There’s a teasing lilt to Dylan’s voice so I respond with a snarky tone of my own, “Oh, well thank you for that courtesy. What a shame you didn’t get to ‘see the goods.’”
“Your parts don’t do much for me,” Dylan raises a single brow then winks.
“What a relief,” I roll my eyes then turn my fury on Jason who’s still standing in front of the fire glaring at me with harsh, bushy brows. “How about you? Is that why you were wrapped around me? Can’t get a woman any other way so you have to hold her while she’s unconscious?”
Dylan snorts by the stairs then buries his mouth in his hand. “That’s funny. Jason gets more tail than most of the guys in town. Have you seen him?” Dylan gestures to his brother like he’s proud of that fact.
I only allow myself a split second to look and take note of him, but I can’t deny that Jason looks very different from the last time I saw him in high school. His shoulders are broader, he certainly packed on the muscles, if what I felt in the brief moments before I came back to consciousness is any indication. His hair is styled in a shaggy cut, significantly longer than his short beard that’s slightly past five o’clock shadow. If I remember correctly, he had a buzz cut and no facial hair in high school.
Then again, I looked pretty different back then, too.
I can see why women would be attracted to him at first glance, but he’s still the Mute. I find it hard to believe he can pick up women without speaking to them.
“Still mute, I see,” I cross my arms over my chest with the blanket wrapped in each fist to keep “the goods” covered. Jason doesn’t even dignify my insult with a blink or a twitch. I would have expected that name to ruffle some feathers, even years after high school.
“When can I go home?” I turn back to Dylan since he’s the only other sane person in the room…I think.
“Ummm, I don’t know, probably early March.”
“March?”I burst. “No, that can’t happen. I have a life I have to get back to. I can’t stay here all winter. There has to be some way down.”
“Sorry, cupcake, no way up, no way down. We stocked up for the winter. Jason was out hunting, that’s how he passed your car in the snow. And even then, it was probably getting too dicey for the snowmobile. Can’t even use that anymore.”
“What are you supposed to do if one of you gets severely injured?” I’m grasping at straws, anything to find a way out of this.
“Jason knows first aid, he’s the one that tended to your wounds.”
“And if he gets hurt and you don’t know what to do?” Another desperate straw.
“Then he dies, I guess.” I’m caught off guard by how bluntly and emotionlessly Dylan speaks about his brother’s hypothetical death. “I know you don’t want to stay here any more than we want you here, but there’s no way out of this. Whatever brought you to the mountain tonight sealed your fate, cupcake.”
I’m too depressed and in denial to chastise Dylan about that degrading nickname.
Before I can say anything else, Jason storms past me toward his brother on the stairs without saying a word or even looking at me. Clearly, he’s still pissed with me about how he was treated in high school.
Get over it, dude, high school sucks for everyone.
“Where’s he going?”
“Probably to his room,” Dylan answers. “Why don’t you come on up, we have a spare room you can use while you’re here.”
Do I really want to accept that my fate is sealed? I hesitate a moment, staring into the orange-yellow flames in the hearth before I decide I need a decent night’s sleep to clear my head and find a solution. There has to be some way off the mountain before the snow melts.
I rise and follow the men, still wrapped in the wool blanket to conceal my body, though it seems they’ve already seen what lies beneath so the only thing I’m really holding on to is my pride.
I follow Jason and Dylan up a set of stairs to a landing where I’m met with four identical oak doors, two on the wall opposite the stairs and the others at both ends of the landing.
With a raised hand to point at each door, Dylan directs me. “That’ll be your room,” pointing at one of the two doors that share a wall. “It’s next to the bathroom. Mine is over here,” he points to the left, “and that one is Jason’s room,” he points to the right. “If you need anything let us know, I’m going back to bed. I need my beauty sleep.”
“Wait,” I call before either of them can disappear behind their doors. “What am I supposed to wear?” I shuffle beneath the blanket drawing attention to the fact that I’m still without clothing.
Dylan exchanges a look with his brother before he answers. “I think some girls that have visited Jason have left items here over the years. Maybe he has something for you. Otherwise, your clothes will be dry and warm in the morning.” He smirks in my direction, then at Jason, and I don’t hide the insult in my expression. I’m not sure if he’s trying to tease me, Jason, or both of us. But I’m deeply offended that he wants me to wear some skank’s clothes.
My jaw drops but that’s all I can get out before he walks into his room and shuts the door. I turn to Jason but he follows his brother’s lead and shuts the door without giving me another glance.
I stand there wrapped in the blanket a moment longer, dumbfounded, before refusing to stand in my humiliation any longer and step into the guest room he pointed out.
It’s small but nice. The room is rather cozy, actually. A full size bed with Pendleton blankets over a white quilt. No filigree such as endless throw pillows and trinkets. The solid wood dresser and matching hopechest are bare. The only sign of life in the room are the two paintings on either side of the window depicting two black and white faceless bodies leaning toward each other with foreheads bowed and hands outstretched. If the window were out of the picture, the two images would look like the people are reaching for one another.
