Page 26 of Hot for the Jerk

“If I was, I’m not now,” I said blandly, peeling open one eyelid.

Unlike last night, her hair wasn’t in two braids, like Anna fromFrozen.It was wet, combed, and hanging down over her shoulders.She wore the clothes she bought at the store, and her pink cheeks were a stark contrast to the brightness of her green eyes.For a moment, I found myself at a loss for words, at a loss for breath.She was beautiful.There was never any denying that, but right now, with that little dip to her brows, like she was still kind of pissed at me for something, and the flush of color to her face, Raina Aaronson was downright stunning.

Swallowing, I jerked my chin at the puzzle and cribbage board at the foot of the bed.“I went downstairs and grabbed those if you want to pass the time?”

The lights flickered overhead again, and our eyes went wide at the same time.

More flickering.

“Think it’s going to go out?”she murmured, almost more to herself than me.

“Maybe?”

Her gaze lingered on mine for several heartbeats before shifting to the games and puzzles.“I don’t know how to play crib.”

“It’s easy.”I shoved the receipt that I used as a bookmark back into my book to hold my place and set it on the nightstand.“I can teach you.”

Her nostrils flared and her freckles seemed to darken, if that was even possible.

More light flickers and then … out!

Even though it wasn’t even noon, we were pitched into darkness, save for the muted daylight filtering in through the sheer, gauzy drapes over the window.

“Shit,” she muttered, going to her phone and activating the flashlight.

“Everything okay?”I asked.

“No.”That came out as more of a growl than anything.“We’re stuck here,together, and the power is out.How is any of thisokay?”

“We’re dry, we have food, and we have somewhere to stay.It could be a lot worse.”

Even in the dark room, I could definitely tell she was glaring at me.“Shut up, Pollyanna.”

That made me smirk, just as there was a knock at the door.

I got up from the bed and went to answer it, finding Lenora on the other side.She had a tray full of battery powered flickering candles, as well as a few blinding, LED camping lanterns.“Not our first storm or power outage,” she said, her smile wobbly as she held the tray out for me.“Take what you need, but leave some for others.”

“Do you need a hand with anything, Lenora?”I asked.“What’s the heating situation in this place when the power goes out?”

The fake orange flames from the candles made her eyes glow, but it failed to mask her worry.“We’re just electric heat, I’m afraid.When … well, the husband used to chop wood for the woodstove, but …” Tears welled up in her eyes.“That didn’t happen this year, I’m afraid.”

Shit.

“Do you have any wood that’s dry?I’m happy to chop some and get a fire going.Otherwise, with these single-pane windows, we’re all going to freeze.”

Her chin trembled and the loose skin of her neck jiggled as she swallowed hard.“There might be some out back in the shed.Big rounds from when a tree fell a few years back and Walt bucked it up.”Her cool, papery hand landed on my arm, but that only made her lose her grip on the tray of the candles and it nearly toppled to the ground.I managed to catch it in time, but Lenora was already crying.“Oh, this is just terrible.”

Taking the tray from her, I balanced it on one hand and touched her shoulder with the other.“It’s not.We’re all dry, and we will be able to keep warm.We just need to work together.Hmm?”Turning back into the room, I found Raina just standing there, staring at me, her mouth open slightly like a confused octopus.“Can you go to the other guests and disperse these?”I asked her.“Lenora and I are going to check out the firewood situation.”

It took her a moment to unglue her feet, but then she was nodding and taking the tray from me.She didn’t say anything, which I found odd, but there were more pressing things to address than her sudden mutism.She’d been in a weird mood since we got back from the grocery store.

I slipped my feet into my Blundstones and followed Lenora downstairs as she softly sniffled and used a Kleenex she pulled out from the sleeve of her blouse to blot at her nose and eyes.

“How long ago did Walt leave?”I asked gently, letting Lenora lead the way through the dining room and the country-style kitchen, to a mudroom and a back door.

She grabbed a forest-green rain jacket from a hook in the mudroom, then slid into big black gumboots.“In July.She’s twelve years younger than me—nearly twenty years younger than Walt—has a brand-new hip and …” She shook her head, jostling her white curls right before pulling the hood of her jacket over them.“The man is eighty-four years old.We have three children together, ten grandchildren.I saw him through cancer twice.Prostate and colon.And this is how he repays me.By shacking up with some … sixty-seven-year-old …hussy!” Her little fists bunched and a glimmer of fury rippled in her eyes, replacing the sadness.“I hope he dies on top of her.”

My brows nearly flew off my forehead.“Lenora!”

---