Chapter 14
Claire
I was a terrible, terrible person.
I hesitated at the entrance to the room that had once been locked. The room that had piqued my interest since first arriving. It was still dark inside, but enough light from the kitchen cast into the space to reveal several stacked boxes, folded-up medical equipment, and what could have been a sink in the far corner. There were no windows in this room. It was too small to be a bedroom but too big for a little house’s closet.
The air held a musty smell of disuse, with a lingering smell of disinfectant and a hint of something softer, like fabric softener or perfume.
My thumb brushed absentmindedly along my lips as I stared into the room. I warred with myself, my insides twisting with guilt but also with drive. What was this thing that pushed me so hard for truths and answers? Why couldn’t I let things lie? This curse afflicted me even worse if the truths were held from me. There was this primeval need in me to get to the bottom of everything and know everything, no matter the cost to those around me.
This had to stop.
I pictured Levi’s face when he talked about his art. I saw his features twisted with concern as he found me on the trail. I remembered the gentleness of his fingers as he removed my clothing and tended to my leg.
He was a good man. He was suffering. He was alone.
And I knew a little bit about loneliness.
“Poor man,” I whispered, my head dropping to the doorframe.
I couldn’t do it. As much as I was desperate to explore the hidden stories of his past, to learn more about the woman who used to live here, I couldn’t. The hurt was too raw in his features. Anything I could learn needed to come from him in his own time.
I pulled the door shut. It was locked again when I turned the handle to check.
“This is for the best,” I told myself in the same tone a mother might tell her child as she moved the cookies to a higher shelf.
I paced the room, testing my leg, and it felt fine. The heavy clouds outside blocked out much of the light, and when I went to the window, enough snow had fallen to blanket the surrounding area. It was beautiful but wild and intimidating.
“Shoot!” I remembered too late that my dad was waiting to hear back from me. It had been so many hours he was probably in a state of panic.
I whined and stomped my foot as I watched the falling fat flakes stack outside.
I slid my boots back on and winced when I discovered a blister. Tugging on my heaviest parka and winter hat, I grabbed my phone and took a bracing breath.
As carefully as possible, I made my way up to the main house. I was so not ready to see Levi again.
His footprints had already disappeared from only a few minutes ago in the fast-falling snow. The lights illuminated his cabin like a beacon, but there were no signs of him through any of the windows facing this way. Hopefully, he wouldn’t see me creeping up toward his house. Most likely, he was washing away today’s adventures.
Not that anybody was thinking about him in the shower.
When I reached the Wi-Fi zone, I sent a series of rapid-fire texts at the same time as several worried ones arrived.
“Dad, I’m back at the cabin. The weather is getting crazy. I might not be able to go to the main house for a couple of days. But I am totally fine. Love you.”
We messaged for a few more minutes as the snow came down in fat flakes that blurred my vision and had me wiping the screen continuously. I bounced on my feet to keep warm, and when my exposed fingers started to go numb, I ended the conversation. The snow fell so thick I could hardly see my cabin anymore. I glanced back one more time to Levi’s place .
I made my way carefully back to my place and went straight back to warming my hands in front of the fire.
That was it. No more curiosity, no more distractions. Just finish the article and remember why the work I did mattered.
Levi
“Now, what the hell is she doing?” I glared out the upstairs bathroom window, wiping away the condensation from my scalding shower to see better.
Ripley whined from her bathroom burrow of blankets. Yes, she had a blanket burrow for each room. She was truly living a charmed, albeit codependent, life.
Claire trudged toward the Big Cabin, at least wearing a heavy coat and hat this time.
I glanced down at where I held a towel around my waist and nothing more. I swallowed as a chill went over my body.
My heart hammered, but instead of the panic that visitors usually caused me, a small thrill shot down my spine. I wouldn’t have time to get dressed to get her out of the cold …
I shook my head.
What was wrong with me? I just left her because I couldn’t be around her without wanting to bare bits of my soul I kept locked safely away. This had to stop.
I dropped my head to the cold glass and took a steadying breath.
Claire stopped in her pursuit, and my frown grew.
She pulled out her phone and started to rapidly text.
“No gloves,” I grumbled.
The snow fell so hard now the black of her coat and the glow of her screen were hardly visible.
“I’m two seconds from opening this window and yelling at her.”
The snow collected on her hat, hair, and shoulders. She was like a holiday card, so pretty even in the snow.
“I just got her out of the cold. Does she have a death wish?”
I had to wipe the glass again to keep watching her. I would just make sure she got back to her place okay.
“She’s probably checking in with her dad. She was the one who assured me when she agreed to my terms that not having internet wouldn’t be a problem, but here we are again.”
Ripley whined softly.
“For those keeping track at home, she’s already broken about half the rules of my listing.” I huffed loudly.
Ripley sighed and burrowed further under the blankets, tired of my ranting, it seemed.
“Okay. She’s going back. Ridiculous woman.”
I got dressed, grumbling the whole time to myself about rules that nobody else managed to follow. “The rules are there for a reason. Why even have rules?”
I tugged on my boots, heaviest coat, gloves, and hat. “Things should be done a certain way, and I’m the only person who cares.”
In the extra closet, I found the white cylindrical device I hadn’t needed in a few years. With my mallet and the stake I used last time, I made my way to the halfway point between our houses.
The rain from earlier caused a sheet of ice under the fresh powder, the most treacherous of conditions. I slipped in my efforts and almost fell on my ass twice. But soon enough, I’d set up the weatherproof Wi-Fi extender, and the flashing lights indicated it worked.
I trudged down to her house, in the now dark, to slide the pre-written note under the door explaining how to connect to the internet. I didn’t wait to make sure she saw the note. I did my part. I certainly wasn’t going to do it for her.
Just show her how to do it.
I hesitated just outside her door for only a fraction of a moment. But long enough for that voice deep down inside to find an excuse to knock. I could help her with the Wi-Fi. I could go back in and?—
No.
That was enough.
I barely made it back to the main house without injury. I stomped the snow off my boots and laid out all my outerwear by the fire to dry. Even with that short excursion, I was soaked through to the bone.
“For the second time today, thanks to that ridiculous woman.”
Ripley had moved to her living room den and had long stopped acknowledging my ranting.
“Now she has no reason to go out in the snow anymore.” I crossed my arms, legs spread to warm by the fire. “And good. She has no reason to come up here, either. No more visits or chats.” I grunted. “Good.”
I slumped back into a chair. The flames of the fire danced, mesmerizing me for hours. I was alone, which was just how I wanted it.
I didn’t think about Claire’s dimples when she smiled her huge grin. Or how her eyes moved and widened as she listened intently to me. Or the flashes of Claire’s smooth skin as she slid down her pants.
I groaned and dropped my head to my hands, scrubbing them through my hair.
I was so fucked.