My latest short story, Realm of the Polar Bear, will be available this December as part of JMS Books anthology, "Stocking Stuffers".
Blurb:
Stranded by a blizzard on his way home for Christmas, Jarrod
waits for death by freezing in his pickup, until a large, white haired and
bearded man steps out of the forest to rescue him. Jarrod is reluctant to follow the handsome
man but decides his chances of survival weren’t good if he stayed in his
truck.
Caleb takes Jarrod to his warm, inviting cabin in the middle
of the forest and offers him food and drink to warm him up. Jarrod’s apprehensions begin to dissipate as his
attraction for the mysterious man increases.
Jarrod begins to wonder what it would be like to live in the
wild with the handsome Caleb, but he will find out that the white bear is not
what he appears to be.
Excerpt:
His beard and mustache dripped with
condensation from his breath but the water soon froze forming ice on the blond
hair. He curled up on the seat with his head under the steering wheel, praying
the end would come swiftly and painlessly.
A soft knock on the driver’s window
shocked him and he yelped in surprise. A small point of light glowed outside.
Jarrod’s heart leapt for joy in his chest as he fumbled with the door handle,
spilling out of the truck.
“Hello! I’m so glad you found –” The
words caught in his throat as he saw his visitor through the blowing snow. A
large man with full white beard and mustache stood bundled up against the cold
holding a kerosene lantern in one hand and an axe in the other. Jarrod recoiled
in horror.
“Aw, damn,” the man said, turning to
toss the axe on a sled full of chopped wood he had been pulling with the same
hand as the axe. “Sorry ‘bout that, son. Didn’t mean to scare you. Thought you
might be needin’ some help.”
“Uh…yeah,” Jarrod managed to utter,
relieved the axe wasn’t so handy now. “I ran off the road a while back. Can you
help me dig my truck out?”
The white-haired man stepped toward
the rear of Jarrod’s truck, holding the lantern close to the tires. He walked around the truck and examined the
snowdrift which buried most of the vehicle.
“That dog won’t hunt! I don’t think you’re going anywhere for a
while.”
The man pulled his right glove off with
his teeth and extended his hand. “I’m Caleb. I live not far from here.”
“I’m Jarrod. I’m on my way home from
Christmas.”
“Damn, son!” Caleb kept his warm hand
clasped over Jarrod’s. “Feels like you’re frozen solid already. Come on up to
the house and thaw out a bit. The way the snow’s coming down right now, we’d
just be pissing in the wind if we tried to dig you out.” He placed the lantern
on the ground and, removing the other glove, held the pair out for him.
Jarrod cast a doubtful glance toward
the sled with the chopped wood and axe. “Maybe I should stay with my truck.
Perhaps you could send someone?”
Caleb gave him a placating smile.
“Son, no one’s going to be coming around tonight in this. And if you stay here,
you’ll freeze to death and I can’t let that be on my conscience. If it’ll make
you feel better, you can carry the axe.” He chuckled as he stepped to the sled,
picked up the axe and handed it to Jarrod.
Still unsure but willing to risk
anything to get warm, Jarrod pulled on the gloves and grabbed the axe. Caleb
seemed to wield it without much effort. He had not expected it to be so heavy and
on his first attempt, he dropped the axe into the snow, nearly pulling his arm
off. Worried that he looked wimpy,
Jarrod reached down and clutched the handle with both hands. With a tremendous heave, he hoisted it to his
shoulder and signaled for Caleb to lead the way.
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