Curious, I followed, peering onto the wraparound porch and watching as he walked toward a big bin. He lifted the lid, releasing a cloud of steam from inside, and tossed the whole thing on top.
Gray noticed me watching him and shut the lid.“Compost bin,” he supplied, clapping his hands together to knock any extra sawdust from his hands. They could probably use a wash, but I wasn’t his mother, and it wasn’t my job to remind him.
I ducked back inside the cabin as he strode back in my direction. He stepped in and shut the door, then crossed to the sink and washed his hands. Good boy.
“Compost?” I questioned, looking for elaboration.
He nodded, rinsing and then drying his hands on a towel beside the sink.“Yeah, for the garden. The‘litter’will do well in there.”
My jaw dropped open.“Like, for the garden as in flowers, right?”
He shook his head and turned toward me, our eyes meeting and holding for the longest time since we’d arrived.“And… for the vegetables.”
I wanted to vomit.
“What do you think food grows in, Betty?” His question was belittling.
I blinked a few times.“Well… fertilizer, duh… but not my cat’sshit.”
He laughed.
The room was warming up, so I shrugged off my coat, mortified by the sticky pajama top I’d been wearing for three days.“Is there…” I looked around, suddenly afraid.“A bathroom?”
Why hadn’t I asked about the bathroom earlier? That should have been my first question. I would not be peeing in sawdust.
Gray let me stew in fear for a beat too long before gesturing towards the back corner, where a section of the room was partitioned off with a door.
My shoulders dropped with relief.“Oh, thank God.” I pulled at my top; it was sticking to my chest.“Clothes?” I asked with a wince, hopeful there were options that weren’t his size.
“I picked up a few things in town. I’ll bring them in.” He turned toward the door, then stopped.“Oh, and, uh… there’s a composting toilet, but no shower.” His face broke into a mock-apologetic grin.“We bathe in the river,” he said.
“Theriver?”I whisper-hissed.
My gaze met the rafters, fighting back tears that pricked my eyes. I guess that was the last straw. Emotions were bubbling up.
My body felt gross. I was exhausted, aching, had peed in the woods while wearing a diaper, and now I couldn’t even shower? I blinked a few times, fighting back the tears and willing myself to pull it together.
His tone softened.“I’ll get a bucket of water from the river and warm it for you, okay? Will that help for now?”
I nodded, my lower lip quivering. I bit down on it.
“Go to the bathroom, and I’ll get you some things in a few minutes,” he whispered, gesturing with his head toward the little room.“There’s a sink, and the water is clean rainwater. Though cold, you can start with that if you like. Wash your face at least.”
I nodded again and practically fled into the small space.
Chapter 13
Gray
I left Betty inside and stepped back out into the cold. After starting the snowmobile, I drove it into the shed and covered it with a tarp. I grabbed a few bags of Betty’s new clothes from the sled and lugged them to the porch. Now that the eggs were safe from Larry and his pine marten friends, I could leave the sled and unpack the rest of the supplies tomorrow.
Making one last trip down to storage, I rummaged through the messy shelves. I’d hoarded a lot of things over the years, unwilling to give anything up. In my world, you never knew when even the smallest scrap might come in handy, but it wasn’t my forte to keep things neat. After what felt like ten minutes longer than necessary, I finally uncovered a new, clean steel bucket.
Perfect.
Shed locked, I pulled a flashlight from my pant pocket and carefully navigated the icy, muddy path down to the dark river. I lowered the bucket into the cool water, rinsing it a few times before filling it to the brim. Pointing the flashlight into the bucket, I made sure I hadn’t pulled up any minnows. The last thing I needed was to hand Betty fish soup and horrify her further.
On the porch, I kicked the front door open and grabbed the stray clothing bags with my other hand. I was a fan of taking as few trips as possible. Throwing the bags on the kitchen counter, I hauled the bucket over to the stove to heat it. While unpacking her clothes, I stirred the water from time to time, using my hand to monitor the temperature.
