Dianna Nicolai

 A Love Like That

Chapter 1

     Mary's tears mingled with the hot, steamy water as she closed the book she was reading and laid it on the small vanity next to the bathtub. What a wonderful story. Such a happy ending.

     Slowly raising herself out of the water, she reached for a towel and began to dry her body. An image in the mirror across the small bathroom caught her eye. I'm sure not much to look at anymore. I used to have a body that made men stop and stare. Where did the time go? It seems like only yesterday.

     Mary's thoughts traveled back to when her husband was alive. She tried to drum up good memories. This is crazy. Here I am trying to convince myself that my marriage was so wonderful. I better stop reading those romance novels before I begin to believe that love should be like that. People don't really talk things over when there is a problem, find a solution and live happily ever after.

     Even Donna and her husband, Bill, don't have that kind of a marriage; they are always arguing. It drove Mary crazy. She almost hated to see her daughter come to visit. Donna has been telling her that she shouldn't live by herself in this big house; it's too much for her to take care of properly. What does she think I've been doing all these years? Sure, it's not as easy as it used to be, but this has been my home for almost forty years, and I'm not going to move into one of those apartment complexes for old people. I'll die right here. At least she didn't have to put up with anyone's ramblings but her own. Bill keeps telling Donna to leave her alone, but she keeps picking at Mary, thinking she'll give up sooner or later. She just wants the house for herself. She thinks I don't know, but I overheard her tell Bill she wanted to move here as soon as she could talk me into going to Sunnydale Apartments. What a name for a place for old people, sounds like some kind of insane asylum -- the Sunnydale Institute for the Criminally Senile.

     Laughing, Mary stepped in front of the mirror and brushed silver strands of hair in place. "There," she said, "I'm sure glad I let that nice girl down at the beauty shop talk me into this short new style. It looks a lot better. Now, I better get going or I'll be late for the meeting."

     Once outside, Mary began to feel better. The sun shone brightly on rose bushes lining the sidewalk to her front door. She breathed deeply. The sweet scent reminded her of the part in the love story where Brent had covered the bed with rose petals before carrying Serena into their honeymoon cottage.

     "What are you daydreaming about, Mary?" Sylvia's voice startled her.

     "Oh," she laughed, "I've just finished reading the best love story. You've got to read it!"

     "Humph. It's a bunch of nonsense if you ask me, all that mushy malarkey. They make up all that junk so they can sell books to old fools like us. Well, I'm not buying them. If you want to waste your money, I guess that's your business." Changing the subject before Mary had a chance to say anything, Sylvia continued, "Say, have you seen the gentleman who just moved into the old Hanley place down the block?"

     "No, I haven't met him yet, but I hear he's quite a looker."

     Sylvia scowled. "Aw, who cares about that at our age? I have to get back to weeding my flowers." Sylvia's hand searched the bed of zinnias and came up with a lone weed as she asked, "Where are you off to all dressed up?"

     Mary smiled at her neighbor and answered, "To a meeting of the Environmental Committee."

     "You sure get involved in things, don't you?" Sylvia said as she stood, pulled off her gardening gloves and walked away without waiting for an answer.

     "Well, somebody has to," Mary mumbled as she started to walk toward City Hall. Deep in thought about the agenda for the meeting, Mary didn't see the speeding car. She only heard the sound of screeching brakes.

     The sight of a body lying on the ground made Mary shiver with dread. She fought the arthritis in her legs as she moved quickly toward the accident.

     A young man was standing over the still body. As Mary approached, he turned toward her, his eyes glassy with fear. "I didn't mean to hit him. He walked right out in front of the car and I couldn't stop in time."

     "Pull yourself together now and go call an ambulance." Mary leaned down to the man's face. "He's still breathing. Hurry up! Go!"

Mountain of Love

Chapter 1

     Jill noticed the skis propped up against the back of the cabin the first time she went out to get wood for the fireplace.  Now she stood looking at them, debating whether to try it.

     A million diamonds sparkled off the freshly fallen snow as the morning sun gleamed over woods silent except for a few twittering birds.  Enough of the powdery white had descended during the night to make the desire to fly down the mountain slope impossible to ignore.  Common sense told her it wasn't wise to go alone.  But maybe it was time to do something just for the sheer thrill of it.  She'd been sensible all of her life.

     She walked part way down the hillside, making sure the area was clear of fallen logs and other debris that could cause problems. Thoughts of the many times she and Tom went skiing entered her mind, but were quickly dashed.  There was no point in dwelling on the past.   Now she needed to make some changes in her life.  The thought was scary, especially since she could no longer rely on God to help her.  He let her husband die and left her alone to raise a three-year-old son.  She wasn’t sure she could trust a God like that.

      Losing her husband in an auto accident a year ago was bad enough, but having another woman with him when he died was still almost more than Jill could bear.  Thinking about Tom brought more sad memories. Just recently she found out her beloved father was not the man she thought he was either.  He cheated on her mother, leading a separate life that no one knew about until after his death.  The cabin Jill was staying in was her father’s secret hideaway, one she hoped to dispose of quickly and return to her life in the city.

     Men!  They couldn’t be trusted, so she would have to learn to do things herself.  This looked like a good start.  She put on the skis and pushed herself to the edge of the steep slope. The air smelled of pine.  Trees below grew close together revealing only a narrow twisting path that soon was no longer in sight.

     "Here goes," she proclaimed to no one.  Jill's arms pushed downward and back on the ski poles with enough force to send her over the edge.  The slope was steeper than she anticipated.  Her speed increased.  She veered right, then left, narrowly missing a giant pine tree.  

     Suddenly her right leg felt the jar of a ski coming in contact with something immovable.  Her body plunged forward in midair, twisting and turning.  Searing pain engulfed Jill when she landed on her right leg.  She fought for control over the black waves threatening unconsciousness.

     Jill forced her eyes open to look at her leg lying twisted in an unnatural position.   Now how am I going to get out of here?  Panic began to set in.  Stay calm.  You have to keep a clear head and think this through.

     The sun disappeared behind thick gray clouds.  Snow so thick she couldn't see through it began to fall.  The faint breeze, barely noticeable earlier, turned into a full-blown wind.  The long, wailing cry of a wolf sounded nearby.

     "I am not going to die.  I am not going to die," Jill repeated out loud, hoping to convince herself.  She looked around for some type of shelter from the worsening storm. 

     Attempting to ignore the pain shooting up her leg, she pushed herself to a sitting position and removed the skis still attached to her feet.  Waves of dizziness overwhelmed her and nausea threatened to relieve her of the breakfast eaten earlier, as she dragged herself to the base of a large leafless oak tree.

     With mitten-covered hands, she swept snow over her body, covering it with the only substance she could find to use for warmth.  Exhausted she leaned back against the tree’s trunk. Why did I leave my cell phone in the cabin? I’ll just rest a little while.  When the storm lets up I'll make my way back to the cabin.  It can't be too far.

~~~~~~~

     She was being lifted up.  Tom was there to rescue her.  She snuggled closer to the warmth of the body holding her close.  A smile curved her lips, her eyelids slowly raised.  But the eyes she met were not Tom's.  Instead, the cold, steel-blue eyes of a stranger met hers.

     A quick assessment verified Jill's suspicion.  There was little doubt this was one of the mountain men about whom Jill had been warned.  Choosing to stay alone at the cabin might not have been such a good idea after all.

     Long blonde hair fell from beneath his coonskin cap.  A thick, bushy beard, the same golden color as his hair, covered the majority of his face.  Piercing eyes glared at her.

     "What are you doing up here?" he growled.

     "I...I... was skiing.  I hit a rock or something," Jill stammered.

     "You alone?" he demanded to know.

     "No," Jill never lied, but fear compelled her to be less than truthful.  "My husband is with me.  He'll be back soon.  He went to get help."

     "You were calling out for Tom.  Is that your husband's name?"

     "Yes.  Now put me down."

     Ignoring her command, he continued, "Doesn't look like he's going to make it anytime soon.  Jake and I have been out here for almost four hours and we haven't seen anybody.  We'll have to wait until this storm lets up before we can travel anyway, so we'll see if that man of yours shows up."

     Fear raised its ugly head once more.  The man was not alone.  Where was this Jake he was talking about?  How was she possibly going to get away from them?  Her head was pounding and the pain in her leg was excruciating.

     The man laid her back down on the ground, very gently much to Jill's surprise.  He walked to the mule tied to a nearby tree.

     "Easy now, boy," he spoke softly to the nervous animal trying to pull the reins loose from a branch.  "This should let up soon.  We’ll be home before you know it.”  He ran a hand down the animal's neck, reached into one of the packs hanging from the side of the mule and withdrew a bright red stocking cap, a brown wool blanket and an old army canteen.

     Jill watched the large man coming toward her.  Once next to her, he lowered himself to his haunches.  Placing one hand behind her neck, he held the canteen to her lips.

     "Take it slow," he cautioned.

     The cool liquid tasted good as it trickled over her lips and down her into her throat.  She began to shiver as the cold wind permeated her jeans and a winter jacket meant more for looks than warmth.  Since she didn’t plan to stay more than a couple of days at the cabin, she hadn’t brought many clothes.

     The man brushed the snow from Jill’s hair and pulled the stocking cap over her head.   He reached for the blanket, wrapped part of it over her and anchored it under her side.  Then he lay down next to her.  When he began to pull her body close, she protested but he ignored her and tucked the remaining part of the blanket around himself. 

     "This should keep us warm until the storm lets up and we can get to my cabin."

     His cabin?  Why would he take her to his cabin instead of the hospital?  No one would be able to find her there.  Fear squeezed until she couldn’t breathe.  She fought the blackness beginning to surround her.  She needed to be awake, alert.  It was hard to tell what this man might have in mind for her.

     "I'm David Tanner.  Most people just call me Tanner.  What's your name?"

     Tanner tried to get the woman to talk, hoping she would stay conscious, but she only mumbled, "Look more like Goliath," and passed out.

     Even through the clothing separating them, Tanner could feel the shapely contours of a woman's body as he held her close.  One cheek lay on his shoulder; the other was covered by long, black hair that delicately curled around her face as it poked out from beneath the stocking cap and cascaded to below her shoulders.  He began to react to the sensations created by her closeness.

     This just isn't going to work, he told himself as he rose and tucked the blanket back around her.  I've been alone too long in these mountains.

     He began to search for branches to use for splints.  Finding two that would work, he shook the snow from them, snapped them off the tree and sat down next to her.  Using his whittling knife, he worked until they were smooth as a polished stone.  He slit through her denim jeans and exposed the broken leg. 

     Quickly, Tanner unhooked the leather strings from his boots and used them to anchor the splints to her leg.  This was no place to set a leg.  It would have to be done after he reached the cabin.

     Tanner gently picked Jill up and put her over his shoulder like he was carrying a sack of flour.  He walked to the mule, untied the reins from the branch and carefully mounted, sliding her down into the cradle of his arms.

     "Come on, Jake, let's head for home.  Looks like her husband isn't going to make it back for a while and I don't intend to freeze to death waiting for him."

~~~~~~~~

     Melissa stood staring at the cabin, unsure what to do.  Jill’s car was here, but she didn’t answer the door.  Was Jill still so angry she was never going to talk to her?  She pounded on the door again.  Still no one answered.  Snow was falling heavily now and even though Jill needed to know the truth, Melissa wasn’t going to wait around and get caught in the storm.  She would catch up with Jill when she returned to Knoxville.