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“Why?”
“Because you aren’t wearing them,” he snapped and glanced at his watch. “Look, the weather is turning and I’m not about to let Max stay at the hospital alone for the next few days. He can come here and get treatment from me…”
“He’s barely seen you!”
“I’ve been talking with his doctor because Max is more likely to clobber me than have a conversation right now. He’s a prissy little fellow, isn’t he?”
“Wouldn’t you be?” she snapped hotly. Max was a sweetheart, and if he was ‘prissy,’ it was because he was feeling defensive or threatened. “Wait – you’re bringing him to the main cabin?”
“No,” Houghton chuckled. “I’m bringing your husbandhere… H – E – R – E,” the man spelled out, yanking baskets from the cubbies on the walls, looking for the clothing that had been donated until Max’s things arrived from Afghanistan.
“Look, odds are the storm might pass us, and we’ll end up with a nice dusting of snow – but if it hits us, then the roads are going to be impassable for a bit. Jill is going to need some help,and where are the clothes?”He began again, yanking open the drawer that had her underthings inside.
Daphne slammed it shut, nearly catching the man’s hand inside as she looked him in the face. "They are folded neatly and in a bag in the van,” she said bluntly. “I was going to take them to Max earlier to see if he wanted to wear something normal instead of the hospital gown.”
“Go see Jill,” Houghton said simply. “She’s got a basket of medical supplies, some canned goods, and extra blankets in case you lose power. Charge your phone and prepare to hunker down for a few days - just in case.”
“With Max,” she hesitated and saw his chuckle.
“Yeah, with Max,” the man began. “Look, you extended a hand to help him once, just do it again. If the weather continues, we’ll have ropes strung between the cabins, but I wouldn’t recommend venturing out in a blizzard.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah… ‘oh,’” he grinned. “You’re a big girl and can handle this; besides… pretend you are in the Poconos, and this is your honeymoon.”
And before Daphne could say anything else – the blasted man was out the door in a flash, walking off and whistling merrily. She looked up at the murky sky in the distance and opted to do exactly as Houghton had suggested.
She went to find Jill.
Sure enough, there was a flurry of activity outside.
Massive snowflakes were beginning to fall, causing Daphne to pick up the pace toward the main cabin. She saw Jake and Lena emerging as Houghton was barking orders on his way to the van. Jill was racing out the door with bags, passing them to Lena as Gideon was in the distance helping hammer re-bar posts into the ground. Chris bolted for the barn in the distance to check on the cows that she was obsessed with – and then saw Gideon hobbling after her with his crutches, leaving Jake to string the ropes.
“Daphne, take this,” Jill said, pressing a plastic tote in her hands. “There are bandages, gauze, triple antibiotic ointment, and gosh knows what else. This is my sweet Babe’s personal stash of stuff.”
Then she was handing her coats, hats, and other things – some of them falling to the ground around her.
“Wait, I can’t get all of this and…”
“Come on, and I’ll help you,” Jill offered, moving quickly and darting a look toward the sky. The two women tossed everything onto the couch that had been folded up to save space, and it could be sorted through later.
Jill was heading back to the house, barking out orders almost like Houghton had been doing, and they were all hurrying as the snow started falling even harder. Daphne had the massive wicker basket outside, filling it with split wood as instructed, to take it back inside as Jake was finishing up stringing the ropes between the cabins in the distance.
Daphne looked up at the sound of honking – and saw that the van Houghton was driving was backing up through the field recklessly, coming close to her cabin. She saw the brake lights as he put it into park, as the doors opened.
Max was slowly getting out of the van, wearing mismatched clothing that hung off of his frame, making her realize that he was slimmer than the other two men. Max’s eyes met hers as he moved slowly into the cabin, his footsteps hollow on the decking, and he didn’t say a word.
Was he mad or hurt? Was it because of their conversation – or the fact that she stayed away and had fallen asleep?
She didn’t follow Max inside.
“Keep your cell phone charged,” Houghton ordered simply and looked at before pointing into the cabin. “We need to get him one when this all clears up.”
“Where are you going?” Daphne blurted out nervously.
“To stay with my wife.”
“You can’t leave him here,” she hissed nervously as he pointed past her head and shook it.
