Page 78 of Mine For The Winter

A tear spilled down her cheek and it killed him. “Kelly…”

He held his arms open and she practically ran into them, her hands on his chest as he hugged her tight. He could smell the sweetness of her shampoo, feel the softness of her body against him, and fuck, he loved her.

He loved her so damn much it hurt to hold her like this. And yet he did it because she needed him.

She inhaled raggedly and looked up at him, and he could see himself reflected in her eyes. Her lips were slightly parted. Swollen.

“Don’t leave me again,” she muttered.

He wanted to promise her that he wouldn’t. Wanted to tell her he’d always be here for her. But the words didn’t come out.

“It’ll be okay,” he promised.

“Will it?” she asked, her eyes still on his.

He stroked the hair from her face and nodded. Because there was one thing he knew more than anything else. Kelly was a survivor. She loved hard and she fought hard and even if there was an apocalypse she’d walk away unscathed.

“Yeah, Kel. It will.”

20

The moon was a huge yellow disc in the sky. If you looked hard enough you could see the craters. The sky around it was inky black, not a cloud to be seen.

“The tourists are gonna be pissed if we don’t get some snow soon,” she murmured.

“Charlie will be happy though,” Kris said. The garage owner always complained when he had to get out early to clear the roads before the town opened up. All of Winterville knew it was because he liked spending his nights with Dolores, but neither of them would admit it.

“Yeah, I guess.” She finished her sandwich and wiped her lips with one of the napkins Dolores had given them, before taking a sip of the hot sweet coffee. “So…” she looked at Kris.

He gave her the softest of smiles. “So, let me clean this all up and then we can talk.”

“You still want to do this?”

“I think we have to.” His voice was serious. “Don’t you?” He slid the trash from their makeshift dinner into one of the brown bags.

“I guess.”

“Will it be easier if we’re not looking at each other?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean come here.” He held his arms out. “If you lay against me I can keep you warm.”

It was weird how much she liked that idea. She scuttled across the truck bed and he pulled her against him, her back resting on his chest. His arms curled loosely around her, his chin soft against the crown of her head.

“This all right?” he asked.

“Yeah.” She leaned back a little more, until his thighs were caging her in. “You have more muscles than you had when you played hockey.”

“I think I just lost the softness of youth.”

“Didn’t we all?”

He laughed against her cheek. She could feel the warmth of his breath. “I guess we did. You still feel the same though.”

“I’ve put on ten pounds since I was twenty.”

“In all the right places,” he said. And his words sent a shiver down her spine.

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