I walked over to the shelves with the neatly lined-up food, looking for something easy and quiet, and preferably something I could take back to my room. What I wouldn’t have given for a book or two to read. I could hide in my room all week if I had something to read andeat.
A box of Pop Tarts caught my eye.Perfect.
“What’re youdoing?”
My hand had closed on the box when Griffin’s rough voice scared me. I jerked, and the box popped open, and silver packets of sugary goodness wentflying.
I was getting tired of these guys startling me. I had no desire to have a heart attack while stuck in the Alaskan woods in ablizzard.
“Would you guys stop scaring me all the time?” I said as I squatted to get the PopTarts.
“You should’ve eaten yourdinner.”
I froze in the act of grabbing the last pack, which was leaning against his bootedtoe.
“Excuse me?” Rage bubbled up my throat as I stared up—and up—at him. “I didn’t finish my dinner because ofyourstupid eyes.” I grabbed the last of the Pop Tarts and stuffed them back into the box. “I already told you, I’ll repay anything I might cost you. I can go get my checkbook right now and write you a check for what I’ve eaten so far.” I stood and faced him, ignoring the fact that he towered over me and made me feel petite and slim, two things that had never been used to describeme.
Griffin snatched the box out of my hand and slammed it on the shelf so hard the box crumpled and the shelf shook. “You were rude at dinner, getting up and running out like that. What kind of guest doesthat?”
I stared at my hand, which no longer held mysnack.
“I’mrude? Me?” If I could’ve reached his face I would’ve slapped it. “How dare you. You’re the one who’s spent every interaction we’ve had yelling at me.” My hands curled into fists, and my instinct was to thump the horrible man right on the nose, but I resisted. For all I knew he’d hit me back. My brothers hadn’t been afraid to hit me back and always said they’d never abuse a woman, but they’d be damned if their little sister would abuse them. I learned early on to outwit them instead of physically assaultingthem.
“It’s my house, Lisa.” He backed away a few steps and glared at me while I gaped at him like a fish out of water. “What?” heasked.
“My. Name. Is.Linda.”I gave him a solid poke in the chest with each word, then once again, I ran from the kitchen and to my room. Praying my backpack was in there, I went straight to the closet. It was. If I couldn’t get him to come around, and assault wasn’t a good idea, I’dvamoose.
Grabbing the parka and boots they’d rescued me in, I dressed quickly and tore out of the bedroom toward the garage before I could talk myself out ofgoing.
The snowmobiles were right where I’d seen them last with the keys in the ignitions. I turned the key on the first one. Half a tank of gas. The second one had almost a full tank. Score. I’d never driven one of these things before, but I’d driven a motorcycle since I was a preteen. It was supposed to besimilar.
I took a moment to celebrate the fact that the snow machines were facing the garage door. That’d be one less thing I'd have to do to get out of the building. Getting out. Shit. How would I get the garage doors open and shut? I scurried over to the closest vehicle, a Hummer. It was unlocked. I jerked open the driver’s door and checked the sunvisor.
Victory was mine. The garage door opener was there, waiting on me to snatchit.
It wasn’t like I’d be taking it forever. I just needed to get out of the building. I knew which way to head from the end of Griffin’s driveway. I’d only have to go about fifteen miles up that the road I wrecked on and the driveway of my patient would be on the left. It’d be a breeze in thesnowmobile.
I hit the garage door opener and prayed they were all on the other side of the house or asleep. I didn’t want to be stopped because the garage door was loud and alerted them to mypresence.
The garage door opened without anyone running to stop me, but I encountered my next problem. The snow was piled up. I’d have to pat it into some sort of ramp to be able to getout.
I turned in circles looking for a something to help. The huge hooks on the walls holding yard instruments were my first clue. I jogged across the massive garage and grabbed the shovel with the widestbase.
Ignoring my ribs, I made quick work of pulling snow and packing it in to make a ramp out of the garage that would still allow the garage door to close. There’d end up being a little snow melted inside once I was gone, but it’d beokay.
By the time I finished my ramp, I was sweating bullets in my thick coat and boots. I hopped onto the snowmobile optimistically. I’d ridden motorcycles and four wheelers all my life. I could figure out asnowmobile.
The key turned smoothly in the ignition, like the fates had decided I should be able to escape. The controls were easy to figure out. It was all automatic and all controlled with the hand grips. I played with them before putting it in gear and roaring up the ramp. I gave it a touch too much gas and ended up turning sideways in the front yard, spraying snow in an arc. I looked over the outside of the house I was seeing for the first time. The snow fell so quickly it was difficult to even see the lights on in what had to be Griffin’s room. I pointed the garage door opener at the house and pressed the button to close the garage and delay discovery of myabsence.
“Goodbye, asshole,” I muttered, voice lost to the bitingwind.
Apangof regret caused me to pause and reconsider leaving. Chandler and Ellion didn’t deserve to have me disappear without a trace or word of goodbye. But I couldn’t let my attraction to and friendship with them stop me. Griffin was toxic, and I needed away from him. I’d find them after the storm and take them to lunch or something to apologize. Hell, if there was even a restaurant nearby. Maybe I’d have to cook forthem.
I pulled goggles over my eyes and pointed myself in the general direction of the main road. Confident I’d be out of the mess in no time, I maneuvered onto the general area of the driveway, lamenting the wind. It stabbed through my coat, stinging my skin. By the time I should be nearing the road, I was frozen solid. My fingers were starting to ache, and I hadn’t been on the snowmobile for more than fifteen minutes, tops. I sped through the rapidly falling snow until I saw movement out of the side of the goggles. I jerked my head to the right in time to see a glimpse of a building through a break in the snowy wind. The snow ski jerked to a stop when I twisted the brake and turned toward the structure. I lost sight of it when the wind changed and snow began to blow straight at me. Even with the goggles on I kept blinking, instinctively reacting to the snow coming toward my face soquickly.
A wooden wall appeared out of the snow, barely giving me enough time to stop before slamming into it. My chest heaved as I stared at the red wood of the wall, mere inches from the front of thesnowmobile.
I turned the handlebars and eased the machine to the left so I could drive slowly around the wall to see what sort of building it was. If it was a house, I hoped the inhabitants were nicer thanGriffin.
