Page 9 of A Kiss of Frost

Lorna crept out from her hiding place and took Johnny’s hand. She smiled up at him with that broken smile.

“You thayed with uth.”

“Yeah, squirt. I said I’d take care of you and I will.” He looked back at Katerina, his face softer. “We came down Ghost Valley even though I told him it wasn’t a good idea. We patched up here for the night. There was a storm so we stayed another day, and another. When we woke up on the third morning, he was gone.”

“Ghost Valley?” Merry asked.

“He never came back?” Katerina asked at the same time.

Johnny shook his head.

“Nope. I wanted to run for it, but it was still storming. The storm lasted a week and he still hadn’t come back. I decided he must’ve wandered off and gotten killed. This place is safe enough. No one ever comes here.”

Katerina bit her lip, looking around at the children.

“What about food?”

“We got food. I make sure the kids eat.” Johnny’s initial scowl faded into a surprisingly charming grin. “If you mean me, I’ve always been skinny.”

She didn’t comment and Jackasarian suspected that like him, she thought there was more to the story.

“I have a few supplies and I’d be happy to share them. In exchange for a place to stay,” she added hastily when Johnny stiffened. “This is much cozier than the gatehouse.”

“Yeth. Thay,” Lorna said, smiling up at her.

“I reckon that’s all right,” Johnny said. “There’s some extra furs up in the loft.”

“That’s wonderful. I’ll just go get our things and come right back.”

“I’ll help you,” Merry volunteered.

Katerina opened her mouth but Johnny beat her to it.

“You stay here,” he said roughly. “I’ll go. Girls don’t need to be out in the snow.”

Merry glared at him but Katerina laughed.

“I notice you don’t object to me going out in the snow.” A tide of red swept up over the boy’s face, but Katerina smiled at him and put her hand on his arm. “I would be very happy to have you accompany me.”

Merry sniffed, but didn’t object as her sister and the young male set off into the storm. Jackasarian found himself agreeing with the youngster. Females did not belong outside under these conditions. He would have been happy to retrieve their belongings, but he did not see how he could do so without revealing his presence and he was curiously reluctant to do so. Not simply because as far as he could tell, humans were unacquainted with other races, but from an unusual feeling of trepidation.

She had smiled at him once, but she had been half-asleep. What if she recoiled now that she was awake? He couldn’t bear the thought of seeing the dismissal in her eyes that he’d seen in so many others. He settled for tracking them back to the complex, keeping to the rooftops and out of sight.

The fire she had built was almost out and Johnny made a disgusted noise as he kicked apart the remaining embers.

“I shoulda come back sooner to put this out.” He gave her an oddly shy glance. “Your sister is quite a fighter.”

“Yes she is, thank goodness. I never want anyone to be able to take advantage of her.”

The boy colored again. “I could show her a few moves, if you’d like. You learn to watch out for yourself when you’re on the street.”

“How long were you on the streets?” she asked softly and he shrugged.

“As long as I can remember. There was an old woman who used to feed me sometimes, but she didn’t have much to spare. And then she died.”

“Oh, Johnny, I’m so sorry.”

She gave his hand a quick squeeze and even though Jackasarian did not like her hands on another male, even a young one, he admired her sympathetic heart.

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