Lumber Jacked Page 10

  Nevertheless, she opened the window and peered outside. When the cold air came in, she was grateful she was still wearing her warm coat and boots.

  There was a drainpipe that ran down the wall of the hotel and from the window, she could reach it if she climbed out. She’d have to be careful, stretching out from the window sill to the drain, two feet away, and it didn’t look like it would afford her a very good grip. It was probably a sure way to kill herself, or at least cause serious injury, but she was desperate.

  She would far rather die trying to climb out of that window than live, locked in that room like a prisoner, while the Hildegards figured out what they could do to make her their permanent prisoner.

  She shuddered at that thought. There was something very weird going on with them and the longer she stayed at the hotel, the more she realized it. Mrs. Hildegard spied on every man that checked in like a sex crazed pervert. Mr. Hildegard had made it clear he had intentions of his own in that department, and it was only a matter of time before he made a move on Autumn. And what had Mrs. Hildegard meant when she said they’d lock her upstairs like they had done with Betsy? Had their daughter been some sort of prisoner? Did they think they could replace her by keeping Autumn there?

  Autumn shook her head.

  It wasn’t happening, not while she still had options open to her, even desperate options like climbing out of that treacherous window.

  Apart from the drainpipe, her only other option was to somehow make it to the tall willow tree that grew outside the window. It was a few feet away, and she’d have to let go of the walls of the building completely, but the branch nearest the window looked like it could support her weight. If she leapt out and managed to grab hold of it, she’d be able to climb down the tree to freedom.

  The drainpipe or the tree? Autumn looked at both options with an acute sense of unease. She’d never been overly comfortable with heights. As a child she had to quit the diving team when they started putting her on higher and higher boards. Looking down from those heights made her stomach turn.

  She climbed up onto the window sill and out to the ledge. A strong gust of wind blew at her as if trying to knock her off the ledge and she clung to the window frame so tightly her fingers hurt. It was starting to get dark outside and the temperature was noticeably cooler than it had been earlier in the day. She shivered as she peered down at the gravel driveway.

  Then, without thinking, without bothering to decide whether the tree or the drainpipe was a better bet, she leapt out into the icy air and reached for the willow branch like her life depended on it. She grabbed the branch and managed to hold on. She couldn’t believe it. But just as it stopped shaking, a loud crack told her it wasn’t going to hold. The next instant she was falling, crashing through leaves and branches, breaking everything beneath her, the twigs of wood scratching and scraping her skin like claws.

  She hit the ground hard, but not as hard as if there’d been no branches breaking her fall. Her ankle bent painfully and she buckled, hitting the ground with a thud.

  She was alive.

  But she was hurt.

  She tried to stand and pain seared through her ankle. She’d sprained it, maybe even broken it, but she didn’t have time to worry about that. It wouldn’t be long before the Hildegards realized what had happened. It didn’t seem like they’d heard her crashing down through the branches of the tree, but the cold wind from the window would tell them what she’d tried.

  She didn’t have much time.

  She hobbled down the driveway, half running, half limping, and with every step, pain rushed from her ankle all the way up her leg. It was excruciating, and she longed with each step to give up, but she refused. She didn’t slow down and she didn’t once look over her shoulder to see if the Hildegard’s were after her.

  She kept going for what felt like an eternity, and when she reached the highway she began to sob.

  Her ankle was already swelling and she didn’t know how much further she could go on it. The darkness was already setting in and the forest had always terrified her after sundown. The wind howled down from the mountains, driving snow against her, and she shivered despite her exertions.

  But what really terrified her wasn’t the pain, it wasn’t the darkness of the forest or the coldness of the icy wind, it was the thought that as soon as Mr. Hildegard came down the driveway in his pickup, his headlights would light her up and he’d have her back in his truck. She’d never make it all the way to town before he realized what she’d done. And she had no way of getting back to her mother even if she did make it to town. There were two trains a week back to civilization, and no buses. The traffic on the single highway out of the mountains was so sparse that she could die of exposure before anyone stopped to pick her up, and the highway was all the way on the other side of the town. Even if she made it that far, it would be the first place Mr. Hildegard would come looking, and if Autumn was hoping to hitchhike, she wouldn’t be able to hide every time a pair of headlights came rolling down the road toward her.

  So she did the only thing she could think of.

  She didn’t turn down the road toward town, she turned up the road, higher into the mountains, where she knew Grady’s cabin was somewhere located.

  She limped painfully up the road, higher into the wilderness, every step taking her farther from the safety and warmth of the town, but also further from the despicable Hildegards and their cursed hotel.

  As she left the hotel behind, she heard the sound of an engine and saw the headlights of Mr. Hildegard’s truck driving from the hotel to the gate she’d just fled through. He didn’t even pause at the end, but turned down toward the town. Autumn watched until his red taillights disappeared.

  She wondered if he’d turn and come up the road if he didn’t spot her on the way to town?

  Probably.

  She couldn’t have him doubling back and finding her on the way up the mountain. She had to leave the road.

  If being on the deserted road, alone in the dark, scared her, leaving the road for the hidden dangers of the forest terrified her.

  But then she thought of her mother. She thought of what it would mean if her mother died while she was locked away in her attic room. She’d never escape from up there. It was twice as high as the window she’d just almost died escaping from.

  She clenched her fists, thought of her mother, and left the road for the darkness of the forest.

  She wasn’t thinking straight. Even in daylight, with the snow falling heavier and heavier and the wind howling down from the mountain peaks, her chances of finding Grady’s cabin were slim enough.

  Limping through the forest in the darkness of night, injured and lost, her chance was zero.

  But she didn’t have time to figure that out for herself because as soon as she left the road, she felt as if the darkness of the forest swallowed her up. The ominous trees, their branches looking like fingers, reached out for her. The trees blocked out what little light she’d had from the moon and stars. The wind, which had been bad enough on the road, whistled as it flew through the branches. It sounded more like screaming than wind. Every branch rustled, creating a million sounds to terrify her. It was as if she was surrounded by monsters on every side.

  And then, for the first time since arriving in Montana, she heard the howl of a wolf. It sounded close by, and it was met instantly by the howls of other wolves.

  Autumn was terrified. She was blind with fear. Despite her injured ankle, she fled in sheer panic. She didn’t know where she was going, she didn’t know what direction led back to the road, she couldn’t even see what was three feet in front of her. But she ran, and with every step she took, she could hear the wolves closing in on her at her back.

  And then she fell.

  Her head hit a jagged rock.

  And she was unconscious.

  Chapter Twenty

  Grady

  Grady got up and washed in the river before waking the baby and feeding her. He had a beau
tiful new bathtub in the cabin but it wasn’t hooked up to hot water so he still preferred the stream. After drying off, they both sat on the porch as the early morning sun rose above the trees.

  “Beautiful out here, isn’t it, baby?”

  Destiny gave him a smile for an answer.

  “Now, are you going to be a quiet girl if daddy takes you hunting?”

  She smiled again.

  Grady was very aware that hunting wasn’t exactly the kind of activity people usually did with babies. In fact, he was pretty sure there was probably a law against it somewhere. But he had no choice. He’d heard howling the night before and he wasn’t about to let a wolf pack move in on the territory he was raising his daughter in. It would be too dangerous. He didn’t want to turn his back on Destiny for a few seconds and then learn that a wolf had taken her.

  The wolves in these mountains were shy and he knew it wouldn’t take much to scare them off.

  After breakfast he checked the rifle that had been in the back of his car since his arrival in Montana and made sure it was loaded. He also created a sort of sling which he could put Destiny into and which held her close against his chest while leaving both his arms free.

  Ready for action, he marched into the forest with his baby and started using the tracking skills he’d learned years earlier in New Mexico. It didn’t take long to find signs of the wolves’ presence, and once he found their path, he was able to close in on them quickly. A few shots over their heads would be enough to get them out of the territory. Wild wolves were incredibly secretive, and the slightest interference from a hunter would get the pack on the move.

  The first wolf he saw was a beautiful, full grown female. She was on a high outcrop that overlooked the valley and Grady stood still and admired her for a full minute before lifting the rifle to his sights. He looked at Destiny and realized the shot would deafen her from that distance.

  He smiled at her.

  “That wouldn’t be very nice, would it?” he whispered.

  She was quiet as a mouse and he undid the sling and put her down on a mossy rock a few feet away. She smiled at him, completely unaware that she was so close to wild wolves.

  Grady took off his coat and wrapped it around her ears. From where she was she’d get a fright from the gunshot, but it wouldn’t do her any harm.

  He took aim once again at the wolf and let the bullet fly, purposely sending it a foot or two above her head. The wolf darted off into the woods as the gunshot echoed across the mountain valley.

  Destiny immediately began crying and he took her back up and tied her safely against his chest, wrapping them both in the coat.

  “There, there, baby. That wasn’t so bad. Just a loud bang,” he said soothingly.

  He was fairly confident that shot would send the wolves back to wherever they’d come from. This wasn’t their normal territory, the proximity to the town, and the fact he hadn’t heard them until the night before told him that much. If they were just passing through, this warning would be enough to send them on their way all the sooner.

  Grady made his way back to the cabin but as he got closer to the road he saw something he didn’t recognize. There seemed to be something on the ground just below the road. Had someone fallen down the ravine at the side of the road? He hurried over to the figure.

  Had someone been hit by a vehicle?

  He reached the body, partially blanketed in snow, and to his horror, recognized the boots and coat he’d ordered for Autumn.

  “Oh no,” he said aloud as he reached down and turned her over.

  When he saw her, his vision blurred from shock. It was her!

  He held his hand to the artery on her neck and felt for a pulse. There was one there, but it was fainter than he’d have liked.

  “We’re taking on another passenger,” he said to Destiny as he picked Autumn up in his arms and held her against his chest, careful not to crush the baby.

  The extra person in Grady’s arms just made the baby warmer and she welcomed the addition.

  Grady carried her all the way back to the cabin and for the first time since moving up there, checked his phone for signal. Of course he had none. He lay Autumn on his bed and covered her in blankets. Then he lit the fire and filled his biggest pot with water and put it on to boil.

  He had to get her warmed up, but he didn’t want to do it too quickly and shock her body.

  He lit the fire in the bedroom too, also for the first time, and the entire cabin began to heat up nicely. For the next half hour he brought pot after pot of water to boil and before long, the bathtub was full of steaming hot water.

  Autumn was still unconscious in the bed and as he looked at her, he felt an emotion that could only be described as love burn in his chest. She was so beautiful, so peaceful and pure, sleeping in his bed like she didn’t have a care in the world.

  He’d wrapped her in the blankets but now he knew he had to take her clothes off. They were wet and cold and she wouldn’t regain her body heat in them.

  “Autumn,” he said softly, trying to wake her, but he couldn’t.

  He pulled back the blankets and examined her clothing. It wasn’t soaking wet but it was damp. The room was warm and she’d regained some of her heat in the bed, but he had to get her into the bathtub to really bring her back to life.

  “Please God forgive me for this,” he said as he began taking off Autumn’s boots and coat.

  She lay unconscious on the bed as he undressed her, one item at a time. He tried not to look too much as he pulled off her coat, then her dress, then her undergarments. He grew aroused at the sight of her nakedness, the whiteness of her breasts, the softness of her flesh, the pink lips of her bare pussy.

  He lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bathroom.

  She began to stir and come to life in his arms.

  “What’s going on,” she mumbled.

  “You were out in the snow,” he said to her softly.

  “Where am I?”

  “I’m going to put you in the bath. You need to warm up.”

  “Grady?” she said, confused.

  “Yes,” he whispered.

  He lowered her slowly into the hot water, his strong arms easily able to bear her weight. She gasped as her body dipped into it.

  “Is it too hot?” he said.

  She shook her head and he lowered her all the way in. Then he stood up and looked at her.

  “How do you feel? You’re not going to faint are you?”

  “I think I’m going to be okay.”

  “I’ll go get more hot water,” he said. “It’s on the fire. I’ll be right back.”

  He took a deep breath as he left the bathroom. He’d never been so aroused in his life. He felt guilty for feeling that way while she was going through something so traumatic, she’d almost died out there, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t lie to himself, and more importantly, his body wouldn’t lie.

  His cock was hard in his pants, firm and throbbing, and as he got the hot water he felt silly for having a boner while Autumn struggled for her life.

  “Here,” he said, pouring the hot water into the bath by her feet.

  She made no move to hide herself, to protect her modesty, and he knew it was only because she was so confused and traumatized by what she’d been through. He’d explain it all to her in time. For now, he was just glad that she was in the bath and the color was returning to her cheeks.

  “How is it?” he said.

  “I feel numb,” she said weakly.

  “The feeling will come back quickly now. It might hurt. You were out in the freezing wind overnight. You’re lucky to be alive.”

  “Thanks to you,” she said.

  “Well, you’re obviously a strong person. Not everyone would have pulled through like this.”

  “I’m lucky you found me.”

  He nodded and went to get her some towels. He still had some he’d bought in town and hadn’t used yet. They weren’t stained with mud and dirt like
the one’s he’d been taking out to the stream.

  He brought them back to her and forced himself to look only at her face. It wasn’t hard because her face was so pretty, but it took all his will not to steal a glance at her perfect little breasts, white and soft, or her long legs that led to the v of her pussy. Even through the bathwater he could see everything.

  “Take your time,” he said. “Stay in the water until your body feels normal. Then we’ll wrap you in towels and sit you by the fire. I’ll start making some hot coffee, and something to eat. I’ll bet you’re famished.”

  She smiled up at him and nodded.

  “Grady,” she said.

  He stopped and looked down at her, hoping the bulge in his pants wasn’t too obvious.

  “Thank you for finding me.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Autumn

  Autumn felt dizzy as she lay in the bathtub.

  What happened?

  What was she doing there?

  How had Grady found her?

  On the one hand, she was mortified. Not only had she nearly killed herself running through the wintery forest in the middle of the night, but even more importantly, Grady had stripped her and carried her, naked, to the bath. She’d been naked in his arms! He’d seen every inch of her!

  No man had ever seen her before.

  She was almost more overwhelmed by the thought of being in Grady’s strong, muscular arms, naked as the day she was born, than the fact that she’d almost been killed by wolves in the middle of a dark forest.

  And mixed in with all that overwhelming emotion was an undercurrent of excitement. She’d been rescued, and not just by anyone, by the one person she hadn’t been able to get out of her mind since leaving home. The one man she’d ever felt sexual attraction to. She’d been rescued by Grady.