Soon, she was on the outside of the jet and shivers racked her body. She’d never before felt anything as cold. She was grateful she’d bought the snow gear. She wanted to get to their room and immediately change. Max led her to another waiting car and soon they were slowly traveling along a narrow road. She hadn’t before seen so much nothingness. She was beginning to wonder if there really was a town beyond the miles and miles of snow.
Cassie was enthralled, looking out the window, and didn’t know how much time passed when they arrived at a secluded cabin. She looked around, not another building seeming to be in site. She wondered if that was where they were lodging. It didn’t seem the kind of place Max would stay.
Her door was opened and she stepped into the freezing wind, quickly following Max up the stairs, breathing a sigh of relief when she felt the warmth pushing out the front door.
“Will you need anything else,” the man asked.
“No, thank you,” Max replied. The man left and Cassie stared at him inquiringly. His phone rang, breaking the silence. He quickly picked up and she went to explore. There wasn’t a lot to see. The cabin had two small rooms, beautifully decorated in rustic log cabin style furniture, a small living room, kitchen, and one bathroom. It was incredibly intimate for the two of them to be in together.
“That was my client. Some problems arose and we won’t be able to meet until tomorrow,” Max told her as he ran his hand through his hair. It was something she’d discovered he did when he was frustrated. “I wish we would’ve known sooner and we could have just flown in tomorrow. I need a shower,” he finished before heading toward one of the rooms. At least she knew which room was hers, now. She gathered her bags and made her way to the other room, taking her time to hang her clothes and situate her toiletries.
She walked back out and found Max at the dining table. He’d showered and changed quickly. He was looking over some papers so she headed for the kitchen, grateful to find it fully stocked. She’d be able to prepare them a nice lunch. She set about making soup and hot sandwiches. Anything cold didn’t sound appealing in the least.
“We have the entire day before us. Have you ever been to Alaska?” he asked.
“No. I’m pretty excited to be here,” she said with a smile. She set a bowl of soup and a sandwich in front of him. He mumbled a thank you and dug in, making her feel good when he sighed his pleasure. It wasn’t like it was a gourmet meal but she knew she made one mean sandwich.
“I’ll play tourist guide then. Let me make a few calls,” he told her. He finished his meal, then spent a few minutes on the phone. “Dress extra warm, we’re going out.” She quickly ran to her room and layered her clothes, throwing on the new coat she’d bought. She needed to step outside right away because the clothes were not made for indoors, that was for sure. She could feel sweat building on her brow.
They stepped onto the porch just as the same car that had dropped them, appeared. Max led her to the back and they were off once again. The driver dropped them by the lake and Max pointed out a small aircraft.
“We’re taking a scenic tour of the area. This plane can get really low, showing you the top of the glacier and some of the other great points of interest in this quaint town. You’ll soon find why I love it here so much,” Max told her. She looked at him like he’d lost his mind. There was no way she wanted to get in that deathtrap. She could barely stand to fly in his jet. “Are you too afraid to take a nice ride?” he ribbed her.
That did it for Cassie. She wouldn’t give him the pleasure of seeing her chicken out. She’d get in the dang plane, even if it killed her – and it very well may.
Max stood behind her as she tried to figure out how she was going to get inside the small space. Suddenly, his hands gripped her waist and he boosted her up. Even through the layers of clothes his hands on her were like searing irons.
Max followed her in, and if she thought the car was a tight space, it was nothing compared to the aircraft. She soon forgot about her fear, though, as they flew over a glacier. She cried out in pleasure when she saw a pack of wolves traversing through the rough country. Max turned out to be right because she found the town and its surroundings enthralling. She was disappointed when the plane landed.
“You should see it in the summertime. It’s really something else, then,” he told her. She was thinking she’d definitely come back and stroll along the waterfront, maybe even take another scenic plane ride.
They drove out to the same glacier she’d seen from the air, and she stood by it, fascinated as the water lapped against the mountainous ice. It was huge and every so often a piece would tumble off and crash into the ocean below it.
Max’s next adventure for her was to take her through the country in a snowmobile. She actually had to shed some clothes once they were inside, with the heater running. It was like some of the farm equipment she’d passed before in the Willamette Valley during harvest season, but with huge snow tires on it. She was pressed up tightly against Max, but as the day wore on she was getting more used to that. She felt secure in their glass enclosed cab, and she got to see things the average person didn’t ever get to experience.
By the time they made it back to their cabin the sun was starting to set and Cassie was exhausted. She’d managed not to think about the fact that they were going to be sleeping only a few feet apart. Now that they were standing in the living room, dripping snow on the wood floors, she was all too aware of it.
“You go ahead and shower, get the chill off. I’ll throw something together for dinner,” he offered. She quickly ran to her room and hung her outer clothing up to dry, then dashed for the bathroom. It was actually fairly large for the small cabin. There was a decent size tub she could relax in, a separate shower, and two sinks. She decided on a quick shower to wash away the dirt, then she was sinking in that tub for at least an hour.
An hour passed and Cassie snapped her head up when she realized she was falling asleep in the now lukewarm tub. She quickly got out and dried off, then grabbed her robe. As she slipped it on she realized it was inappropriately short and wished she’d brought in her flannel pajamas. Hopefully, Max wouldn’t notice her as she made a dash for her room.
She peaked out the door, didn’t see him, so stepped out just as he turned the corner from the kitchen. His eyes lit on her, slowly traveling down her body, from her hand clutching the lapels of her robe together to the very short hem.