Grabbing one of my bags, I head inside to find it just as breathtaking as the outside. In the main living area, the ceiling soars up two stories, with a chandelier hanging from the wood paneled ceiling and a huge stone fireplace at the far end. Floor-to ceiling windows face onto the craggy, jagged peaks of the Rockies that surround us, poking up into the canvas of gray sky.
The kitchen looks like it’s fit for a fit for a five-star chef, with stunning marble countertops and shining stainless steel appliances. There’s a massive island surrounded by several brown leather barstools that can be used as extra eating space.
The primary bedroom suite on the other side of the cabin boasts more floor to ceiling windows looking out across the large yard down to the river and the steep mountains beyond.
“Not too shabby,” I say out loud to myself as I admire the view from the bedroom. The shadows have already started to get long, and a few snowflakes have begun fluttering down from the gray sky, so I head back outside to haul in the rest of my supplies. I’m eager to get on with the business of relaxing.
After I get everything inside, I decide to make myself spaghetti for dinner. I have my Sicilian grandmother’s old family recipe that always reminds me of my mother and is legitimately good enough to make a grown man cry. I won’t have time to let it sit and simmer all day like it’s supposed to, so maybe it won’t move me to tears, but I know it will be good, anyway.
Chapter 7
CASE
Reed’sreactiontomybeing stuck out here in the wilderness in the middle ofSnowmageddonisn’t exactly reassuring, but there isn’t much I can do about it. I’ll make it out of here somehow.
“Fucking hell. Well, I guess I’d better get moving. Wish me luck.” I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“Wait a second, I have an idea. Can you drop a pin and show me exactly where you are on the highway?” Reed asks. I do and then hear him tapping away on his phone. A minute later, he adds me to a group text thread with his friend Penn Thompson.
Penn: “Case! OMG, I can’t believe you’re stuck on that damn dangerous highway! You need to go to our cabin right now! Hunter and I are out of town, so the place is just sitting there. It’s gorgeous and totally decked out. There’s even a hot tub. You’ll love it. I’m sending you all the directions and instructions for how to get in right now.
Me: Hey Penn. That sounds amazing. If you guys are sure it isn’t a problem for me to crash there, I will definitely take you up on that offer. This weather is just shit.
Reed: Seriously, Case this place is fucking fantastic. You’ll love it, it’s like a private resort.
Penn: It really is great. We usually Airbnb it, but Hunter had it blocked off in case we decided to use it for the holidays so it’s all yours. Now go! Get off that highway!
Me: Thank you so much Penn. And thank Hunter too, I really appreciate this.
Penn: Anytime, Case. Seriously. We love you. Now turn your ass around. You need to drive carefully, but the roads up to the cabin should be cleared by a private contractor. Cell service is spotty but try to text us when you get there.
Me: Turning around now. I owe you guys huge for this. Thank you again.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I turn the car around and crawl back down the steep mountain highway. Penn and his husband Hunter are friends of Reed and Dylan’s. They met when Hunter’s construction company built the shelter for LGBTQ teenagers that Penn runs, and the two couples got to be close friends. His shelter has even provided some data for the study my research group is working on. I can’t even put into words how relieved I am that I don’t have to spend three or four more hours driving in this shitty weather.
It takes over an hour to inch my way back down the highway to the right exit, and then back up the steep mountain road to their cabin. Just when I’m starting to wonder if I screwed up the directions, I see lights in the distance. Thank fuck.
I inch the car into the long drive leading toward the house. The snow is coming down so hard I can barely see, but it looks like the cabin is an A-frame style with huge picture windows. Warm light is spilling out, trying its best to illuminate the night, but the snow is falling so fast it’s nearly impossible. Opening the door of the SUV, I suddenly realize there’s another car parked in the driveway ahead of me, almost totally covered in the snow.
Someone else is here?Shit.Maybe someone rented it after all, and Penn forgot? I think about texting him to check, but the temperature feels like it’s dropped about fifty degrees in the last hour. With the wind howling loud as a freight train, the snow feels like a thousand tiny needles stabbing my face.Fuck this shit. I’m not staying out here. Whoever’s inside will just need to let me in, and we’ll figure it out. It’s unlikely Penn and Hunter have a murderer staying in their cabin, so I’m probably safe.
I grab my big backpack and trudge up the few steps to the door. Taking a deep breath, I ring the bell and wait to meet the mystery person who’s about to get a surprise roommate for the night.
Chapter 8
MATT
There'ssomethingcomfortingaboutbeing safe and warm in a mountain hideaway like this while the world outside gets gradually covered with a fluffy white blanket. My grandmother’s spaghetti sauce is simmering away on the gas cooktop while I enjoy a glass of the beautiful red wine I brought.
I’ve only been here a few hours, and I can feel the tension draining out of me already. It will be good to have my biggest daily decision be what to make myself for dinner. Maybe it’s partly the setting, and partly the fact that all the questions about my marriage are finally resolved, but I’m feeling more comfortable and settled right now than I have in a year.
I think back to the night last fall I spent with Case, and I get my usual twinge of regret. I wish so much that I’d left him my number. Or gotten his. Or even that I’d stayed until he’d woken up so I could tell him how amazingly life changing that night was. Not that I realized it at the time.
After I made my escape that night, and after getting over my panic and shock at the decision I’d made. I realized there was a whole lot I didn’t know about myself. The biggest and most obvious, of course, being that I’m not as straight as I thought. In one of my best decisions yet, I found a good therapist and spent many,manyhours unpacking my baggage from the divorce, my guilt over putting work ahead of my family so often, and my late-in-life discovery that I’m attracted to men. Derek, my therapist, helped me realize I’m not crazy or completely lacking in self-awareness. Like many people, I’ve spent my whole life doing exactly what was expected of me, so it’s no wonder I never imagined anything different.
Eventually I landed on bisexual as a label that seems to fit my sexuality, although since that night with Case I’ve been much more curious about men. Actually, to be completely honest, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him. Whenever my brain is idle, it’s that night I think of. Replaying it has lulled me back to sleep after a satisfying orgasm more times than I can even count this year.
I’ve even been on a few dates with men, but there’s been no one I wanted to sleep with since Case–man or woman. No one has sparked the same crazy desire he did. But a new year is coming. My divorce is finalized. Michele and the kids and I have settled into a pretty healthy new dynamic, and I feel like things are looking up. I’m so glad Hunter convinced me to use the cabin this week. It helps to do something completely different than normal, so it’s not as obvious this will be the first Christmas I’ve ever spent without my family.
