Page 3 of Abdominal Snowman

Cold as Fuck

“It’s so pretty,” she said again to herself. In the rental car, a four-wheel drive SUV thing that was guaranteed to dominate any snow pile, Sage stared in awe at the snow coated trees she passed. The quaint shops that lined the historic little town were filled with curious faces as she drove by.

Guess they aren’t used to visitors.

Gabi had said it was a small town, but Sage had never imagined just how small. Her tires crunched over the snow-covered asphalt, but she braked as she saw the sign for a general store and market. After parking alongside the street, Sage grabbed her scarf, hat, and gloves. She was hyperaware of the bystanders staring at her as they walked past, and she took a deep breath before exiting the car.

Her breath came out in a large cloud of air, and she grinned. She’d never seen snow in person, and feeling the chill of the air was so fresh. It was breathing life back into her by the second. Each step across the road filled her with a little burst of giddiness, leaving behind footprints.

An elderly man jumped to attention from inside the shop when she approached. He pushed the door open for her and smiled. “Hello, miss.”

“Hello,” she replied politely.

“If you need anything at all, please let me or one of the associates know.”

It was probably the first time the man had ever used that line. She smiled again and nodded before grabbing a basket and making her way down the first aisle. Since she didn’t know how many days she’d be staying—

“Because it’s not like I have a job to go back to,” she said under her breath.

—she needed to grab some groceries to tide her over, at least until she followed the map and figured out how far her cabin was from town. From the instructions provided by the SnowBnB, it seemed pretty far into the mountains.

That was just what she needed. Some peace, quiet, and nature.

She just hoped when she got there it wasn’t a shack.

As she pulled a half loaf of bread off the shelf, voices on the other side caught her attention.

“—ny finally finished up that cabin of his.”

“Finished? Last I heard, it was already rented out. Any day now we’re supposed to have some newcomers.”

The elderly voices made her smile—old lady gossip at the local market about the new face in town?

This place was picture perfect.

With a grin, she collected the rest of her groceries and went to the check out. The old man was there, a smile tugging his jowls up, and began ringing up her items. After a polite smile and another hello, Sage pretended to go through her wallet instead of making awkward eye contact again.

“By chance are you the guest in town for Brian’s rental?” he asked.

She popped her head up and met the old man’s gaze. “Maybe, why?” It was a useless answer, of course she was the guest. Apparently, she was the only new face, so it wasn’t hard to guess.

“Just be careful going up those hills. The backroads aren’t well cared for, and getting turned around up there is really easy.”

Sage swallowed against the unease that suddenly made her stomach feel funny. “Thank you, I appreciate that. I have a very detailed map provided by the owner—uhm, Brian, I presume. I’ll keep to it.”

The man gave her a wobbly smile. “Be sure that you do. You never know what’s up in those mountains.”

Her smile faded at his statement, and the card machine beeped at her to swipe.

“Thirty-two dollars and sixty-four cents,” he announced.

She inserted her card and let it beep at her a few times, and once the payment went through, she grabbed her groceries with a short goodbye and left. Sage felt the eyes of the old man follow her across the lot to her car, and she only moderately felt safe once she locked the doors.

Not that she thought the old man was going to do anything, but jeez, it’s like someone dared the guy to be as creepy as possible.

Shaking it off, Sage put the key in the ignition and started the car. It came to life with a quiet purr, and the heat kicked on at full blast.

Leaving the market, Sage refused to look behind her and headed toward her rental cabin. She couldn’t wait to wear sweaters around the living room and wake up to the pristine snow and drink hot coffee without hating her life.