With a freshly brewed cup of coffee in one hand, and a bag of Noni’s clean clothes in the other, I stepped to the side so Eli could knock on Stanley’s door.

He looked a bit harried when he gestured for us to come in.

“I demand to be taken home this minute, Stanley,” Noni snapped as she entered the kitchen.

“Good morning, Noni,” I said, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek, and then handed over her freshly washed clothes. “Special delivery.”

She huffed, taking them from my hand. “I’ll go change…and then you can explain to me, on our way home, what the devil is going on.”

I nodded as she marched off.

Once she closed the bedroom door firmly behind her, I turned to Stanley. “How bad was it this morning?”

His hand curled against the back of his neck as he winced. “It took her a few minutes to calm down, but once she did, she remembered who I was.”

My heart sank. “I’m sorry. I should have been here.”

“Actually…” Stanley said, pausing to take a deep breath before continuing. “It didn’t take her long to adjust at all. What aggravated her the most was that I wouldn’t take her home. The rest she was able to handle. I think maybe if we can set that room up to look like hers, it will help even more.”

I sat, clutching the coffee cup close to my chest. “Yeah, until she claps eyes on the trundle bed and wonders what the heck I’m doing camping out in her room. This isn’t going to be easy at all. It was bad enough when she was confused in her own home. Now there’s not even a home for her to be confused in. At least not until it’s fixed. And even then, we’ll have to replace some of the furniture and the drapes. What happens when everything’s fixed and we get back home, but it’s not quite home anymore?”

Stanley put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a brief squeeze. “One day at a time, Nova. That’s all we can do.”

Eli, who had had remained silently standing off to the side, stepped forward. “Is there anything I can do?”

Stanley chuckled. “You wouldn’t happen to have an extra room, would you?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Eli said. “Do you need to move stuff around? I can take the spare bed out, and you can have the room to store whatever you need.”

“Good, but leave the bed. Nova’s going to need a place to sleep,” Stanley said, settling his hands on his hips as he gave Eli his best fatherly stare. “This is for Noni, so we can keep things as normal as possible.”

Eli nodded. “I understand. Nova, are you okay with this?”

Was I okay with it? I wasn’t comfortable not being in the same house as Noni, but at least Stanley was with her and he wasn’t a total stranger. And it wasn’t as if I had a lot of options. Nome was expensive, and there wasn’t a lot of housing. I didn’t have a job, so there was no way I could pay for rent anywhere. I had my savings and could probably swing a small monthly payment to Eli to cover renting the room.

“I think I can swing it. Are sure you’re okay with having a roommate?” I asked, wishing Stanley wasn’t staring between us as if watching a tennis match.

Eli’s face scrunched. “Swing it?”

“To cover rent for the room,” I answered.

“Why would I charge you rent?” he asked.

“Why wouldn’t you?” I countered.

Eli shook his head. “Because that would be a jerk move. What kind of person charges their friend when they’re down on their luck?”

“Good point,” Stanley said as Noni walked into the kitchen muttering to herself.

“Nova, can you please take this?” she asked, holding out her purse so she could put on her jacket.

“But Noni…”

“Nova, show her. Maybe it will help,” Stanley said.

I fought the urge to sigh and stood. “Eli, can I borrow your truck?” He handed me the keys without question. I palmed them and waited for Noni to get her jacket on.

Noni flicked a glance at Eli, her mouth firming into a thin line before she said, “I remember your face, but I don’t recall your name. What are you doing with my Nova?”

Eli smiled at her. “Chauffeuring her around. It’s getting cold out there.”

Noni snorted. “You haven’t felt cold yet, young man,”

Stanley chuckled. “Hope you bought some stuff from the Army Surplus store. A good pair of bunny boots won’t come amiss, either.”

“Bunny boots?” Eli repeated, looking at me for clarification.

“Extreme cold weather boots,” I explained.

“Oh. Yeah, I bought a pair the other day,” Eli said, looking relieved.

“Good. You’ll definitely need them. Can’t believe you’re using those. Aren’t your feet cold?” Stanley asked, eyeing Eli’s boots.

His brow quirked as he followed Stanley’s gaze and looked at his boots. “Actually, these are pretty warm.”

Stanley snorted.

“Thank you, Stanley… for what, I don’t know, but thank you all the same. Nova?” Noni said, making her way to the front door.

“Guess that means we’re leaving. See ya in a little bit,” I said, catching up to Noni.

“Well, it’s not uncommon,” Noni said, looking at the sparse living room. “No one was hurt. That’s all that matters. I suppose Dale and his wife have gone to stay with her sister.”

I nodded. “He came by yesterday.”

“Tried to give you money?”

“I wouldn’t take it.”

“Good. I wouldn’t have either. He’s a good man. Too bad his son turned out to be such a disappointment. Maybe now he’ll do like he always talked about and move somewhere warm. Come to that, maybe we should, too,” Noni said, smirking.

“You’d leave Alaska?”

She shook her head. “You know me, Nova. There’s no place like Nome.”

Everything inside me relaxed hearing her say that. Bringing her to the house could have gone one way or the other without warning. “Well, I guess that just means you get to do a little online shopping. Once the repairs are done, it’ll be like a brand-new living room.”

Noni turned her wizened gaze on me. “I hope Stanley is prepared to put up with us until the thaw. If he isn’t, he better get used to it real quick. Come along, Nova, it’s cold and depressing here,” she said, leading me out of the house.

I’d left the truck running since the temperature had dipped, and I was grateful for the warmth blowing out of the vents. The days would only get colder, and the nights longer, as we moved into what I’d dubbed the deep freeze.

“I didn’t check to see if my bed was okay. I’ll be needing it,” Noni said with a huff.

A groan lodged in my throat. Leave it, Nova, she’ll figure it out when she sees it again, I thought and then changed the subject. “Stanley’s been a good friend, Noni. He even got us a storage container to put our stuff in.”

“Stanley might be able to get a few friends to help pack up what’s not damaged,” Noni said, clasping her hands in her lap.

“I’ve already packed everything. It’s in the storage container.”

“By yourself?”

“Eli helped me.”

“Eli? Is that a new friend of yours?”

My heart wrenched. “Let’s get you inside.”

I woke to the smell of coffee brewing and hummed with appreciation as I listened to Eli move around in the kitchen. It was a domestic sound I was used to. Noni had always been an early riser. She’d be up before the sun and usually humming as she moved around the kitchen. The only noise missing was the sound of a newspaper being turned.

Staying with Eli would take some getting used to. And it wasn’t really him that I had to acclimate myself to. It was my new surroundings.

He hadn’t hovered or catered to me. In fact, he acted like we’d been roommates for years, which put me at ease immediately. There was something about him that kept me calm. I had no idea what it was, or why, but I was grateful for it all the same.

The bed creaked under me as I sat up. Clasping my arms around my legs, I propped my chin on my knees as I fought off the last dregs of sleep.

For once, I took my time getting dressed and then made the bed before wandering out to the kitchen.

Eli looked up from behind his laptop and gave me a sleepy smile. “Morning. You’re up early.”

“I’m on Noni’s schedule. Up before the sun most days,” I answered, moving to the coffee pot. I poured a steamy cup and then doctored it up, as Noni called it, before carrying it over to the table.

Eli kept working away behind his laptop, giving me a few more minutes to clear the last of the morning cobwebs out, so the day started fresh and new, which was another of Noni’s sayings. I could picture some little cartoon character with a push broom sweeping the sleep away, and it made me smile behind my coffee mug.

Eli reached for his coffee cup without looking. Bringing it to his lips, he tipped it, and then pulled it back with a frown. He sighed as he got up and carried the empty cup back to the pot for a refill.

“Are you going to be working today?” I asked, wondering how I could go about asking to borrow his truck without feeling like I was taking over everything he owned.

“I’m almost done with what I needed to do. What’s up? Need a ride to Mr. Lewis’s?” he asked, sliding into his seat.

“Noni should be up, so I want to get there as soon as possible.” There wasn’t any need to expand on what I meant. He’d seen Noni at her worst.

“I can take you. Give me a few minutes to wrap this up, and then we’ll head over,” Eli said, setting his cup down and focusing on his laptop.

I left him to it and finished off my cup. After I took it to the sink, I grabbed my purse and set it on the table, ready to go whenever he was.

A few minutes later, he shut down his laptop and then closed it.

“You didn’t have to rush. I just wanted to make sure I was ready so you didn’t have to wait on me,” I said, feeling guilty.

He smiled. “I didn’t rush. I just had to finish up a report. I’m ready whenever you are.”

I pushed back from the table, making a point to look at his sock-clad feet. “Might want to put your boots on first.”

He laughed. “I’ll grab yours, too.”

My toes curled in my socks. “Coats and boots… the last things you put on before you head out the door.”

“And the first things you take off when you come in,” Eli added.

As soon as I pushed the chair under the table, my cell phone rang.

“Nova?” Stanley sounded more than a little off when I answered the phone.

“I was just about to head over. Is everything okay?”

Eli stopped when he heard the tone of my voice. One hand resting on the doorknob, he turned to listen.

“She’s having a really bad morning. I think it might be best if you wait for a bit to come over,” he said.

“Why? She’s had bad days before. We always get through it,” I said, scooping up my purse.

“Not like this. Nova, she’s really confused today.”

“As opposed to any other day?” The state of her mind swung from one day to the next, but she eventually snapped out of it… for the most part.

“Has she ever had times where it seems like she’s living in the past?” he asked.

The strained question hit me like an avalanche.

“The past?” I dropped my purse on the table and pulled out the nearest chair, sitting as if the act alone would brace me for his explanation.

“Do you remember that time the pipe burst in the wall and you and Noni came to stay with me until the repairs were done?” he asked.

“Yeah… that happened when I was like thirteen,” I said, feeling my stomach bottom out. “Are you telling me that she—” I couldn’t even finish my sentence.

He sighed. “Well, she’s talking about it like the pipe burst just last night. I think, to keep her from getting even more confused, you should wait to come over.”

“But…”

“It’ll be all right, Nova. Besides, how long have you been doing this all on your own? I promise, Noni’s in good hands.”

“Are you sure? I—”

“Noni and I will get on just fine. Besides, if she gets feisty, I’ll just feed her. She won’t be able to talk back if her mouth is busy chewing.”

I sighed.

“It’ll be all right, Nova. Take some time for yourself. Lord knows you need it,” he said.

“Thanks, Stanley. I’ll call you later and check in. But if you need anything—”

“I’ll call you right away,” he finished.

Eli toed his boots off before hanging his jacket back up on the peg beside the door. “How about breakfast? I haven’t had French toast in a while. Sound good?”

“Sure.”

It felt weird sitting idle while Eli moved around the small kitchen. Odder still was the fact he didn’t once ask me to explain what was going on with Noni.

He turned from the stove, eyes searching my face. “You’re not sure what to do with yourself.”

I pushed up from the chair, grabbed the loaf of bread from the counter, and untwisted the tie. “Is it that obvious?”

He gave me a smile and then popped the egg carton open. “Some advice?”

“Sure,” I said, giving him my full attention.

“When all else fails, eat.”

“And then?”

“Not sure, but we’ll figure it out,” he said, leaning his hip against the counter, eggs forgotten.

How had Eli come into my life when I’d needed him most?

I cleared my throat, nervous but not nervous enough to keep from asking him the questions stacking one on top of another. “So, are you going to tell me the whole reason why you’ve come to Nome?”

He regarded me for a minute. Straightening from the counter, he said, “Other than you?”

I snorted.

“You don’t believe me?” He chuckled, and then with the natural skill of someone born to be in the kitchen, he’d commenced to cracking eggs.

“I didn’t say that, but I also believe there’s more you haven’t told me.”

He shifted, giving me a knowing smile. “There is, but there hasn’t been a right time to talk about it… until now.”

“I’m listening,” I said, prodding him along.

Eli didn’t mince words as he explained the reasons why he’d come to Nome.

“A job?” I’d crossed my arms and leaned against the counter while listening to him, but found I could no longer sit still.

“Not just any job,” he reminded me.

No, it wasn’t just any job. It was a dream job. A real career. Something I couldn’t have, even in my wildest imagination, dreamed up. And yet, it sounded too good to be true. How could someone enter into the medical field the way he’d described it? It took years of schooling, not to mention the time involved in doing a residency.

It was a lot to wrap my mind around. What he offered would be life changing, but I couldn’t do life changing. Noni needed me.

“It’s a great offer, but…”

“Noni. I know, Nova. That’s why I wasn’t planning on saying anything to you right now. Asking you to think about a job like this in the middle of what you have going on is more than unfair. I get it, believe me,” he said, turning to the stove.

“What I don’t understand is… why me? There had to be hundreds of applicants—”

“That’s not how it works with Cole Enterprise,” Eli interrupted.

“You said this company, Cole Enterprise, is a private sector company funded by the government, but not claimed, so why wouldn’t they hire from within the service branches and pick qualified people? People who are already trained and can jump right into the job?”

Eli flipped the French toast, spatula in the air as if I’d caught him off guard, or maybe he was thinking about something. A second later, he answered. “Oh, they do, trust me.”

“You know I’m not going to let that comment go by without asking you to explain,” I warned.

I thought it would be a simple explanation. There was nothing simple about it. Nothing. He talked all the way through making breakfast, continued on as we ate, then while we washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.

I interrupted only a few times to clarify what he said, but for the most part… I listened.

When he was done, I stared at him from across the table. He shifted uncomfortably and said, “Everything I’ve told you is, as cheesy as it sounds, top secret. Not many people know what Cole Enterprise really is. In fact, if you looked them up, you’d see the company listed as an engineering facility for cutting-edge prototypes.”

“And you and your friends all work there. How did you all manage to be selected?” I asked.

He smiled at me. “Jared. This is all Jared’s fault, or, well, sort of his fault.”

“The guy who left home to join a rock band?” I asked to clarify.

He nodded. “Jared didn’t have any idea about his parents. And they tried for a long time to keep that part of their lives separate from him, but the reality is there was just no way to continue keeping it from him. Or anyone else in his life.”

“Does it bother you?” It would have bothered me having my choices taken from me the way Eli and his friends had.

“No. I’m doing what I love, and a whole lot sooner than I could have had I gone about it the traditional way.”

“But?”

He sat back in his seat with a sigh, one hand resting on the table, the other clutching the back of his neck. “But there are days that I wonder what it would have been like had Ace’s helicopter not crashed in Haiti.”

“Would you have stayed on with the Red Cross?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I missed home like you wouldn’t believe. Missed my friends even more. We’re close, ya know? But all of that changed the day I met you.”