“You woke up ten minutes ago.”
“And?”
“And you’re already planning six steps ahead.”
“That’s my job,” I say, cheeks warming.
“It’s also who you are,” he says, and his voice has that low warmth to it again—something I felt last night when he tucked a blanket around me. “You’re always thinking about how to make things work.”
I stare down at my plate a little too intently. “Well. Someone has to.”
After we finish eating, he pulls on his coat and boots to check the generator, and I wrap up in the blanket again, clearing dishes and wiping the counter down. My mind is racing through the day’s checklist when the front door opens and he steps back in, snow clinging to his shoulders.
“Well?” I ask.
He kicks off his boots. “Generator’s fine. Gas valve stuck.”
“Is that fixable?”
“Eventually.”
I blink. “Eventually?”
He shrugs. “Means we’ll probably be without power a while longer.”
I am about to answer when there’s a suddenthudagainst the roof.
I jump a full inch off the floor.
Calder glances up, unbothered. “Snow load shifting.”
“Right,” I say, hand pressed over my heart. “Totally not alarming.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“I don’t plan on staying long enough to get used to it,” I remind him. “Just long enough to turn your house into a Christmas miracle.”
My words are teasing, light—and then something shifts in his expression. Not big. Not overt. Just…aware.
“You don’t have to perform miracles,” he says, quieter now. “Just… help me get through it.”
The honesty in that pulls me up short.
I open my mouth to tell him I will—of course I will—but before I can, anotherthudshakes the roof. Louder.
I gasp, stumbling back a step.
Without hesitation, Calder crosses the room and steadies me with one hand at my elbow.
“You’re okay,” he says, voice close and warm. “It’s just snow sliding. Happens every storm.”
I look up at him, his face inches from mine, the firelight painting gold across his cheekbones. His hand is still wrapped around my arm, big and warm, grounding.
“I know,” I whisper. “I just… wasn’t ready for it.”
His gaze dips to my lips before flicking up again.
And this time, he doesn’t hide it.
