Page 2 of Out of the Cold

“Hilde, come,” she commanded. The dog hesitated, then came to sit beside her feet. “You must be Gabriel,” she said, smiling in relief. “I’m Lucy. Thank you for getting the cabin ready.”

He looked her up and down as if her very presence were an affront to him. His expression didn’t soften. “There’s your wood,” he said, pointing behind her.

She turned to see a tarp-covered pile set against the back of the house. “Right. Great.”

“For the woodstove. You do know how to use one, right?”

“Of course.” She’d never seen a woodstove before now, never mind lit a fire in one, but his tone set her on edge. “Is that the only way to heat the house?”

“There’s electric heat, but the woodstove’s much cheaper and more efficient, and it works even when you lose power. I’d keep the electric heat to the bedroom and bathroom you use. Keep the doors to the rooms you don’t use closed.”

“Does the electricity go out often?” she asked.

“I wasn’t here last winter, but from what I understand, they lose power pretty regularly. Just make sure you don’t let the fire go out. It’s easier to keep it going than to start it up again.”

She was trying to keep up with what he was telling her while also breathing, but it was getting harder and harder. She’d been here all of ten minutes and the most basic functions of the house had already thwarted her. And if she wasn’t mistaken, Gabriel was testing her.

His voice receded along with her surroundings as the pressure in her chest grew and her breath sawed in and out. Her vision went gray at the edges, and she dropped to her knees with her head in her hands. The ground was cold and hard, a little damp.

Hilde whined and licked her cheek.

“Are you okay?” Gabriel asked, crouching beside her.

“I can’t breathe.”

“It’s the altitude,” he said, voice low and soothing. “Takes a while to get used to it, but you will.” His hand, broad and warm, settled on her shoulder. “Relax. You’ll get enough air, even if it doesn’t feel like it.”

As unwelcoming as he’d been only moments before, his hand grounded her and his low voice broke through her panic.

“Breathe in. That’s it. Now let it out slowly. You’ve got it.”

Gradually her breathing became easier and her alarm eased a fraction. So maybe not a panic attack, maybe it only felt like one. Either way, he thought it was the altitude, which allowed her to save face.

Gabriel came back into focus, and there was genuine concern in his dark brown eyes. He was close enough that she could see the fine lines fanning out from the corners. Either he laughed a lot or he spent a lot of time outside. She’d bet on the latter.

“I’ve never been this high up,” she said, getting to her feet.

He stood with her, his hand on her elbow. “No? How high have you been?”

“San Francisco.”

“They do have some pretty big hills there,” he said, his eyes amused. “Is that where you live?”

“Yes. Or no, I did live there, but I’m from Florida.” She took a deep breath, testing. Her heart was still pounding, but her panic had subsided.

He was watching her, assessing. “You sure you’re all right?”

Those brown eyes of his, so disdainful a few minutes ago, were almost kind. Maybe he wasn’t a total ogre.

“I’ll be fine. I hope I’m not keeping you from anything.”

“I was only chopping wood.”

“Really? It looks like there’s plenty,” she said, scanning the enormous pile stacked against the cabin and the even bigger pile near the trees.

“All that was cut last year and had time to season. What I’m cutting now will be used next year. Between both houses, we go through a lot in a winter.”

Looking past him, she saw a much smaller cabin on the other side of a stand of trees maybe two hundred yards away. A little bridge spanned what must have been a stream.

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