Page 20 of Loud Unspoken Memories

“His cabin.” I sigh heavily. “It runs on propane. His delivery got pushed back due to the snow. If the weather gets as bad as forecasted, it may be delayed by a long time. He’s going to lose power. And I’m… oh, God, Asher, I’m stuck here.”

“Charge your phone and your backup charger. You have one of those, right? Call the authorities and let them know you’re almost out of propane. That should move you up the list. I’m looking at plane tickets now and I’ll—”

I look down at my phone. The call dropped. Zero bars.

My head slumps forward. How is this my life right now?

Chapter Nine

Dallas

The scent of grilled meat and sauteed veggies hits me when I emerge from the bathroom. My mouth waters as I stand in front of the fireplace. I hear the sound of cracking eggs and wonder what she’s making, but after my cold shower, getting warm takes priority over my curiosity.

A few minutes later, Marti is scooping food onto plates. A lot of food.

When she notices I’m in the room, she sets them on the table and sighs. “Cell service is down again.”

“Damn. I thought we’d have it longer.”

“You probably should have called whoever before your shower.”

I sit at the table. “Nobody to call.”

I feel her staring at me. She wants to ask me something but doesn’t.

Brunch is incredible. She made hash out of the leftover steak and potato. And the omelets, let’s just say my taste buds are exploding. I shovel another bite in. “What did you put in these?”

“I found a can of crab meat. I hope you weren’t saving it for a special occasion.”

I don’t bother telling her there will be no more of those. I just compliment her culinary skills and enjoy my meal.

“Can you try and climb the cell tower?” she asks.

One glance out the window confirms it’s still snowing. “Not in this weather. Besides, with more snow expected, it would be wasted energy since it’ll most likely go out again.”

“I understand that. But Asher suggested calling the authorities to let them know you’re running out of propane. That would make getting to us more of a priority.”

I set down my fork, maybe a little harder than I intended. “Asher?”

The strangest feeling runs through my body. I have an inkling about what it is, but I don’t like it. I don’t like it one goddamn bit.

“My brother,” she explains.

I ignore the fleeting feeling and say, “We’re not going to freeze, Marti.” I nod to the fireplace that can also serve as a stove. “I have a shit ton of wood. The cabin is small, so it’ll stay warm enough. We can cook. And I have plenty of food.”

“It’ll spoil.”

“It’s freezing outside. It won’t spoil. I have some coolers. We can use snow to keep everything cold.”

“Or just keep the food outside.”

I laugh. She knows nothing about this area. Or camping, apparently. “That’s a great way to attract bears.”

She slumps over until her head meets the table next to her plate. “Great. As if I needed anything else to stress over.”

“Listen, this isn’t my first rodeo. I ran out of propane about eighteen months ago. It was March and an ice storm came through. I was fine then, and we’ll be fine now. I’m very capable of keeping you alive.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I wince. The voice in my head tells me I should know better than to make promises I might not be able to keep.

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