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“Go away,” she muttered.
“Carly—”
“Go away!” she cried. Sam, sensitive as always to her moods and correctly identifying Justin as the cause of her distress, let out a growl and bared his sharp little milk teeth. Justin didn’t even glance at him.
“All right, Carly. I’ll go. I’ll be outside if you decide you want to talk.”
“Just go!”
Justin nodded and pulled the apartment door closed behind him. Carly slid down to the floor in front of her silent refrigerator. Tears slid down her cheeks, and Sam licked them off gently. He wagged his tail, but Carly remained where she sat, unable to move or think.
When Carly peeked through the curtains the next morning, she found Justin sitting on his bucket by the fire, stirring something in a pot hung below the tripod while he read from a well-worn paperback. She slid the window open.
Justin waved to her and called “Hi, Charly!”
“Carly,” she said. He didn’t seem to be very good with names.
“Would you like some oatmeal? I made plenty.”
Her mouth watered at the thought of hot food. She’d never particularly cared for oatmeal, but it sounded absolutely delicious. But still Carly hesitated. She hadn’t figured out what Justin wanted. He could be dangerous. Just because he hadn’t chosen to strike yet didn’t mean he was safe.
“I have coffee,” he called.
That sealed the deal. “I’ll be right down!” Carly called. She went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth, rinsing with water from one of the bottles she’d found by her door when she’d taken Sam for his last trip outside for the evening. She could only surmise it had been left by Justin—perhaps as a peace offering—though how he had gotten inside was anyone’s guess.
She thought it was very nice of him, especially after the way she had yelled at him yesterday. After she’d calmed down, she’d felt embarrassed about it. He was trying to help, even if he didn’t understand why she was so reluctant to even consider leaving her home.
Her wavy, caramel-colored hair was petulant at being denied its daily wash and conditioner treatment, so it frizzed and stuck out all over her head. Her vigorous brushing made things worse before she pulled it back into a ponytail. Her brown eyes were bloodshot from crying after last night’s bad dream about her parents.
Carly retrieved a bottle of maple syrup from the cabinet, just in case he didn’t have any, and put it into a small bag with a bowl, mug, and spoon. Justin appeared to be alone, so it would be silly for him to carry around extra dishware if he didn’t need it.
She put a leash on Sam and led him down the front stairs. Puppies needed to be socialized, according to the dog-training book Carly found at the grocery store. They needed to be around people in different types of situations in order to grow up to be friendly, well-behaved dogs. Sam was already very well behaved, though not due to any vigorous training on her part. He was sharply attuned to her moods and body language. All she had to do was look at him crossly to make him stop whatever he was doing, and he seemed to have a remarkable memory for those moments.
Justin had set up a second bucket as a chair for Carly. She sat down on it, and Sam lay down on the sidewalk beside her. “I brought some syrup.”
Justin smiled. “That’s great. All I have is sugar.” He already had enough dishes, made out of lightweight metal, and he scooped out a portion of oatmeal for her. “You might want to put your bowl under it since we don’t have a table. Those aluminum dishes can get hot.”
Carly did as he suggested and then drizzled syrup over her bowlful. “Thank you.” She handed him the syrup, and he did the same.
“No problem.” He put the bottle on the ground between them. Sam looked at it and licked his chops in temptation, but a glance from Carly made him lay his head back down on his paws with a sigh.
Carly picked up her coffee cup and inhaled with something akin to ecstasy. One sip and she was in heaven. “God, I missed this.”
Justin chuckled. “There’s plenty if you want more.”
Carly had to restrain herself from gulping down the rest of the cup so she could ask for another. She sipped the coffee and ate her breakfast in silence for a few minutes. Justin scraped the rest of the oatmeal out into a bowl and put it down in front of Sam. Sam looked up at Carly for permission before digging in.
“I thought about what you said,” she told Justin. “And I’m sorry I was so rude to you yesterday.”
He waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Well, as I said, I thought a lot last night about what you told me, and—” Carly was uncertain of how to proceed.
“And?” Justin prompted gently.
Carly swallowed. “You’re right. I don’t know what to do about this winter. I mean, I’m sure everything will be fixed by then, but just in case... I need to figure something out. Like a kerosene heater or something.”
“You don’t have water.”
