Micah
“All right.” Christa didn’t look like she trusted whatever I was about to tell her.
“Still got power, phone’s working, wood, and food for days.”
“Days?” Had she gone a little pale? “How long…”
“Storm’s not letting up anytime soon.”
“Aren’t you annoyed to have an unexpected guest?”
“No.” I turned back to the kitchen to hide my surprise. Annoyed? Jesus, no. Was she annoyed to be here? Of course she was. She had plans for the holiday, friends and family to spend it with. I had my girls and some paperwork I’d put off all year.
“What would you be doing, if I weren’t here right now?”
“Uh, chores, I guess.”
“Can I help?”
“No.” And because that sounded pretty shitty, even to my own ears, I offered a bone. “Dug around in the freezer and pulled out a couple chickens to roast.”
“A couple?”
“You, me, and the girls. Four mouths to feed.”
“So…” When she didn’t finish her sentence, I glanced back at her. She’d dropped her head back on the sofa and sat staring at the ceiling, coffee in one hand, the other arm wrapped protectively around her chest. “Holy. Shit.”
“What?”
“Just thought of something that happened last night.”
Oh no. Did I sleepwalk? Say something wrong? Yell out some crazy shit? I tensed and waited.
“Before the…accident.” Over and over again, my thoughts stuttered on that moment when she and the car had separated.
She swallowed audibly, remembering, probably, what it had felt like to be trapped by that seatbelt. The shock of almost dying. Of living through it. I knew that feeling and it wasn’t all flowers and smiley faces.
“Thestupidwork party. Oh, my God, I can’t believe I forgot all about that.”
“What happened?”
“Jonathan. My boss. Ex. Ex-boss. What an absolute jerk.” She covered her face with her hands and started shaking. It wasn’t until she looked up again that I realized she was laughing, not crying. “I should’ve left the second I got there. Apparently, the stupid thing was cancelled and I had no idea. He didn’t even tell me until I’d been there for, like half an hour, in that dress. He was wasted. The creep pulled out his… He grabbed my…” She cleared her throat. “My breast.”
I’d kill him.
“I kneed him in the crotch and took off.”
“You’re laughing about this.”
“Better than tears.”
“Guy lives up there, right? Jonathan…Crandle?” At her nod, I threw down the kitchen towel and stalked to the closet to grab my boots. The asshole had to be stuck up at his place, as surely as we were. I’d tear him apart.
“Hey.”
Limb from fucking limb.
“What are you…” She stood and watched me struggle to put on my boots. “You’re not going up there.”
