Part Two

"The Accident"  (story told by Taras tarkseewee08)

Evangeline felt the sun on her face and opened her eyes. Blinking she looked up at the glare and grimaced, she hadn’t closed the blinds. Rising from the bed she walked over to the blinds and pulled on the string. The entire rack came down around her and she sighed. This was aggravating.
She’d been in this cabin for two days now and the peace and quiet was driving her nuts. A martini would be nice. Something! Leaving the blinds on the floor she walked over to the bed and fell against it.

John

She knew it was over and part of her accepted it. But after a year with this man, loving him and having him how was she supposed to turn it all off. The solitude at first comforting now reminded her of what was missing. Biting her pillow she wanted to scream. Then it came to her. She would go hiking. Yeah hiking! She had a map in the brochure that told of a trail she could take. Rising from the bed she walked over to where her legal brief that she’d been working on was and it couldn’t find it.

"Dammit! Where is it!!" she huffed.

Knocking the brief off the desk in frustration she watched the papers float the floor. Bending down to retrieve it she found the little pamphlet and smiled. "Here it is" she said walking back to the bed. The road north led to a hiking trail for beginners 2 miles up.

"Prefect!"

Jumping from the bed she raced into the shower. It was early so the morning weather would be great. By the time the noon sun started to beam down she would be on her way back down from the trail. Stepping into the shower she turned on the water feeling it rain down on her body the image of John standing behind her lathering her back popped in her head. Closing her eyes she forced it out.

She didn’t need John McBain.

Stepping out the shower she thought about remoteness of this trail. After the Killing Club she was extra sensitive to the dangers of being a woman alone. Walking to her suitcase she removed her .45 that John had gotten her after the racist attack. Smiling she checked the chamber. All was good. Evangeline proceeded to get dressed excited about the adventure she was about bark on.

Yes she was a city girl but a hike with nature would do her some good. Besides it beat the hell out of working on that brief.

Swooping her hair up in a ponytail she surveyed her self in the mirror. She wore her Seven jeans and a yellow lacoste tennis shirt and her tan Timberland hiking boots. Now where could she put the gun? It was too bulky for the back of her jeans. Watching John dress in the morning it always turned her on to see him put the gun in the back of his pants. She would miss that.

"Forget this!" she hissed going over and getting her small Louis Vutton back pack. Throwing the gun inside she retrieved two water bottles and some fruit from the fridge stuffing them in the bag as well.

Picking up the pamphlet she raced out the door. As soon as she got outside she shivered. It was September for peeks sake, it felt like 40 degrees in these woods. Thinking about going back for her jacket she decided against it. She would be sweating in no time.

Getting in the mustang she raised the roof. There was no way she would ride in the morning air with the top down. Turning on the heat she popped in the jazz cd that John had made her months ago. Marsalis horn came blaring through and she smiled pulling out of her gravel driveway and turning onto the road.

Driving north on the winding road she laughed to herself at the whole idea of a getaway in the mountains. Who was she fooling she needed the hustle and bustle of young vibrant people to get over this summers events. Maybe she’d plan a trip to New York and take Layla.

After riding for 15 minutes Evangeline became concerned. Looking for the sign to the hiking path she saw nothing. "Dammit did I pass it?"

Unhooking her seat belt she swerved slightly as she reached for the map in the next seat/ She opened it still maneuvering the winding road with her free hand. Taking her eyes off the road she tried to focus on the map. She couldn’t make out the directions when she heard the blaring sounds of a car horn.

Evangeline looked up to see that she had swerved into the other lane and large pickup truck was barreling down upon her. Screaming she grabbed the steering wheel and swerved to the right. The car jerked and the truck swerved to miss her. Evangeline screamed again as her car went into a spin. Frantically trying to turn the steering wheel away from the spin the car lifted on two wheels and went crashing over the edge of the road which appeared to be an embankment.

Evangeline SCREAMED louder fear gripping her as the car began to roll. The airbag deployed sending burning powder into her face and neck. The roll of the car shook her like a rag doll and the lack of a seat belt made her had crash against the driver side window cracking it. Everything went black.

Before the accident ~

Hes got up early. Nate wasn’t a morning person and he had to open the store. Walking to his pickup with his coffee he whistled for his dog Champ. Champ came running out of the woods and jumped all over him. He usually took champ to the store with him on his rounds so that he remained close by. Their were Bears in this part of the mountains and that always concerned him.

Being Native American his commune with nature was spiritual as well as physical. He was an outdoorsy mountain man and he loved his life. A woman was all he needed and they rarely came a calling around here. His young bride died 10 years ago and he always regretted that they never had kids. Looking back at the log cabin he built with his own hands he smiled. He’d built it for her.

Opening the bed of the truck Champ jumped in. Smiling at his best friends eagerness he closed the truck door and walked to the front of the car whistling. Traveling from his home was a 45 minute drive from the store. On nights when he didn’t feel like traveling into the mountains he would stay at one of the cabins he owned that was closer to the store. It was next to the Lantana river and his meditations in that river kept him sane.

After 30 minutes into his drive he saw a mustang swerving across the road. Blowing his horn angrily he braked "Stupid Kids!!" they loved to speed up this mountain to hike. More deaths on this road from tourist than on the I-10 in California. Without further warning the driver noticed him and made a maneuver that spelled trouble.

Slamming on his breaks he swerved to the right to avoid the spinning car, being careful not to throw Champ from the back of his car. He watched in horror as the car tilted and fell down the embankment.

Parking his car he jumped from it and ran to the edge of the road. The car lay on its side in the ravine and the wheels were still spinning which meant it was running. He had to act fast. The car could ignite at any moment.

Sliding down the ravine he used the heel of his boots to guide him and prevent him from rolling. Reaching the car He climbed on top of it being mindful of his weight not wanting to flip it over. Inside he saw a woman unconscious pinned by her airbag. He tried the door to the car and it was locked. "Damn!"

Time running out he took off his shirt and wrapped it around his massive hand. Closing his eyes he punched the car window making the already cracked glass crack some more into a intricate spider web. The pain in his hand intensified from his assault and he bit his lip hitting the glass again. This time it shattered and spilled all over the injured woman. Quickly he opened the door and reached in the car grabbing her. Her face covered with blood he feared she was dead.

Laying her on the ground he saw the head wound that leaked blood into her face. Feeling her pulse it came back strong. She looked familiar. She was beautiful even though she seemed pretty banged up. He thought about her identification but hearing the hiss of the engine he decided to put distance between them and the car.

He bent down and picked her up throwing her over his shoulder like a rag doll. Going to a less steep incline in the ravine, he grabbed at a root sticking free through the dirt and pulled himself up the ravine with her on his shoulder. Walking to his car he heard a loud explosion that shook the ground beneath him. Turning around he saw a fiery billow of smoke roll into the air.

Desperate to get away from this area and tend to her condition he raced to the other side of his truck and put her in the passenger seat. Champ wailed in the back and he smiled at him "I know Champ she’s one lucky lady"

A hospital was over 2 hours away. He was local the medicine man in this neck of woods. He would take care of her. Driving back to his home he looked at her leaning against the car door. She was the lady from the store the other day. A tourist must be. Looking at how he dressed he smiled. A DIVA going hiking. Shaking his head at her designer clothes and manicured nails.

Llanview ~

John jumped up in bed. It was morning and the sunlight illuminated the room. Looking to his left he saw Natalie sleeping. She was fresh out of the hospital and at home with him. His heart pounded in his chest as dread crept into his belly. What was it? Something was wrong. Checking Natalie he rolled her over as drool spilled out of her mouth and she snored louder.

She was fine.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Maybe it was a dream. Getting up from the bed he walked over to the window and looked out. He’d made considerable effort not to think of her. But looking at the morning sky he wondered where and how she was. He heard Nora at the station tell Bo she went on a mini vacation. John smiled. She was moving on like he knew she would. She’d be fine. Shaking his feeling of sorrow and dread he went to the shower.

Evening in the Log Cabin ~

Evangeline moaned. Opening her eyes slowly an intense flash of pain hit her temples and she squeezed them shut. Her vision blurry she didn’t know who or where she was. Her head hurt so badly she couldn’t lift it. Seeing a face peering down at her she felt frightened. Evangeline blinked several times to focus on it. Her eyes making improvement she saw the amber colored brown eyes of a man staring at her concerned.
His handsome face and strong features made her fear subside some. The look on his face was one of kindness. "Who…?"

The man shook his head "Don’t talk, not yet give it sometime for your body to register the damage."

He looked down at her and blushed. "I’m sorry but I had to remove your shirt. You had two crack ribs."

Evangeline frowned and realized that her torso was bandaged and she wasn’t wearing her shirt or bra. The blanket concealed her nakedness from him. The man held a bowl of some mixture. Using his wooden spoon he rubbed some cold thick salve onto her forehead. Seeing the long ponytail and absorbing him more she knew he was Native American.

Closing her eyes she welcomed the darkness again. She didn’t know who or where she was but she felt comforted by the man. Giving into her weakness she blacked out again.

Morning ~

Evangeline opened her eyes. The throbbing in her head had lessened some. Raising her hand to her face she felt the bandage on top of her head. Where was she? Looking around the cabin she appeared to be alone. The cabin held wood carving of eagles and intricate masks. There was a fire place to the right of the couch that warmed room making it cozier. She frowned at the bear rug lying in front of it. She looked into the eyes of that dead bear with his mouth opened and shivered.

Trying to rise up she felt a sharp pain in her side knocked out her breath. "Oh god" Realizing she didn’t have on a shirt she lifted the multi-colored fleece blanket with the large eagle stitching on the front to see her torso wrapped tightly. It hurt so badly.

Concentrating she tried to focus on where she was. The more she tried the more her head hurt. Then suddenly it occurred to her not knowing where she was, wasn’t her biggest problem. Not knowing WHO she was became more prevalent. Looking up she saw a large man coming out of a room to her left turn and stare at her. He smiled.

"Who are you?" she whimpered.