There’s a light drizzle when I pull up in front of the cottage our siblings live in.It’s on the marshland and has water on both sides of the road.Most of the houses on the road are elevated on stilts to reduce the chance of flooding with high tides or storms.The house is owned by the wildlife refuge Finn works as a Fish and Wildlife Service officer and is within the boundaries of the refuge.Finn gets to live here as part of his benefits package.Not going to lie, being out here resting on wood pilings creeps me out.I’m so glad they’re building a cabin in the woods.I couldn’t live out here where everything is flat.I’m sure the views are lovely at sunrise and sunset, maybe for star watching, but it’s so exposed.Give me the shelter and anonymity of the forest any time.
I pull into the driveway and park.Turning to Phoebe, I can’t stop the grin spreading across my face.She’s so spacey from the pain meds that she’s staring blankly out the windshield with her lips parted, and a little bit of drool is coming from the corner of her mouth.She’s adorable.
“Stay put until I come around to your side, okay?”
Phoebe gives me a big, goofy smile that’s a punch to my heart.I wish she’d give me that kind of smile when she wasn’t high as a kite.Oh well, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
“Ollie!What are you doing here?Hey, what’s this?”She holds up her right arm in the sling, closes her left eye, and studies her wrapped wrist and wiggles her fingers experimentally.
I hurry around to her side of the vehicle and open her door.Reaching across her belly to undo her seat belt, I’m close enough to smell her signature scent of cupcakes and roses.It shouldn’t smell so good, but it always makes me think of weddings.In my most secret daydreams, I think of our wedding.Not that Phoebe would ever marry someone like me.She’s too pretty, too bubbly, too outgoing.She wouldn’t want to be with someone quiet and boring.
But even if she’ll never love me, I can take care of her with all the love I have for her.
“Okay, sweetheart, let’s get you inside and settled.Can you walk up the steps, or should I carry you?”
She holds out her arms for me to lift her, and I do.When she rests her head on my shoulder, the sigh she breathes out tickles my neck, and a shiver races down my spine.
“You can carry me to the porch, but not into the house.No carrying me over the threshold until we’re married!”
Her words almost make me stumble.It’s the Tylenol talking, Ollie, she doesn’t really mean it.I get us safely to the porch and set her on her feet in front of me.I wrap an arm around her waist and prop her against me to keep her upright while I unlock the door.Pushing the door open, I hear my brother’s cat, Marsha, let out a questioning meow.I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she can tell time and knows Phoebe’s work schedule well enough to know she’s home early.
“Hey, Marsha,” I say.“Be careful.Our Phoebe hurt herself and isn’t steady on her feet.Don’t trip her.”
I don’t think cats can roll their eyes, but if they can, that’s what Marsha just did.Great.My brother’s cat thinks I’m a loser too.
After helping Phoebe get out of her coat, hanging it on the hook by the door, and taking off our shoes, I lead her over to the sectional sofa.It converts to a king-size bed, so I’ll sleep out here tonight.It’s where I usually sleep when I visit because their guest bed is not Bigfoot shifter size.She sits there quietly, staring blankly out the back windows at the rainy afternoon.Whatever vegetation is out there is blowing as the wind intensifies.I hope it stops soon.
“Okay, Phoebe, have you eaten today?What can I make for you?Grilled cheese?Soup?”I look through the cabinets and pantry.I’m not a trained professional like she is, but I can handle the basics well enough to survive.“Phoebs?”
I can see her trying to focus.Her head is bopping side to side, but her forehead is scrunched, furrowing her dark brows like she’s deep in concentration.The slow blink of her thick, dark lashes over confused eyes is the kicker—she’s lost the plot.Then her eyes widen.“I made chicken noodle soup yesterday.It’s in the fridge.We can heat that up.That’s all I want for now.But make yourself a sandwich or three.Replace calories burned during practice.”
I grab the container of soup from the fridge and ladle some into a pot to heat.I’ll start with soup because even though Phoebe is working on focusing, I don’t know if she’ll be coordinated enough to eat soup left-handed.I wonder if she prefers airplane or choo-choo train noises?
Turns out she likes me screeching like a pterodactyl and being mama bird to her baby bird.Well, feeding with the spoon.No feeding her from my mouth to her mouth.If we’re ever mouth-to-mouth, it’ll be because we’re kissing, not because I’m feeding her.I shudder.
“Are you cold?”Phoebe asks.
I shake my head.“Are you?”
“No, you shivered.”
Chuckling, I stand and take our empty soup bowls into the kitchen.“That was a shudder, not a shiver.I was thinking about feeding baby birds and the parent chewing it up first and spitting it into their offspring’s mouth.”I turn back to face her, shudder again, then grimace with disgust.It makes her giggle, which is everything to me.
A strong gust of wind pelts rain against the window.We turn to look.It’s dark already.I don’t like not being able to see what’s happening.This house is on pillars because it’s on a fricking flood plain.How high does the water rise here?How do they know it won’t get blown over?Maybe we should stay at Phoebe’s place.
No sooner has that thought entered my mind when I hear two giant thuds outside, and it feels like the ground shakes.Marsha yowls and jumps on the back of the couch, back arched and calico fur fluffing out.Phoebe goes to cover her mouth but thankfully realizes at the last second her arm is in a sling and stops before punching herself in the face.
“What was that?”she gasps, her brown eyes wide.They’re clear, not glassy like when she was dealing with the pain meds.Whatever it was, it sobered her up.
“I…I don’t know,” I stammer.I mean, I do know.I recognize it from growing up in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, but it seems unlikely here.“Stay there, I’m going to take a peek outside.”
Phoebe jumps to her feet, swaying slightly.“You can’t go outside!That’s a raging storm, it’s not safe.”
Sitting on the bench by the door to put my boots on, I give her my best reassuring smile.
“I’m only going on the porch.I’ll be fine.Do you know where Finn keeps flashlights?”
She pulls open a kitchen drawer and pulls out a black flashlight.I’m sure he has a stronger one around, maybe with his work gear, but what she found is good enough for my purposes.Phoebe is at my side as I shrug on my jacket.Marsha’s still on the back of the sofa, staring at me with unblinking green eyes.If the cat had telepathic powers, she’d be telling me to wait until morning, nothing is so urgent that I need to see it tonight.She’d be right.But I could have mistaken the noise, or it’s not as bad as I thought.It’s best to check.
