Page 11 of Clashing Moon

I closed my eyes and did fall asleep. The next thing I knew, I was waking to the sound of a metal spoon scraping against a pan. Rafferty was at the stove, stirring what smelled like chili. He looked over at me. “Hey, sleepyhead. You hungry?”

“A little, yeah.”

Yawning, I sat up and swung my feet onto the floor. “I’m going to use the restroom.”

“Go for it,” Rafferty said, not looking up from his task.

The bathroom was essentially a toilet and a sink. I did my business and washed my hands before rejoining Rafferty. He had dished up two steaming bowls of the canned chili and set them on the table. We ate in silence for a few minutes. Although my stomach was tied in knots, I forced myself to eat. Who knew what kind of trouble we were facing? I would need my strength.

The storm still raged on, with the shrieking wind a constant. There was no way we were getting out of here before dark. It was already one in the afternoon. Complete darkness would come before five this time of year.

Under the table, I twisted a paper towel between my fingers, trying to keep the agitation at bay. I’d had panic attacks in school and a few in the months since I’d been home. I really didn’t want to have one in front of Rafferty.

“We’ve got plenty of food, thanks to you,” Rafferty said. “Try not to worry. We’ll get out of here eventually.”

“My dad, though. I wish I knew where he was.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

His eyes softened with sympathy, which strangely touched my heart. I’d not thought it possible to feel anything for the man other than hostility. Rafferty Moon had been my archnemesis for as long as I could remember. Thinking of him in any other capacity was a foreign concept.

I ducked my head and finished the rest of my chili. Rafferty had made short work of his as well. I gathered the bowls and plastic spoons and rinsed them in the bathroom sink. We would have to boil water if we wanted anything sanitized. For now, rinsing would be sufficient.

“Thanks for letting me nap,” I said. “I’m amazed I could fall asleep. What kind of daughter am I?”

“Getting caught in a storm can take it out of a person,” Rafferty said gently.

“How are you doing? I should have asked already.”

“I’m good. Don’t worry about me. I’m a Moon.”

“Which means what exactly?” I sounded snarkier than I meant to.

“I’m the middle in a family of five boys. I had to be tough.”

I smiled, conceding to this truth. “Can’t argue with that.”

“What should we do?” Rafferty asked. “You want to play cards now?”

“No, but there’s a puzzle or two in the trunk there. We could pull one out.”

“I love puzzles,” Rafferty said. “I’m really good at them, so be forewarned.”

I smirked. “Why am I not surprised?”

He ignored that and went over to the trunk, pulling out two puzzles. “These are both one thousand pieces.” He held up theboxes. “Which do you want? We can slam one of these out in an afternoon, don’t you think?”

“Implying we get out of here tonight?”

“Or the morning,” Rafferty said. “I think we’re here until the morning.”

“It gets dark early, so yeah.” I sighed, fighting tears.

“I know you’re worried, but you have to have faith.”

To hide my emotions, I focused on the puzzle boxes. “These are great. I forgot I had them in there.” They were both covers fromThe New Yorkermagazine. One was an illustration of New Yorkers at the beach. The other was a depiction of a farmers’ market.

“Let’s do the beach,” I said. “Maybe it will help us to feel warmer.”

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