Page 18 of Frosted Hearts

"Okay, I'll wake her soon then," she answers as she turns back to face the road. "Will it be much longer after lunch, or is this town where we will be staying?"

"It's about forty or so more minutes up into the mountains to our final destination. This is the closest town and the last place to grab resources," I explain, slowing down as we reach the town's city limits. It's also starting to flurry, so I know we need to be quick before the roads become dangerous or I need to put chains on the tires.

Illeana doesn't answer. Instead, she reaches down to put her Kindle away in the purse or well bag, at her feet. Can you really call it a purse if the bag is huge and can carry everything and then some in it? When she's finished, I hear the click of her seatbelt as she undoes it to crawl toward the back seat. My first instinct is to reach out and stop her, but I hold back, instead slowing the speed of the vehicle and settling for making a comment instead. "Be careful."

Although I can't see it. I know for a fact she rolled her eyes when I hear her sigh. Ignoring me, she focuses on the task at hand. "Grace, hey," she calls out softly as she shakes her sister's leg. "You need to wake up. We're about to stop to eat," she tries again when Grace's only answer is some sort of mumble that I'm not even sure is real words. When she still doesn't move, Illeana settles back in her seat and gives me a look of defeat as she fixes her seatbelt.

"It's fine. We can wake her when we park. Just let her sleep," I offer. It's not really a big deal, at least not for me. I knowI always slept for car rides, only waking when the car actually stopped when I was her age. I also learned from the military to sleep when and where you can.

"I know. I'm just worried she won't sleep tonight if I continue to let her sleep," she responds, turning to look out the window. "This is a cute little town."

"We'll just make sure that she doesn't go back to sleep after lunch. Maybe I'll let her choose the tunes," I add with a wink, hoping she catches the joke.

"Oh god, no," she groans, turning to look at me in horror. "If you offer that, then you may as well just leave me out in the cold."

"Okay, okay, no need for the dramatics. We'll think of something else to keep her awake. You're right, though, Aragon is a cute little town," I add, changing the topic. I have always loved coming up here. "Maybe when everything is over, we can come and explore as we head back to Silver City." It's not much of an offer, but it's something.

Right now, I don't particularly want anyone to see either of the girls here in town. We have a really good relationship with the people who live here. I doubt anyone would say anything, but I'd rather err on the side of caution. New people aren't really welcome, and if they ask the wrong questions, the Chaos Brotherhood is notified. It's one of the reasons we use the cabin as a safe house when needed. Just an extra layer of protection.

"Let me guess, exploring is off the table today," she concludes as I slow the vehicle further and signal to turn into a small parking lot. From the outside, it looks like a small shop, which it is, but it also has some amazing homemade food.

"Nope, not today. We need to get in and out." I pull into an open spot near the front door. Instead of waiting for Illeana to wake Grace again, I unclip my seatbelt and turn to the back. "Grace, you need to get up for food," I call out loudly, shakingher leg. It isn't rough, but it is enough to make her eyes shoot open as she tries to straighten in her seat.

"Where are we?" she asks as she unbuckles and begins to put her winter boots back on. I turn to Illeana and she just shrugs, letting me know this one is on me. Figures.

"We're in a small town near our destination, just stopping to grab some food and other items to take with us. I figured that it would be a good idea to eat and stretch our legs. I'm sure you're starving because I heard a rumor that you didn't eat anything this morning," I explain, hoping she doesn't ask too many more questions.

Before she can say anything, her stomach rumbles loud enough that all of us can hear it. "I guess I am hungry," she blushes, her hands wrapping around her stomach.

"Let's go eat, then we can pick up some essentials and be on the way," I answer, turning back in my seat and opening the driver's door.

All three of us exit the vehicle at the same time. It may be a hidden talent, but I'd say I'm pretty good with kids, at least young ones. Grace is one of the oldest kids I've been around, but I bet she shouldn't be too hard to handle. It's one of the reasons I didn't mind having her come with us. The other was because I didn't necessarily want to be alone with Illeana. She's just trouble waiting to happen.

All last night, I kept watching her over dinner and even caught myself watching her read while I drove today. No matter the fact she is ten years younger than me and completely off limits, I'm drawn to the damn princess, and I don't like it. A man only has so much self-control before he makes a comment to a beautiful woman.

Once we're all out of the car, as the three of us make our way to the door, I move to allow both girls to enter ahead of me. I hear a female inside cautiously greeting the girls, but as I stepinside, her demeanor changes. I watch her shoulders physically relax, and her smile brightens. Everyone in town recognizes Knox, Trevor, and I. We're the only three Rockport Security employees that use the cabin. The employee doesn't greet me by name. She knows not to, but she does lead us to a table near one of the windows and hands us three menus, telling us the waitress will be right with us.

"Good morning, or I suppose it's almost afternoon," she chuckles. "What can I get you all started with?"

Illeana orders water, and Grace orders a sprite before I ask for water as well. The waitress tells us to take some time looking at the menu while she grabs our drinks. It takes a little bit of prompting, but Illeana gets Grace to settle on grilled chicken, rice, and broccoli by the time our waitress returns with the drinks. It’s interesting watching the girl's dynamic. At times, you would almost think Illeana was Grace's mom, not sister. I suppose that's what happens when your dad isn't around much, and they lose their mother. Illeana’s patient with her and even reminds her that despite how hungry she is, she doesn’t need everything on the menu. I may have ordered a little more food than I could eat, and a few of the items were ones that Grace mentioned she had wanted. I have every intention of sharing them with her and hoping for the best.

"There's no way you can eat all that food," Grace gasps as soon as the waitress walks away with our order.

"Wanna bet?" I taunt with a wink. She's right. I can't, but no need to let her have the win that quickly.

"Ye...," Grace begins to answer before Illeana cuts her off.

"Grace, don't you dare bet him and you," she points at me. "Stop taunting my sister. You're supposed to be an adult here."

I zip my lips and settle back into my seat, taking her effective scolding for a minute. The three of us sit in silence for a minute before Grace begins a barrage of questions. "How far is thecabin? Is there wifi? Will there be anything to do? How long do we have to stay?"

"Grace," Illeana scolds, shaking her head. "One question at a time, you know that."

"Sorry," Grace blushes and hangs her head.

"No need to be sorry. I suppose while we are waiting on food, I can answer a few questions. The cabin is about thirty minutes from here, but with the snow coming down, it may take longer. Hopefully, I don't need to put the chains on the tires, but I might. There is wifi, but it's spotty and the two of you can't be in contact with anyone. If you need wifi for school then we can figure that out, but I don't want to risk anyone finding us."

"Don't scare her, Steel," Illeana cuts me off with a hard stare.

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