The wind that came with the snow storm had Mackenzie’s loose hair whipping around her face as she carried the last few pieces of wood to the wood shed. Using the small wood shed to block the raging wind, she took a moment to pull her hoodie up over her knit hat covered head. Taking a deep breath, Mackenzie stepped back into the icy storm and pushed the shed door close. If the snow storm had been any louder, she probably would have missed the sound of a large shadow hit the snow bank, forcing the object to come to a sudden stop near the edge of her property front. She squinted her eyes at the motionless object, her brows furrowing as she moved as quickly as she could in the knee deep snow towards the ax she was using earlier.
Wrapping her numbing cold fingers around the wooden handle of the ax, Mackenzie held the tool or in her mind, weapon, close to her chest. She took one step at a time, keeping her eyes on the object as she fought to stay upright with the harsh wind trying to push her down. The closer she got to the object, the more it began to take the shape of a vehicle. Eyes widening, Mackenzie moved a little quicker to see if the person driving needed any help.
Halting a few feet away from the truck, she noted the mound of snow on the hood of the truck, keeping it from going anywhere any time soon. Mackenzie lifted her left hand up to open the driver side door. She met resistance from the door being locked. She then wiped at the window with her left hand and peered through the tinted window. Seeing a figure hunched over with their head on the steering wheel, Mackenzie pounded her left fist against the window.
“Hello! Can you hear me? I need you to unlock the door so that I can help you!” Mackenzie shouted through the snow-laced wind.
The person inside remained unmoving and that had Mackenzie’s panic begin to rise. Glancing down at the ax in her right hand, she bit her bottom lip in thought. With a split second decision, she brought the pointed end of the ax up and gave the window a testing tap. Ducking her head away from the window, Mackenzie brought the ax against the glass surface. The glass shattered, sending pieces flying inside the truck. Setting the ax down against the side of the truck, she reached inside and unlocked the door. The wind blew snow through the cab of the truck as she pulled the door open.
She swallowed, her mouth suddenly going dry at the sight of the unconscious man. Gripping the man’s left arm, she carefully pulled him off of the steering wheel and lean him up against the seat. Giving the man a once over, Mackenzie saw the gash above his left brow and winced at the free flowing blood. Reaching over the man’s lap, she unclicked his seatbelt and had to grab him as he started to tilt forward.
“I apologize if I hurt you.” Mackenzie said to the man she currently had her hands on.
Tightening her grasp under the man’s arms, she gave him a tug towards her. A squeak escaped her lips when he fell out of his seat and into her, causing both of them to tumble into the freezing snow. Letting out a huff of air, she attempted to roll the man off of her. She tensed up when he groaned and she shoved her hands harder against his chest. As soon as he slid off of Mackenzie, she scooted backwards with her eyes locked onto the man’s face. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she pushed away the fear that had lodge itself in her.
“It’s not him….It’s not…It’s not him.” Mackenzie spoke to herself, feeling the calmness begin to wash over her.
Gaining her senses back, Mackenzie got to her feet before looping her hands underneath the man’s arms. She then made the move to drag him backwards. She only succeeded at digging the soles of her boots deeper into the snow. Pausing, she tried to think of how she was going to get the man back to her cabin. Taking off her parka, she placed it over the man so he would not freeze anymore with just his long sleeve shirt on. She then ran towards her house, tripping every other step because of the high snow. Going around the side towards the wood shed, she saw the sled she had propped up against the side.
With it in tow, she raced back towards the unconscious man. His blood had slowed from the icy atmosphere and Mackenzie was able to focus solemnly on getting the man on the sled. Cupping her hands underneath his arms again, Mackenzie used the sled as a foothold while she heaved the dead weight onto the solid surface. When she finally managed to get the man onto the sled, she took a breather and fixed her parka over his chest. His arms fell limply off of the sides of the sled as she took a strong hold of the rope attached to the front of the sled. Using her shoulder to hold most of the tension of the rope, Mackenzie turned to face her cabin.
Digging her heels into the snow, she began to pull with everything she had. It took a moment, but the sled started to give way and slid with her steps. She held in her praise until she reached the safety of the cabin porch. Bracing her feet on the first visible step of the porch, Mackenzie began to drag him up the wooden steps. It seemed like forever until she made it to the flat surface of her porch. Worn out, she mustered the last of her strength hauling the man through the front door and straight into the open living room slash kitchen space. What little muscles she had in her arms and legs, they felt like heavy metal sinking into the ocean from all of the dead weight she had to lug around.
“How much do you weight?” Mackenzie said under her breath as she took a decorative pillow off of the sand colored couch and maneuvered it under the man’s head.
She removed her parka and replaced it with the dark blue blanket she had thrown over the back of the couch. Tucking the edges around the man, she took a moment to unlace his shoes. She took his shoes and her parka over to the front door. She hung her parka up before setting his shoes beside her door mat. Her arms felt heavy as she unwound her scarf and hung it beside her parka. She added her knitted hat to the mix before slipping her gloves off. Stooping down to unlace her boots, she slipped her wool sock covered feet from them.
Mackenzie straightened up and walked into the kitchen. Taking a small bowl, she used the pump handle of the sink to fill the bowl halfway before grabbing a clean dish towel from the drawer beside the stove. Detouring into the bathroom on her way back to the living room, she took the first-aid kit out from under the sink. She set the kit along with the bowl and towel on the coffee table. Sitting down beside the man’s left side, Mackenzie picked up the towel and dipped an end in the water bowl. She then began to gently clean up the gash above the man’s left eyebrow.
“Deal with his injuries and then call for help. Simple enough.” Mackenzie whispered.
After cleaning the gash up, she pursed her lips once she had the cut cleaned up enough to get a good look at it.
“This will scar.”
Mackenzie’s eyes widened in surprise at how much the thought of the gash scaring upset her.
’He looks so peaceful.’ She thought, replacing the damp towel with the first-aid kit.
She rooted through the kit until she found the antiseptic wipes she was looking for. Ripping open the square packet, she pulled out the wipe and carefully swiped it over the open wound. Blue eyes shot open and Mackenzie screamed, jerking her hand away. A groan left Reid’s lips as he felt the ache in his head. Reaching up to touch his forehead, Reid winced when his elbow burned. His head spun as he glanced over from where a scream had resonated and blinked. A wavy haired brunette filled his eyes, her own dark brown eyes were wide in shock.
“Belle.”
The word slipped out of Reid’s mouth as black dots filled his line of vision. The woman in front of him said something, what it was he did not know as he fell back. Mackenzie moved forward and caught the man before he could hit his head on the wood floor. Rearranging his head back onto the pillow, she let out a shuddering breath, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes.
“Calling me beautiful and then passing out.” Mackenzie murmured, but a small smile lit up her face as she finished cleaning and bandaging his forehead.
