I’ve read up on frozen pipes, how long it takes for hypothermia to set in, and if I could figure it out myself.
I found nothing helpful.
The thought of going into town and warming up at the Maple & Main Diner has been appealing, but I need to be here for when the handyman arrives.
If he ever arrives.
A heavy knock sounds on my front door, and I immediately call said person inside because I’m not moving an inch from mysemi-warm cocoon that I’ve made as the sound of heavy boots hits the hardwood floors and makes their way over to the family room.
I’m relieved that I can finally get my heat looked at when Micah stands under the archway with a heavy green plaid coat on and a box of tools in his hand.
There is no freaking way…
“Hey, sweetheart,” he greets me like I’ve been waiting here for him all day. I mean, I have, but not him per se just someone to come fix the damn HVAC. “You look under duress.”
“It just cracked up a notch,” I mutter as I glare at him being in my space. “What are you doing here?”
“Fixing your broken heat.”
I wish you could fix my broken heart.
I immediately shake my head because I didn’t call that in today, just the lack of heat. “No. Mr. Landon said he was sending over a professional?—”
“I am a professional,” Micah quips simply. “I can have this fixed for you in no time.”
I blink. “You’re a mechanic.”
“Yes, but sometimes I do odds and ends around town to help out. A jack of all trades, if you will.”
“Isn’t there anyone else?”
“No.”
My eyes slit. “Don’t tell me you volunteered, Mr. Wolfe. That’d be borderline pathetic.”
Mentioning him by his last name makes Micah move deeper into my space, and I find myself curling up tighter into a ball to keep myself safe.
“Call me pathetic then, Miss Vesper. And, if you’re that cold, I have a few ideas where I can get you all warmed up. Just say the word.”
I’m quick to correct the shocked expression on my face, but it doesn’t stop Micah from closing more of the distance between us.
“Stop,” I order, a tell-tale sign that he affects me when I need to be showing the opposite. “I don’t want you here.”
I hear the front door open and slam shut, along with more quick footsteps that seem lighter.
“That’s a shame, Miss Vesper,” Micah replies matter-of-factly. “Because someone brought you something.”
“Miss Vesper!” I don’t recognize the childlike voice because it’s never been soloudbefore until I see Heath sprinting through the room like his hair is on fire. “We brought you a bunny!”
I gasp because he didn’t.
Theydidn’t.
I don’t have time for a pet. I know I said I was buying one, but I lied.
I mean, I would have if it meant Heath would open up to me more, but then…things between Micah and me happened, and that wasn’t going to be an option.
Heath stops in front of me and my mountain of blankets then pulls his arm out from behind his back, producing a white bunny.
