Author’s Note: This story was produced for the 2017 Valentine’s Day contest. Thanks to Paul, Missy, Craig, and Margaret who volunteered to proofread for me. This is a particularly long story, so I appreciate these people very much. If you read to the end and you like this story, please vote and comment. ~Ellie
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Chapter 1.
The rain was pouring down hard and Maggie knew the road connecting her small property to the outside world would be closed. The weather has been severe since Cyclone Sarda hit the north coast last week and caused flash flooding in most low-lying areas. She thought the storm was over as the weather had been good for the past two days and the sun was finally drying the wet ground.
A flash of lightning illuminated her dark bedroom, followed by a rumble of thunder that shook the foundations of her old log farmhouse. She walked over to the large bay window and gazed in the incoming morning light at the two huge greenhouses her father had envisioned building. They are in desperate need of repairs, and she hopes the recent weather change will not do too much damage to the buildings. She only has to hold out for a few more weeks until Valentine’s Day, and the profits she makes should last her another year.
The sound of heavy rain hitting the tin roof of her house seemed to cover a giant thunder as she looked outside into the rain-soaked pre-dawn light, trying to follow a line of old telephone poles to which she had been tied to connect the power cables to the house. The transformer wasn’t sparking or glowing at all, and she could see the dim light in the greenhouse, which meant everything was still working there. Another flash of lightning lit up the sky. Only then did she see it just beyond the translucent panels of the greenhouse, blurring her vision a little.
A small plane was flying low at an eighty degree angle, looking like it was trying to land on the old airstrip that once served as this place before civilization invaded the area and it was now considered semi-rural. She stared for a second to make sure what she was looking at in the pouring rain, then cursed out loud, “Fuck! No!”
“No, no, no!” Maggie yelled, running to the back door of the house. She pulled on her boots and oil-stained long jacket, grabbed a flashlight and put the Akubra over her head. Her eyes wide with panic, she ran waving her flashlight, trying to warn the pilot that although from the air it looked like a good landing spot, it was in disrepair from not being used in the past decade. Behaving there is suicidal.
The rain fell on her face as she ran, she waved her torch in vain and watched the little plane descend. It was dark, although the sun did its best to pierce the clouds. As the plane tried to land, she stopped running and watched in horror as it bounced, bumped, and shuddered. The landing gear buckled in one particularly severe jolt, and eventually the little plane shuddered, nosed down, and slid to the ground, sending the plane careening straight into the path of one of her greenhouses.
She could see the pilot struggling with the controls, the engine stalling and dying, but it was too late and she saw all her hard work and hopes of managing this property and business for another year go to waste because the plane’s wing was broken. She screamed and then ran forward. As she approached the stationary plane, she tried not to look at the damaged equipment and vegetation and tried to open the latch so she could get in there and make sure the pilot was okay.
When the door finally opened, the wind snatched it from her hands and flung her backwards. Maggie climbed onto the plane and found the only passenger on the plane sitting motionless with her seat belt fastened. She used her hands to pull her body into a more upright position. Her long hair fell over her forehead, hiding her eyes, but she felt a distant sense of recognition when she saw the pilot’s olive skin, square jaw and hooked nose. She took off his headphones and gently moved his hair behind his ears, checking for any signs of injury on his face or temples.
Slowly and gently she examined his head for any signs of injury, satisfactorily examined his body for any signs of broken bones or dislocated joints, watching for any reactions that might indicate he was seriously injured. In a flash of lightning, she rid herself of her thoughts of this man. It was time to make a quick decision. On a good day it would take several hours for medical help to arrive, but with the road closures around her property it could take much longer. But she had to get him off the plane, that was for sure. She had no idea how much fuel he had or how much damage the crash had caused. Moving his huge unconscious body would be difficult, however. She considered her options.
She lives here alone and runs her own kindergarten, so she has no one to help her. Her neighbor on one side has been sold to encroaching housing and her neighbor on the other side is a guy she calls a vulture, so it’s not her. If she waited long enough, the renters from the neighborhood might come by and she could tag one of them, but when the thunder struck again, causing the plane to shake, she knew she couldn’t wait any longer.
“It’s time to wake up, sleeping beauty, don’t make me kiss you!” she said loudly, shaking the man’s shoulders gently. Looking at his face, she knew she wasn’t exaggerating. His face was extremely handsome. The corners of his mouth curled up into a half-smile, and even in his unconscious state, his plump lips made her feel very seductive. For a crazy moment, she thought about waking up and kissing Sleeping Beauty, but she didn’t. It wasn’t just because she wasn’t kissing the strange men who dropped by her property, even if they looked like Greek gods, it was because his eyes started to glaze over and he started mumbling a series of incomprehensible gibberish.
She blushed, her heart thumping loudly in her chest as she moved her gaze from his mouth to those startling blue eyes that looked so clear for a moment before losing focus, looking dull.
“No! Stay awake. Are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere? We have to get you out of here, he said, shaking her gently again!” He furrowed his brows when he saw her try to move her head. “Your head hurts a bit, doesn’t it?”
The word “a lot” makes it seem like it requires a lot of effort.
“Okay, you can talk, it’s a start, let’s see what else you can do,” he said as pleasantly as he could. “I don’t want to rush you, but this storm doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere and we need to get you out of here.”
He tried to nod off again and groaned, his hands fidgeting with the seat belt, so she helped him. Her fingers brushed against the hard muscles of his stomach, forcing them apart, and when his fingers latched onto her denim-clad waist, she found herself blushing and groaning harder. Finally unbuckling her seat belt, she pulled her hand away as if it had burned, as if to show him the way out of the tiny cockpit. He walked over to her and followed her, and even when he bent down she could see that he was taller than she thought, and she was worried about tucking him back in.
“Yeah,” he mumbled as he stumbled off the plane after her. When he reached the door, he looked at the view outside and muttered vaguely: “You’re going to get wet.”
“You won’t melt, come on,” he said in a serious tone. Kayden stumbled out of the plane and fell to the wet ground. “Your legs can’t hold you up anymore, can they?” he said more to himself than to her. “Here, let me help you up.” Maggie was disdainfully called “big girl” by her stepmother, which was one of the kindest things she said about Maggie’s tall, muscular figure. At this point, though, she was glad she was tall and strong, as she tucked her shoulders under and against the man’s arms, taking some of his weight off them as they walked toward her house.
“I’m okay,” he whispered, but Maggie could tell he wasn’t and she put her arms around his back, keeping him steady as they walked. He stumbled and she wrapped her arms tightly around him as he balanced on his feet. “Sorry,” he said vaguely. “The ground is shaking a little.”
His arms clasped her body tightly like those of the Greek gods, feeling the warmth of her hard body, and feeling the strong and steady beat of her heart against his chest, she had to admit that even the earth shook a little for him. As they slowly approached the back door of her house, she seemed to have regained her balance and lost some of her weight.
Eventually, they staggered into the kitchen, and since she could no longer bear his weight, she forced him to sit on the worn leather chair that had been her father’s favorite. She watched him closely, trying to figure out why she felt a sense of affinity with this stranger when he spoke.
“Kayden,” his voice sounded pained. “Kayden McConnell.”
“Hey! Of course I should have recognised you!” She said, panicking: “I’ll call for help, don’t sleep on me.” She turned and grabbed the mobile phone from the bench. It would have been stupid not to take it with her on the crashing plane, but she wasn’t thinking clearly at the time. Now Caden McConnell is at her home and she’s panicking. “Damn it! If something happens to him, they’ll sue me. The media will smear me. I’ll be the girl who killed the son of one of the richest men in Australia!”
“You are?” she asked vaguely.
“Maggie,” he whispered, shining the flashlight into her eyes, trying to check her pupils, nearly blinding her.
“Age, don’t do that!” She slapped his hand lightly.
“Don’t go to sleep,” he warned again as he dialed and waited for the overly busy emergency services number to answer his call instead of playing this incessantly annoying music. “Do you remember what happened? Do you know where you are?”
“The storm was worse than expected, so I landed on the nearest runway I found. I assume this poor excuse for a striptease is yours?” Caden responded accusingly.
“The runway is gone. I tried to send you off. It’s been unused and in disrepair for over a decade since my father died. Even before that, it was barely used anymore!” she jutted out her chin and defended herself. “Don’t go to sleep until I tell someone what happened and that you’re here!” she said threateningly, waving the flashlight in front of him.
Caden turned his head and groaned as he saw her out of his sight. He reached out and touched the hairline above his forehead, feeling the heavy swelling, and cursed as his fingers danced over the sensitive spot. His eyes felt heavy and he closed them for a few minutes to rest. He opened his eyes again just as she threw the towel over him.
“You’re soaked, and even if you don’t die in that car accident, I don’t want to be the girl who makes you die of pneumonia,” she instructed. “Dry it off. I’m going to get you a change of clothes.” She was walking back to the bathroom when the emergency operator answered the call. She didn’t name the man involved, but she explained the circumstances and the possibility of severe trauma. Roads were cut off and ambulances couldn’t reach, leaving only a few rescue helicopters to rescue people swept away by the floods. They will send a medical transport to his location as soon as possible. The fact that he was alert and conscious before the medical team pulled him out is a good sign.
Maggie picked up her cloak and walked over to where he had left it. “The road is closed and you’ll have to wait for the helicopter to get you out,” she said, returning to where he had been sitting, now topless and fumbling with her belt.
“Okay,” he mumbled, trying to stand up, but frowned and sat back down almost immediately.
“Wait, let me help you,” she said, seeing him struggling. She knelt at his feet and reached out to grab the waistband of his jeans. “Get up!” she ordered, feeling uncomfortable touching one of the most beautiful men she had ever seen. She lifted her hips off the seat and he slid her jeans, tight with moisture, down her legs.
“When you were down there,” he smiled almost inaudibly.
“Oh my god. You’re hurt after a plane crash and you’re flirting with me!” Her heart was pounding. “You must have hit your head really hard.”
Kayden groaned as she helped him put on his robe and sat back in his chair. He just wanted to sleep for a few minutes. He couldn’t remember the last time he slept.
“Don’t fall asleep,” he warned, picking up the flashlight again and shining it into her startled blue eyes.
“No! I’m fine. My name is Kayden McConnell. Today is January 15, 2017. The Prime Minister is Malcolm Turnbull. My plane crashed in the backyard of a terrorist named Maggie. She was intent on torturing me until my rescuers arrived.
“I’m not a terrorist at all!” she snarled at him.
“No, but you’re wet too, change before they accuse me of killing you, or else,” he mumbled softly, this time he sounded as tired as he felt. “Do you always rescue strangers in your pyjamas?”
“I sometimes wear super capes, but this morning I was in a rush!” she replied now that she felt embarrassed about her costume. “Here.” She handed him the phone. “Call whoever you need and tell them you’re alive, maybe they can get you up faster than emergency services right now,” she said, “When the rain subsides, I’ll go to the plane and get what you need.” “Talk to whoever you want, and stay awake while I take a quick shower.”
Maggie was glad to have an excuse to escape the raw masculinity of the man in her living room. It’s not like she hasn’t come into contact with men, even good-looking men, but Caden McConnell is a completely different story. She tried to rationalize her feelings, telling herself that it was just his attempts to help her that were causing her heart to race and her mouth to go dry. What captivated her, however, were his brilliant blue eyes and the way he looked at her. Maggie knew she shouldn’t be fooled by his charm and gentle demeanor. After all, he’s the youngest son of wealthy mining tycoon Brian McConnell, who has been topping the list of the country’s richest people for years, as far back as she can remember.
She deliberately did not tell the emergency services the name of the man who had crashed the plane into her conservatory because she did not want the man to suffer permanent disgrace. He is the playboy of the family. He always appears in some club newspaper or magazine with supermodels and actresses. She knew he must have had some fake senior executive position in the family company, but his career did not live up to his reputation and she did not want to be involved in any scandal involving his playboy lifestyle.
Still, she thought, as those vibrant blue eyes with that twisted smile came back to her mind, it felt nice to be flirted with, even by a famous athlete. As she washed the soap off her body, she enjoyed the warm water and allowed herself to fantasize a bit.
*****
Caden’s head sank. He didn’t want his brother to yell at him for being careless and irresponsible. It was a stupid call, but if anyone could send a helicopter to get him out, it was his brother Wade. Problem is, he doesn’t know where he is.
“Look, she’s taking a shower. If you call this number at fifteen, she’ll answer it. This is her phone!” “No, I didn’t have sex with her, that’s why she didn’t take a shower! It was raining hard here, it was flooding, and she almost carried me out of the plane alone, she was soaked!” . Getting up. “Look, call her back in ten minutes and you can ask her all the stupid questions and get me out of here, okay?” He fell back in his chair. “No, I didn’t forget our agreement. I was going to fix a problem when I crashed. Can we talk about this later? My head feels like it’s going to explode, and, no, I haven’t drunk alcohol!” He hung up, threw the phone on the small coffee table beside him and finally closed his eyes.
When his phone rang a minute later, it was not the harsh sound that most phone calls do, but the slow melodious melody of the harp that soothed him rather than woke him up. He found it easy to ignore it and go back to sleep. He heard neither about her returning, nor about the conversation between her and his brother. After all that had happened, he felt her gentle hand tentatively touching his shoulder.
“Kayden, wake up, wake up!” she pleaded with concern, obviously worried that he had hit his head. She watched him carefully during a heated conversation with Wade McConnell, who seemed more interested in saving his family from another scandal than his brother’s health. He told her that he had not even told the emergency services a name, but had left his contact details and claimed he had no idea who the pilot was. She said he had been stunned during the crash, and although he appeared relatively uninjured, Wade was somewhat at peace with it but remained suspicious of his motives and the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Kayden was beautiful, and as she closed her eyes, she imagined again what it would be like to kiss those lips that parted gently with the deep breaths of sleep. His pulse was steady, his skin was warm but not clammy, and logic told her he would be fine, but the egg on her head and her inability to wake him told her otherwise. This time she came closer and shook his shoulder. “Kayden, wake up, you have to wake up!” Maggie pleaded with the unconscious man.
“I’m awake,” he whispered. “I was just waiting for that Sleeping Beauty wake-up kiss you promised me on the plane,” he smiled in a funny, crooked way.
“You bastard!” she screamed. “I thought you were in a coma or worse!”
“I’m sorry,” she said shyly, seeing the worry etched on his face.
“Your brother sent someone to pick you up and take you to the hospital. What do you need on the plane?”
“There’s nothing I can’t survive without going back into the storm,” he advises.
“The rain is getting lighter and it seems to be subsiding pretty quickly. Just stay awake, they’ll be here soon, okay?” Maggie said, searching Caden’s eyes to see if he understood her. His eyes were so blue she couldn’t take her eyes off them, and she realized he was looking at her curiously, so she stood up and quickly left the room. The robe he was wearing showed off his chest and flat stomach, which distracted her so much that she had to turn away from him. She didn’t fool herself. She knew a man like that wouldn’t flirt with every girl he met. He might not be able to control himself, even if they looked just like him. Tall and strong, that was the nicest thing her stepmother could say about his appearance, and she was right.
Maggie put on her shoes and walked out the back door, turning east to admire the soft golden hue of the sun fighting for space with the clouds. Where once the horizon consisted only of the trees of a neighbor’s garden, there is now the roof of the newest housing complex being built in the area. She took a deep breath and walked deliberately toward the crashed plane, trying to ignore the damage to one of her greenhouses. The wet ground crunched beneath her feet as she walked, and she felt her heart sink when she saw the extent of the damage that she couldn’t ignore as she had planned. Once her unwanted tenant is gone, she has plenty of time to do something, so she looks elsewhere and boards the boat to retrieve her belongings.
