Page 43 of Boston
“Come on,” he grumbled. “Let’s go see what the damage is.” He had no idea when that tree had gone through the roof, as they didn’t have cameras here.
“There was a windstorm a few weeks back,” he said. “Maybe this happened then.” He tried to remember if there had been rain since then, because a tree through the roof was bad, but a tree through the roof and then rain leaking inside the cabin unchecked would be worse.
He didn’t have the supplies and tools he needed to fix this, not on this trip, and his mind worked with the possibility of loading up a couple of horses to bring up the lumber, materials, and tools he’d need to repair it.
At the bottom of the steps, he held his hand out for Cora to stop. “Let me go in first.”
“Do you think it’s going to collapse on us?”
“I don’t know what it’s going to do.” He didn’t mean to sound so grumpy, but today had been his definition of perfect, and he’d been looking forward to settling into the cabin, showing Cora around the eagle habitat, and making a big fire so that he could start their Dutch oven dinner.
Fine, he’d been fantasizing about holding her next to the fire, and laughing with her, and kissing her, and making this trip to one of his favorite places on the planet better than it had ever been.
A tree through the roof had soured everything, including his mood. He moved up onto the steps that led to the porch, his irritation burning hotly as Cora joined him.
“You don’t get to boss me around,” she said.
“Whoa.” He stopped right there on the third step. “That’s not what I’m doing.”
“If you can go inside, then I can go inside.”
His heart beat faster, screaming a warning at him. “You think I’m bossing you around?”
“You went over a checklist with me before we left,” she said.
“Youaskedme to,” he fired back.
“You checked on me to make sure I was doing okay, like, every other second.”
“I did not.”
“There’s mud over here, Cora.” She continued up the steps to the porch, turned and faced him. She folded her arms across her chest and glared. “Put your foot right there, Cora. Did you get enough to eat, Cora? Are you staying hydrated, Cora?”
“Hey now.” Boston held up both hands. “That’s not because I think you’re incapable.”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe I just slipped into being a guide.” He moved up the steps until he stood eye-level with her.“Maybe I thought you’d appreciate it. Maybe I was worried about you. Is that a crime?”
That warring indecision that he’d seen on her face before ran amok. “No,” she finally said.
“None of that was to make you feel small,” he said. “Or inferior, or like you can’t do something.” He gestured to the cabin. “Just like me going in first to check on things, to make sure there’s not a wolverine who’s taken up residence, isn’t me passing judgment on you or thinking you’re weak and can’t handle it.”
“All right,” she said.
“I’m frustrated,” he continued. “And I have a right to be. We’ve come all this way, and I thought it was going to be this amazing cabin that I could show you. We could talk about this experience and excursion, and now there’s a blasted tree through the roof.” He continued up the steps and brushed past her.
He’d installed a lock box on the door, and he quickly flipped the numbers to the four-digit code he needed to open the compartment that would release the key.
“I’m sorry,” Cora said from behind him, her voice a bit higher than normal, and definitely smaller than she’d ever spoken to him.
“It’s fine.” Boston said, his own irritation fading fast. “I didn’t mean to snap at you either.” He fitted the key into the lock and opened the door. “Let’s go see what we’ve got.”
He took one step inside, using every sense he had to assess the danger. Cora came to his side, and he reached for her hand and squeezed it. “I really am sorry.”
“Me too. I don’t know why I freaked out.”
He nodded his acceptance, because they didn’t need to apologize over and over. “Doesn’t smell like there’s been waterin the cabin,” he said. “And I don’t smell or see evidence of an animal either.”
