2. Two
TWO
ALDEN
“There you are!” Amma said, a wide smile on her face as I walked into her warm house. “Thank goodness. You made it just in time.”
The second she saw me, she pulled me into a tight hug. It had been a while since I made it over here, but I usually tried to come to find something to help her with. Amma would rather injure herself than let someone else take care of her cabin for her, but I was also persistent.
“Glad I could make it,” I said. “I just got done salting all the paths at the park.”
“Will it be open for this?”
“We’re always open, and people love to hike in ice.” I shrugged. “I have my other ranger, Ryan, staying with me for extra help.”
She patted my shoulder. “Good. Then we shouldn’t waste time. ”
“We have about an hour before it starts.”
“I need ... help with something.” The words sounded like they pained her.
I paused. “You need help ?”
She held up a hand. “Don’t make this a big deal. I don’t need it because I’m sick. I need it because there’s too much to do.”
I did a once-over on her. Amma wouldn’t admit it if she’d hurt herself, but she was standing straight and moved as easily as she always did. “Okay, I’ll stay as long as you need.”
She smiled. “Perfect. Now, let me show you the windows. I expect to lose power, and the curtains won’t hold enough heat in. I need them weatherproofed.”
“I just did the same thing on my house. Show me what you have. I’ll get it done.”
She opened the curtains to reveal the old, weathered windows. They were more than likely original on the house. “You’re as responsible as ever, Alden. I can’t believe you’re still single.”
I huffed out a laugh. I could believe it. It was hard to find a girlfriend when I couldn’t focus on them. I tried, but they always figured out that there was one woman I had eyes for.
And she was the one I couldn’t have.
I couldn’t afford to go down the rabbit hole that was Stella Summers—especially not in front of Amma, who noticed everything. She had tried to get us to reconcile over the years, but I refused to talk about what happened.
“Do you have weatherproofing tape?” I asked. “I can go get some if you don’t.”
Amma put her hands on her hips. “What kind of woman do you take me for? Of course I already have it. It’s all in the bag in the living room.”
“Good. If I do it right, you’ll still be able to see out of the windows.”
“That would be nice. I’d love to see the hills covered in snow and ice.”
Moments later, I found what I needed and worked from the bedrooms inward. It was simple work, making me wonder why she asked me to do it at all.
However, all thoughts fell away when I saw a figure outside. At first, I thought it was one of Amma’s neighbors coming to check on her, but then I realized it was far worse.
It was the very woman I wasn’t supposed to think about.
Stella was staring at my truck, undoubtedly wondering what the fuck I was doing here. It took her only seconds to turn on her heel and walk inside.
Shit.
I planned to duck into the bedroom and leave Amma to her questions, but then my eyes caught on her jacket. It was black—a color Stella wouldn’t be caught dead in, but it was a North Face jacket with a busted zipper .
My feet moved of their own accord and I walked out the front door.
We came face-to-face in the cold of the porch. Her chestnut brown hair was streaked with gold and her oval face and upturned nose still did unfair things to my heart.
But her forest-green eyes were narrowed, which meant she was pissed.
“Why do you have my jacket?” The words blew out of me.
“I have a better question—what the fuck are you doing here?”
Stella’s cheeks were tinted with pink, either from the cold or seeing me. She had dark circles under her eyes that weren’t usually there. Coupled with the black jacket, she’d never looked less like herself.
“I—what happened to you?” I asked.
“Nope. Not going there.”
Her eyes fell to the frozen ground. Mine widened. Since when didn’t she look me in the eye when she was snapping at me?
“Aren’t you usually . . . angrier?”
“Do you want me to be?”
“Yes.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re annoying. How about you answer the damn question?”
That was a little better.
“I’m helping Amma weatherproof the windows.”
“No, you’re not. ”
I looked down at the supplies in my hand. “I definitely am.”
“I can’t deal with this today,” she muttered and pushed past me to go inside.
Her vanilla scent filled my nose, the same even after all of these years. My eyes closed, and all I could do was remember the night in my truck when I made the biggest mistake of my life.
I had to take a moment before I followed her.
My jacket hit me in the face the second I walked in the door. “Oh, and you can have that back.”
Stella was gone by the time I regained my bearings.
I couldn’t resist the smile that made its way onto my face. That was the Stella I knew. I’d take her throwing things at me rather than her shying away like she had in middle school when those fucking kids bullied her.
“Stella,” Amma said as she walked into the living room, “I know you had a rough night yesterday, but let’s be civil.”
“I think I’m in the anger stage of grief,” Stella replied as she followed Amma. “Spurred on by his presence.”
“Who died?” I asked.
“My patience.”
“As much as I love watching verbal sparring matches,” Amma interrupted, “we have work to do. Stella, I called him here.”
“You did?”
“Yes. Him and Nick , but he’s too busy with work to stay. I can’t help that he sent you in his place. ”
In some way, this was my fault. I didn’t tell Nick about my plans since Amma had called me over at the last minute. Half the time, I showed up whenever I hadn’t seen her in a while anyway. I doubted he would have sent Stella if he’d known.
“But—” Stella was interrupted by Amma.
“I know you’d love to get all your frustrations out on my other helper, but I can’t have that. I want my house to be ready for this weather.”
“Amma, this storm isn’t a big deal.”
“It’ll be a very big deal,” I interjected. The glare I received in response would have made a lesser man fear for his life. “But we don’t have to argue about weather patterns. I’ll finish what I started and go.”
“I can offer something better,” Stella said. “You leave now and I’ll weatherproof the windows.”
Amma shook her head. “We’re on borrowed time here. And I need you for other things.”
“What do you need me for?”
“You’re the skilled cook in this family. Come and help me meal prep for this.”
“ No. ” Stella shook her head firmly. “Amma, I can’t. I haven’t cooked in a year.”
Amma’s wide eyes matched mine. Since when did Stella not cook? She was always whipping up something in the kitchen—she’d done it even when she was a kid. Oftentimes, when Dad forgot to feed me, I’d go find her. She’d been far too young to work a stove, yet she still made something delicious .
What the hell had happened to her?
My eyes drifted to hers, and she spared me a second of a glance. Her cheeks darkened and she looked at Amma.
“All the more reason to pick it back up,” Amma replied once she’d recovered. “Come on. It’ll be fun!”
Stella’s lips pressed together and I wondered if she’d say no to one of her favorite pastimes. “Fine,” she said lowly. “But I can’t promise this is going to go well.”
“Find me when you’re done,” Amma said to me as she followed Stella. “I need help with a few more things.”
I sighed and put the jacket down on the couch. My body was still buzzing with Stella’s proximity and the desire to figure out who the hell had made her like this .
But I shook it off, determined to get whatever Amma needed done with so I could leave.
The weatherproofing didn’t take me long, but then I was sent to move the couch and ensure enough wood was brought inside so she could keep the house warm. I thought I would be done after that.
The sky was darkening, promising dangerous snow and ice. We were running out of time.
But I wouldn’t leave Amma with this.
“Last thing, I promise,” she said when I bothered her again. Stella was busy glaring at a recipe like it personally offended her.
“Sure, what is it?”
“Complete this list.” She handed me a sheet of paper filled to the brim with menial tasks .
“The whole list? Amma, are you sure you’re okay?”
Stella finally turned. It seemed she was as worried as I was.
“Oh, I’m fine. Just busy.” She smiled and turned back to Stella, who opened her mouth to say something. “And don’t you start either, Stella. I’m fine .”
“Are you?”
“Are you ?” Amma fired back.
Stella pursed her lips and returned to her cooking. My brows pinched as I watched her. Amma looked just as worried.
Letting out a sigh, I got to work, rushing to complete the list so I could get back to my house. I kept thinking about Stella as I turned over her odd behavior in my mind. I wished my tasks were closer to the kitchen so I could have overheard what they were talking about.
Sometime later, Amma found me working on unclogging the drain in the bathroom.
“Alden,” she said, “be a dear and keep an ear on Stella for me. She’s cooking right now and I need to go check on something with my neighbor, Hank.”
I jerked up from under the sink. She was leaving ? “Wait?—”
“I have to go now if I want to be back before it starts. See you in a few minutes!”
She left so fast that I couldn’t get another word out. That woman could move when she wanted to.
Being alone with Stella wasn’t the best idea, but nothing would happen if I avoided her .
And I highly doubted she would talk to me.
I got back to work, trying not to think about the woman in the other room or the weather rapidly worsening.
Time ticked by, only disturbed by the sounds of me doing errands around the house and Stella banging kitchen pots in the background. It took me far too long to finish the list. By the time I was done, I was in a rush to tell Amma that I had to go.
I’d spent so long working that I assumed she’d already come back and I just didn’t hear her. I figured she would be in the kitchen to help Stella with cooking, so I took a chance and poked my head in.
“Amma, I’m going to head out when?—”
“Not now,” Stella interrupted. “I’m trying to figure out how to explain to Amma that I burned her bread pudding.”
I could only stare at her. Stella burned something? Was that even possible? I opened my mouth to ask how when I realized Amma wasn’t in the kitchen.
“Is Amma not in here?”
“Nope. She abandoned me to my own cooking, which obviously went poorly.”
“Where is she?”
“No idea, Alden. What do you need?”
“I need to tell her I finished the list.”
She finally turned to me. “You finished the list? Good. That means you can go.”
“I want to check with her first. ”
“Alden,” she snapped, “whatever Amma needs, I’ll take care of. Now, will you please go back to whatever park ranger thing you have to do and leave?”
“Fine,” I said after a long pause. “I’ll go. Just stay safe. She might not be here.”
“She’s obviously in her room or doing something outside. It’s fine.”
“There’s a snowstorm coming.”
“My God, Alden.” She turned to me, green eyes full of fire. “Just go. I’m perfectly capable of handling things here, even if there is a massive snowstorm. I’ll find Amma and make sure she’s okay. The only thing I can’t do is deal with you being here anymore.”
“Stella.”
“Alden.” She stepped into my space. “Go.”
This was bad. We hadn’t been this close in years. The last thing I needed was for her to be so close, especially when I’d never put my feelings for her in a box like I should have.
“If Amma isn’t back, call someone.”
“I will. I’m not stupid.”
But maybe I was.
Because I was thinking about staying, even though she was one wrong move away from pushing me out the door herself.
I let out a sigh, turning on my heel to leave.
The second I walked outside, I felt the ice under my feet.
Fuck , it had already started, which meant getting out of here was going to be a nightmare. I turned once more to the house, tempted to go back inside.
Amma is there, I said to myself. Stella doesn’t want you to stay.
It was a version of the mantra I told myself each time I stayed away from her. She didn’t want me around, which was exactly what she should feel. It made it easier for me to stay the fuck away.
The truck door was stuck shut, and it took me far too long to get it open. Then the truck slid as I was coming out of the driveway. I cursed but managed to keep it on track.
There had to have already been half an inch of ice on the ground, which was way ahead of schedule. I’d studied the forecasts, and there wasn’t supposed to be this much this fast.
This was bad. So bad.
Amma is there. Stella is fine.
But as I slowly pulled onto the road, I wondered if I was wrong. If Amma weren’t there, then she would be stuck in this alone.
All the warnings I’d heard played back in my head. This area was going to lose power. People could die if they didn’t have a backup generator or some sort of fireplace to keep warm.
Amma had a stove, but that was it. She would know how to use it, but would Stella?
The idea of her being alone distracted me just enough from the road to slide off of it. I came to a rough stop, knowing that I could probably get the truck out of the ditch if I worked hard enough. I’d put cat litter in the back seat for this very reason. Still, I would lose valuable time.
Besides, getting myself out of it was the last thing on my mind.