Page 6 of Winter Reckoning
I stared at the empty hallway.
While I wasn’t looking, Charlene had found a pair of brightly colored nutcrackers. She stood next to me, eyes focused on the hallway. "He's not much of a talker," she said.
"Noticed that."
“You get used to it. He’s not trying to be rude. He just… is. It’s hard to explain. Don’t take it personally.” She snapped the Nutcracker’s mouth in my direction. “I can only imagine how difficult it is at that age. You’d think he just wanted to fade away.”
I didn't need to ask what she meant. The red sharpie on the calendar had greeted me for months every time I opened my locket. I wanted to vanish into the background and become a distant memory.
“What’s your story?”
“My cousin Janet got me this job. She claims to know Nick from back in the day.”
“Job?”
“It’s complicated.”
I wasn’t supposed to ask my client questions. Thankfully, the longer I spent with these two, the more I believed he was the one who needed protecting. From what, I wasn’t sure.
“Not an answer.”
“It’s not.” She grinned as she glanced at me from the corner of her eye. “See, I can do it too.”
“Can you?—”
“Whoa. I’m going to stop you right there, cowboy. I’m an extremely underpaid intern.” Why did he need an intern? Live-in Nurse I could understand. “I keep him hydrated and take passive-aggressive notes. Want more? Stop being such a dude and go talk to Nick.”
Her right sleeve pulled back and revealed metal. It was the first time something had disrupted the quaint cottage vibe. I recognized an operation’s gauntlet. A similar model locked onto the suit in my duffel bag. I had been trying to find a break from the marshmallows and hot cocoa. It wasn’t much, but it was the first thing that had feltrealsince I had arrived.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. The space between my shoulder blades tightened. Some people had a knee that let them know when the pressure dropped before it rained. I had thoracic vertebrae capable of sensing danger.
Crossing the room, I checked the door. I reached for the lock and froze. There was no lock, no keyhole. Even in the middle of nowhere, a stranger could stroll in. I tested the handle. Solid. Old, but functional and capable of stopping my grandmother.
Charlene watched me from across the room. "Expecting company?"
"Always."
“You’ve got a weird job.”
“Look who’s talking.”
She smiled at that. "Fair enough."
“Have you seen anything out of the ordinary?”
“There was this brooding man.” I shot her a dirty look. “He refused to leave, and I had to listen to his snoring all night.”
“I don’t snore.”
“And Rudolph’s nose isn’t red.” She gave a slight curtsey. “Hot water is on the stove. Get yourself some coffee. You’re the one who looks like they got run over by a reindeer.”
Good. I’d need it if I were going to survive that thin-lipped grin.
I moved back to the window facing the backyard and stared at the woodshed. The path Nick had walked was already filling in with fresh snow. In another hour and it would be gone completely. No evidence he'd been out there at all. It left me melancholy as I thought about the photos on the commendation board.
In two days, I’d be another memory.
My breath fogged the glass. Nothing moved except the falling snow. The hallway behind me stayed empty. Nick still hadn’t returned from wherever he hid away.
