Jake fried up the rabbit then started a pot of stew with it. While it was simmering, he took another couple swigs of whiskey straight from the bottle then laid on the couch to take a nap. His head was pounding.

He woke to ear piercing shrieks which startled him right off the couch! As he landed on his shoulder on the woven rug covering his hardwood floor, he sputtered, "What in tarnation?!?"

Jake rolled to his feet, barreling out the front door. The petite woman was on her overgrown lawn walking in tiny circles flailing her hands around.

What the hell?

As he watched, she cautiously climbed the porch stairs, opened her screen door, started to step inside, began shrieking again, and dashed off the porch.

Now he understood. A critter had set up shop in the previously abandoned cabin and she had stumbled upon it.

He observed her wandering around the yard with one hand on her head and the other on her hip.

An old rusted axe sat with it's head buried in the chopping log where the previous owner must have left it, to the side of her cabin closest to him. He watched her rush over to it, grab the handle, and attempt to quickly walk away with it in hand.

The axe didn't budge so she was pulled right back over, nearly off her feet. She then grasped the axe with both hands, leaning backward, yanking on it until it gave way. At that point she tumbled backward with the axe in her hands.

"She's gonna kill herself", Jake mumbled, watching to see if the axe had gotten her. Apparently not. She stood, dragging it behind her up toward the house.

He sighed heavily. This little gal was clearly not capable of the task and his hangover couldn't tolerate any more screaming. Nor did he want to have to administer first aid.

He quickly strode to his shed, pulled on his leather work gloves, grabbed his perfectly sharpened hatchet and a gunny sack, then made his way down the hill to meet his new neighbor.

She must have heard him coming because she suddenly refrained from peering in the screen door, whipping her head around as he approached, appearing startled and frightened.

As he strode up the porch steps, he found himself glancing into the clearest light green eyes he had ever seen, wide and frightened in a petite oval face with perfect pale skin and slightly flushed cheekbones over hollowed cheeks.

He didn't say one word to her. She simply moved out of his way as he reached past her, opened the screen door, and strode inside.

Straight ahead was a tall, thick, solid wood table with tall decorative chairs, and underneath this table was coiled a thick snake with a distinctive pattern of browns, vibrating it's tail.

Copperhead.

Wasting no time, Jake struck with his hatchet, lopping off it's head, then flinging both the head and the body into his sack. Venomous, though not typically lethal, the young woman on the porch definitely would have gotten bit if he hadn't intervened, and then he would have had to deal with shipping her the thirty minutes down to a hospital. He definitely saved himself some hassle.

She was holding the screen door open for him as he strode back outside.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!", she gushed.

He barely noticed her as he walked right past, striding down the steps of her porch.

"I really appreciate it!", she called after him as he crashed through the leaves, sticks, and brush between their properties up the hill to his own shack.

Just what in the hell does this woman think she's doing out here?

...........................................................................

I was an hour in to thoroughly cleaning the kitchen when I stumbled upon the snake. I had found what I'm pretty sure were mouse droppings in every single cabinet and was cleaning from the top down. The upper cabinets had been purged, and the stove and oven cleaned, before I started on the lower cabinets. The thought of the snake having being near to me for that long gave me no end of horrified goosebumps!

The first lower cabinet I opened apparently startled it because it immediately hissed at me. I was equally surprised, and ran shrieking from the house. My heart was pounding so wildly, it actually hurt as it thudded against my chest. I was near tears from fear and overwhelming panic about having no idea how to handle this situation.

A thought flashed through my mind, giving me something to focus on.

Will.

I had to call Will. He did tell me I should call if I needed anything. He would know what to do. He had grown up in these woods, after all.

I opened the screen door, heading in to grab my phone off the kitchen table, when the snake slithered out of the cabinet and started moving across the floor toward the table faster than I would have thought possible.

I ran screaming from the cabin again.

What was I going to do now? I had to kill it. The thought nearly made me gag but there was no other option. I couldn't get to my phone. If I drove to town to get Will, the snake could hide somewhere else while I was gone, and I didn't have money for a hotel room until we found it again. Plus, it could be poisonous. I had no idea if there were poisonous snakes here but I vaguely recall my grandfather cautioning me to be careful walking around the rocks outside because snakes liked to lay amongst them.

I had to find something to kill it with. Outside I discovered Grandpa's axe and nearly dislocated my shoulder joint trying to get the old rusty axe blade from the chopping block, but I finally managed.

I stood at the screen door, strategizing, trying to get up enough nerve to kill it.

Then, out of the middle of nowhere, like a burly angel, a giant man with a dark blond mustache, beard, and shoulder length wavy hair appeared on my porch to save me.

It was a relief but also incredibly strange. He didn't say one word to me the entire time. He strode into the house, killed the snake without a moment's delay, and just as quickly exited without speaking to me. I watched him disappear up the hill and realized with a shock we were neighbors.

I didn't know anyone was living there.

I felt my face burning in embarrassment. He had heard me shrieking and probably saw me struggling with the axe. I'm sure I appeared ridiculous.

He hadn't seemed friendly but he had to be a decent person to come save me like that...

Right?

Perhaps he was disabled in some way and couldn't speak?

I finished cleaning the kitchen then took a long, hot shower. While showering, I decided I would bake the mountain man something as a thank you. I knew absolutely nothing about mountain men, but I did know that men of all backgrounds seemed to enjoy food, and my baking skills were something I was fairly confident about.

........................................................................

Jake had gotten enough of a nap after the shrieking incident to get rid of his headache, which greatly improved his mood.

His mood was fair enough that he even decided to shower and start a load of laundry while listening to AC/DC at full volume with the windows open.

He hoped his new neighbor could hear it, and he hoped it bothered her. Between the wildlife and his noise, perhaps she would rethink her investment.

A loud rapping on his front door while he was stirring his stew gave him hope.

Bet she's gonna ask for me to turn it down, he thought happily.

He swung open the screen door, which slammed against the side of the wall with a bang (as it was still broken) while peering down into an uncertain and startled petite face in the setting daylight.

Her auburn hair was loose, soft and shiny in perfect waves, framing her face, hanging to below her shoulders. She was dressed in an impossibly soft looking pale pink sweater with a v-neck and a short strand of small pearls dancing along her collarbone. In her arms was a large bowl with a white towel across the top of it, something unevenly lumpy beneath.

"Oh! I...hi", she said nervously, flashing a glossy pink smile which revealed perfectly straight white teeth. "I brought you-".

"Hang on", he interrupted, turning and quickly walking into the living room where he turned the music down to half volume so he could hear her tiny voice.

He returned to her still standing uncertainly on the porch, noticing her dark, tight jeans with pale pink and white striped canvas slip-on shoes. With that perfect face, her immaculate hair, worthless shoes, and those body-tailored clothes, she belonged in a magazine. She did not belong here- in Tennessee, in these mountains, or on his porch.

"What's that now?", he asked gruffly.

She smiled again and held out the bowl to him. "I wanted to thank you again for killing the snake. I apologize for screaming and disturbing you. It was inside a cabinet and then it slithered across the floor so fast, I-".

She stopped talking as he lifted the towel, snagged a biscuit from within, and took a bite.

"Well, it was so startling", she continued. "I had no idea what to do. I'm so glad you were here! I really appreciate you doing that. You didn't seem scared at all. Was the snake poisonous?"

This is fucking fantastic, he thought as he took another bite.

"Venomous", he corrected her around a mouthful of biscuit, "and yes. It was a Copperhead".

He took another bite.

"Oh my", she breathed, her light green eyes widening.

"Damn good biscuit", he muttered.

Her perfect rosebud lips smiled again. She was terribly pretty which he didn't care for one bit.

"My granny's recipe", she said proudly. "I learned everything I know about baking and cooking from her".

"Garlic and cheddar?", he asked before stuffing the rest in his mouth.

"Very good!", she said excitedly, her whole face lighting up.

Man, she's downright stunnin' with her face glowin' and those eyes sparklin' like that.

"You want some stew?", he asked abruptly.

Why'd ya do that? You don't need no pretty little Air B an' B diva in here!, he scolded himself.

She appeared confused, her brow creasing slightly. "I...stew?"

"Yeah", he said, snatching the bowl from her hands. "You eat?"

"Occasionally", she replied, laughing lightly.

He half smiled before he caught himself and wiped it from his face.

That wasn't funny. She's not funny. She's a pain in the ass.

He turned and went inside not bothering to wait for her. As he dropped the bowl on his table he heard the screen door close quietly behind him. He ladled soup into two bowls and set them on the tiny two person wooden table. He caught a faint fragrance wafting over from her. She smelled expensive.

He grabbed a couple spoons and tossed one across at her as he sat. She barely caught it before it skittered off the table but he noticed that startled expression on her face again.

He began eating, trying to appear like he wasn't in the least bit interested in her, but in reality, he was studying her intently.

She curiously stirred the stew while staring down into it. He took in shiny red wine colored nails and long, dark eyelashes. It pissed him off that someone would be that dressed up, with that much makeup and perfume on, in the middle of the wilderness with no one else around to impress.

She took up a spoonful, blew on it delicately, and put the spoon into her mouth. She chewed then met his eyes. She seemed surprised.

After she swallowed, she smiled and said, "This is really, really good. Did you make it from scratch?"

"Yes, ma'am", he replied, feeling surprised. He didn't know what he thought he expected, but her liking his stew hadn't seemed realistic.

She continued eating and he decided to be a bit more hospitable. He got up and got her a glass of water.

"Thank you", she said, sounding grateful, as he set it on the table next to her.

He sat himself, taking a couple more bites. After she had swallowed some water, he asked what he really wanted to know.

"Why are you here?"

"I...", her brow creased between perfectly sculpted eyebrows as she smiled uncertainly. "I brought you the biscuits to thank you, remember?"

Agggghhh, she thinks I'm daft!

"I mean, why are ya in that cabin? Are ya turning it into a vacation rental?"

Confusion flooded her face. "I'm living there".

Jake was floored. That made no sense. His mind couldn't make any kind of sense out of it.

"What the hell ya doin' that for?", he asked bluntly, watching as her ivory cheeks flushed a very pretty shade of pink.

"I needed a place to stay", she answered quietly, looking down as she set down her spoon and brought both of her hands under the table.

"And ya picked the middle of the wilderness? I ain't buyin' it, sweetheart. Yer out of yer league here. What would make ya go and invest in somethin' like that?"

"I inherited it", she answered, meeting his eyes again. "It was my grandparents'".

Those clear green eyes weren't lying. She seemed sad. He suddenly felt moderately bad for being such a dick.

"I'm sorry", he said genuinely. "They've passed?"

She nodded.

"I never saw anyone there", he said. "I been here near on six years now".

"Granny had cancer and Grandpa had Alzheimers. They had to go to an assisted living facility about eight years ago, so it makes sense that you wouldn't have met them".

"Ya really intend to live here? Long term?"

"I have nowhere else to go, so yes", she replied quietly. He heard a catch in her voice.

He was speechless and knew he was staring at her in disbelief but he couldn't help it.

She stared down into her bowl again and attempted to change the subject.

"What kind of meat is that? Some kind of bird?", she asked.

"Rabbit", he replied.

She gasped and her green eyes widened as they met his. "A bunny?", she breathed in horror. "I ate a bunny? You kill bunnies?"

"I don't kill bunnies, darlin'. Bunnies are baby rabbits. I do kill rabbits".

"But they're so...cute and defenseless", she whispered, those large green eyes now filling with tears.

Are you kiddin' me? She wasn't really going to cry about this...was she?

"Wild rabbits, sweetheart, not fluffy pets. God put 'em out there for food. I guarantee ya- killin' 'em in the wild is a lot more humane than the commercial raisin' of animals".

"I feel sick", she whispered, avoiding looking at her bowl and at him.

She did, indeed, look very pale.

He thought of something.

"That sweater yer wearing angora?", he asked.

"Yes, how did you know?", she asked, meeting his eyes again.

"Ya know how many rabbits they killed to make that sweater?", he asked.

"What?" She appeared thoroughly confused.

Unbelievable.

He lost his temper at her ignorance.

"Ya don't know where yer clothes come from? Angora is rabbit fur! And that ain't from wild rabbits, neither. The cutest, fuzziest rabbits imaginable- raised in cages 'till one day they get their skin ripped off-".

She stood so abruptly that her chair nearly tipped over before she caught it.

"I'm so sorry", she said quietly, staring at the table. "I'm really not feeling well. Thank you for supper and for saving my life earlier. Have a good rest of your evening".

Then she left, making sure she had closed the broken screen door completely before he heard her light footsteps quickly descend the porch steps.

He slowly stood, walking to the doorway to watch her leave. It was dusk so he could make out her rapid steps down his hill of a dirt driveway. He watched as she rolled her ankle on a rock, stumbling but regaining her balance, then continuing on.

Serves her right for wearin' stupid shoes like that in the woods.

He made sure she got into her own cabin before sitting and finishing his meal, with another two biscuits. They really were delicious.

As he was washing dishes, he found himself staring at the picture of himself and the beautiful love of his life on the inside of the cabinet wall above the kitchen sink. They had been so happy in that moment, having such a great adventure. They had been rock climbing with friends, and one of their friends took a picture of the two of them at the top, with these Smoky Mountains in the background.

As he focused in on her beaming face, he started to feel slightly guilty about putting his little neighbor through the ringer.

He heard Liv's voice in his head chastising him, What did you have to do that for? That sweet girl hasn't done anything to deserve you punishing her. Her only crime is being naive.

She had remained perfectly polite and graceful the entire time, rather than snapping back or getting angry, which was rather impressive. Jake knew he rubbed people the wrong way even in his previous life. He was way worse now.

Still, he shot back at the Liv in his head, she don't belong out here and you know she don't. The sooner I help her figure that out, the better for both of us.

Who knows?, the imaginary Liv replied. It might do you some good having someone to help.

Help?, he snorted. I am NOT helpin' her. No fuckin' way. Ain't my fault she's in over her head.

You can't just talk to me forever, you know. You gotta find a living human to talk to. You're borderline crazy already. Too much longer, there will be no question.

He shook his head. Liv would say that.

...........................................................................

I was mortified! Embarrassed didn't even come close! As soon as I got home, I grabbed the encyclopedia and looked up 'angora'. Then I started crying and threw the sweater in the garbage can.

My neighbor clearly thought I was an empty-headed idiot. I really did feel nauseous, though, and exhausted, as well. The drive, the cleaning, and the snake stress had taken an awful lot out of me. I was physically tired like I couldn't ever remember being before.

I got ready for bed, quickly falling asleep on top of my grandparents' bed. Tomorrow I would work on cleaning this room.

...........................................................................

Jake had passed out late that night sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace with some whiskey. He was again woken by screaming but this time he didn't hit the floor.

He did, however, spill the remaining whiskey he had been holding all over his crotch.

"FUCKIN' HELL, WOMAN!", he roared, standing, angrily shoving his feet into his boots and stomping outside.

It was barely daylight and his little neighbor was in the front yard again, this time actually crying, wearing nothing but tiny pink cotton shorts and a matching lacy tank top.

However, he was too angry to look at anything but her face.

"What's all the screamin' 'bout?", he snapped.

"I was sleeping, and something ran across my face! My face!", she half sobbed, one arm wrapped across her abdomen and the other hand attempting to get rid of tears.

"Probably just a mouse", he scoffed.

"Eeeeewwwww!", she squealed.

"Where were you when this happened?"

"The downstairs bedroom".

He started for the house then realized she wasn't following. He stopped and whirled around on her.

"You cannot be scared of a mouse!", he scoffed.

She nodded passionately.

Unreal.

"Yer gonna freeze out here", he grumbled as he walked away.

Overnights were getting chilly now and he knew the calf-high grass would be cold and wet on her bare legs.

He left her, heading inside to investigate. He suspected, and easily discovered, holes in the mattress.

He went back outside. She was visibly shivering on the porch, barefoot and barely clothed.

"They've got a nest in the mattress. You've gotta toss that and set traps everywhere".

"I was sleeping with them?", she gasped, looking pale and horrified. Her eyes were wide and filled with tears again.

He gritted his teeth in annoyance. "You have traps?", he asked.

She started crying in earnest. "I don't know!", she whimpered. "I don't even know how to use them! And if I do catch a mouse in a trap...I can't...touch it!"

She was shaking and sobbing. "I don't know how to do anything! You were right- I don't belong here...but I don't have another choice!"

What does she mean by that?

Jake caved.

"All right, all right. It's just some mice", he grumbled. "They're easily taken care of. No need to get that worked up. Get some clothes on then we'll get the mattress outta here. I have traps at my place. I'll show ya how to set 'em, and when ya catch one, ya come tell me an' I'll take 'em outta here for ya". 

She stopped crying. "You will? Oh, thank you", she said earnestly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm sorry I'm so stupid".

"You ain't stupid", he corrected. "You just ain't learned how to do it yet. You can learn, can't ya?"

She nodded.

"Then ya ain't stupid. Come on now".

This girl grated on his nerves but Jake's conscience got the better of him. What was a simple task for him was apparently pushing her right over the edge. She was incompetent but at least she admitted it. He did have some respect for that, and he'd never been able to stand people berating themselves...or others, for that matter.

He held open the door and she cautiously went inside.

...........................................................................

I stood on a chair in my grandparents' room as I dug through a bag, pulled out a bra and underwear, then got dressed. I wore the dark blue skinny jeans I had on last night, a lightweight dark green crew neck sweater, and the pink and white Toms I had on last night. I pulled my hair into a ponytail then went to find my surly neighbor. He was clearly irritated by me, which I completely understood. I was incredibly grateful for him.

He was digging through kitchen cabinets when I came out of the bedroom. He lifted out the jar of peanut butter I had just purchased and turned.

His sharp blue-gray eyes appeared annoyed.

"I've got the front door propped open. Let's strip the mattress and haul it out".

"Absolutely. Thank you for your kindness", I told him.

His eyes softened but, "I ain't kind", he replied gruffly, striding past me into the bedroom.

"Sure you are", I insisted. "You don't have to help me. You're choosing to".

"I'm choosing to not lose more sleep to screaming", he corrected me.

Oh.

I felt my cheeks burning as I helped him remove all the bedding, tossing it on top of the chair.

He gave me instructions for how we were going to move the mattress. We had started sliding it off of the box spring when something small, dark, and quick shot out of the side of it and disappeared under the dresser.

I was shrieking and running from the room without any conscious thought before it even registered to my brain what had happened.

My burly neighbor simply shook his shaggy dark blond head and got the mattress up on it's side by himself.

"You just guide it", he said. "I'll push".

He was awfully strong. The queen sized mattress was out the front door and into the yard quicker than I would have thought possible.

"Don't look like you have a burn pile?", he asked.

"There was once, out back", I explained.

"Let's check it out. Don't wanna burn this too close to the house or the woods".

"Can we throw it away?", I asked.

"You see a giant dumpster nearby?", he snapped. "You wanna pay for someone to come get it?"

Good point. "No".

We found the old burn pile my grandpa had used. My neighbor kicked at the foundation then grabbed a nearby rusted rake to flatten out the debris.

"This'll work", he said approvingly. "Grandpa knew what he was doin'. We'll haul it back here for now and burn it when we got a reason to".

I smiled proudly, remembering my grandfather's meticulous ways.

Suddenly I realized something.

"What's your name?", I asked.

His blue-gray eyes met mine, registering slight surprise. "Jake", he answered.

I extended my hand. "Rillian".

"What?", he asked, raising one eyebrow.

"My name", I replied. "I'm Rillian Wallis".

"Nope", he said.

I was thoroughly confused, and my hand was still extended into midair, so I awkwardly pulled it back to my side.

"What do you mean?", I asked. "That's my name".

"I ain't sayin' all that every time I wanna talk to ya", he replied gruffly. "Ain't ya got a nickname?"

I was confused. "No".

"How'd your parents come up with a big ol' name like that?"

"It's a character in a C.S. Lewis book. My mother thought it sounded regal, and they actually thought they were having a boy, and it's a boy name...but...they kept it for me anyway".

"How's about I call ya Ril?"

I felt my nose wrinkle in disgust and shook my head no.

"Why not?", he pressed.

"It's awful".

"Lian".

"Absolutely not".

"Lily".

I shook my head no.

"Rilly".

"That's terrible", I protested.

The corner of one side of his mouth turned up under his mustache and his eyes twinkled slightly. He was amused! He found this amusing! I'd only ever seen him irritated before.

"Ri...ley?...Riley?"

I opened my mouth to protest but I actually kind of liked that name.

He noticed my hesitation, jumping on it.

"Aha", he said softly. "She don't hate it. Riley it is".

He smiled fully then. He was actually quite handsome when he wasn't being surly and terrifying.

I smiled back and shrugged. He was a strange man but I didn't mind him calling me that if it made him happy. He was helping me an awful lot and he had saved my life yesterday.

"Riley", he repeated, still smiling. "Yeah, I like it. You really never had a nickname before?"

"My grandpa called me 'kiddo', does that count?"

Jake actually threw his head back and laughed out loud.

...........................................................................

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