Chapter 2
Alexis stared at him for a moment and then nodded. “Thanks. If you hadn’t come here, you definitely would have frozen to death. I’m the only occupied cabin in this vicinity. All the other places are summer homes or rentals, like the Simpsons’ place.”
“The rental agent said I could have it all winter, if I wanted.”
She nodded. “Sure, you could, but the bad thing is the county only plows the main road. Side roads like the one the Simpsons and I are on are not plowed unless you get one of the local guys to do it. They only do it for a fee. I have them on retainer, but I’m the last one they get to because I’m the only one occupying these parts.
I know for a fact that the Simpsons don’t have their road plowed in the winter.
More than likely, you’d be walking those two miles back here whenever you wanted to go somewhere. ”
She stood and walked to the kitchen. She grabbed the tea kettle, turned off the burner which had been on low, then walked back into the living room, where she topped off Peter’s cup and then hers with the hot water.
Alexis returned the empty kettle to the kitchen before she resumed her place and picked up her mug, this time sitting cross-legged on the sofa.
She gazed at Peter. “You’re probably hungry. When did you last eat?”
He shrugged and took a sip of his tea. “I stopped in Aspen for brunch and then headed this way when I noticed the snow starting. The storm didn’t turn into a blizzard until I was over halfway here, and I figured I might as well go forward rather than back.
I’m not sure that was the correct decision but I can’t argue with the outcome.
If I’d gone back to Aspen, I wouldn’t have met you. ”
“That’s true you wouldn’t. I’ll still try to convince you to place a painting in my gallery.”
“Well, I’m all yours. At least, until we can return to Aspen.”
She wondered what he wasn’t saying. Was she wasting her time trying to convince him?
“I haven’t eaten since this morning.” She looked at her watch.
“It’s almost five now. How about I fix us a couple of bowls of my venison stew?
It’s really very good. What was your favorite meal as a kid?
Mine was when it was the end of the month and money was really tight, but Mom always had staples.
In this case they were rice, bread, milk, sugar and cocoa.
She would make rice and we ate it like cereal with milk and sugar, along with hot cocoa and cinnamon toast.”
He nodded and picked up his mug. “That sounds great. Grilled cheese was my favorite meal when I was a kid. I bet I haven’t had one in more than ten years.
” He took a sip of his tea. “Not since college. I remember my roommates and I took turns preparing dinners. They all groaned when it was my turn because often I’d give them that same meal.
They were almost guaranteed to get it at least once a week, unless my mother took pity on us and sent home a big batch of stew or chili with fresh bread.
” He laughed. “My roommates, all five of them, loved my family, especially my mother. A couple of them stayed with us one summer and worked on the ranch, but they didn’t come back the next year.
I think they found that ranch work isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. ”
She stood and walked into the kitchen. “That must have been fun though…having your friends there.” Grabbing the pot of stew from the refrigerator, she placed it on one of the gas stove’s burners.
Wiping her hands on the towel hooked on the oven door, she turned.
“Do you still see them, your college friends?”
His expression shuttered and he closed his eyes.
Sadness framed his face and he shook his head.
Then he opened his eyes and his gaze met hers.
“No, I haven’t heard from any of them in years.
I thought I would after the first video game went viral.
Then after the second and the third. It’s like everything Nick, Ray, and Megan touch turns to gold.
Luckily, they brought the rest of us along for the ride.
But my so-called friends never reached out.
I tried to contact them but was rebuffed each time. Finally, I stopped trying.”
While she prepared their meal, she kept the conversation going. “You do the art for the Ranger’s Walk video games, right? So it’s not all Nick, Ray, and Megan. They might have designed how the game works, but you’re the one who give their vision life.”
“Maybe, but Ray provides me with complete character description and background sheets, too. All I have to do is follow his directions.” He shrugged. “It’s not very difficult.”
“Maybe for you, but for the rest of us, it’s incredibly hard. To do what you do requires talent that not a lot of people have. Don’t shortchange yourself. Peter? Do you ever do large paintings of your video game drawings?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t before. I suppose I could. Why?”
“Would you consider doing one for my gallery? I know you don’t want to do a show at any gallery now, and I’m not asking for that.
” She lifted one index finger. “Just one painting from Ranger’s Walk.
Maybe one that didn’t make it into the final product.
It would be unique to my gallery. I’d get video gamers and art lover’s, too. ”
Peter frowned and his shoulders sagged as he stood and walked to the kitchen. “I’ll think about it.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have asked him. He’s trying to leave all of that behind and I’m asking him to come back into it. That really wasn’t very nice of me.
She looked at him and clasped her hands in front of her so they didn’t shake. “You know what? I’m sorry. Again. Really, I am so sorry I asked you. I don’t want to put you on the spot. You’re trying to get away and I’m not letting you. Well, you can. I won’t discuss the gallery anymore.”
He furrowed his brows, reached over and squeezed her hand with his.
“No, you don’t have to be sorry. I said you had a captive audience with me, and you should be able to talk to me about anything and ask me anything.
” When he gazed at her, his sapphire-blue eyes collided with her emerald-green ones.
For a moment, she thought they really had, the feeling was so intense.
She shook her head and gathered her thoughts.
“You’ve heard all I’m going to say on the subject.
Now, how about let’s eat our dinner? The venison for the stew came from a friend of mine who is an avid hunter and gave me some meat during hunting season. ”
“I haven’t had venison in a long time. I haven’t taken out time to go hunting in a while.
Whenever my father, brothers and I went hunting, we hunted to help with population control and then sat around the fire at night drinking beer.
It was just too nice to be away from the ranch.
If we managed to bag any deer or elk during that season we usually gave a lot of the meat to friends and we generally stuck with beef. ”
“This is a good batch. Very mild, not gamy at all. I made the stew earlier today. It should be perfect tomorrow. It’s always better the second day.”
Peter placed his hand against his stomach. “I’m starving so I’m ready to try anything.”
“Good. I picked up a loaf of crusty French bread yesterday to go with it. For now, we’ll have the sandwiches and soup, but tonight, we feast.”
He smiled. “Sounds perfect.”
A small round table with two chairs sat between the living room and the kitchen, directly in front of the fireplace, but far enough away that it wasn’t uncomfortable. “Have a seat and I’ll get this ready.” She jutted her chin toward the table.
He sat, hands clasped on top and waited while she cooked.
Alexis set out soup bowls and spoons, then brought over the tureen of tomato soup and ladled the hot liquid into the bowls before getting the sandwiches. She dished up the sandwiches directly from the skillet and set one on each plate before returning the skillet to the gas stove.
For the next few minutes, silence reigned while they dug into the hot meal.
Alexis broke the silence. “I heard on the news yesterday that you’d disappeared. What do you plan on doing now that you’ve escaped?”
He wiped the corners of his mouth with his napkin and looked toward the window. “I don’t know, really. I just knew I needed to get away.”
“I can understand that, though I’ve never hated something so much I just ran away.” She thought for a moment. “That’s not completely true. I ran, but I was running to something, not away from it, when I opened my gallery.”
“Yes, but what did you escape to do it?”
Alexis looked out the window next to the door. The storm was still raging probably would all night. She shivered when she considered his luck at finding her home.
She rested her elbows on the table and clasped her hands under her chin.
“My husband, Jim, died from cancer. At first, it was just lung cancer, though he had many more cancers present when he actually passed. On the June 29th, our fifth wedding anniversary, he was in incredible pain, and the Percocet and the morphine he’d been prescribed weren’t helping.
So, he went to the hospital by ambulance because I couldn’t get him to the car by myself.