Chapter Eleven
Jack reshoveled his path to the garage. They’d gotten well over two feet so far and it showed no signs of letting up. He made a mental note to spend an hour or two clearing around their vehicles, just so they’d be able to get out when the plows finally came.
Inside, he flicked on the lights, and damn if it didn’t make all the difference.
The carpenters’ tools took up most of the space—a table saw, a compound miter saw, and a belt sander.
Piles of PVC and copper pipe lined the far wall.
But tucked behind a stack of cabinetry boxes, the red plastic of a gas can flashed like a beacon.
He picked his way over, hoping it wasn’t some abandoned empty relic or, worse, one full of stale gas that would do them no good.
It was dusty, but given the sawdust covering every surface around him, that didn’t say much.
He hefted it, happy to find it full. He added the gas to the generator and primed it.
Not that he was superstitious, but he closed his eyes as he pulled the cord, willing it to start.
When it roared to life on the first try, he offered a moment of gratitude to the universe.
Then he hustled his freezing ass back in the house.
“It worked,” Ellie said the second he came through the door.
“Did you think it wouldn’t?”
She shrugged. “Big machines scare me. I don’t ever assume they’re going to do what I want them to do. Except my car. I don’t understand her, but I trust her, and she trusts me to pay experts to take care of her.”
He couldn’t help but laugh at the assessment. “A generator isn’t so very different. If you give it fuel, it will generally go.”
“I’m glad.”
He was, too. Having the generator up and running meant all their work lights and power cords worked, which meant they had the option of working and moving around the house instead of being confined to Ellie’s room.
It also meant the furnace blower would stay on even if they lost power again, and they could keep the house at a safe, if not entirely comfortable, temperature.
“I looked up the forecast. We’re supposed to get another eight to twelve today, but it’s going to let up overnight and be clear tomorrow.”
All things considered, not the worst news. Once it stopped, plowing and clearing usually happened quickly. “I guess that means you’re stuck with me for a bit longer.”
She smirked. “I’d be here either way, so I’m happy for the company. You’re the one who’s actually stuck.”
As upset as he’d been at first, spending time with Ellie was shaping up to be not so bad. “I hope it doesn’t feel like overstepping to say I’m glad you didn’t wind up stuck by yourself.”
Ellie’s features softened. “Not overstepping at all.”
“I think I’ll try to get some work done since I’m here. If you’re cool with that.” He wasn’t sure why he added that last bit. Maybe because it felt like her place for the time being, and he was encroaching. Or, at the very least, a guest.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. How about we break for lunch around one and I make you that grilled cheese I promised?”
It was a generous offer, all things considered. “I hope you’ll let me buy you some groceries when we get out of here.”
“Yeah, but you shoveled and got the generator going, remember?”
“Still.”
She waved him off. “I stocked up specifically for the storm.”
“If you don’t say yes, I’ll have to figure out something else nice to do for you. Make it easy on a guy.”
Ellie laughed, a full and delightful sound. “Fair enough. You can buy me however much fancy cheese it takes to make you feel better about things.”
He frowned, not genuinely annoyed, but accustomed to playing the straight man with his siblings.
“I could make you a list, if that would help, of kinds I like.”
Jack shook his head. “No, it’s not that. I was just thinking about what a silly thing that was. Restitution cheese.”
“Technically, it’s not restitution because I shared. If anything, it would be reciprocity cheese.”
Even he had to laugh at that. And then it hit him. “I know just the ticket.”
She made a show of looking intrigued. “Go on.”
“I can get you a private tour and tasting at Grumpy Old Goat.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Jack Barrow, are you asking me out on a date?”
“Oh.” He winced before he could stop himself. “No. I—”
“Can’t bear the thought of going out with me?” Ellie shifted to an affronted posture, but her eyes danced with humor.
Jack scrubbed a hand over his face. God, if his sisters could hear this train wreck of a conversation. “I meant that I know the owner. She’s engaged to my sister, actually. I thought it would be nice.”
Ellie’s shoulders dropped and her expression softened. “It would be nice. I’m sorry I can’t seem to help teasing you.”
He closed his eyes for a second to regroup. When he opened them, Ellie seemed to be regarding him with genuine remorse. He chuckled to show he wasn’t a complete stick in the mud. “You might be surprised to hear this, but you are not the first person to say that to me.”
She seemed to get serious then. “Does that bother you?”
“I’m used to it.” He shrugged, almost as an afterthought.
Ellie shook her head. “That’s not what I asked.”
He bristled on instinct. He didn’t love personal questions from the people he was closest to.
Having them come from a woman he couldn’t help being attracted to felt downright vulnerable.
And yet those eyes—so often teasing and playful—looked at him with this mixture of empathy and genuine curiosity, and he was done for.
“I’m not the most social person. I find the teasing preferable to faking it. ”
“Huh.”
“Usually, the teasing comes from my siblings or close friends, so I know there’s no malice behind it.” If anything, it had become part of the family ethos, and he never failed to experience the underlying affection that came with it.
Ellie smiled. “I always wanted siblings.”
“You don’t have any? Wait, you already told me you didn’t. Sorry.” He grumbled on occasion about wishing he was an only child, but not once did he mean it.
“It’s okay. I always wanted them, but no.”
There was a sadness in Ellie’s eyes. Just like that first time.
He’d dismissed it then, not wanting to stray into personal territory.
This time, it made him want to understand why, made him want to make it better.
Even if prying into people’s personal lives uninvited was literally the bane of his existence.
“Mine are a handful, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world. ”
“How many?” She cleared her throat. “Siblings, I mean.”
“Two. You met Logan. She’s the youngest. Maddie is my older sister. She’s engaged to Sy, who co-owns Grumpy Old Goat. We all work for the family business.”
“Wow.”
“It wasn’t like there was pressure to or anything.
We all wanted to. And we all do very different things.
I’m an electrician, obviously. Logan does design.
Maddie does project management, which means she keeps the trains running.
Only we don’t tell her that because it would go to her head.
Both my parents and my uncle do, too. Technically, they’re the owners.
” Jack stopped, acutely aware that he’d started to ramble.
“It sounds wonderful.” Ellie’s expression turned wistful. “My parents divorced when I was little. My dad stayed in the picture, but since he died, it’s just been me and my mom.”
“Are you close?” The second the question left his lips, he remembered that he’d asked her that, too. What had she said then? Complicated.
Ellie nodded. “We are. She’s partially disabled, so I’ve mostly lived at home to help out.”
“How so?” He shook his head. What the hell had gotten into him? “I’m sorry. Never mind. That’s a really personal question.”
“It’s okay.” Ellie nodded again, this time like she was trying to reassure him. “She has schizophrenia. It’s managed with medication mostly. She’s just not able to handle a lot of responsibility or stress.”
The answer felt genuine but also somehow rehearsed.
Like she made a point of being open but didn’t want to get too deep in the weeds.
It left Jack at a loss. But since he hadn’t evolved in the twenty-four hours since they’d had the first version of this conversation, he fell back on his own genuine-yet-rehearsed, “That sounds hard.”
Something shifted. Ellie closed her eyes and took what Jack could only describe as a fortifying breath.
When she let it out, he’d swear there was the tiniest hint of a shudder.
It tugged at every protective instinct he had, even though he had no business feeling that way about her.
But before he could tame those feelings into something appropriate to say, she blinked a couple of times and was back—eyes and smile bright.
“It’s fine, really. She’s moved into assisted living and is thriving. And I now get to take jobs like this.”
The niggling curiosity left him at a loss. But he didn’t trust himself to do or say the right thing, and he’d already pried more than he normally would, so he promptly shoved it aside. “I’m glad it’s working out so well.”
Ellie lifted her shoulders and let them fall. Jack got the feeling it was her way of closing the conversation. “Shall we get to work?” she asked, driving home the point.
It was weird how relief could feel like disappointment sometimes. “Sounds good.”
* * *
After a day of plastering and a gloriously hot shower, Ellie headed back to her room to make dinner.
It was an odd feeling, cooking for Jack.
But not really cooking. Frozen meatballs and jarred sauce got the job done, but hardly flexed her culinary muscles.
Or impressed the guy she was hoping to get naked. She said as much to Emily Dickinson.
Emily Dickinson meowed.
Ellie shook her head. “I know, but a girl can hope.”
Jack joined her and graciously accepted the offer of a shower, along with a pair of sweatpants she forgot she had, a clean Red Sox tee, and some wool socks.