Page 20 of Reign or Shine

I understand. I’ve felt the same way too. The career I had in the city didn’t bring me an ounce of fulfillment. It was only when I came here to Calgary and surrounded myself with nature that that spark finally consumed me.

To know that Henry had also felt this need, this desire to discover more from life just anchored me to him further.

He claps his hands together to break the tension in the room and opens his arms wide. “Looks like the furry invader is no longer here. I say we start to settle in for the night and get cleaned up.”

“Oh man, yes. I feel like the mud on my clothes is turning to ice. I’m so cold.”

Henry laughs his agreement, grabbing his backpack from the floor and placing it on the bed.

It hits me then. We’re going to be spending the night here. Together. Alone.

I turn my head to look at the far corner of the room. And there was only one bed.

Chapter Nine

Henry

Iknow the exact moment she puts it together. The fact that there is only one bed.

One very small bed and two of us.

It goes against my gentlemanly instincts not to ease her mind and offer to sleep on the floor or somewhere else in the cabin. I know that’s what I should do. Yet I don’t.

There really is no other place to sleep in here. The floor is definitely not an option. The dust alone would probably kill me or cause a kind of lung illness that I did not want to sign up for.

From the corner of my eye, I watch as Ellie pauses in untying her boot laces. Her body stiffens and she jerks her head to the side, focusing her attention to the area of the room I’m in. On the bed.

She stays like that, staring at the bed, for what I believe is a full minute. I struggle to keep my expression neutral as I go about pulling out the extra clothing I packed. When I have the extra pair of socks out of my bag along with the baggies of food I had packed for lunch, I finally break the silence.

“Do you need help? You haven’t moved in a while.” Her mouth opens but her gaze never wavers. “Are you in pain?”

That has her expression clearing. “No. No, sorry. I just—” She clears her throat. “I just realized a couple of things.”

“And those would be…” My voice trails off, but I can no longer hide my amusement from her.

“That there’s one bed and we both only have the clothes on our backs.”

I hadn’t factored in a full change of clothes. It wouldn’t be smart to stay in our wet clothes. While the thought of losing items of clothing with Ellie was appealing, this was not the time.

“And the bed’s a problem?”

“No, not a problem just…inconvenient maybe? But really, it matches the luck we’re having today.” She rubs the back of her neck, brow bunched.

I feel like an asshole. Here I am delighting in the fact that our circumstances are going to help me get to know her better while they only cause Ellie stress. Her face is pale and her shivering has intensified.

In four quick strides I’m by her side, crouching down and reaching for her hand.

“Is the bed thing really that bad?”

“No, it’s not that. It just all hit me. This clusterfuck of a day. And now we’re trapped here until the storm lets up with barely any food and no change of clothes.” She lets out a long sigh, running a hand down her face. “Sorry,” she mumbles. “I’m being—”

I cut her off, not wanting to hear her brush off her valid concerns.

“You’re right. It has been a clusterfuck of a day. But you know what? I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else by my side but you. In between the moments of chaos you’ve shown me absolute beauty, shown me the value of quiet, and you’ve become one of the best people I know. You got us out of that storm and here to safety.”

“I’m the one that got hurt and broke our only means of calling for help.”

I wave that away. Placing a hand under her chin, I gently tilt her head up so that she can see the sincerity in my eyes.

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