Chapter 11

Nick wasn’t sure how much he slept. He’d dozed off a few times, but he was keeping an eye on the fire, and he was hyperaware of Jodie sleeping near him. It shouldn’t have been sexy at all—she wasn’t wearing racy lingerie, in fact she was sleeping in her leggings and sweater. She was bundled up in a big comforter and her daughter slept nearby.

But in the dark, hearing her breathing, her soft sighs and snuffles as she fell asleep, he felt an intense urge to touch her. To wrap his arms around her and bring her against him and keep her warm.

He’d felt weirdly protective of both Jodie and Zyana all day—worried about them getting home safely in the storm, worried about them in the coach house, worried about them being warm and getting food. He was glad they were both here, under his roof, with the fire and the odd meal they’d cobbled together. He knew they were safe.

This was a strange feeling for him.

He’d felt protective and worried like this about Aleks.

And look how that had turned out.

His gut tightened and burned, and he let out a slow breath. It was only a couple of days until the anniversary of his death and thoughts of Aleks usually encroached on everything else at this time. This year, he’d been oddly distracted by other things…Jodie. Zyana. Playing more minutes on the third line when he didn’t deserve it.

It was okay that he didn’t think of Aleks all the time. That was life. Grief eased and faded. He’d seen his buddy Hallsy go through it when he’d lost his wife. He’d seen how hard it had been for Hallsy to move on, feeling guilty, thinking that he was forgetting about his wife. Hallsy would never forget Ariana, even though he was happily in love with Kendra now. And Nick would never forget Aleks, even if he didn’t think about him all the time like he used to.

He woke up at one point, staring into the dark, aware that something had changed.

The furnace had come on.

The power was back.

He lifted his head and peered over at Jodie and Zyana, sleeping on the couch. He couldn’t see Zyana’s face, but he could see Jodie’s…lying on her stomach, head on the pillow. Without her glasses, the perfect oval of her face, her high cheekbones, and small nose were on full display. Her long dark eyelashes fanned against her smooth skin. Beautiful.

He wanted to brush his fingertips over her skin and see if it was as soft as it looked. He wanted to drag his thumb over that full bottom lip. He wanted to tangle his hands in her hair.

Those long eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes opened. For several seconds they stared at each other in the firelight. The air crackled between them. His body tightened.

“Nick,” she whispered.

“The power’s back on.” He kept his voice low so as not to disturb Zyana.

“Oh. That’s good.” She continued to gaze at him.

“Yeah. It’ll take a while for the house to warm up again, but at least we have heat.”

“It’s still really windy.”

“Yeah.” The wind gusted in loud roars, rushing through the branches of nearby trees and hurling icy flakes against the windows. “This house is sturdy. We’re safe.”

“I do feel safe.”

She had no idea how powerful those words were to him. How much emotion they evoked, a rush of satisfaction and pride but also…fear. A terrible, twisting fear that he would let them down. He knew better than to let someone count on him.

But he wasn’t about to kick them out into the blizzard.

“Go back to sleep,” he said in a gruff whisper.

She gave a tiny nod and blinked sleepily. Then her hand emerged from the comforter, reaching out to him. He eyed it for a few stretched-out seconds, then extended his own hand and curled it around hers.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He squeezed her hand, her fingers wrapping around his too, and her eyes drifted closed.

He kept hold of her hand, rolling onto his side, shifting closer to the couch. His thumb rubbed over her knuckles, and she let out a soft sound of contentment. And he fell back to sleep too, holding Jodie’s hand.

---

Zyana woke them in the morning. The room was brighter with daylight, but the light was muted, the sky still overcast. “Mommy, I need to go potty.”

Jodie groaned but wriggled out from the covers. At some point, Nick’s hand had left hers. Nick rolled away so she could get off the couch without stepping on him.

“You can brush your teeth too.” Jodie led Zyana to the bathroom, and he pushed up to his feet and peered out the window.

Christ. All he could see was white. It was still snowing and blowing. Wow.

“The lights are on!” Zyana exclaimed before the bathroom door closed.

He smiled. Yeah. Power was still on, so that was a good thing.

The fire was embers, so he left them, hoping the house was warm enough now. He ran up to the bathroom on the third floor, quickly brushing his own teeth and washing up while he was there. He changed into a clean pair of jeans and a thick sweater, then went back down and folded up the bedding he’d nested in on the floor, rolling his head to ease the stiffness in his neck. Give him his expensive king-size bed any day. Although falling asleep with Jodie’s hand in his had been…nice.

Nice. The thoughts he’d been having about Jodie sleeping so near him hadn’t been nice. He’d been having dirty thoughts about a woman with her two-year-old daughter sleeping only a few feet away from them. Christ. He was a depraved asshole.

When they emerged from the bathroom, Zyana dressed in leggings and a sweater, bouncing with way more energy than was acceptable at this ungodly hour of the morning, he said, “I’ll go make coffee.”

“That would be great.” Jodie began folding bedding as well.

“Do you have Chowyows, Nick?” Zyana asked.

He gazed at her blankly.

“Cheerios,” Jodie said with a smile.

“Oh. As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Yay! I come with you.” And she skipped after him as he headed downstairs.

Another weird sensation filled his chest, a gladness that she didn’t seem to be afraid of him anymore, that she wanted to follow him downstairs.

In the kitchen, the lights were on, and he set about pouring cereal and milk into a bowl for Zyana then popping a K-Cup into the coffee maker. Jodie appeared moments later, her hair brushed, also changed into fresh clothes—a pair of woolly patterned leggings and another long turtleneck sweater. “It’s much warmer!” she observed with a smile.

“Yeah, it is, thank fu—” He paused. “Thankfully.”

She grinned.

He handed her the cup of coffee. “Need milk or sugar?”

“Thank you. Some milk would be great.” She helped herself from the carton on the island while he made himself a cup. “I see you got your breakfast, Zee.”

“Yes.”

She strolled to the mudroom with her coffee. “Oh my God.”

“What?” He followed her. They both stared at his back door. The snow was as high as the window—obviously a drift, but still, it was four feet at least. “Holy shit.”

“Right?” She glanced at him, biting her lip. “And it’s still snowing.”

Nick turned and headed to the front of the house to check out the situation on the street. A similar view greeted him…the street was clogged with snowdrifts, and his front door was blocked with a couple feet of snow.

Jodie spoke behind him. “This is incredible.”

“Yep. We’re stuck in here for a while. After we eat, I’ll try to shovel us out.”

He turned and took in her wide-eyed, dismayed expression.

“Guess I won’t be going to work today,” she said.

He laughed. “You can’t have seriously thought you were going to work today.”

She grimaced and hitched a shoulder. “I didn’t know how bad it would be.”

Zyana bounced up to them. “What? What is happening outside?”

“Look, sweetie.” Jodie moved to the bay window of the living room. “Look at all the snow.”

“Wow.” Zyana peered out. “I want to play outside!”

“You’d get lost in that snow, kiddo,” Nick said. “It’s higher than you.”

Okay, it was probably about two feet of snow, but there were drifts that were definitely taller than Zyana. “Let’s check the news on TV while I make some breakfast. At least I can make something hot today,” he offered. “Eggs and toast okay?”

“That would be excellent,” Jodie said. “I’ll help.”

They all returned to the kitchen, and Jodie seemed comfortable getting eggs and butter out of his fridge while he dropped slices of bread into the toaster. He turned on the TV, and they listened to news reports about the storm, with some film of what it looked like near the lake, worthy of an epic disaster movie. Plows were out clearing main routes, but the city was basically shut down.

“Am I going to daycare, Mommy?”

“Not today, sweetie. I’m pretty sure they won’t even be open. I think we’re stuck here for a while.”

He caught the look she flashed him, as if she was worried he was going to be annoyed about having unexpected guests who couldn’t leave. “It’s okay.”

One corner of her mouth lifted, and she gave a small nod. “I’ll help you shovel.”

He wanted to laugh but didn’t. He wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to dig through the amount of snow out there, never mind her. Not that he thought she was weak, but that was a helluva lot of snow. Not only that, the snowblower and shovels were in the garage, and he didn’t know if he’d be able to even get to the garage. Hell, he didn’t know if he could get out his doors.

He scrambled up a dozen eggs. Jodie buttered the toast, and Zyana ate some eggs and half a piece of toast too. She had a healthy appetite for a little bitty thing. She and her mom chattered away while they ate. Zyana no longer gave him silent, suspicious glances.

After they’d cleaned up, he put on his jacket and pulled on a hat. “Okay, I’m gonna attempt to get to the garage to fire up the snowblower.”

Jodie grinned at him. “Nice hat.”

“It’s not a hat. It’s a tuque.”

“A what?”

“A tuque.” He grinned back. “Okay, I’m going to try to go out the front. It looks like less snow there.”

“Take your phone,” she said, an anxious crease between her eyebrows. “In case you get stuck out there.”

Amusement rose in him again. That was cute. “Okay.”

He found his Sorels and carried them to the front door, then he braced himself. He wasn’t sure if it was still snowing, because the wind was blowing so much. He peered up at the sky as he waded through the drift, then around the house. Snow slid over the tops of his boots and inside, but there wasn’t much he could do about that.

At the side of the house, the narrow space between his place and the home next door had minimal snow, so he was able to get through there, but once in the backyard he again encountered massive drifts. He felt like he was on a goddamn Arctic expedition, forging his way through the snow, head down against the blustery wind.

He fought his way into the garage. Inside it was cold and still, and he caught his breath for a moment. Holy shit. This was some crazy.

He found the snowblower and managed to start it, but it was hard work even using that to push through that amount of snow. He let out a frustrated breath when he’d been out there for an hour and hadn’t even made it to the house. And it was snowing again. A lot.

He hated to admit defeat, but this was ridiculous. He’d have to try again later. He grabbed a shovel from the garage though and made his way back around the house to the front door. Maybe he could dig out the doors at least. He’d try to blow out a path from the coach house to his place at some point, but for now Jodie and Zyana were going to have to stay put.

He slammed the door shut behind him, wincing at all the snow he brought in with him. He stomped his boots then toed them off. “I’m back,” he announced, which felt weird for a guy who lived alone.

Zyana zoomed over to him, skidding on the hardwood floor in her socks like Tom Cruise in Risky Business. “Your face is wed,” she said.

“No doubt.” His cheeks felt frozen. He pulled off his tuque and shook the snow off it. His feet were freezing too. “I think I need a hot toddy in front of the fireplace.”

“It’s nine in the morning,” Jodie said. “How about another cup of coffee?”

“Sure. I’ll just put a little Irish whisky in it.”

“Hmmm. That sounds good actually.”

“I want some too,” Zyana said.

“Sure.” Jodie winked at Nick and took Zyana’s hand. “Except yours can be hot chocolate.” She cast Nick a glance. “I think I saw some hot chocolate.”

“With marshmallows?” Zyana asked hopefully.

She winced. “Not sure about that.”

“Yeah, I don’t have marshmallows, sorry.” Nick followed them to the kitchen. “I do have a can of whipped cream though.”

“That’ll do. In fact, I’ll have some of that too, on my Irish coffee.”

Nick retrieved the bottle of whisky from a high cupboard and poured generous amounts into mugs. Jodie added a little sugar to hers, but he shook his head when she offered.

As the coffees brewed, she asked, “How bad is it out there?”

“Bad. I couldn’t even get the snowblower through much of it. It’s snowing like crazy again. Or maybe still snowing…not sure if it ever stopped.” He ran a hand through his hair to mess it up after being flattened by his tuque. “I’ll make another attempt in a while.”

“I can’t believe this.”

“I know. Not looking like we’re going to get out of here tomorrow for our road trip.”

“Good thing I packed lots of games and things!” she said brightly, glancing at Zyana.

“I’ll get the fire going again.”

He was still up there when she and Zyana appeared, Jodie carrying three mugs. She set them on the table and dropped onto the sectional. “The house is warm now, but that fire still feels nice.”

He held out his hands to the flames. “Yeah. I just need dry socks. Be right back.” He jogged upstairs to find a pair of warm wool socks.

They could watch TV now, so Jodie found some kids’ show he didn’t recognize at all. He let his thoughts wander as they sat with their drinks, observing Jodie as she watched her daughter, smiling when Zyana laughed at the TV, her love for her child bright in her eyes. Something turned over in his chest.

When the show ended, Jodie flicked through channels until she found one airing a hockey clip.

“Hockey!” Zyana zoomed up straight and bounced on the couch, pointing at the TV. “Mommy, hockey!”

Jodie gave Zyana a confused look. “Yes, sweetie, hockey.”

“Like Uncoh Max plays.”

Nick’s chin jerked down. “Hey,” he said. “I play hockey too.”

“You do?” Her eyes went huge. “Show me.”

Forehead creasing, he looked at Jodie for help. She laughed. “Max played hockey with Zyana in one of their spare rooms. With a ball and little sticks.”

“Huh.” He rubbed his chin. “Hang on.” He hiked downstairs to the basement, where there was another family room and bedroom that he had no use for, so were basically storage spaces. He dug into a box and pulled out a couple of toy hockey sticks that had been part of a promotion for the Aces farm team. And yes…he had a ball somewhere…He didn’t have goal nets, but big cardboard boxes would do.

He hauled the stuff upstairs, anticipation of Zyana’s surprise fizzing in his chest.

She didn’t disappoint, jumping up and clapping her little hands when she saw the sticks. “Hockey! Hockey!”

Jodie shook her head, smiling.

Nick handed Jodie a stick too. She frowned, not taking it. “I can’t play hockey.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Come on. If Zee can play hockey, you can.”

“Well, when you put it that way…” She looked at the stick in her hand. “This is pretty small.”

Nick smirked. “Yeah. My stick is much bigger.”

She met his eyes, and he knew she got his joke when her lips twitched. “I’m sure,” she murmured.

He grinned and set up the boxes at opposite ends of the room behind the couch. “Okay. Your mom will be goalie. We have to score on her.”

“Great.” Jodie’s eyebrows pulled together. “Don’t I get to wear some pads to protect me?”

“We’ll be gentle. Right, Zee?”

“Wight.”

“Okay. Jodie, drop the ball for us. Zee, put your stick down and try to get the ball before me.” Of course, he didn’t even try. Swinging wildly, she made several attempts to get the ball, crying out triumphantly when she knocked it away from him.

He caught Jodie’s eye, and they grinned.

It was a hilariously inept game, but Zyana was so into it, running back and forth, smacking at the ball. Jodie let her score a few times, and Nick tried to show her how to pass the ball. At one point, Zyana bumped him, and he threw himself down on the floor as if he’d been bodychecked by a two-hundred-fifty-pound defenseman, resulting in Zyana and Jodie breaking down in fits of giggles.

Zyana would have kept playing forever, but eventually Jodie put an end to the game, throwing herself down on the couch. “I’m done.”

Zyana jumped on top of her, giggling. “Mommy, you can’t be done.”

“Done, done, done. Are you ready for some lunch?”

For lunch, they heated up the big container of broccoli cheddar soup he’d picked up, then Jodie got Zyana doing some drawing or coloring before she took a nap. Wow, keeping a kid entertained was a full-time job.

He was watching sports news on TV when Jodie emerged from the bedroom. This time it was warm enough for Zyana, and Jodie closed the door quietly and padded down the hall into the family room. “There we go. Nap time for everyone.” She gave a light laugh. “She definitely keeps me busy.”

“No kidding.” But it was kind of fun.

She sat on the couch near him. “Are you going to try to dig us out?”

“I was thinking about it.” He eyed her. “You want to go home?”

“Well, yes. I’m sure you want us out of your hair.”

“It’s fine.” He frowned. “I hope I’m not giving you that impression. This isn’t your fault.”

“I know. I just…also know that you value your privacy.”

“That’s a nice way to say I’m a grouchy loner.”

“I guess.” She nibbled her bottom lip, studying him. “Why are you a loner, Nick?”