Into the Storm (18 page)

I came in and went to the kitchen, Bear pushing ahead of me to get to his Rabbit first. She was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and, wordlessly, she got up and brought one to me. I nuzzled her forehead and took a sip.

“
All done?”

I nodded. “I turned off the generators and refilled them in case another storm blows through. I’ve got everything switched over. The furnace will warm the whole house fairly quickly.”

She nodded. “What’s next?”

I watched her hands twisting in her lap. I captured them in mine and lifted them to my lips. “I’ll sign-in on the computer and check emails and contact a few people. When you’re ready, and not before, we’ll do some checking. Not until you’re ready, Rabbit.”

She let out a shaky breath, nodding.

I stood up, holding out my hand. “Come upstairs with me.”

Once upstairs, I handed her a notepad and asked her to make lists of things that were needed and I would contact my usual local merchants, making sure they were capable of making deliveries again. She immediately started writing and I returned to the desk and turned on the computer. It took a long time to download all the messages waiting for me. I went through them all, quickly sent some replies, deleted any junk and prioritized the rest. I kept checking on Rabbit behind me and noticed the fearful looks as she would glance toward the computer; like it was going to suddenly jump up and grab her. I stood up and went over to her, kneeling by the chair. Wordlessly, I cupped her face, my thumbs drawing light circles on her skin as I drew her mouth to mine. I kissed her softly, running my tongue over her bottom lip. She sighed and returned my caresses and I tilted her head, deepening the kiss. She flung her arms around my neck, holding me close, and I continued kissing her until we were both breathless. Pulling back I rested my forehead against hers. “Not until you’re ready, Rabbit,” I insisted quietly.

We both jumped when a shocked voice came from behind me.

“
Joshua, what the hell?”

I turned and looked at the stunned face on my computer screen.

Fuck.

I had opened up my Skype window and forgotten to close it after making sure it was operational and now the world just showed up. And her name was Cecilia.

I sat back with a sigh as Rabbit jumped up and ran down the stairs, obviously startled. I looked towards the computer, rolling my eyes.

“
Always such good timing, Cecilia,” I remarked dryly as I walked over and sat down in front of the screen.

Her eyes narrowed. “Never mind that. You had better start talking, Joshua. Who on earth was that?”

I leaned forward, my voice quiet and began to talk.

“
So you’re telling me she’s been there this whole time? And she has no memory of who she is?”

“
Yes, Cecilia, that’s exactly what I’m saying,” I said again, trying to remain patient. I was pretty sure we had already gone through this enough. I’d given her a brief overview of what had transpired since the storm hit.

“
I am
so
getting you a fucking satellite phone.”

I smiled grimly. We’d argued about this before. I gave in.

“
Okay.”

“
I think I’m speechless, Joshua.”

“
Now
that
I never thought I’d see,” I chuckled. I heard Rabbit coming back up the stairs and turned to see her walk over and silently place a cup of coffee on the desk, turning immediately to leave. She had literally run away when I got up to address Cecilia’s rather blunt greeting earlier. Reaching out, I grabbed her hand and pulled her into my lap.

“
Cecilia, this is Rabbit,” I said into the webcam, holding Rabbit close.

“
Hey, Rabbit! This is a … surprise, but nice to meet you.” Cecilia’s voice was filled with unasked questions.

“
Um, hello, Cecilia,” Rabbit said quietly. I could feel how tense she was, her body vibrating with nerves.

“
It’s okay, Rabbit. I trust Cecilia completely,” I murmured into her ear. I kissed her cheek softly. “You’re perfectly safe, pretty girl.”

I heard Cecilia’s gasp of shock, seeing me interact with another person in such an intimate manner. Especially someone I had only known for a short time.

Cecilia cleared her throat. “I’ll be up day after tomorrow. Send me a list tonight of anything you want me to bring. Rabbit, I, um, assume there are some items you need?”

Rabbit shook her head. “No, really, I’m okay but thank you.” She squirmed away from me. “I’m making dinner. I’ll leave you to your … call.”

I watched her quickly walk back down the stairs. I turned back to the computer to see Cecilia eyeing me warily.

“
We’ll talk when you get here, Cecilia,” I said wearily. It was far too complex to do via a webcam.

“
What have you done, Joshua?”

I looked at her silently for a minute, and then shrugged. “I fell in love.”

She just stared at me.

“
Send me that list,” she said quietly.

I nodded. ”Rabbit needs conditioner. Some good stuff; she gets tangles in her hair. You could find that, yes? At a salon or something? I don’t want just some cheap stuff off the shelves here.”

Her eyes went wide. “I’ll get that and anything else you want.” She paused. “Joshua?”

“
Yeah?”

“
You won’t be able to avoid my questions when I get there.”

Closing my eyes, I nodded. “I know.”

After I shut down the webcam and checked with the local merchants to find out what I could or could not expect in the next couple of days, I went downstairs.

Rabbit was in the kitchen, once again by the stove, stirring something that smelled delicious. She looked up, smiling timidly, as I approached. Once again, it struck me how right she looked here.

I stood behind her and wrapped my arms around her, drawing her back against me. Leaning down, I nuzzled her neck. “Smells good.”

She laughed. “It’s stew, Joshua. Just stew. I was trying to use up the last of the veggies and some of the meat you insist on cooking in such vast quantities, so really … it’s just leftovers.” She held up the spoon and I leaned over and tasted it.

“
How is it that your leftovers taste about a thousand times better than what I usually eat?”

Rabbit laughed, sounding pleased at my compliment.

“
Did you finish your list?” I asked

“
Yes, I finished
your
list, Joshua. It’s on the table.”

I planted one more soft kiss behind her ear, grinning when I felt her subtle shudder, and went over to the table. I was surprised to see a bottle of wine open and a glass partially full. An empty glass stood beside it.

“
Drinking early, Rabbit?”

“
I thought we could use it,” she said not turning around.

I sighed and filled my glass, topping hers up, and handing it to her. It
had
been a rather emotional day so far. I scanned the list, adding a few things. I made a separate one for Cecilia.

“
What size are your feet?” I asked, not looking up.

“
Why?”

“
I want to get you a pair of boots and a new pair of sneakers. If it snows again, your feet will need to be warm and you have basically ruined the pair you have running around in the snow. You need a new pair.”

“
They’re fine, Joshua. I don’t need them.”

I stopped writing and looked up, meeting her troubled eyes. “What size, Rabbit?” I asked again, my voice firm.

She sighed in frustration. “Six and a half.”

I moved onto the next item. “What size do you need in shirts and pants?”

She came over to the table. “I don’t need Cecilia to get me a wardrobe, Joshua.”

I shook my head. “She isn’t. You can go online and order yourself some clothes; whatever you want. I just thought I’d get her to pick you up a couple of things. I thought maybe you were tired of drowning in my clothes. And there wasn’t a lot in your bag. Maybe your own sweatpants and some tops? Some under … garment … things?” I explained.

“
I put a load of laundry in, Joshua. The things from the bag you found are fine for me. I have enough.”

I narrowed my eyes, looking at her. She was studying some highly interesting spot on the floor. Something told me not to push this right now.

“
Okay,” I said soothingly.

Wanting to lighten the dark mood I could feel spreading, I looked back over to her list.

“
Broccoli, lettuce, carrots, apples? Seriously, Rabbit, I see a lot of fruit and vegetables on this list. What I don’t see is chocolate or chips … or any freaking alcoholic items. And where are the jujubes? What are you trying to do to me?”

I saw her lips twitch.

“
And don’t we need some lard stuff? Because I really need more of those pies. I don’t see that either, Rabbit,” I sniffed indignantly. “I’d say your list-making skills are more on par with your criminal abilities rather than your mad snowball skills, frankly.”

A soft giggle escaped from her mouth and she looked up at me. I winked at her and was rewarded with another giggle and her beautifully shy smile.

I leaned forward and refilled our glasses.

“
We’ll work it out together, Rabbit,” I assured her soothingly.

She smiled tremulously at me and nodded.

I didn’t think either of us believed that.

Chapter Nineteen