I scoffed. “Don’t take it personal, kid. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Okay,” she replied, but I could tell she was far from okay. She avoided my gaze, continuing to pick at her food.
“I don’t have time for this shit,” I muttered under my breath as I walked toward the coffee maker. I didn’t have the patience for a bratty teen who was barely an adult.
Who decided eighteen was the legal age for an adult?
After pouring my coffee, I took a sip, closing my eyes and inhaling deeply.
Keep your cool and don’t let her get under your skin.
I went back to the table, pretending like nothing was wrong.
“After breakfast, I’m going to finish setting up a security system around the house, starting with your room.”
“Okay,” she replied dejectedly.
“Once I’m done, you can get unpacked and set the room up the way you want.”
She still wouldn’t look at me. “Sounds good.”
I hoped she got out of the mood she was in quickly. Even though this was a job, I wanted things to be friendly between us. Having to live together for a few weeks, possibly longer, would be better if we got along and were comfortable with each other.
Once I finished eating, I took my plate to the sink, then went to grab my tools and equipment from the basement. As I gathered everything I would need, I took a few minutes to plan. One story, plus the basement. Seven windows, not counting the inaccessible ones down here. Two exterior doors: front and back. Wood-frame, aging but solid.
Securing the house wouldn’t be difficult; I was more concerned about the perimeter, given the thick forest surrounding us could easily hide intruders.
But that also meant I could hide traps easily, as well.
When I came back upstairs, Gianina was on the couch reading a book.
At least she’ll be out of my hair.
Entering my former bedroom, I set up alarms on the window and door, as well as a camera that captured the whole room. The process took me about half an hour, and when I exited the room, I announced, “She’s all yours.”
“Thanks,” she replied, rising from the couch before disappearing into the room and shutting the door behind her.
I rolled my eyes.Women.
I went to my room and got ready for the day. Once I was dressed, I went outside to check the weather. It was cold, but wasn’t snowing. There was thick snow on the ground from the last snowfall, which was common at that time of year in the mountains.
I wanted to get everything set up before the storm came in, which was supposed to be in two days, but weather could be unpredictable. I could get everything done by the end of the day if I didn’t have any distractions or hiccups.
I also needed to chop firewood, make sure both generators were charged, and clean out the chimney.
I decided to plug in the generators before anything else and let them get completely charged. Then, I moved on to perimeter security and set up proximity alarms, cameras, and motion detectors all around the property. I planned to connect everything to my computer and display all the camera feeds across four monitors in my room.
As I worked, Gianina kept crossing my mind. I wondered if she was upset, and the thought that she was bothered me. I hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings when I said that her being cooperative made my job easier.
Women could be so sensitive. I was just stating the facts. I was being paid to do a job, whether I enjoyed her company or not. We’d just met the night before, and under less than ideal circumstances. It’s not like we were friends that met in a normal social setting and built a relationship over time.
So why did she care? And why did it bother me that she cared?
Trying to shake the thoughts from my mind, I refocused on completing my tasks. I didn’t need to be distracted by things that I didn’t understand or couldn’t control.
If I let feelings cloud my judgement, both of us could end up dead.
And nothing was worth risking that, not even Gianina’s feelings.
