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I looked toward the second floor again and spotted Max in the corner of my eye. He sat at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for our guest.
“Max,” I hollered.
Great. I was offended for no good reason at all. Me and my dog were doing the same fucking thing.
When Max laid down beside me with a huff, I shook my head and put down the remote. The lights flickered once or twice before going out. About five seconds later, they came back on. It must be snowing. As I stood, I heard the creak of a door opening and shutting, then Genie’s loud footfalls as she came running down the stairs.
“Careful,” I said right as she nearly slipped.
She grabbed the banister, caught herself, and gasped. “The power blinked.”
Her hair was dry and wavy over her shoulders. I tried not to notice how stunning she was and continued to fail.
She’s not my type. She’s not my type.The woman was a walking safety hazard. She needed someone to look out for her, though. I worried. But why? Those thoughts shouldn’t belong to me. She wasn’t my problem. Besides, my last relationship was proof I lacked the ability to care… So, why couldn’t I stop frustrating myself over her?
She’s a siren.I was doomed.
“Yeah.” I walked to a window and pulled the curtain back. It hadn’t been thirty minutes since I last checked outside. There hadn’t been anything but some slight rain. Suddenly, everything was white, and the power lines drooped in the middle from the weight of the snow. The snow seemed wet, heavy, and it came down hard.
Shit. I wanted snow. Not a power outage.
“We’re going to lose power. I’m going to go grab the generator and some more wood.”
“Do you need my help?” she offered.
I shook my head. “No. But charge anything you have. You might have time.”
ELEVEN
Eugene
Hudson looked like the abominable snowman by the time he finished setting up the generator outside and carrying in firewood. No matter how much he patted himself down before stepping in, snow fell everywhere as he untied his boots by the door.
I rushed to the pantry, grabbed a mop, and began cleaning up the mess. Although Hudson had shut the front door, it was still so cold. My skin pebbled, and my hands and feet were numb. I was pretty sure my nipples pointed through my bra. Normally, I didn’t wear one in the house, but I wasn’t at home. Besides, Hudson stared far too much for me to skip a bra.
The light flickered, and I said, “Power might not go out.”
“It’s going to go out,” he said with certainty. He hung up his coat and finally looked at me. “The snow is too heavy and coming down fast.” He planted his hands on his hips. “I can clean up after myself, Genie.”
“It’s not a problem. It’s the least I can do for the person trying to keep us warm.”
He stopped and just stared.
I stared right back, arching a brow.What?
“The generator won’t run the heat pump. We’ll need to stay by the fire to keep warm.”
“Right,” I whispered.
Well, that wasn’t awkward at all.
“I’ll run a kerosene heater, too, but it’s still not going to do much for such an open room.”
The lights went out again but didn’t come back on. The cabin was pitch dark.
I gripped the mop tighter. “Um, Hudson, I can’t see anything.”
“You don’t reckon.” The sarcasm dripped from his voice.
