My Alaskan mountain man

A bond is forming

On the request of Doc Willow, Robin and Sheriff Penser sit in the living room being as still as they can be, trying to overhear what is being said in the bedroom between Doc Willow and Cammie.

After some time Doc Willow comes out of the bedroom, “she’s sleeping now, I’ve given her a light sedative”.

Willow runs her hand from her brow to the sides of her forehead and rubs her temples gently. She has a pained expression and says quietly, “I need a paracetamol, I have a pounding headache”.

She walks over to the green medical bag that I had to retrieve from the snow on the first day they’d arrived. She digs around and pulls a box of pills out, pops them from their container and swallows two. Then walks over to the kitchen and pours a tall glass of water before downing half of that. She leans against the kitchen counter, closes her eyes and puts her head back as if trying to will-away the ache that is pulsating through her head.

With a long sigh she lifts her head and opens her eyes. I see tears start to swell in the corners of her eyes and with that she says, “well! She remembers what has happened to her. It’s not good, not good at all.” Doc’s voice trembling now, something I have never in all my years of being her patient have I ever seen. I have only ever seen doc as the calm, reassuring and put together doctor.

Sheriff walks over to doc and puts his arm over doc’s shoulders in a loving and comforting manner. He asks, “what is this talk about a sister? Did she mention her again?”

Doc puts her hand to her temple again before replying, “the short version of what she has told me, is that she and her sister were drugged, r***d and then brought up the mountain in the back of a truck by three men. The men’s plan was to let Cammie and her sister run through the forest so that they could be hunted down by the men.”

Doc pauses, “her sister was set free first. Cammie says she was still drowsy from the drugs they’d given her and it made her clumsy and slow. Cammie says she remembers her sister was falling over and stumbling as she was trying to run away. She said she tried to help her sister but they got separated somehow.”

Robin, “does she know if her sister was killed or not?”

Willow, “she is hoping that her sister managed to get away and managed to find help somewhere”.

Robin, “sheriff we need to get that radio working, we need to know if a girl’s been found”.

Sheriff, “yep! Let’s get that thing working right now”, both sheriff and Robin head over to the radio to try all of the emergency channels.

All three of them have the same thought in their heads, that if Cammie’s sister was on the mountain, even if they didn’t manage to hunt her down, she would most certainly be dead from exposure after the storm hit, but no one wanted to entertain the idea for very long.

If there is a chance that she may still be alive we need to try and find her.

***

After dinner, doc checked on Cammie one last time before retiring to bed with the Sheriff. During the day we tried all the channels on the radio over and over again but nothing, absolutely nothing. Tirelessly, I try until late into the night. When doc and sheriff had decided to call it a night I went back over the radio again, checking every wire and circuit, it wasn’t until well past midnight that I found a wire had burnt out. It was dark out and all of my tools were in the shed outside. The path I’d shovelled earlier in the day when I checked on the livestock had been snowed in again and I have no light in the shed. Fixing the radio would have to wait for first light.

At least I’ve found the problem, as soon as first light hits I’ll make my way to the shed for my tools and I’ll get the radio working. I go to the kitchen basin and rinse my face with cold water and wash my hands. I guess it’s another night in the bedrooms arm chair.

I walk into the room, Cammie is laying and sleeping peacefully, whatever doc gave her it seems to have worked well because she hadn’t woken at all, all day.

I find the blanket I’ve been using is folded and has been put along the bottom of the bed. I walk over to the bed and look in on Callie, her eyes are closed gently and she looks like an angel. I stare at her peaceful face for a while. Her dark hair is splayed over the pillow and her long lashes lay gently curved into half moon shapes. Her lips are less cracked and have some soft pink coming through, I suppose my lip salve is working. I smile and give myself a little inner pat on the back as a reward.

After studying her quiet, sleeping face, I turn and grab the edge of the blanket on the foot of the bed. As I slide it off of the edge of the bed, Cammie’s eyes open and she turns her attention to me. Seeing her with her sleepy, swollen eyes from all the crying, and her muddled hair, it makes me want to kiss her on the forehead like a doting father would a sick child. All I want to do is make her all better.

“Sorry,” I say with an apologetic wince, “I was just.... getting my blanket.” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to wake you”.

Cammie half smiles and says, “that’s okay, I wasn’t fully asleep”.

“Will you be sleeping here in the chair again?” She asks.

Robin, “yes, ...” then hesitates, concerned she may think he was intruding on her privacy, “ that’s only if that’s okay with you? I mean, I can find somewhere else to sleep if you want me to?”

Cammie shakes her head, “no, please stay, I feel safe when you’re here in the room”.

I get a little tingle of arousal at the thought of making Cammie feel safe, it’s weird, I don’t know her but I feel an instant attraction to her, an almost animalistic or primal need to protect her and keep her as mine. Her vulnerability speaks to me in ways that I’m not used to, it makes me feel something toward her that I’ve never felt for someone before. I mean, she is incredibly pretty and I find her physically attractive, but there’s more to it, almost like a possessiveness and although I have never thought of someone being able to own or possess another person, I feel the need to keep her as mine. As if that’s the only way she’ll ever feel safe and loved again.

I found her on my mountain where I had grown up and I’ve brought her to my cabin, she’s in my bed and I intend to keep her here.

What a strange notion? Just because she’s in my bed in my cabin, she’s mine?

I know it’s stupid to think that way, but, God help the man who tries to hurt her again, or tries to take her away. If I had it my way she would stay here, on my homestead with me. I would show her what it means to be loved and cared for by a loving, hardworking man who will not only treat her gently but will show her the true genuine goodness, love, strength and companionship of a real man. Someone who worships her and wouldn’t dream of hurting her.

I’m relieved that she wants me to sit here in the room with her. I wouldn’t have been able to get a wink of sleep tonight if I didn’t have her in my sights. I give a little nod of my head and sit in the chair, cover myself with the blanket and then ask, “are you okay?”

Cammie lays silently for a minute before answering, “I am worried about my sister, the worst runs through my head and I just have to push that thought out of my head. I can’t think of her, out there, in the cold snow, naked, dead, eaten by animals.” Cammie starts to sob, “I need to stay positive, she could’ve gotten away”, her eyes looking into mine, pleading for me to give her a sign to say that I agree that she may have gotten away and found help. Anything at all, a little reassuring nod of the head or a little encouraging smile, but nothing, I choose to give her nothing because the reality is, I truly don’t know.

Cammie’s expression drops and she goes quiet again.

Robin, “the radio is shot, I’ve found a burnt wire and I’ll have to fix it. I’m going to get to it at first light.” Robin’s voice a bit perky now to try raise Cammie’s spirits, “if Callie has found somewhere safe we will know within a few hours of fixing the radio. Someone would have radioed in if there was a girl in need of help, don’t you worry about that. People around here are good people.”

As he said it, Robin immediately regretted saying it. s**t, all that’s happened to Cammie and her sister happened around here, and we don’t even know if it’s one of our own towns folk.

Cammie replies, “but what if she’s hurt and still out there?”

Robin shifts forward in his chair and takes Cammie’s hand in his and in his softest, most gentle tone he says, “I’m sorry baby, but not even I would survive out in that storm on these mountains. And I’ve lived here my whole life.”

He continues with, “our best hope is that she’s been found or she’s found someone or somewhere to shelter from the storm. It’s not the worst idea, I found you didn’t I?... and if that’s the case, we’ll definitely find her and reunite the two of you.” Robin finishes with a reassuring smile.

Cammie nods her head, “you should get some sleep if you’re getting up at first light to fix the radio.”

I agree, I get up and switch the light off, then head back to my chair. As I get comfortable Cammie says, “Rob... can I call you Rob?”

I say, “yes of course, that’s what most people call me.”

Cammie, “Rob,... thank you for staying with me. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Cammie”