Page 49 of This Moment

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I had slept miserable all night, thinking it was freezing in the guest house, and I was right. It had been freezing!

I stared at the thermostat in the living room and willed it to move. When I exhaled and saw my breath, I knew I needed to leave and head to the main house.

“Just my luck,” I grumbled as I made my way to the bedroom. I pulled out a bag and packed a few days’ worth of clothes and my bathroom items. I headed out to the living room and did the same with my laptop and a few other things I would need while up there.

I grabbed my jacket and abruptly stopped after opening the front door.

“Snow? It’s snowing?”

It wasn’t like it had never snowed in Moose Village in March, but the weather had been so up and down the last few weeks. Yesterday, it was sixty-four degrees out, and I wore a T-shirt and shorts.

After getting into my car and starting it, I pulled out my phone and called Sally.

“Kian, is everything okay?”

“I’m sorry to call, Sally. I know it’s late, but the heater isn’t working in the guest house and it’s freezing in there. I just wanted to let you know I’m coming up to the house, at least for tonight, until I can get someone out here to fix it.”

“I’ll fix up one of the rooms for you with a fireplace, and I can go light a fire in there if you’d like.”

I couldn’t help but smile. That was Sally for you. She was always there for us kids growing up. Why should I be surprised she would do the same for us as adults? She cared more for me than my own mother.

“Nonsense. It will be fine. I’ll be golden if there is heat and I can’t see my breath. I just didn’t want you to panic when you heard me coming in.”

“If you’re sure. Can I heat you up some warm milk or maybe some tea?”

I laughed softly and said, “I don’t need a thing. Thank you, though.”

“If you change your mind, you’ll let me know?”

Smiling, I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “I’m pulling up now, and I’ll be fine. I promise. Goodnight, Sally.”

“Sweet dreams, Kian.”

I hit End on the screen and grabbed my two bags from the passenger seat. The snow was starting to come down harder, and I nearly slipped and fell on my ass as I ran to the front door. I was hoping Sally didn’t have the alarm on, or at the very least, had turned it off when I called to tell her I was coming to the house. After punching in the code, I opened the door and let out a sigh of relief when I didn’t hear the beeping of the alarm. I shut the door and relished in the warmth of the house.

“Thank you, Sally, for keeping the entire house heated.”

I dropped my bags by the steps and headed into the kitchen. Despite what I told Sally, I needed a hot cup of coffee, tea, or maybe even hot chocolate to take the chill out of my veins. It had been a hot minute since I had done anything in this kitchen, so it took me a few moments to find the kettle and to look for some hot chocolate. Sally didn’t keep a whole lot of things stocked in the pantry since it was normally just her, but she must have gone shopping the moment she found out Cadie would be here.

“Hot chocolate, hot chocolate, where are you?” I said as I looked through the pantry. I spotted my favorite hot chocolate and grinned like a kid in a candy store. “There you are!”

Reaching back, I snagged the box and turned to walk out of the pantry; when I pushed the door open, I let out a scream that would put any young boy going through puberty to shame. Another scream besides mine echoed throughout the house. Somewhere upstairs, I heard Sally yelling out.

“Fucking hell, Kian! You scared the shit out of me,” Cadie said, a baseball bat lifted above her head.

With my hand over my chest, I took a few deep breaths. “Can you…please…put the bat…down.”

Cadie looked up at her hands still over her head and lowered the bat.

“Where in the hell did you even find a bat?”

Dropping the bat down to her side, Cadie drew in a breath. “It was in the closet in the bedroom I’m staying in. I just happened to see it when I hung up some clothes.”

Confused, I asked, “Why was it in there?”

She looked at me like I had asked the stupidest question ever. “How would I know, Kian? It was your room.”

The sound of feet running down the stairs were followed by Sally crying out, “It’s just Kian! It’s just Kian!”

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