Rescued

Chapter 1-2

“Uh, sorry.”

Dean shook himself. The first thing that ran through his mind was the steely strength in the guy’s chest and the fire in his eyes. The horn blew again and broke the brewing tension. Colt shook his head in what seemed like amusement.

“Uncle Colt, did you find someone?” a young voice shouted over the howling wind and the sound of sleeting ice on the windshield of what looked like a brand-new truck with a plow on the front.

“Yeah.” Colt grunted as he grabbed for the door handle. “Push over, Coop.”

A young boy, about the age of thirteen, peered out the window and slid over to the furthest part of the seat. He gave Dean a brief smile.

“Hop in the middle, Dean. The heater will blow right on ya.”

Dean couldn’t help but notice Colt only wore a dark flannel shirt, ripped blue jeans, and winter hiking boots. Dean started to warm without even getting in the truck. “Thanks.”

When Dean slid in, the warmth of the truck seeped into his bones, making them ache in the best way. He yanked his gloves off and rubbed his hands briskly in front of the vent. The shakes started to lessen as Colt got in the driver’s side and started up the steep incline of the road.

“I’ll be taking you to my place up the road. The town is all but closed down because of the blizzard. We just made our way back from there, and the roads are too bad to travel back.” Colt grunted as the truck slowly made its way up the hill.

“Um, okay. I hope I won’t be any trouble. I can call my brother to come and get me if I could use your phone?”

Dean looked to the side and saw Coop grinning. He wondered why the boy grinned, but Colt glared in his direction. Dean was just glad to be out of the elements. He glanced at the clock on the dash and realized he’d been out in the blizzard longer than he thought. Two hours had passed since he’d left his truck behind. Any longer, he would have died out there.

An old country tune played softly in the background while Colt navigated the slick street and kept a vigilant eye on his surroundings. Hot Springs was notorious for wildlife crossing the streets, but in the backwoods of Wyoming, it was more of a danger. In addition, the slick roads and snow piling up made for one hairy ride.

Dean took the opportunity to look at Colt out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t want to be too obvious with his perusal, but he couldn’t help noticing how the guy filled out a flannel shirt. Dean loved guys in flannel shirts and blue jeans. He admired Colt’s hands, nose, and strong jaw, complete with a five o’clock shadow. If he’d met this guy in different circumstances, he would’ve definitely put on the charm.

A snort caught his attention and yanked him out of his PG-13 thoughts that were turning more into R-rated the longer he thought of Colt’s hands and muscular chest. The soft giggle became a hardy laugh when he realized he was staring at Colt and the truck was stopped. Completely embarrassed, Dean cleared his throat and tried to think of something witty to say. His brother always admired how Dean could take any situation and lighten the mood, but Dean’s mind went blank. As he peered at Colt through his lashes, Colt grimaced and pointed out the window to the large tree across the road. There was no way they could get around it, let alone drive over it.

Colt let out a long-suffering sigh and cranked the heat, put his flashers on, and grabbed what looked like a hooded sweatshirt from the back of his seat. When he raised his arms, part of his treasure trail peeked out from under his flannel shirt. Another bought of laughter came from the opposite side of the truck where Coop sat, grinning like a loon at Dean and the predicament they were in. Coop grinned at Dean. Dean didn’t know what was so funny or the private joke Coop and Colt had between them, but Coop obviously got a kick out of irking his uncle.

“Cut the crap, Coop.” Colt grunted at the kid but winked as he opened up the door to the truck.

“Umm, do you need help with anything?” Dean wasn’t sure what the plan was or what help he could give, but he didn’t want to just sit there after being rescued and not offer. He was still thawing, but he was as hard a worker as anyone.

“No, I am just going to see if I can cut the tree up so we can pass through. The town won’t get out this far tonight. It’s better than waiting on them.”

Before Dean could answer, Colt slammed the truck door and lumbered to the back. He grabbed what looked like a huge chainsaw and goggles to cover his eyes.

“My uncle Colt can handle anything.” Coop smiled, hero worship in his eyes, as if his uncle hung the moon and stars.

The chainsaw drowned out the silence, and Dean couldn’t just sit back and let Colt do all the cutting and heavy lifting. He said as much to Coop.

Coop smiled at Dean “I would love to help, too, but Uncle Colt would kill me if I went out there in this weather.”

Smiling at Coop, Dean wrapped his coat tighter around his neck, put his gloves back on, and opened the truck door. Wet heavy snow blew in, already freezing his nose and any exposed skin he had, but he wanted to help Colt out so they could get off the road quicker and he could call his brother and be on his way.

“What the f**k do you think you’re doing?” Colt had the chainsaw idling in his hand as he stared at Dean like he had two heads.

“I’m helping get the brush cleared away.” Dean dragged the tree limbs to the side of the road.

“Well, get your ass back in the truck. You could have died earlier. You were frozen half to death, and I don’t have time…”

Interrupting Colt’s tirade, Dean yelled over the chainsaw, “Two people are better than one. The quicker we get this cleared, the quicker I can get out of your hair.” Dean all but shouted the end statement, pulling brush and throwing it over the side of the embankment, noticing Colt staring in his direction like he was crazy.

“Don’t say a word. I am not some pansy ass. I can help. Are you going to stand there and stare or get this tree cut so we can get out of here?” Dean elbowed past Colt to grab another huge branch, tugging and pulling until he could throw it over the side of the embankment with the others.