The Woodsman

Molly

Molly couldn't see the road ahead of her no matter how fast her windshield wipers were going. It's not very encouraging given her car is a piece of shit and she's two hours late to a bachelorette cabin weekend.

Suddenly the road in front of her curved and she yanked the wheel, the car fishtailed hard and sputtered to a stop in a ditch.

"God dammit!" Molly screeched, slamming her hand against the steering wheel.

Reaching into her bag on the passenger side seat, she retrieved her phone, praying she still had a signal.

The words "no service" flashed at the top of the glowing screen, causing Molly to slam her head back on the headrest and groan.

"Guess I'm gonna get some fucking cardio," she grumbled, pushing her car door open to a freezing downpour.

"Ah, hell. Fuck me." Molly said into the darkness, feeling her hair getting soaking wet by the second.

She had no idea which direction to take and she could hear the sloughing sound of her socks as she stepped forward, mentally cursing at herself for not wearing sensible shoes.

A low rumble of thunder overhead made her jump as she tentatively kept walking, humming to herself to keep her mind distracted from the fact that she was stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Molly continued along the side of the road with her phone clutched in her hand hoping to reach any point with service to call for help until she suddenly sees the glimmer of a yellow light not far ahead of her. Please don't be the house of a psycho murderer, she thought as she moved in direction of the light despite the bells going off in her head.

The warm light beckoned her further, and despite the protests in the back of her mind, she jumped up onto the wooden porch and tentatively knocked on the door. Even through the rolling rain, she heard the heavy thump of footsteps approaching inside.

A door opened as her heart beat faster. A tall man with dark brown hair stood in front of her, a decent smell of fresh baked bread coming her way.

A furrowed brow and ice blue eyes stared back at her, the sight of this man freezing her in her very place, almost making her forget about the fact her car was currently in a ditch and that she probably looked like a drowned rat.

"Can I help you?" His voice rasped into the darkness around her, the smoky sound lulling her nerves.

"Uhh, ye–yeah," she stammered, wiping her hand across her forehead to catch the water drizzling down. "My car landed in a ditch not too far back, I was wondering if you have a phone I can borrow?"

His plump lips turned into a small, but gentle smile and his eyes twinkled as his Herculean frame leaned against the doorway, muscles almost bulging out of his plaid shirt.

"I got a phone, sweetheart. Why don't you come on in out of this rain, and I can make you a cup of coffee?"

"Oh.. I–that's okay! I can wait here." Molly replied, with a small nervous laugh, her fingers anxiously playing with the ends of her dripping brown hair. "I wouldn't want to impose or anything"

"It's really no problem," he said with a shake of his head as the door opened a little wider. "I was just making some for myself and you seem like you need it."

She just stared as he looked at her from head to toe, smirking in a way that made Molly forget how insanely cold she was.

Somehow the strangers' kind blue eyes let a wave of comfort wash over her. She watched him walk into the kitchen, getting another good look at him.