“I can’t get any traction.” His voice filled with tension.
“We can push it out,” Merci suggested.
Nathan tapped his thumb on the steering wheel. “I don’t know if that is a good idea in this cold weather.”
The truck slid again. Lorelei let out a moan and dug her fingers into Merci’s forearm.
“This thing is sliding off the bank.” Nathan commanded, “Get out now on my side.”
Nathan pushed on the door, crawled through and then reached first for Merci, lifting her easily onto the road. He held his hands out for Lorelei to grab on to. Wind drove the snow into their skin like thousands of icy needles. At least, the trunk of her body stayed warm. She was grateful for the extra clothes Nathan had given them.
“Stay linked together,” Nathan shouted above the wind. “We’re not that far from the cabin.” He hooked his arm through Merci’s and Merci grabbed onto Lorelei. Heads bent and leaning into the wind, they trudged up the hill.
Merci’s heart still hadn’t slowed from their close encounter with the gunmen. Though her muscles grew tired after only a few minutes, Nathan’s strength pulled her forward. She couldn’t see anything in front of her. She had to trust that Nathan knew his way back to the cabin. She leaned against him, sliding her feet one after the other.
She tightened her grip around Lorelei when she felt her weakening, slipping away. It was useless to shout words of encouragement. She bent over at the waist ignoring how cold her face and hands had become.
After a while Nathan slipped free of her. She had a fearful moment of wondering what had happened and then his gloved hand found hers. He placed it on something solid…the railing that led up to the cabin.
They were here.
They had made it.
She collapsed on the stairs. A moment later, strong arms lifted her, and she rested against a warm chest. She clung to the flannel shirt that smelled of wood smoke and musk. He laid her on the couch. She opened her eyes.
She didn’t have to fight the strong wind anymore. No more icy chill embedded under her skin. Warm tears formed.
He placed a blanket over her and pulled it up to her chin. “You’re just exhausted and cold. No frostbite or anything.” His hand covered hers. The heat of his touch seeped through to her core.
Merci shook her head. “This has all been a bit much.” Her arms and legs felt like cooked noodles.
Lorelei had resumed her position, sitting bent over by the fire. How had she had the presence of mind to pull Merci out of the trajectory of that bullet? She owed Lorelei her life for her quick thinking.
“What are we going to do now?” Merci’s question held unspoken fears. If the men couldn’t get out, they’d be seeking shelter, too. The cabin would be the first place they’d look, and now there were three of them. She could only guess at where the third man had been during the robbery. Waiting down the road to be picked up or hiding in the trees? There must not have been a second car or they would have used it to escape. “I don’t know if we should stay here.”
Nathan shook his head. “Even if we didn’t have to deal with this storm, the snow will be too deep by morning to get anywhere on the snowmobile. The truck is probably not viable. We can’t get out, anyway, with the thieves’ car blocking the road.”
Merci sat up. “Is there another road out?”
“Not from the cabin,” Nathan said. “There’s a kids’ camp not far from here and a ski hill farther up the mountain. They both have roads that come out on the other side of the mountain.”
Lorelei looked at him. “All that is on this mountain?”
He nodded. “It doesn’t help us any, though. I don’t think there are any vehicles left at either place.”
Merci absorbed what he was saying. “There’s nobody at the camp or the ski hill or a house that is close by? Nobody who might be able to help us?”
“There are no other cabins on this section of the mountain. We hired a security guy to do periodic patrols, but he doesn’t live there,” he said. “It would be suicide to try and go anywhere in this storm on foot.”
“So we stay here…and wait?” Fear coiled inside Merci.
“You might as well try to get some sleep. You two can have the guest bedroom.” He pointed across the living room. “I’ll call the police station again and let them know what is going on.”
Lorelei shook her head in disbelief and wrung her hands. “I can’t believe this is happening this way.”
Lorelei was even more shaken than she was. Merci lifted her legs off the couch and placed her feet on the carpet so she faced Lorelei. “It’ll be all right. We’ll get this all straightened out in the morning. We can get the car towed and fixed and be on our way. In no time, it’s all going to feel like a bad dream… .” Her voice faltered. Though she had always been an optimist to a fault, even she was having a hard time believing her own words.
“Once the roads are clear, I can even take you back down to the car. We might be able to get it started.” Nathan offered.
All their attempts at trying to put a positive spin on what had happened did very little to change the look of anxiety on Lorelei’s face.
“I’ll grab you guys some extra blankets.” Nathan rose to his feet and disappeared around a corner.
Lorelei got up and trudged toward the door where Nathan had pointed. She stopped for a moment to look out the window. She was probably thinking about the thieves, too. Chances were the thieves would come looking for shelter. They weren’t safe here. Lorelei shut the door quietly.
Nathan returned, holding a pile of blankets. “It can get kind of chilly in the rooms.”
Merci took the blankets, grateful for the care Nathan had shown. Maybe that was the one good thing about all of this. She had met someone who cared about the welfare of strangers. “You are truly a good Samaritan. I’m so sorry that helping us has led to even more trouble.”
“It’s not your doing.” He offered her a faint smile. He walked to the front door and slid the bolt in place. He made his way across the living room, checking window latches. “If you don’t mind, I might sleep out here on the couch just to keep an eye on things.” He clicked the deadbolt on the back door into place.
The sound of the bolts sliding was like a hammer blow to her heart. Nathan hadn’t said anything about owning a gun. Though she was grateful for Nathan’s vigilance and his effort at remaining calm, if the thieves decided to break in, she knew they were no match against three armed men.
THREE
For the fifth time in the night, Nathan woke up in darkness. He lay with his eyes open, absorbing the sounds around him. Wind rattled the windows. The big living room clock ticked. He got to his feet yet again and made his rounds through the house to make sure everything was secure.
He stopped before checking the front door and stared out the big living room window. Snow whirled and danced in the beam created by the porch light. The storm looked as if it had let up a little. At least two feet of snow, maybe more, had fallen.
He glanced back at the door to the guest bedroom. He hadn’t heard any noise from them. He was glad the two women had been able to sleep. When he had tried to call the police station a second time, the phone was dead. The weight of the snow on the phone lines had probably destroyed the connection. The house ran on a generator, so that had not been affected. He hadn’t brought a cell phone or a laptop, intending for the weekend to be a time of prayer and saying goodbye to the cabin that held so many fond memories.
His hand touched the windowsill as he peered out into the darkness. Maybe