Part Three

Liz woke slowly, emerging from her cocoon of sleep bit by bit. She liked waking up this way, instead of to the jarring ring of an alarm clock. It provided her with the opportunity to review the events of the previous day, and kind of go over her mental laundry list. It was something she didn't get to do frequently after they went on the run. Max always jumped right out of bed in the morning, and expected her to do the same.

She rolled over, and stretched languorously, enjoying the slight ache she felt in her muscles. She opened her eyes slowly and found Kyle resting his head on his arm, watching her with interest.

"Morning," she said

"Morning," he replied, unsure of how to proceed.

"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked.

"Well, first, you looked so beautiful just lying there, that I didn't want to bother you, but second, I remembered you telling me one time you liked to wake up slowly, at your own pace, and I just didn't have the heart to disturb you."

Liz smiled feeling like her heart was going to explode at the depth of Kyle's kindness. He was so different than Max. Max. The name brought a whole new set of emotions to the forefront of Liz's mind. It was something she was going to have to address, but not now. This thing with Kyle was too new, too fragile. She didn't want to injure it by bringing Max into the mix.

"I, uh, I made coffee," Kyle said, gripped by a sudden attack of shyness. He wasn't sure how to act. This was Liz, his friend, but suddenly, everything was different. What if this was only a one time thing?

"Coffee would be great," Liz said, smiling at Kyle. "Do you think we should try to get into work, today?"

"Oh," Kyle said, relieved to have something to talk about. "Actually, I managed to get a hold of Vera on my cell. She said to stay home today, and probably tomorrow. The whole town is shut down. She said for us to not even try and get off the mountain until they send a plow up to us. They'll get to us as soon as possible, but we're not high on the priority list right now."

"Makes sense," said Liz.

They sat on the bed, side by side physically, but worlds apart emotionally as they tried to make sense of this new development between them. Finally Liz said she was going to go take a shower, and then she'd fix them some breakfast to go with the coffee that Kyle made.

"I left some water heating over the fire," Kyle said. "We still don't have any power."

"Oh," Liz said, flushing with embarrassment. "I didn't think about that. Thanks Kyle, it was really sweet of you to do that for me." She looked around and found her outsized flannel shirt in a pile on the floor, and she reached down, picked it up and pulled it on. She slid out of the bed quickly, trying not to let the cold air in the room touch Kyle, and walked quickly out of the room.

Once in the main living area of the cabin, she paused, trying to make sense of everything that had happened, but she wasn't able to. She walked over to the fireplace and added several more logs and watched as the flames flickered merrily. The water in the large back kettle suspended over the fire heated, sending spirals of steam into the air. Looking around, Liz found the pail Kyle had used to fill the kettle with the snow that he melted for water. She dipped out some of the water into the pail, leaving plenty for Kyle and carried it into the bathroom.

Not loving this pioneer thing too much, she thought to herself as she sponged off in the privacy of the small bathroom. Liz pulled the shirt off and dropped it to the floor and dropped her facecloth into the warm water. As she washed, her mind drifted back to the events of the previous night. Sex with Kyle was – well it was wonderful. With Max, sex was good, too, but it had always been so serious, almost like it was a sacred act. Liz got that. Sex was sacred, and it wasn't something to be done indiscriminately, but it could be fun, too – and playful. And with Kyle, it was. It was sacred, there was a sense of wonderment about it, but it was also fun. She wasn't afraid to laugh with Kyle. And the sex itself, well, it was mind blowing to say the least.

Liz looked into the mirror and saw her face wearing a very contented, satisfied smile looking back at her. Her face flushed as she remembered some of the things Kyle had done to her, and she had done to him. She had allowed him liberties she had never allowed Max. He touched her both physically and emotionally in ways Max never had.

A loud roaring engine interrupted her musings, and she quickly finished her morning ablutions and exited the bathroom, pulling the flannel shirt over her head as she went.

The roaring sound grew louder for a minute and then began to fade, and Liz realized that it was the snowplow making it's way back down their mountain road after clearing them out. Kyle walked out of the bedroom, wearing nothing but a faded pair of blue jeans. He stopped when he saw her standing there, and his voice caught in his throat.

"Hey," he said, finally.

"Hey."

"I thought you were still in the bathroom," he said. "I'll just go back in,"

"Kyle, don't," Liz said. She held out her hand to him, and took a step in his direction. "I don't want it to be like this between us. Last night was wonderful, and I'm so glad that it happened," she finished in a rush. She stood there, hand still extended, her lower lip caught between her teeth as she waited for his response.

"Liz," he said with relief. "I was so afraid you were regretting what happened. I thought I had just lost my best friend, and I couldn't stand that."

"No chance of that," Liz said, releasing her breath in a silent whoosh of relief. "Nothing, no matter what happens between us will ever ruin our friendship. What was it you said last night? Whatever it takes?"

"I wasn't talking about our friendship when I said that," Kyle said, suggestively.

Liz flushed as she remembered exactly what Kyle had been talking about when he said that, and Kyle took the opportunity to step forward and swing Liz up into his arms. He was halfway back to their bedroom when a pounding on the door interrupted them. Kyle paused, and looked back at the door, and then at Liz.

"I don't suppose we could just ignore them and hope they go way?" Liz asked hopefully.

"Somebody could be stranded, Kyle said, regretfully. We'd better see who it is."

He set Liz back on her feet and the two walked to the door. Kyle's hand reached down to caress her bear behind just as she started to open the door.

Laughing, Liz reached for the door and opened it while Kyle stood behind her enjoying the view her shapely legs provided. A blast of arctic are filled the cabin, and Liz stepped back reflexively, and Kyle's arms encircled her protectively.

"Max," she said in shock to the tall figure in the door.