Page 76 of Out of the Cold

Chapter Thirteen

Hildegard’s wet noseon her face woke her up early the next morning.

She lay on her side with Gabriel behind her, his arm wrapped around her waist. His warm body, big and hard, surrounded her, creating a cocoon she never wanted to leave. But even as she lay there, her mind started to spin with questions. Would he wake up embarrassed or regretful? Did she feel either of those things?

Everything was so natural last night, but his moods could change. No one knew that better than her. He’d been lighter, more at ease since telling her about Ricky, but what were they doing? Should they talk about it?

Hilde needed to be let out, and it was probably best not to be around when he woke up. She’d give him some time to collect himself, and then she wouldn’t have to see his first unfiltered reaction. He made a sleepy noise of dissent as she carefully rolled away, his arm tightening in resistance before releasing her. Shivering, she ran to her room and pulled on clothes in the near dark. It was maybe seven o’clock, barely light, and the blizzard still hadn’t let up.

Stepping outside, the force of the wind took her breath away. But as she stepped off the stairs into the pristine snow, a fierce exhilaration grabbed hold of her, and she laughed out loud.

There was no way Hilde could go to the bathroom in the snow that had accumulated in the last day, so together they made their way to the back of the house, leaping and jumping together. The space beneath the deck offered a reprieve, and Hilde squatted there with a look of embarrassed relief.

The generator sat under the deck in the farthest corner from the house, the gas can right beside it. By its silence, she deduced it had run out of fuel. She stood staring at it for a long minute, wondering if she should try to fill it or leave it to Gabriel. But she was right here, and without it, the refrigerator wouldn’t run. No, it was stupid to wait for him. That was something the old Lucy would have done. She turned the generator switch to the off position, and after a little nervous examination, removed the gas cap and poured the fuel in. When she turned it on, it hummed back to life.

Pleased with herself, she headed over to Gabriel’s cabin and did the same for the smaller generator there.

It was starting to grow lighter, and she could make out downed branches, some of them as big as small trees themselves, strewn around the edges of the clearing. There would be plenty for Gabriel to do when the storm stopped. He’d probably love it.

She went inside as quietly as possible, shaking out her clothing and stepping gingerly around the wet spots in the mudroom. But Gabriel was already up and feeding logs into the fire. He was dressed in his track pants and a hooded sweatshirt, his hair mussed. She steeled herself for a hasty apology and a quick exit, but he only looked at her with sleepy eyes and a lazy grin.

“Morning,” she said, too shy to approach him.

Coming to her, he cupped her cheek and planted a firm kiss on her mouth. “How is it out there?”

It took her brain a second to catch up. “Cold, windy, snowy. Kind of awesome.”

“I’ll take care of the generator. I’m guessing it’s already stopped running.”

“I did that. And yours, too.”

“You did?”

“I was right there, and you left the gas can and everything. It was no big deal.”

“I...that’s great.” He followed her into the kitchen, looking slightly lost. “Sorry I didn’t get up sooner.”

“It’s my fault for wearing you out.”

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