Chapter Twenty- Four
Leigh approached the fire and noticed that Enrique had found two fluffy blankets hidden somewhere and had turned their suits over on the chairs to dry the other side. She hoped the inside would dry as well. She wasn’t sure how it happened, but snow had gotten inside her snowsuit and drenched her thermals underneath. Either that or she had worked up that much of a sweat on the way to the cabin. If her suit was that wet, she could only imagine how bad his had been after rolling down the mountain and laying in the snow for at least thirty minutes.
Feeling the suits inside and out, she was relieved to find they had dried completely. These would go a long way to keeping them warm tonight.
“These are dry. I’m not cold, just chilled. We should put them on before we get cold, though, so our bodies don’t have to fight to heat back up. We only have a few pieces of firewood left and at least six hours of darkness. We need to burn it as slowly as possible to keep the fire going enough to keep this place and us from freezing.”
Enrique nodded his head in agreement and took his suit, pulling it on over his thermals.
“Let’s see how warm we are in these. If it starts to get really cold or the fire is going to go out then we need to add our other pair of thermals over the top. This should work well for you since I brought a pair that is a little too small. Hopefully, the pair you were wearing was a little roomier and will fit nicely over the top if necessary.”
Leigh slipped her snowsuit on quickly and moved the chairs back into the kitchen. “I was thinking about the sleeping arrangements. We need to stay as close to the fire as possible. That bed is going to allow a draft up from the bottom, which will steal warmth away. I think it will be more effective if we lay the mattress on the floor in front of the fire. We can take the cushions off the couch and lay them on the floor, too. That will provide a nice large area for us to rest and still be close enough to stay warm. Any arguments?” she asked, turning to Enrique from her place by the bed .
“Nope, your guess is probably better than mine as to how to survive this. Why not move the couch closer, though?” he questioned.
“I thought of that but… that is an old couch. More than likely made before fire retardant laws were put into place. I have heard horror stories about folks falling asleep with cigarettes and burning their house down when their couch caught fire and went up like a doused bonfire. I think we should be safe rather than sorry and keep the couch where it is to decrease the chance of a spark catching it on fire and taking us and the cabin with it.”
“Oh, in that case, I agree. Let me help with that,” Enrique started to get up from his position on the couch, but Leigh stalled him with a raised hand.
“No, rest. I can handle a little twin mattress. We aren’t sleeping for a long while, so as long as you are warm, you are fine where you are on the couch.” A few seconds later, she dropped the old mattress on the floor, and the gust of air from its landing made the flames dance in the hearth. “I have some hot chocolate, tea, or coffee. Does any of that sound good to you?” she asked as she retrieved the steaming coffee pot from its place over the fire.
“Hot chocolate sounds wonderful. I hate to admit it, but I have a bit of a sweet tooth.”
“I had already figured that out,” Leigh confessed as she carried the pot to the kitchen and prepared two steaming mugs of chocolate.
Enrique’s brows knit together in confusion. “What? How?”
“When I came to the chalet to check on you, your housekeeper fed me. It was delicious by the way. On my way out, she asked if I wanted freshly baked cookies or pie. I thought that was a strange thing to have in a vacation house. Most folks stick with easy stuff, maybe packaged cookies or something. I figured you must have a serious sweet tooth if you made your housekeeper prepare fresh baked cookies for you.”
“That was very observant of you,” he commented thoughtfully as he accepted the metal mug wrapped in one of their socks. “Is this my sock or yours?”
Shrugging her shoulder, she smiled mischievously at him, “Smell it and let me know if you can tell.”
Enrique’s head shot up from where he had been blowing into the piping-hot liquid and scrunched his nose at the very idea of smelling someone’s dirty socks. “No, thank you. It isn’t that important.”
Leigh laughed. “If your nose has gotten that close and you don’t smell anything, I think you’re safe. For the record, I know my feet don’t stink, and yours must not either because I haven’t noticed. Trust me, living with my brother, the outdoorsman, all these years, I know smelly feet. He has had some funky stuff in his boots over the years. Now, he is a professional and knows how to take care of his feet, but during that learning process, man, when he took his shoes off, it would just about knock you over.”
Enrique was looking a little squeamish. “That is nice to know. The next time we speak, I will call him stinky feet. Can we change the subject now? This one is making my beef stew stir.”
Leighann chuckled again and then carefully pulled a deck of cards from her pocket, trying not to upset the hot chocolate she held in her hand. She had slipped her hand inside her sock, fearing that she would drop the whole cup in her lap if she continued to hold the sock around the outside, but it was still precarious and awkward. “Whoever thought these metal cups were a good idea might have been right economically, but they also must have had seriously calloused hands not to be burned every time they drank their coffee. Okay, according to concussion protocol, you need to stay awake a while longer. Do you know how to play any card games? I’m exhausted, so I was thinking of something simple like Go Fish or War.”
“Go Fish? I haven’t played that since I was a kid, and we had special cards for it.” An amused smile lifted his lips, making him look so handsome in a very approachable way.
“We can keep it simple and just play without the suits. Just use the number or whatever is in the corner. Let’s start with that and warm up. Maybe bring back some happy memories of days gone by.” Leigh dealt each of them seven cards and spread the rest between them.
“That is actually one of the few happy memories from my youth. My brother Fernando taught me how to play it. I razzed him for being a baby, but he just kept pushing until I gave in and played. It was fun.” Enriques’s voice softened as he shared the memory.
“Is your brother that much younger than you?”
“No, actually, he is only six months younger. But he was softer than the rest of us, so I assumed at first that he was much younger. It didn’t take me long to figure out that he was much wiser than the whole group. He has an old soul. You would like him.”
“How did you not know how old your brother was? Is he a stepbrother or something?” Leigh asked, confused.
“Adopted, actually. We met in the boy’s home. Fernando was nine, and I was ten. He had already taken my brothers Julio and Gabe under his wing, and they had formed a little family. When I got there and kept getting into trouble, Fernando figured he would have to take me in, too, or I wouldn’t make it. It never made any sense to me because I was nothing but mean to the kid, but he, Gabe, and Julio helped me through it. If it weren’t for them, I have no doubt I would be dead right now. My brothers saved my life in more ways than one, and I will forever be grateful to them.”