“Yeah, oh fuck.” He hands my phone over, and on the screen I can see that he did call, and text me multiple times until he obviously found my phone.
“Yeah, you're right. I know better than to leave the house without a form of communication available.”
“I wasn't just worried about telling, Max, just so you know-” he begins.
“Yeah I know, someone would have to call my parents too,” I say, with a wave of my hand. “But, just so you know, that would be Max’s job, not yours.”
“For fucks sake, Kassie.” He scrubs a hand over his face, then sighs. “You know what, why don’t you believe whatever the hell you want to believe. I'm going outside to, I don’t know, start putting a dent in the things that need to be done around here so that your family can enjoy their weekend away.”
“Bennett, what do you mean-” This time it’s his turn to cut me off. Only he doesn’t use his hand, he turns his back to me.
“Nothing Kassie, nothing at all, forget I said anything.” Then he disappears out of the sliding door.
I’m still standing there, when I hear the loud thwack of an axe coming down on wood, and it brings me out of my stupor.
Bennett is right. We came up here earlier to get things ready before everyone else gets here, and that’s what I'm going to do. What we’re going to do.
So, trying to not think about watching Bennett chop up wood, I decide instead to burn off some of that chocolate intake, and get to cleaning inside.
By the time Bennett has come back inside, I've dusted, vacuumed, cleaned up the kitchen, and am about to mop the floors.
CHAPTER 7
Bennett
I shouldn’t have lether leave, I should have stopped her so we could talk.
But, what was I going to say?
I couldn’t bring myself to say that it was a mistake, because it wasn't. I meant that kiss with every atom of my being, and I fucking enjoyed it.
I would never callhera mistake in any way, shape, sense, or form.
But, what else was I going to say to her?
“Fuck!”
I spent most of the time she was gone doing some of the smaller jobs inside the house to keep myself busy, and ready for when she got home. Now, I need to get out of the house and do something else.
I know that there's a pile of wood that needs to be chopped, and I could do with the harsh, methodical physical work. As I get into the rhythm of splitting the rounds of tree trunks into smaller chunks that will fit into the fire, I start to calm down.There's something about the noise, and the accomplishment piling up beside me that makes me relax.
I pick up another round, and start all over again.
Crack. Thunk. Whoosh.
I work up a sweat, so I drape my jacket over a stump, and have a drink of water, grateful that I remember to at least bring that out with me.
I haven’t been out here for too long, but the cold is really starting to set in. The sun is setting, and taking any of the warmth it was giving, and that’s not much, with it.
I finish chopping up the small pile of wood I have next to me, I toss as much as I can into the wheelbarrow so that I can take the load up to the house where Max’s parents stack wood for easy access, then I stack the rest that I chopped up into the storage shed.
Stacking the wood from the wheelbarrow against the house where I know the Timms keep it for easier access, I tell myself that I need to talk this thing out with Kassie. I don’t know what's going on inside her head, but I know what I want.
I catch movement inside, and leave the empty wheelbarrow where it is.
I open the sliding door, ready to ask her where the hell she’s been, but her voice calls out before I can speak.
“No dirty shoes inside, please, I just finished cleaning!” Kassie’s voice calls out from the kitchen, I think. “And Mr McGuire, if your clothes are dirty as well, I'd rather you didn't bring them inside. You can come in via the laundry, there are spare clothes in there, or at the least a robe or something for you to cover yourself with before you have a shower. Plus, you can wash your clothes straight away.”
