Stormbound - pt 2 - by Gun Brooke

Stormbound

By Gun Brooke

Part 2

“No,” Izzy said shortly, her heart pounding at the direct question. “It doesn't hurt.”

“I don't mean to intrude.” Tiffany was shivering so violently now, it was difficult to hear what she was saying. “I—“

“Shh. We need to get you out of those clothes and into the tub.”

“T-t-tub?” Tiffany looked around, her bright blue eyes wide. Blond curls hung in long, wet tendrils around her triangular face. Pale, with blue tinted lips, the woman was obviously in risk of going into shock.

“Over in the corner. Let me help you.” Steeling herself, Izzy carefully approached Tiffany again. She was all too used to people staring and recoiling at the sight of her scar.

“You have a tub in the kitchen?” Tiffany blinked. “Really?”

“A wood basin, actually.” Izzy pulled off Tiffany's wet clothes, starting with her jacket. Her unexpected house guest wore a pastel blue and white pant suit underneath a cashmere jacket. It was high-end clothes, and still Tiffany had driven a tiny Nissan, perhaps a rental. When only her bra and panties remained, Izzy pulled the blanket tightly around Tiffany again. “It'll take me a little while to fill the tub up, but I can give you something hot to drink in the meantime. Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate?”

“Hot chocolate sounds good. Anything hot, please.” Tiffany was slumping to the side now, looking completely drained.

“Let me move you closer to the stove.” Lifting the diminutive woman easily, Izzy carried Tiffany over to the cast iron stove. She put her down in the old rocking chair her grandmother had used every evening for more than fifty years. “Will you be all right there for a moment?”

“I'll be f-fine.” Tiffany smiled bravely. “I'm tougher than I look.”

“Hm.” Izzy wondered. There was something frail about Tiffany, her limbs slender and graceful even when she was cold to the bone. “Hot chocolate coming up.” She quickly poured some milk into a pan and placed it on the stove. She dug around in the pantry and located the cocoa. By the time she returned to the stove the milk was already steaming. Taking a spoon she stirred the cocoa and sugar into the milk. Pouring it into the mug, she handed it to Tiffany. Izzy cursed herself when Tiffany nearly dropped the mug on her lap when she tried to hold on to it with trembling fingers.

“God, I'm sorry,” Tiffany gasped.

“Easy, easy. I'll hold it for you.” Izzy tipped the mug enough for Tiffany to sip the hot beverage. Tiffany's small hands cupped Izzy's, which created small shivers inside her. She hadn't been touch by anyone for so long, and this small fairy-like creature was not like anyone Izzy had ever met. “Better? Good. Let me start filling the tub.”

“Thank you.” Tiffany sounded almost ridiculously polite, which was in a strange way endearing. Izzy pressed her lips together, not about to let her guard down for some wayward high society chick who'd gotten lost in the wilderness. She moved two of the large buckets of water she had on the stove and poured them into the wooden basin she used as a tub. An adult could comfortably sit with bent legs in it and it had been used for this purpose for as long as her grandparents had lived in this cabin.

Two more buckets of hot water later, Izzy added one and a half bucket of cold water so Tiffany wouldn't become completely scalded. “Here.” She looked over at Tiffany who was curled up and nearly asleep, despite the shivers running through her. “I'm sorry. I can't let you go to sleep yet.” She pulled the blanket from Tiffany's body, which evoked heartbreaking whimpers. “I know. You'll feel better in just a second. We just have to, ehm, get the last of your clothes off.” Izzy felt herself blush as she unhooked Tiffany's bra and pulled off her panties. She helped the naked woman into the tub, trying not to allow her physical beauty to affect her. “There you go. Not too hot?”

“No. It's wonderful." Tiffany sat down with Izzy's assistance and she was so small, the water reached her chin. “Oh, my goodness, it's amazing. What's that scent?”

“Regular bath salts. Some vanilla and lavender essence.” Izzy's grandmother had taught her how to make her own soap and bath salts, and it was one of the things that soothed her mind these days.

“Nice.” Tiffany closed her eyes and seemed to relax for the first time since Izzy pulled her out of the wreck.

“Are you hungry?” Izzy wasn't surprised when Tiffany mumbled no thank you" in a sleepy haze . She busied herself with hanging Tiffany's wet clothes on the back of a chair which she placed close to the stove. “There. They should be dry tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow?” Tiffany's eyes snapped open and she stared wide-eyed at Izzy. “I have to call for a new rental tonight. I...I have a bag of clothes in the car, in the back seat. I need to get back on the road—“

“I'm sorry,” Izzy interrupted. “The storm is getting worse, and there's no way you can drive anywhere tonight, even if you had access to a car.”

“B-But I have to.” Tiffany looked at her with huge, blue eyes, blurred by tears. “You don't understand—“

“No, you don't understand.” Izzy wondered how anyone could be so naïve. “It isn't safe out there even at the best of times. Tonight...well, you're lucky to be alive, and if I'd arrived a little sooner, we both could've tumbled down that slope.”

“If I could only borrow your phone? Please? It's really important.” Tiffany knelt in the tub, her arms crossed over her chest, gazing pleadingly at Izzy.

“If I had a phone, I'd lend it to you. I have a radio, which is the only thing that works out here. Cell phones sometimes work, but mostly not. In this weather, I can guarantee that there's no coverage.”

“Oh, my. What will happen now?” Tiffany sank back into the tub, looking so miserable, Izzy felt terrible that there wasn't something she could do.. No wonder the poor woman was distraught. No doubt she wanted to get as far away from Izzy as possible. Instead, she was stuck with a monster in an ancient cabin. Still, a quick glance at Tiffany made Izzy wonder if there was something more generating her panic.

“You're stuck here with me until the storm passes. Once it's safe to drive out of here, I'll give you a lift to Farlow's Creek. It's the closest town, about ninety minutes from here.”

“I'm sorry for causing so much trouble,” Tiffany whispered. “I will repay you.”

“No need.” Izzy didn't want anything in return. All she wanted was for the storm to end so she could return this hothouse flower to civilization.

Tiffany huddled in the water for another five minutes. She didn't speak, but Izzy felt her gaze when she moved around the kitchen and tidied up. She was trying not to think of the sleeping arrangements, since the cabin only had one bed.

“I think I want to get out now. May I have a towel, please.” Perfectly polite, Tiffany blushed faintly.

“Of course.” Izzy reached for the large bath towel on the counter. “It's nice and warm from the stove.”

“Good. Water's cooling off.” Tiffany quickly stood and nearly toppled over before Izzy caught her and wrapped the towel around her.

“Not so fast. You're not completely steady yet.” Izzy kept her arm around Tiffany's shoulders, guiding her to the living room, which also doubled as her bedroom. “Do you need the restroom?”

“Outside?” Tiffany looked horrified.

“No, it's not that primitive. There's a door over there in the corner that leads to a composting toilet. Very clean.”

“Oh, thank you. Yes, please.”

Izzy made sure Tiffany could manage on her own and waited by the door until she appeared again, clinging to the towel.

“May I have something to sleep in?” Tiffany asked quietly.

“What? Oh, of course. I meant to get one of my t-shirts while you were in there. Sorry.” Izzy hurried to her dresser and pulled out a dark green t-shirt and a pair of wool socks. "Here put these socks on your feet, the floor is cold and we just thawed you out. Here's one of my T-shirts." The socks would be way too big for Tiffany but they'd provide her some protection from the chill. Izzy turned her back while Tiffany put it on the items she was just handed and then turned around. She had chosen her smallest t-shirt, not sure if it might be too short, and still Tiffany looked like a child wearing her mother's clothes. A chuckle broke free before Izzy could stop it, and she desperately tried to stifle it, not wanting to offend Tiffany.

To her surprise, Tiffany giggled too, pinching the hem of the t-shirt and doing a funny little courtesy. “I know. I'm just not going to grow any more at my age, so you just have to get used to this sight, I'm afraid.”

“You look fine. Never thought that shirt could be used as a gown though.” Izzy shrugged, but she had to concede that Tiffany looked cute enough to eat— She stopped that train of thought quickly.

“Thanks.” Tiffany gazed over at the bed, and then looked around the room, as if trying to judge where she was meant to sleep. “Eh, guess you don't have enough space for a guest room, do you?” She smiled shyly.

“Good guess. You'll take the bed and I'll just grab some sleep in the rocking chair.”

“Are you crazy? The chair is lovely, but you're so tall, and it's not that comfortable. Sorry, but that's the truth. You can't sleep there.” Tiffany bit her lower lip. “The bed's pretty big. Why don't we just share. It's just us girls.” She made a funny face, wrinkling her nose. “And I don't take up much space as you can tell.”

“Oh.” Izzy went rigid. “I couldn't ask you to share a bed. You don't know me. And I'm fully aware of...” Izzy's voice trailed off and she gestured vaguely at her face.

“What?” Tiffany looked genuinely puzzled. “You saved my life. What do I need to know beyond that?”

“It's nice of you to be polite, and I appreciate it.” Izzy was the one trembling now. “I'm quite used to people not being comfortable with...you know...” She fingered her scar self-consciously.”

“Oh, you mean your scar?” Tiffany looked baffled. “Oh, my, I didn't even think about that. It's hardly noticeable.”

“You've got to be kidding.” Izzy felt herself grow furious in an instant, at such a blatant lie.

“No?” Tiffany's clear blue eyes looked straight at Izzy's, without blinking. Izzy could've sworn they were totally honest, but that was just preposterous. Hardly noticeable. My foot.

“So, you're telling me you're okay with sharing my bed despite the way I look?” Izzy hadn't been so blunt regarding her scar in all the time since the incident four months ago.

“That's exactly what I'm saying,” Tiffany said, slowly and patiently.

Izzy sighed. “All right. Why don't you get under the covers while I add some more logs to the fire?” She had to stall a bit, Izzy thought, and she needed to undress and put on her sleepwear in the kitchen, out of sight. Tiffany was perhaps being truthful about the scar on Izzy's face, but it wasn't the only one marring her skin, and some of the others were far worse.