For the next hour, Noelle and I played in the snow. We threw snowballs, built a snowman, and chased each other around.
“You ready to head back in?” I asked her as I slumped forward and sucked in deep breaths. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had so much fun or laughed so hard.
“A few more minutes,” Noelle pleaded with her puppy dog eyes, and I folded like a house of cards.
Around us a gust of wind rattled the trees, dumping their snow all over the sidewalks. The whole place was buried. It was going to take a while to get this mess cleaned up, but until the storm eased, it was a pointless endeavor.
“Chris?” Noelle snapped my attention back to her.
Noelle was a beautiful little girl. With the red staining her cheeks and the tip of her nose, I knew she must be getting cold.
“Yes?” I replied, moving over to where she was dusting the snow from her hands.
“Can we go inside now? I’m hungry,” Noelle asked.
“Me too,” I confessed, instantly picturing an ooey gooey grilled cheese sandwich with a steaming bowl of tomato soup. Shame that wasn’t an option until the power came back on.
I kicked the snow drift from in front of the door before ushering Noelle inside. While she shed her snow-covered clothes, I added a few logs to the fire and got it roaring. Surely the storm would ease soon and the power would be back, but until then, we needed to stay warm.
I got Noelle settled in the office to warm up while I headed upstairs to find some food and check on Holly.
I shoved open the front door and stepped inside my frigid apartment. The temperature up there had plummeted, and I knew Holly needed to get downstairs where it was warmer. Igrabbed a bag and filled it with things we could make a sandwich with, along with some crisps, marshmallows, chocolate, and crackers. What was the point of having a fire roaring if we didn’t make S’mores?
I set the bag by the door and went to get Holly.
Quietly, I crept into the bedroom, and instantly, the spot on my chest ached. I rubbed at it aggressively and focused on the woman lying in my bed. She hadn’t moved. She was buried under a mountain of blankets, her head tilted to the side as she slept.
“Holly,” I called out softly as I moved into the room, trying not to startle her.
She didn’t flinch.
“Holly?” I tried again.
I stood beside the bed and looked down at her. Holly was a beautiful woman. There was something innocent and gentle about her. She was the sort of woman who brought out the protector in me.
I reached down and pulled the blanket back, exposing her shoulder. She wriggled but still didn't wake.
“Holly?” I whispered, touching her shoulder and feeling the chill of her skin.
“Mmmm,” she murmured as she tried to burrow deeper under the covers.
“Come on, Holly. I need you to wake up so we can get you downstairs where it’s warm,” I encouraged, taking a step backward.
The last thing I needed was for Holly to wake up and find me towering over her like a creeper.
“Noelle?” she asked as her tired eyes fluttered open.
“She’s downstairs by the fire. I got sent upstairs to find snacks,” I offered as Holly’s eyes adjusted tothe light.
“Sounds like my daughter,” Holly conceded before she started coughing.
I leaned down and put the back of my hand against her forehead. I wasn’t a doctor, and I wasn’t pretending to be, but you didn’t need years of med school to know Holly wasn’t well. She was hot to the touch and covered in a thin sheen of sweat.
“Why don’t you have a hot shower and warm up, then come downstairs by the fire?” I suggested trying to be helpful.
Her brows furrowed as a stubbornness took over her features. “I’m fine,” Holly declared as she tossed back the covers and stood up.
Either she didn’t care she was standing there, hands on her hips, wearing nothing more than a scowl, or she hadn’t realized. Fuck it was hard being a gentleman. I bit the inside of my cheek as I fought the urge to look. Instead, I locked my eyes with hers and buried my hands in my pockets, pretending that would be enough to stop me from reaching out and touching all that smooth skin she had on display.
