This is definitely a girl. Not many blokes have such nice, round breasts.
I open my mouth to thank the angel, but she speaks first.
"We can chitchat later," she says. "Better take you to a warm place before you get frostbite. Did you bring any serious winter clothing?"
"Isn't this serious?" I ask, gesturing at the parka I've just pulled on.
We both need to almost shout to hear each other over the wind and the creaking of the trees. I can't help picturing an enormous branch snapping off one of those trees to slam down on my head. That would just be my luck.
I have started to shiver a bit, so this girl might have a point about getting to a warm place.
She waves for me to follow as she trots back to her snowmobile. Yes, I can now see that's what the machine is. I hurry after the girl as fast as I can, but the snow is at least two feet deep here. Can't understand how the woman who rescued me can slog through this mess like it's candyfloss, but I'm getting winded and starting to sweat. When I reach the snowmobile, a black one with pink accent stripes, she hands me a full-face helmet almost identical to hers.
A black helmet, thankfully. Pink isn't my color.
The girl climbs astride the machine and pushes down the face shield on her helmet.
I climb on behind her.
She glances back at me. "Better hold on to me. It'll be a bumpy ride."
"All right." I feel a bit weird about it, but I wrap my arms around her waist. I've never hugged a stranger so tightly before, but she did mention a bumpy ride ahead. "I'm ready."
The snowmobile revs up, and we're off.
As my new mate drives past my car, she calls out, "We'll come back for your stuff in the morning. Okay?"
"Sure."
The girl finds a wider spot in the road and turns around, then seems to hit the accelerator, or whatever machines like this one have, and we rocket away. I cling to her as the forest streaks by, my teeth clacking every time we bounce over a lump on the ground or…I don't know what. Can't really see, what with a blizzard raging around us and my helmet obscuring my view. Soon, I notice lights up ahead. They don't look like vehicle headlights, so maybe that's a house I see. My assumption is confirmed when we stop in the driveway of a modest-size log cabin, near the porch steps.
My savior angel shuts off the snowmobile's engine. "Let's get inside."
I dismount from the machine a bit more clumsily than I would've liked. A pretty girl saved me, and now I'm bumbling around like I'm on drugs. I'm not, I swear. But our ride through the woods has left me feeling slightly off balance.
Still, I manage to follow the girl into the cabin.
As she shuts the door behind us, every muscle in my body relaxes for the first time in at least an hour, maybe longer. I got lost, then got bogged down in a blizzard, and then my car died… Yeah, I've had some stress. We take off our helmets, and I finally see all of her face.
This girl is beautiful. Her long blonde hair falls over her shoulders now, though it seems to have been tucked up inside her helmet before. It still looks a little squashed. Since I know she has dark lashes and dark eyebrows, I assume she's not a natural blonde, but I don't care.
She pushes her hands into her hair and shakes her head while she combs her locks out with her fingers. A smile curves her luscious mouth. "Ahhh, much better."
The girl reaches out to remove my helmet.
Why? Because I've been standing here like a bloody statue, gawping at the pretty girl who saved my life. What a brilliant first impression I'm making.
"How are you feeling?" she asks.
"Not bad, considering I almost died out there."
"Glad you didn't." She taps the tip of my nose. "A cutie like you shouldn't become a human Popsicle."
She thinks I'm cute? I definitely think she's adorable.
I glance at my surroundings, taking note of a large fireplace behind us that has flames dancing away. The room also has a sofa, two armchairs, a coffee table, and some other smaller pieces of furniture that seem more decorative than practical. A Christmas tree stands in one corner, its multicolored lights brightening the space, while red, green, and gold garlands decorate the walls and the island in the open kitchen.
As I peel off my parka, I notice seven stockings hanging from the mantel. Does she have family staying here too? A husband and kids?