The snow was falling steadily now.
"Its all connected, Miss Jemstar." said Ben wiping his hands with a rag. Beginning to gather his tools he added, "I'd best be off or I'll be caught up by the snow."
Kathryne thought to herself, "...
that mightn't be such a disaster
.....!"
"Hey, I'll give you a hand." She helped him pack his tools and load them onto the back of his ute. "Drive carefully, now, it's a steep descent all the way until Tolmie and there is ice everywhere."
Ben responded cheerily, "No worries, Miss. Don't be worrying about me. You enjoy the spa. It should be fully heated by about 7pm tonight. And any queries, consult the manual – its user friendly, remember?"
With that, he jumped into the ute cab, started the engine and, tooting the horn, headed down the mountain track. Wipers going to clear the sleet, Ben had to concentrate fully to keep to the track. Fog had moved in.
Meanwhile, Kathryne returned to the cabin, entered and closed the outer porch door. Stacked inside was a pile of ready to use dry wood for the wood heater. Taking off her jacket, she went inside and stoked the fire before lighting the fuel stove and moving the kettle onto the central plate. The light had dimmed significantly, so she turned on the 12 volt spot lamps, powered by solar-batteries. Despite the extreme and deteriorating conditions outside, this was one cosy and heavily insulated hideaway!
She had not long settled down, reading a book whilst classic FM played in the background when she heard a hammering on the outer door. She jumped up and upon exiting to the porch realised it was Ben. Opening the outer door she saw he had blood oozing from a cut above one eye and was soaked to the skin.
"S..s..sorry, but I ran off the road. Couldn't hold it....the ice."
Kathryne was quick to appraise the situation, noting he was freezing and probably gong into shock.
"Quick, get inside by the fire." As he entered she closed and bolted the door and followed him in, beckoning him to sit in the chair closest to the heater.
Draping a blanket around his shoulders, Kathryne obtained some warm water from the kettle, added some antiseptic and began to clean the wound, first removing dirt before cleaning it sufficiently to enable a plaster to be affixed.
Ben was very quiet and began to shiver incessantly, Kathryne was not sure whether it was from cold or shock. Or both.
"We need you to get you out of those wet clothes, Ben. Come with me."
Eyes hollow, Ben followed her to the bedroom, which was separated by a thick curtain. Kathryne began to unbutton his shirt. Ben started for a moment but relaxed when she put her finger to her lips and gave him a reassuring smile. In a minute or so, Kathryne had him stripped naked and proceeded to towel him over. Opening a drawer, she then bade him to step into a pair of her knickers. Ben's eye's bulged, before he blurted...
"They're yours! I can't."
"Don't be ridiculous. Your clothes are soaked and there is no way you are going to get around here naked. Quick. Don't fuck around, Ben!"
Reluctantly he did as he was told and soon was wearing a pair of her flanalette pj's and slippers. This done, they returned to the wood heater. Kathryne made him some soup and gave him a couple of painkillers from her medicine cabinet. His eyelids began to droop so she helped him to the bed, tucking him in and throwing another blanket over for extra warmth. He went to sleep immediately.
Kathryne tidied up, put some more wood on the fire and sat in her armchair thoughtfully. She knew it could be some days before they would be able to get to outside help. Still, they had plenty of food and water, plus firewood. They would be fine. Her mind began to wander; especially surrounding the thought of the young, fit man in her bed. It had been a long time, she thought, since she had last indulged. She had moved to the chalet a few months ago for a reason, the secluded location was like a hide away to protect herself from the temptations of falling into any more poorly-chosen relationships: Contact with any man was purely for business now, not pleasure. Cursing, she tried to dismiss the imagines floating through her mind.