But what was I supposed to do? Apologize for honestly making the choice they’d given me?
Other than a somber “thank you” for carrying my suitcase, I was mostly quiet on the way back to the widow’s cottage. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle it if Ravik argued with me about moving into the little house I’d claimed as my temporary own. Or worse, gave me another command like he did this morning, when I tried to run away from the conversation with Boone.
My stomach roiled. I don’t know what scared me most: the thought of having to give in or getting into an argument with a man who could snap his fingers and turn into a bear.
But to my surprise, when we returned to the widow’s cottage, we found it warm and cozy, thanks to a fire burning steadily in the wood stove.
Wow.Boone hadn’t lied about it being way easier to keep a smaller space heated. The tension I’d been carrying in my shoulders loosened.
I squinted at the fire, which seemed to have been made with a mix of old newspaper and sticks. Was that what Ravik had been doing while I packed? Making a fire so I wouldn’t have to spend the night in a freezing-cold house?
Guilt twisted in my chest like a knife. Another gift it wouldn’t have even occurred to me to ask for.
“Vik set up the boiler, too,” Boone told me after setting my suitcase down next to the set of dresser drawers. “So you can take a shower whenever you want. Vik said to let me know if the water’s not hot enough—hold on…”
He held up one large finger, his eyes going to the side like he was receiving some kind of mental message—which I suppose he was.
I highly doubted I’d ever get used to them communicating like that.
“Be right back,” Boone said, suddenly jogging out.
Less than twenty minutes later, he came back through the door with three Barrington totes. Two were full of groceries, and the other was stuffed with cleaning supplies.
“Vik wanted me to give these to you, so you wouldn’t have to worry about asking.”
“Tell him, thank you?”
My voice lifted into question territory. I didn’t know what to make of this Ravik guy. He supposedly was on board with this wild polycule idea. But he’d barely said two words to me that wasn’t an order or a bear culture explanation delivered between gritted teeth.
Actually, there was that one thing this morning….
Not just good. Amazing. Compatible. With all three of us. Like if you put what we smelled like on a table together, we’d all want to eat.
I mean, it was a weird, verging on creepy thing to say, but technically a compliment, I guess.
In any case, I was grateful for his continued thoughtfulness.
“I’ll pay you three back for all of this,” I promised Boone as he set the bags down on the teeny square of counter next to the kitchenette’s sink. A desperate feeling scraped inside my chest.
Ihadto pay them back. I couldn’t bear the thought of only taking and never giving anything in return. “Definitely before my daughters’ weddings. I’ll figure it out.”
“Yeah, you will.” Boone turned to regard me with a crooked smile. “I bet you’ll figure all sorts of things out before July. Until then, I promise you…”
Boone took a step closer, hovering. “We’ll wait.”
Technically, he was agreeing with me, but the way his eyes filled with heat made my chest vibrate with… something. He towered over me, shoulders hunched to erase the near foot of height between us. I could feel the heat radiating off his skin.
And for a moment, I thought… feared… (was maybe the tiniest bit curious?) about whether he would kiss me.
But then he straightened back to his full height and said, “Well, I’ll leave you to it.”
Then Boone did exactly what I’d been asking him to do from the start. Left me alone.
Which was… great?
Yes, yes, definitely great, I told myself.
I spent the rest of the day sweeping, dusting, and getting down on my hands and knees to scrub every surface of the house with that Canadian version of PBS keeping me company in the background.
