“Kolt!?”
“Hello trouble,” I give her a smile.
“What the hell are you doing!?”
“I’ve got you firewood,” I show her the barrow as if it isn’t obvious.
“It’s three in the morning!”
“It’s cold.”
“Jesus Christ, get in here!”
I stash the wheelbarrow under some cover and grab as much wood as I can carry before I step into her home, and she shuts out the cold behind me.
But it isn’t much warmer here, either.
“You didn’t start a fire?” I ask.
“I haven’t had a chance to,” She blushes, “And my boiler broke. Ethan is warm, I have an electric heater going in his room.”
“But what about you?”
She shrugs, “Layers.”
“Why are you awake, Ness?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” She shrugs, “You?”
“I was watching the videos.”
“Oh.”
“I want to take care of you Ness,” I admit. “Take care of you, and Ethan.”
A mask comes down over her face, “I don’t need to be taken care of, Kolt. Ethan is your priority.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
Fuck, I’m such a bitch.
“You can stay,” I blurt, “The couch is comfortable, but I’d start a fire, it can get cold.”
For a few seconds Kolt seems to be suffering from a case of whiplash and quite honestly, I’m not shocked. I snapped and then offered to let him stay, and I’m pretty sure if he wasn’t going to leave, he will now just to get away from me.
“What happened to the boiler?” He asks.
I shrug, “It just won’t heat. I phoned the gas company, but it’ll be a week before they can send someone over.”
“Okay,” He nods, moving towards the cold fireplace, the burned, blackened wood looking a little sad among all that ash.
Ethan is warm, I know that for sure, his bedroom is the perfect temperature, and I did have a small fire going before with thelittle wood I had remaining. I was planning to go out tomorrow to sort the firewood though I should have done it much earlier.
I know how brutal winters on the island can be, but I guess being on the mainland has ruined me to it.
Kolt kneels in front of the fire, cleaning it out before he starts making up a fire with the wood and kindling he brought over, and then before I can comment, a fire has started, a beautiful orange flame that glows through the living room.
The best thing about this small little bungalow is that the fire will warm the whole house, and I almost sigh at the heat I know it’ll bring.
