuddered at the way he seemed to pick her apart at a glance. “Sure. Up the stairs there’s a master bedroom on the left with a full bath. Be sure to push and lock the door, or you may find Lucan sneaking in to join you.”
“Funny,” she took a sip of coffee then choked on it. “You’re serious about that?”
Boone and Tenzin nodded.
“Locking doors. Got it.” She finished her coffee before looking to Tenzin where he gripped her cell phone. “Can I, um, have that back?”
“After your shower,” he replied cooly as his eyes narrowed. “There’s a matter we will need to discuss when you come back downstairs involving your meddling grandmother.”
“Oh.” She nodded, leaving the table to grab her luggage.
Lugging it up the stairs, her thoughts ran wild with the strangeness of how they spoke with one another. The rushed heat filled her body as she recalled Lucan’s voice in her ear. Never had she come undone so easily. Granted, she was still wanting to find a proper rebound, having not bothered to date anyone since last year’s engagement breakup because of the “other” Wilma. But with a roguish pervy handyman in the mountains?
Right. Lock the door.
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