Chapter Three

 

 

Grey thought he’d been prepared to come face to face with Cora again. But playing through the scenario in his mind and actually seeing her was an entirely different thing.

She looked about the same as she had before. Her long, blond hair flowed over her shoulders to cascade to the middle of her back. He used to love running his fingers through her silky hair. She complained that it was too thin—too boring. He was happy to see she hadn’t changed it because, as far as Grey was concerned, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

It’d always been beautiful. She’d always been beautiful. He’d thought so since the first day he saw her in junior high. It’d only taken him a couple of years to work up the courage to ask her out, their freshman year of high school.

The first time she looked at him with love in her pretty hazel eyes, he’d been wrapped around her little finger.

Grey shook away his thoughts before he started to dwell on what had changed all of that. Instead, he watched her get out of the truck.

She may look much the same as she had five years ago, but there was something very different about her. It was the way she carried herself. Her shoulders were back and her chin high. Not in a snobbish way, more like an air of confidence.

A general lack of faith in herself was something she’d struggled with back then. Of course, with the kind of childhood she had, it was no surprise. She’d done well for herself, considering.

Maybe that need to protect her had been part of what drew him to her in the first place. It hadn’t taken long to fall hopelessly in love with her after that.

It was all in the past, though. He’d let go of his feelings for her when they divorced. They’d both moved on, and that’s the way it was supposed to be. He’d thought he’d done just that, too. Until now. Some of those old feelings tried to bubble their way back to the surface. He put a lid on them and shoved them back into the closet where they belonged.

Cora didn’t need him to protect her anymore. Probably didn’t want it. Except here they were, stuck together in the middle of a blizzard. Those instincts to watch out for her were already kicking in again.

Snowflakes blew past her with another wind gust as they picked through the snow to the front door of the cabin. It almost gave her an ethereal quality: An image he doubted he’d forget anytime soon.

He forced his attention to the cabin. He was certain it was empty, but the last thing he wanted to do was surprise anyone. He knocked several times. When no one answered, he knocked again and accompanied that with a loud, “Hello!” Nothing.

He wasn’t normally a fan of breaking and entering, but this was a different situation. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He didn’t wait long enough to see if Cora would object. Instead, he jogged as best he could through the snow to the back door with a glass window in it. As was the case at every cabin, there was a covered storage shed nearby stocked with firewood. He found a piece and easily broke one panel out of the window.

Once he’d cleared away the glass debris, he reached an arm through and unlocked the door before letting himself inside.

After knocking as much snow off his boots as he could on the mat just inside, he went through the house and opened the front door for Cora. She stared at him in surprise.

“Do I want to know how you got in?”

“Probably not.”

“I didn’t think so.” She raised her brows at him before clomping inside. She took her boots off by the door. “I’m not sure it’s much warmer in here.”

“I doubt it is, either.” He tried the light switch nearby with no success. “They must keep the power off to the cabins that aren’t rented. That or the electricity went out in the area.”

Grey took his cell phone out of his pocket and tried to call his mom. Service was so poor that the call didn’t go through. It could be an indication of the electricity being out for the cell tower, or maybe the storm itself was just messing with the service.

Cora watched over his shoulder. She pulled her own cell phone out but slipped it back into her pocket moments later.

“I’m going to try sending a text to my mom to let her know we’re okay.” Grey typed out a short note and hit send. “Sometimes texts will go through when a call can’t. It’s worth a try, anyway.”

“I’m thankful they all got here yesterday and no one else is stuck in this.”

“Me, too.” Even if the power had gone out, at least his family was safe. Although the thought of them stuck in a cabin together with no way to escape sounded like a nightmare waiting to happen.

Cora craned her neck to look through the window in the front door toward the pickup truck. “I’m going to head back out and get my luggage before it gets any worse.”

Grey surveyed the front living area until his gaze rested on the hearth. Everything they needed to make a fire had already been brought in and readied for the next guest. Just thinking about sitting around a warm hearth started a flood of memories. There was a time when a roaring fire was something he equated with Cora for many different reasons. But their relationship had gone cold, just like every fire eventually did. “You’ve already got your boots off. I’ll go get your suitcase. Do you remember how to start a fire?” The encroaching memories and the emotions behind them made his question come out much more gruffly than he’d intended.

Cora frowned at him. “I can get my own bag.” She spun on her heel toward the door, but Grey caught her by the elbow.

“Seriously, Cora. There’s no need for you to get your boots on again when I can easily carry both suitcases back in one trip. If you don’t remember how to build a fire, I’ll get one going when I get back.” He’d tried to soften his voice but wasn’t sure how well he’d succeeded. He wasn’t trying to be bossy, it was just common sense for her to stay indoors when he was still dressed for the storm outside.

She jerked her arm out of his hand. “I think I can manage.” Without looking at him, she walked toward the hearth.

There were a lot of things the years might have changed about both of them, but the meaning of her walk wasn’t one of them. He’d seen her mad plenty of times, especially during the last six months of their marriage. And here it’d taken him less than an hour to make her mad. Grey wasn’t sure if the realization made him sadder or annoyed with himself.

He turned his frustration into action as he followed their footsteps through the snow to the truck. Flakes still fell hard as he got his carry-on bag and both of their suitcases. He locked the door of the pickup before heading back to the cabin.

Even with the heavy snowfall, it was clear the sun was getting lower in the sky. Staying at this cabin overnight was the right decision, even if the emotional air in the room might be as frigid as the temperatures outside.

He got the luggage in, closed the door behind him, and removed his boots. He wasn’t ready to take off his jacket yet, though. Not until there was a fire burning in the hearth and at least some of this chill was beginning to evaporate.

“How’s it going over here?” Grey crouched down beside her.

She’d gathered a lot of smaller kindling and put that in a pile. Larger pieces of kindling were in another, and finally she’d chosen a couple of logs. She turned her head to look at him. “I could get this fire started eventually, but you’ll get it going faster. I don’t know about you, but I’m freezing.” She handed him the fire starter that had been hanging near the hearth.

He accepted her peace offering. Besides, Cora was right. He’d taught her how to make a fire a long time ago, but unless she’d become a bushcrafter since then, he still had a lot more experience.

Grey took the knife he’d used to cut down branches and went to work shaving feathers of wood off a stick into a small pile. That would ignite first and hopefully give him the time he needed to get the rest of it lit.

Ten minutes later, he was carefully breathing life into the flame that flickered in the hearth. Only then did he realize how much the room had darkened.

When he thought it was hot enough, he added one of the larger logs. “There we go.” He nodded toward the back of the cabin. “There’s plenty of wood in the storage building outside. As long as we can keep this fire going, we’ll at least stay warm in here.”

Cora nodded. “That’s good.” She scooted a little closer and held her hands out toward the flame.

Grey wasn’t sure if the sigh that escaped her lips was one of contentment or relief. Most likely, it was a mixture of the two.

Once that larger log caught, he added the second one and was able to sit back for a while. Suddenly, he remembered the window in the back door that he’d broken through. The chilly air would come in quickly if he didn’t do something to block it. He stood again, and Cora joined him with a curious look.

He took his flashlight out, turned it on, and went down the hall to discover that the cabin had two bedrooms. He took a pillow from one of them.

Cora followed him and watched as he stuffed the pillow into the open panel of the window. Without a word, she opened several nearby cabinets and closets until she returned with a dust pan and broom. When she was done, she deposited the broken glass in the trash can underneath the sink.

They stood looking at each other, the only light coming from Grey’s flashlight and what little was left from the muted daylight outside.

Grey motioned toward the cabinets. “I don’t suppose you saw any food in there.”

“Not a can.”

He hadn’t expected there to be, but something to eat sounded pretty good right now.

His phone trilled, making poor Cora jump. Grey pulled it out of his pocket, relieved to see the text. “Mom got my message. She’s glad we’re somewhere safe for the night. They still have power there somehow. I’m going to let her know we got a fire started.”

They walked back to the living room where the fire had already begun to warm the cabin air. He noticed Cora finally unzipped her coat and hung it up on the coat rack by the front door. As soon as Grey sent his text, he did the same. He used the fire poker to adjust the wood and added another log. “It’s already making a big difference in here.”

“Yeah, it is.” She nodded toward his phone. “Is everyone safe and warm there?”

“Yep, they’re all good. Mom said they’ve been praying we’d find somewhere to hunker down. Flynn thinks we should try and get to the main cabin by foot tomorrow once the blizzard lets up.”

Cora’s eyes widened. “Do you think we could make it?”

“Definitely. It can’t be more than an hour or so. Even if it’s two hours, the only thing this house is offering us right now is shelter. Apparently, when Grandpa had set up reservations, he’d had the main cabin stocked with food.”

As if on cue, Cora’s stomach let loose with a low growl. The fire already cast an orange glow on her face, but he was certain a pink tinge had joined it.

Grey smiled at her. “You know, we’re going to need some water, too.” He went in search of a pan and glasses in the kitchen. He set two glasses down on a small table in the living room before stepping out on the front porch and filling the pan with snow. Once he’d returned, he put the pan near the fire so the snow would melt.

He found Cora rummaging around in her suitcase. She finally raised her hand in triumph. “Here they are.” When she turned, she had a bright smile on her face. She handed him a large Ziploc bag.

Mint chocolate breakfast bars with caffeine. He couldn’t stop the deep chuckle. “You brought some with you?”

She gave him a fake pout—one that had him instantly remembering what it was like to kiss those soft, warm lips of hers.

“Chocolate, caffeine, and mint. What’s not to like? I knew there was no way they’d have some here.”

She was right about that. Grey wasn’t a fan of the protein bars, but he thought they sounded pretty good right about now. When he took a bar out for himself and another for her, Cora grinned.

“Admit it,” she said as she opened hers. “You’re really glad I brought these.”

“I still don’t understand your obsession with these, but yes, I’m glad you brought them along.” She flashed him a triumphant smile. He opened his bar and took a bite. “Although, if I had my gun, I’d go out and shoot us a rabbit. Then we could have ourselves a real meal.”

She rolled her eyes good naturedly. He couldn’t help but relax into the comfortable rhythm of the way things used to be between them. Before she stopped opening up to him, and he started traveling more in response. Before it all fell apart.

He missed this. He missed her and hadn’t even realized how much until now.