Cabin Fever

Chapter 6

Curt drove home in relative silence, not even allowing the radio to the space, his thoughts spinning around in his brain like a blender bits of information from this place and that all blending together. "God, could this be...? What are you doing..,?" But every time he tried to form a sentence his words fell short. He was convinced that his brain was short circuiting. This was indeed Joy Harper, the spunky young woman, resident baker and sous chef, from her childhood. She'd always been free spirited, but he'd never imagined she would grow up into such a beautiful woman. Nor that he would fall so hard and fast for her as an adult. The whole thing boggled his mind, leaving him in a strange, confused state as he forced himself through his nightly routine. He talked his thoughts out with God freely as he ground coffee and set the brew time on his coffee maker, as he brushed his teeth and crawled into bed. An unfamiliar, uncommon peace surrounded him that night as sleep took over his body.

Curt awoke abruptly to pictures of Joy from yesterday running vibrantly through his mind. He breathed deeply, allowing the cool air to breeze over his skin, alerting him to the early hour and pulling him far enough from his slumber to start his day.

Sweet memories from decades ago at the cabin flooded Curt's mind, threatening to take him under in the best way possible. They were so vivid and he reached to bottle them all, remembering the simple summers they'd shared. And while the free spirited, spunky flame that shone brightly as a child had dimmed, he took note that it still blazed. Even if it was just a flicker at the moment. He smiled at the sweet memories. Joy, Alex and him, chasing butterflies. Joy's aunt calling her in to help with dinner and the shy smile and wave she threw to the boys as she dashed inside.

He shook his head, donning his scrubs and athletic shoes and headed to his car. But something was off. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

He was part of the way through a rotation at the hospital, when it struck him like a ton of bricks.

Joy. Joy Harper. Beautiful Joy. Thoughts of the past twenty four hours consumed him and he yanked out his phone, composing a brief text to Joy.

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The next morning any thoughts that I'd had about the previous day's events were re-affirmed.

Around two am I'd woken up, still on the couch, completely disoriented. My entire body ached as I shuffled/limped my way to bed. Collapsing back on to the pillow as soon as I stuffed another pillow under my boot.

Sun peeked through the old curtains as I pried my eyes open. What time was it? I sucked in a sharp breath, flinging a shocked hand to my mouth as I glimpsed my phone screen. Eleven AM? If I'd thought for a second that pure exhaustion wouldn't envelop me at some point I'd have been kidding myself a million times over. So sleeping this late really shouldn't have surprised me. For some reason though things felt blurry, today, but as I sat up everything, and I mean everything, came rushing back, crystal clearly.

Curt: The handsome stranger who knew my uncle.

The doctor who had cared for my ankle.

The new friend who'd shared lunch with me.

One in the same.

He'd left me quite off kilter and yet, there was a mystery about him still. Something that felt familiar, but I didn't know him, did I? I reasoned that if I had ever known him I would certainly remember.

Those thoughts followed me to the kitchen to start my day. I slowly made my way across the cabin, avoiding the hole, still making its existence known. I stopped in my tracks. I'd planned on texting him this morning to remind him that his tools were still here. A quick glance at my foot and the distance between where my phone lay, still plugged in next to my bed and the kitchen were roughly equal distances. But, since I'd started the trek without my crutches I opted to get breakfast then my phone. 

I lazily made an easy breakfast, plus coffee and limped over to the table, lifting my foot onto the chair next to me. I scanned the lake and the surrounding view taking note of the boats on the surface. Right, today was Labor Day. My guess was that before too much later, more boats would fill the glittery surface.

As I went to clean up I noticed something I hadn't seen before, a large leather bound book sitting on the counter. I reached for it, dusting the book off before opening it, stark realization hitting me that it was one of my grandpa's Bibles. Tears welled up in my eyes as I grasped the sacred book and headed toward the couch, oblivious to the time.

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Curt checked his phone for what felt like the hundredth time today. Was Joy avoiding him or had something happened? He willed his brain to stop thinking about her. It had been a long day with the ER more packed than normal. Well, it was Labor Day after all. He should have expected it.

It was well past seven in the evening when he walked to his car, feeling like a zombie. He'd set more broken bones and splinted more sprains and strains than he'd cared for in over a month. Curt checked his phone again as he sank into the driver's seat. He hung his head, defeated. Why wasn't she returning his text? In a fit of anger, he banged his hand against the steering wheel. "Why God? This can't be happening again!"

He forced some deep breaths in and out of his lungs. Finally starting the car and putting it in gear.

Before long he found himself on the gravel road heading toward the cabin.

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It wasn't until my stomach growled that I realized what time it must be. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told me it was after six pm. My eyes went wide as I realized I'd spent the entire day just reading the Bible and relaxing. It couldn't have been a bad thing. Honestly I felt more relaxed than I had in years.

I eventually pushed myself up, gasping quickly as pain shot through my ankle. I ended up shuffling to the bedroom and after checking my phone I saw that I had three texts from Curt, two from Nora and a missed call from work. On Labor Day no less. It didn't even take a second to figure out who was working. It would undoubtedly be Marie. I didn't even bother to listen to the voicemail, just pressed my hands to my forehead. Frustrated. Couldn't they deal with things for one week? Ugh.

The texts from Curt perplexed me. It didn't matter that his tools were here. From what I caught of my rapid glance at the texts, he just wanted to know how I was. Weird. I didn't bother replying at the moment. I was too hungry for smart choices right now and my stomach growled again, making its wishes known.

I grasped my phone, pushing myself up from the spot on the bed I'd made and shoved a crutch under each arm, heading back to the kitchen in hopes of getting something together for dinner. Thank goodness I'd stopped at the grocery store on Saturday afternoon on my way up. After rifling through the freezer, I came up with gold. A Chicken Pie. A few minutes later the frozen chicken pie was in the oven and I headed back to take a quick shower while it cooked.

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Curt pulled up to the cabin, shoving his car into park. Lights on, that was a good sign. But he still hadn't heard from her. He reached the door, banging in frustration. "Joy!" He yelled. With no answer and no way of knowing if she was even okay, he jammed a key in the lock and opened the door. His eyes went wide as he took in the scene.

I'd emerged from the shower, wrapping my bathrobe around my curves and tying it. The oven timer was beeping and instead of wrestling with the boot, I figured my foot would be fine for the shuffle to the kitchen. I needed to rescue the pot pie before it burned. What I found waiting for me near the door sent shockwaves through my entire being.