Lit candles filled the foyer. Beams of light bounced off walls and along the floor from people walking with flashlights.
He heard someone call for Jessa. “Your boyfriend’s back.”
He didn’t try to hide his smile. Titles in relationships had bothered him in the past. With Jessa, he didn’t mind the designation at all.
She entered the room and ran toward him, threw her arms around him. “You made it.”
“I told you I’d be careful.”
“How is it out there?” She unwrapped her arms and put several inches between them.
“Rough. Worst I’ve ever seen.” Shedding his coat, he darted a glance around the room. “How are Beth and the kids?”
“Good. She took them upstairs after Dex fell asleep in the game room.”
“Maybe tomorrow you’ll have a chance to talk to her. From the very little I know of her, she needs a girlfriend.”
“I gathered that.” She took his scarf from him and draped it over a chair to dry.
“Have you heard from your family?”
She nodded. “They closed every business around when the first reports came out that the storm would be worse than expected. When Phoebe’s work closed for non-essential employees, she went to Mom and Dad’s to ride it out there. I talked to her five minutes ago, and they still had power then.”
“Even the streetlights in town are out. Your parents will be lucky to not lose theirs.”
“Come to the kitchen and warm up. More coffee had just finished brewing when ours went out.”
“Does Mrs. Addy need help starting fires or anything first?” He sniffed, catching a hint of burning wood.
“I have strict instructions to get you dry and warm. She said no one is getting pneumonia on her watch.”
“In that case, I’m taking off my shoes and socks.” His feet had thawed enough to be a cold, wet, uncomfortable mess.
“You need something on your feet.” She pursed her lips. “Let me run upstairs and see if Mr. Lejeune is still awake. He should have a pair of socks you can borrow.”
Before he could protest, she bounded up the stairs with her flashlight on. The thought of wearing someone else’s socks made him queasy, but as long as they were clean…
Chapter Twelve
No sunlight filtered through the window when Jessa awoke. She rolled over in bed and grabbed her phone. Seven-thirty. The sun should have been up by now. She swung her legs over the bed’s edge, surprised to see socks on her feet.
She never slept with socks.
With the blankets tossed aside, her body registered the cold air. Had the heater broken? She stumbled to the window and looked outside. Several feet of snow covered the ground.
Her brain snapped awake, and she remembered the blizzard. The power going out. Landon.
Landon was downstairs.
She rushed to the bathroom to brush her teeth, jarred by the ice-cold water. She did her best to wrangle her hair into a style more attractive than a lion’s mane, but it wouldn’t cooperate. When it got like this, all she could do was take a shower and start from scratch. That wasn’t happening, however. She’d rather Landon see her a mess than take a shower in frigid water in an already cold house.
Let him see her at her worst—know what he was up against. She allowed her thoughts to wander and imagine them married one day, looking at each other with their bed-heads and morning breath. The image made her giggle, but also served to remind her Landon would look worse than her.
As far as she knew, he didn’t have the benefit of a change of clothes, nor toiletries. He’d been stranded in the truest sense of the word. She dug through her belongings, searching for anything she could take to him.
She didn’t have a fresh toothbrush, but she could lend him her toothpaste. Substituting his finger for a brush wasn’t ideal, but better than nothing. She had trial size shampoo that came as a sample in the mail. If he was brave enough to attempt the cold water, he was welcome to the shampoo. She also had an unused razor he could use if he didn’t mind the girly pink of it. Personally, she wouldn’t mind if he didn’t shave. She preferred a day or two worth of facial hair on his face.
Since she’d already decided she didn’t need to have her A-game on, she stayed in her warm flannel pajamas and added a sweatshirt for an extra layer.I hope it’s warmer downstairs.Only several rooms in the large house had a private fireplace, and hers wasn’t one of them. She packed the toiletries for Landon in a small floral bag—the only one she had—but he had enough confidence in his masculinity that she doubted he’d care.
