He squinted. “Well, again, there’s not much in there. We should probably be having melted ice cream for breakfast.”
I perked. “You brought ice cream?”
“Yep. Chocolate fudge.”
“Oh, let’s have that. Please?”
He chuckled. “And here I thought you had a hankering for oatmeal with brown sugar and prunes.”
I wrinkled my nose. “No prunes. Just…gross.”
“All right. Let me see what else is in the freezer that I can whip into meals for the next day.”
After a couple of minutes of me working on the numbers, he handed me a bowl of ice cream. “We should use the eggs later today. I have some bacon I can fry up as well. The bread and bagels will be fine. Same with the peanut butter and butter. I’ve got enough hot chocolate to get us through, and I have a dozen more drink boxes. At least they’re recyclable. I plan to clear the place out before I leave.”
“I thought you said you were coming back.”
“That’s my intention, but I never count on anything until it actually happens. I’ll bring up new supplies. I’m only coming for a week to finish things. Then I’m in Vancouver for the semester.”
“Oh?” I took a mouthful of soft chocolate fudge ice cream and moaned.
He chuckled again. “Yeah. Then I have more research planned. Back up in the Arctic again. In September, I plan tostart writing my dissertation. I’ll pass it by my advisor just before next Christmas and, if all goes well, defend it in just over a year.”
“That sounds like a lot of work.” I ate more of the creamy goodness.
“Sure. But I really want to be a professor one day. That means working my ass off.”
“It’s a nice ass.”
Shit.
“I’m sorry?” He cocked his head.
“I said, working your ass off is, uh, hard.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought you said. At first light, I need to go out and check my sensors. I’ll have more numbers for you.”
“Appreciated.” He took the empty bowls, made his way to the sink, and washed the dishes.
I stared at his ass for a very long time before I went back to work.
CHAPTER 6
Marco
I wasa damn near block of ice when I returned from the lake. The snow was falling nearly sideways in the wind. I was able to follow the well-worn path, though, and make it to the cabin in one piece.
As I warmed myself by the fire, Kellen diligently transcribed the numbers.Too bad we didn’t have power—would be nice to get him to input them into the computer.
The least favorite part of my job.
When my fingers were no longer numb. I put a couple of logs in the stove, lit them, and headed to the kitchen. I had six eggs left—I planned to fry them up along with the flat of bacon. Filling and greasy.
What more could a man ask for?
Kellen put the pencil down. “Do you think I can chop some wood?”
“Sure.” I eyed him as the eggs cooked. “Have you ever chopped wood before?”
