Chapter Six
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A pale greyness passed through the window swallowing the day’s light. Carrie Ann laid sprawled out in bed, lying face down, nose squished in a fluffy pillow. She peeled one eyelid open then the other, glaring at a log wall.
Heaviness encumbered her limbs as she drew them beneath her chest. The sound of rain falling on the roof wrapped the space in a hushed solitude. She raised to her elbows, lifting her head from the sateen steel blue pillowcase. The tips of her fingers turned small circles rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
Her heart rate picked up speed, scouring the bedroom for familiarities. Carrie Ann made detailed observations of her rustic surroundings, hoping something would ring a bell, but the spacious bedroom held none. Only fine cabin-like furnishings. Her eyes immediately drawn to a large antique armoire filling the far corner of the bedroom. The dark wood almost hidden beneath the distressed sea-glass blue patina. A floor lamp made of antlers sat beside a craftsman style overstuffed chair and ottoman covered in worn leather and a camp-style blanket.
Her head twisted to the right inspecting the rumpled down blanket on the other side of the bed. A shallow indentation on the pillow indicated she’d not slept alone. Panic settled over her like the heavy wool blanket¸ filling her with dread.
“Shit,” she croaked, smacking and licking her dry lips searching for much needed saliva.
Propped on both elbows, her naked breasts bounced as she reached for a tall glass of water on the bedside table fashioned from a tree stump. A wicked hangover pounded her temples. Two blue Advil set beside a folded piece of paper reading:
You’re safe
Take these
I’m outside in the barn
Summer
“Summer?” Her confusion mounted, yet oddly enough, seeing his signature brought a bit of relief to her reeling imagination. Carrie Ann downed the pills, quenching her parched scratchy throat. “Barn? Where the hell am I?”
Every inch of her body was sore and stiff. Fisting the silky sheets, she attempted to slip out of bed, but a bulky weight laying atop the covers between the back of her spread thighs prevented her from moving.
Oh God.
The heaviness stirred, stretching with a shiver before settling a portion of its bulk atop her rump. She wriggled, pressing her hips to the mattress. Noting the tenderness in her inner thighs, she swallowed, hard. Her shoulders raised and lowered with each exaggerated breath she desperately tried to control. There was nothing. Zero recollection of the night. Embarrassment slowly crept over her nude body, bringing a wave of nausea to her tummy.
Terrified to chance a glance over her shoulder, she stared straight forward at the intricate iron scrolls of the headboard and the square log walls behind it. She wasn’t ready to face the music or Summer.
Suddenly, the body disappeared. A pant of searing breath at her shoulder blade conjured up imaginings of an evening she couldn’t recall. Taking into consideration her nakedness, soreness down below, and last but not at the very least a note from Summer on the bedside table, the cinematic film churning through her mind was soiled with humiliation. She felt a cold nose nudge the place where her arm met her torso. A rough tongue licked her cheek.
Hit with the intoxicating sweetness of puppy breath, triggered an instant calmness inside. Carrie Ann rolled to her side. She swore the pair of chocolate brown eyes smiled at her as the pup rested its muzzle on her pillow.
“Who are you?” she asked in a soft groggy tone. Carrie Ann stroked its soft cream colored fur a few times before locating the heart-shaped tag hanging from the pink collar. “Aspen.”
The pads of the puppy’s paws made a scratchy noise against the silky fabric as the golden retriever inched closer. Her entire body wriggled with excitement taking another swipe at Carrie Ann’s face.
She hauled the blankets up to her chest. The plush bedding held traces of the warm, sunny, familiar scent of Summer. Lying beneath a massive pealed log beam that spanned the entire room, she took in the surroundings, desperately hoping something would spark a memory of how she got there.
Rain struck against the window, running down the glass in clear ribbons. A loud pop made her lurch upright, clutching to the puppy. Uninterested in the noise or her loud squeal, Aspen began chewing on a strand of Carrie Ann’s hair. Another round of pops and hisses resonated from the glowing ambers in the fireplace.
Draping her legs over the edge of the bed, she wrapped the down blanket around her body, collected Aspen in her arms, and plodded toward the window. The dark and stormy sky gave no indication of time of day. Glancing back over her shoulder toward the bed, there was no clock anywhere in sight.
Carrie Ann peered out the window, but couldn’t see anything through the fog. Leaning closer, nearly touching her nose to the cold windowpane, she wiped the condensation from the glass. Low lying clouds hovered above a vast golden meadow stretching all the way across a valley to the base of a mountain on the other side. A very big mountain.
A deep groove notched between her brows. “What the…where the hell am I?”
Setting Aspen on the floor, she scurried to the other corner window. The puppy pounced atop the blanket dragging behind Carrie Ann’s feet. Grabbing a corner between her sharp teeth, she barked and growled playfully, shaking the fluffy fabric in her mouth like a chew toy.
“Shh. No, no.” Carrie Ann warned with a quick snap of her fingers.
Aspen released the blanket, looking up at her with sad dejected puppy eyes.
“Come here.” She scooped a free hand under her soft, pink belly.
A thick forest of tall pine trees consumed the view. She couldn’t escape the uncertainty and doubt clouding her mind. The more she tried to remember what happened the madder she got. Inner turmoil churned like the threatening darkness beyond the window. The last thing she recalled was being on the dance floor with Jason and then…Summer standing under the tree.
Stifling her instantaneous I’m going to kick his ass reaction, she set the pooch down and warily peeked her nose out the bedroom door before making her way through the cabin. The only sounds she heard were Aspen’s nails clacking on the wide plank flooring and rain drizzling on the tin roof. The structure itself seemed rather dated, as if it’d been there for fifty years, but it’d been remodeled with a small top notch gourmet kitchen. Modern furnishings, an exquisite worn leather sofa and two love seats, created a U-shaped lounge in front of a river rock fireplace.
She couldn’t help snooping, inspecting each room, including a room that was obviously Summer’s. Inquisitively, she tip-toed inside the spacious bedroom. His tux hung on a hanger on the closet door, shoes kicked to the side of his bed. The enormous log bed was covered in luxurious expresso colored comforter. Aspen trotted by, pulling a black dress sock from his shoe, proudly towing the prize back to Carrie Ann.
“Give,” she commanded holding out her hand. The puppy crouched on her front paws while sticking her tail in the air, wagging it back-and-forth. Carrie Ann said sternly, “No, no. Aspen, give.”
The puppy relinquished the sock and flopped to her back, exposing her pink belly for a pat. Ambling toward his tux, the sunny scent of him lingered, bringing warmth to her chest and neck. She’d never forgotten the fragrance. Carrie Ann lifted her hand to touch the jacket, but a subtle ache behind her heart forced her to pull back.
There’d been countless times over the years that she missed him. Lonely nights filled with visions of his simple smile and others occupied with erotic moments of shared passion. But each time she allowed herself that brief moment, that blip of curiosity wondering what if things had gone differently, she paid a steep price. Days of painful heartache and melancholy always followed. The kind of hurt and sadness that brought her to tears. Wreckages from her past she wished she could wipe clean from her memory.